Emrald - Your thoughts on Rural Development

[cowman]

cowman, any urban centre that files an annexation with Municipal Affairs has a process that must be followed. Its not as simple as the rural municipality telling the urban one to take a flying leap !!
If it is proven that the urban town or city is out of developable land then the annexation will be allowed although mediation is required etc.
The point I was making about the clinic in the local village is that this service was a necessary one for the residents and by giving a tax concession they got the service in their home town vs having to travel for miles. I would never compare that to a casino, although I agree that casinos do create an economic spin off.

[cakadu]

Cowman, I didn't mean to imply that the lake development was a bad thing. Yes, the Co-op did make a very bad decision and miscalculated in terms of just how much support they would get from the lake people. They also didn't realize it quick enough because it has been going on a downhill slide for several years now. There is only so far out that the land around the lake can be used for development until such time as they are getting into farm land. Some of it may very well be in that marginal class because we have so much gumbo out here.

The point I hope to make with my example is that the business decision was not taken with the values of the community in mind, instead they went after the new business - which they are more than able to do - but in order for it to work and find balance, it might have gone better had they found out what the locals would have wanted to have happen before they made their decisions. Many of the people around here have lived here their whole lives and for several generations, so there were some hard feelings when all of this was taking place. You've got to do what is right for the community as a whole, not just a certain segment. I'm sure it didn't occur to them that many of the lake citizens even brought in what goods they would need because they could have better selection and pricing brining them from a larger centre. Not to mention that some of the permanent residents at the lake are like many other folks who settle in the country - they do their shopping elsewhere because that is what they know. It isn't good or bad, just what they do.

I agree with you on one point - that if society wants these green spaces, biodiversity and the environment protected, then it becomes a societal cost to bear and not just the landowners.

Nothing is ever totally black and white and rural development is far from it.