Division on urban boundary expansion
October 13, 2006

The finalization of the Stoney Creek Urban Boundary Expansion (SCUBE) generated a clash of opinions between downtown councillor Bob Bratina, and Dave Mitchell, who represents the formerly rural areas affected by the urban expansion.

Bratina reiterated his “long-held position that the problems that we have downtown, with diminished property values and deterioration and so on, is in part due to urban boundary expansions.”

Mitchell, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction with the expansion, as well as the possibility of converting more of the rural area, making reference to “seventeen land and homeowners west of Glover's Road that are still in the Greenbelt, not in the urban boundary area, and that is now going to be allowed to go forward to an OMB process.”

The debate took place at the September 27 council meeting.

The city's SCUBE plan was appealed by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The recent settlement agreement protected some of the lands from development and allowed other parts of SCUBE to be urbanized.