`Orderly' growth sought for Simcoe watershed

`Orderly' growth sought for Simcoe watershed

Land-hungry developers looking at Simcoe County with a covetous eye must be held at bay — at least for now, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay says.

Ramsay said yesterday the province is prepared to do what it takes to stop "hodgepodge" development, especially if it threatens the health of Lake Simcoe, a popular vacation area for tens of thousands of people.

"Simcoe County, obviously, is an area where there is a lot of growth potential and there has been some concern about that and we want to work with the county to see what can be sustainably developed," Ramsay said after making a funding announcement yesterday in King Township.

"We want to have proper growth here ... we have to do this in an orderly way.We don't want this sort of hodgepodge development anymore," he said.

Ramsay announced his ministry was extending an additional $150,000 in annual funding to the Ontario Land Trust Assistance Program, which gives grants to Ontario land trusts for costs associated with securing donations or purchases of ecologically lands and conservation easements. The minister said one of his major concerns is that runaway development doesn't further damage Lake Simcoe, which is already under stress from development. The province's greenbelt legislation, which put a halt to development in a large ring around Toronto, has driven developers farther afield. Currently, provincial and municipal officials are participating in an Intergovernmental Action Plan (IGAP) to look at all aspects of development, particularly how they affect the lake and the Nottawasaga River.