Preventing Over Development

By Ahmad Formuly Ward 1 City Councillor Candidate for Oshawa I like to begin this column by thanking The Central for inviting me to write a weekly column to all readers. This I believe is a great service to the community at large. Most voters when faced with an election know very little about those running. Specially the new candidates. From now until the election I hope to take advantage of this feature and address many of the issues that matter to Oshawa and the ward I will be representing. Municipal elections are upon us. As such we must weight our choices wisely. The future of our city is on the line. As a young man in Oshawa living in Ward 1. I have first hand recollection on what matters to those living in our ward. It appears that election after election the same faces sit in council. Taxes keep going up and quality of life appears to slowly slipping. For these and many other reasons I decided to put my name in and with your help make a difference. I want to bring municipal government back to the people. I have heard from many of you the hardships of getting anything done or even a phone call from the current councillors. My heart goes out to all of you that are left waiting. I can assure you that when I am elected to office. Your phone calls will be priority one. Your concerns will be at the top of my agenda. If I can’t find an answer or solution I will assure to consult with my colleagues and get the result you require. A real concern for many is the rapid development happening north bound. This type of development needs to be revived. We can’t get into allowing our prime farm lands to be abused in such way. Many of these homes are erected out of a cement foundation by two by fours and plywood. Many of these homes do not even have basements. It appears that people are purchasing over priced motor home type of housing. I have grave concern over this type of development. On the first, it is wasting prime land to build what in my opinion is nothing short of future ghetto. As a responsible member of council I will look to assure that any development brings property values up not down. Furthermore, I do not believe that the municipality should be left to deal with the aftermath of the sale of these home to individuals. Individuals that are purchasing these properties have no clue what they are purchasing paying top dollar and expecting unrealistic services. We must address this huge problem and we must assure that these developments don’t leave us with millions in social problems in the long run. I also strongly believe that the existing neighborhoods, hamlets and pockets of development that have been around for hundred of years are protected and not become an obstacle for future developers. Our community is the last frontier before we are amalgamated with Port Perry. We need to maintain that distinctive country culture and atmosphere. I know that for many farmers the sale of the land assures them a comfortable retirement. We must not be selfish in our development and our lands. We must think of future generations and what the future will look in years to come. We must consider building up instead of further north. We must seriously entertain high rise development with the emphasis on affordability. We as a city should be able to negotiate with a land owner and have City own high rise with controlled rent and prescribed standards. It is not about giving things away. Instead it is about finding ways to accommodate the need of our people in a controlled fashion. I am that person to assure quality life for all citizens.