A second meeting to discuss a controversial plan to establish a Markham “food belt” will take place later this month.
“It is a vision for the future of agriculture, not just in Markham or our region, but in Canada,” said Coun. Erin Shapero. “I think there’s no more important debate than this.”
The joint proposal put forth by Shapero and fellow Thornhill councillor Valerie Burke calls for 16 per cent of Markham’s total lands, roughly 2,000 hectares, to be preserved for agricultural purposes. The land is classified as Class 1 farmland, the best in Canada.
“You can’t get it back,” said Coun. Burke. “It took thousands of years for the soil to develop. We have to look at the big picture. This is about our survival, for heaven’s sake.”
The Town of Markham is currently preparing to revise its official plan to accommodate population growth mandated by the provincial Places to Grow Act and looking into various intensification plans.
“In survey after survey, Markham residents have said do not continue the cycle of sprawl onto farmlands in our north,” Shapero said.
Others, however, are skeptical about the response residents will have to the plan. They argue the proposal will mean that 100 per cent of future growth would come through intensification of existing residential areas.
“I have a hard time believing that the existing ratepayers are in for 100 per cent intensification,” said Stephen Dupuis, head of the Building Industry and Land Development Association, which represents 1,300 companies. He said that the creation of the farm belt could create what was recently dubbed an “apartment belt” in a local advertisement. Shapero dismissed the ad.
“It is fear mongering that you’re hearing from the development community,” she said. “The fact is, they’ve been building cookie-cutter, single-family housing for years and years, and they don’t want to change.” The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16.