I am writing to you to bring to light the poor planning of this cities planners. I am hoping that past mistakes will not be repeated and embarrassing moments won’t come to light.
The bad planning I am talking about is the properties east of Vaughan st at Gordon st. The city has been approached to develop this land for apartment buildings and town homes. This piece of land has been tried to be put together and developed for a number of years and finally something is coming of it. But the city ignored the huge potential for this land by land locking it from Gordon st at Vaughan st. If the city would have had there eye on future development of empty land when they were approached about the Boreallis restaurant the city could have influenced a road instead of a private parking lot entrance. If there was a road then the cost of putting in a traffic light at this intersection would have been more justified. Those people in Vaughan st subdivision need a light.
And History is about to repeat itself on the intersection of Gordon and Arkell. You see a big developer wants a private driveway for his apartment building which will mean less infill development on the south properties. I think the city can influence this huge developer into putting a road in rather than a driveway. This road can go out as far as it can with a parking lot on city owned property west of Gordon, this would make a great spot for Grca trail beginnings, and Guelphs future development of this area. The west properties would be developed quicker with more tax revenue for the city. If the developer pays for the road then it will be a win win situation for the city and the Grca. Another concern I have will also be lifted if the road gets put through and that is of water runoff from the low spot of Arkell St and Gordon St. This runoff is significant and dangerous as the cars travelling south on Gordon st are in about 6 inches of water on a heavy rain. My concern is that the planned water pond next to my property will overflow and flood my land out. I think that if the road was extended then the runoff will be west my property and not effect it.
A while back Orin reed came around and wanted to buy my place with the dream of hooking up a road to Vaughan st divisions from lights at Arkell Rd. He first tried to piss me off with by-law complaints on my property hoping I wouldn`t know who complained and maybe I would want to sell and get out of the city. It backfired and I wouldn`t sell to him. I sometimes wonder if the city thinks that this developer of apartment building is going to buy my place and then develop the whole thing. Don`t assume I will sell to anyone especially if they pissed me off. (Recent by-law complaints again) Please take charge of planning this city and don`t assume that this big developer is going to do it the way you want. By putting in the road the developer can still buy this property and do his big scale plan but by not putting in the road I can only assume that the developer is trying to bully me out of my property and that isn`t going to happen to this Home owner, I will sell to Bill Hamilton before I cave to this nonsense. Or maybe on my death bed I will donate it to the church of the universe.
If the road is a win win situation for the city and Grca sells there land for cheap after I offered to buy it from them twice and would have paid more money then what they got for it. And by putting in arkell rd extension to a parking lot for the GRCA trail system doesn`t appeal to the GRCA .ME and the public are going to wonder why. It is odd that across the street you are ramming in apartment buildings and over here where they are supposed to be you are ignoring this potential. ( before I did huge reno`s on this property I asked the GRCA to sell there land they said no we want trail system . I asked the city what was going in next door and they told me they can`t see anything for three hundred feet because of the wet lands.
Please councillors do what is right my retirement hinges on the property value of my property so lets do what everyone wants and ignore the developers bully tactics and we can all make money and the developer will still get what he wants. And there will be no embarrassing letters to editors possibly law suit for loosed property values etc. Lets do whats right.