Monday, June 4, 2012

Herein Lies A True Tale Of Irony

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Master Plans Are Wish Lists":

"This has been a closely guarded secret. It is beautiful up there. No road access. You park in any of several subdivisions and hoof it in. Never know who or what you will meet. And, yes. I think Aurora holds some land. Check with Ron Wallace. He has watched the place for years. If we own a wee smidgen and can use it without spoiling the place, this could be something COUNCIL could motivate. GO!"

Spoil it?!?!?! Too late for that.
I wish people would stop parking in my neighbourhood to "hoof it in" - I'll key your cars. They had to rip down the house because of vandals. There are firepits everywhere from the "kiddies" and their booze parties.
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In  the nineties,High Tor Farm was transferred to Ontario Heritage in return for  market value in tax rebate.
Part of the property had development approval. Municipal roads and services had proceeded to a certain point and were intended to continue. 
This is the story, I have been able to glean from various parties  involved  at the time. 
Ontario Heritage is an agency set up to make deals with people of means. Sufficient means  they can benefit financially by giving  property away.
The agency at the time was short and in need of financial resources. An offer was made to the town. If they could sell the portion intended for development, the rest of the farm would be deeded to the town for community use.
I was  aware of uproar and accusations being thrown about willy-nilly that Council was in cahoots with skullduggery. Not being a Councillor I knew none of the details.
S.W.A.T. was formed. Susan Walmer, Evalina MacEachern and Walter Mestrinaro were in large part,  the movers and shakers.. 
They vowed  the scheme was  a betrayal of trust.    
I learned later ,Evalina MacEachern's home is on a street dead- ended when planned development was brought to  rude and abrupt termination.
High Tor Farm  is now literally an abandoned property.
We learn the house had to be demolished due to vandalism. 
The last  Council had talks with the Heritage about signing  a contract for maintenance in return for nothing at all. 
We were to take responsibility for property we had neither use nor  responsibility,while its closest neighbors would have it all  to themselves to enjoy.
Fire pits, booze parties and strange cars parked in the neighbourhood was not referenced at the time.  
Now,  Shangrila it appears, it is not.
Therein lies the supreme irony. 
My neighborhood had the S bends,fire pits and cars in our streets, where MacEachern's house was eventually built.
I doubt  S.W.A.T. would have listened to what the villainous veterans of  Aurora Council might have had to tell  at the time they were  raising hell fire and brimstone about the possibility of development and  community access to  land in their neighborhood they claimed for their exclusive  use. 
Spoiled is it? Well tough.

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