We came across an interesting opinion piece by Joan Little in the Hamilton Spectator regarding out-of-scale development in Burlington and the rise of yet another citizen’s group.
In the case of Burlington however, their city manager James Ridge seems to be going the failed route of the NPCA in an attempt to suppress this public dissent.
In response to some text on the website of “Engaged Citizens of Burlington” (ECOB), the Burlington city manager requested removal of the material, an apology or in his words to ECOB he “will take all necessary steps to hold you accountable for these defamatory comments”.
Sounds familiar. Apparently this city manager must have not been following the costly and dismal show put on by the NPCA in attempting to silence Ed Smith.
Further on a January 18th, ECOB decided to host a meeting to further engage local citizens. Interestingly enough, Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring decided to host a “reverse town hall” meeting that same night. Coincidence perhaps?
By far 2018 should be one of the more interesting municipal elections in recent times given the rise of citizen awareness, social media and efforts by Councils to push the bounds of planning policy. As was pointed out about Burlington Council in The Spec:
It doesn’t help that this small (seven-member) council — same people for the last eight years — has appeared to ignore the current plan and zoning in some decisions. Developers are now applying for ever taller and denser buildings, with less and less parking, which changes neighbourhood dynamics, as populations grow and parking shrinks.
If you wish to read up more about ECOB please visit their website at this link or their Facebook page by clicking here.
For more great reading on this article: https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/8089417-burlington-city-manager-goes-after-citizen-s-group/