January 18, 2012.

POST PRE-HEARING UPDATE

Dear Friends,
A big thank you to all those who came to Fort Erie Town Hall on Tuesday for the Pre-hearing procedures for the Ontario Municipal Board hearing regarding the proposed NASCAR-like speedway at the intersection of Sunset South and Bowen Roads.

WALL TO WALL SPECTATORS
The Council Chambers were overflowing! It was great to see so many citizens engaged in this issue.
Our volunteers have been working tirelessly and the support from all of you is very rewarding. Yes, there were also speedway supporters there. Most fans could be identified by the t-shirts that were either sold or given out as everyone walked into Town Hall. We were unaware that Town Hall provides tables to "hawk" merchandise for prospective developers at an Ontario Municipal Board hearing which is intended to be a neutral court. Now that this precedent has been set, we will be certain to book a table for CCGFE at the next Town Hall forum, in order to sell our shirts and offer literature

THE OUTCOME OF THE MEETING
The parties to the hearing were identified. There are three (3) appellants. Four of the previously registered appellants withdrew their appeals because the speedway consortium has agreed to purchase their properties if the OMB rules in their favour.

After much discussion, the final date selection for the hearing was postponed until a conference call between all the parties can take place on February 17th, 2012. CCGFE is still awaiting certain final reports from the speedway consortium which pave the way for CCGFE's further discussions with expert witnesses.

Five additional members of the public and/or groups have been identified as participants to the proceedings. These individuals and groups will provide statements to the board regarding their support or non support of the speedway development. We were greatly impressed that five participants were identified.

THE REAL WORK AND HOW YOU CAN HELP
CCGFE volunteers will now be burning the midnight oil getting their case into perfect order for the hearing. Raising funds is a priority. Expert witnesses for OMB can be very costly!

Please take out or renew your membership with CCGFE.

And please also consider a donation. There is still much to do.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Memberships: $10.00 individual/$15.00 family.
Donations are gratefully accepted in any amount.
Tax receipts are available for donations of $25.00 or more.

Mailing a cheque, send to: P.O. Box 111, Fort Erie ON L2A 5M6
Make cheque payable to: "Citizens Coalition of Greater Fort Erie, or CCGFE"

Email: ccgforterie@gmail.com
Phone: 905.994.7422
Website: www.ccgfe.org

Thank you!

Fort Erie has a rich, natural heritage. Our beautiful landscapes and the wildlife that inhabits them, make this a special place in which to live, work and relax. Our natural heritage is also a key asset supporting many sectors of the region's economy and quality of life.

The Citizens’ Coalition of Greater Fort Erie (CCGFE) was incorporated in 2010.
Our primary area of focus includes Fort Erie, Stevensville, Crystal Beach, Ridgeway and the adjoining lands which form Greater Fort Erie.

CCGFE’s objective is to support development which will enhance the town’s natural and man-made character and provide meaningful long-term employment possibilities while protecting the culturally and ecologically valuable lands and waters of the area. Greater Fort Erie is home to one of the most diverse and endangered ecosystems in the country, the Carolinian life zone. This unique landscape; which extends south of a line running from Grand Bend to Toronto, contains 25% of Canada’s population but less than one percent of its land area. It is one of the most ecologically diverse landscapes in the province and the most threatened. Combined with the fact that many of its species are near the northern limit of their distribution, the Carolinian life zone has the greatest number and concentration of species at risk in Canada. CCGFE intends to help conserve this valuable land while at the same time supporting development which respects the environmental and residents’ concerns.

Join with CCGFE in our efforts to lobby against one of the most dangerous assaults on the mosaic of farmlands and forests of Carolinian Canada; a proposed NASCAR-style speedway development on 821 acres in Fort Erie. We object to the re-classification of “Good General Agricultural Land” through a provincial planning loop-hole called a “Special Policy Area”, in order to make way for this project and its inherent threats to our landscape and lifestyle. We have filed our objection with the Ontario Municipal Board Appeals Court, and are in urgent need of donations to support this process.

“There’s a price for becoming informed, something that the vast majority of the public don’t trouble themselves with –  preferring instead to believe everything they read or hear from the local media or from their favourite politician.

That price is to risk being treated like a pariah in your hometown when you give in to the urge to set the record straight when confronted with ignorance.”

Doug Casey