During the April 10th council meeting, on a motion brought forward by Councillor Cecil Villard (right), Charlottetown City Council voted unanimously to ask Canada Lands Company to withdraw its application for the development of the Upton Farmlands.
Mayor Clifford Lee (left) said this action will be followed up by a letter to CLC, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Transportation & Infrastructure Minister Lawrence Cannon, who represents the Department responsible for CLC.
Councillor Villard said the “best possible outcome” would be for CLC to deed the Upton Farmlands over to the City.
Last August, the majority of councillors voted to give CLC permission to develop Upton Farm. Tonight, they had the courage to say to CLC, “Let’s step back. Let’s look again. Is housing really the best use for this land?”
This, folks, is a significant step forward in our journey to save this land for greenspace. It is a time to take pride in all the hard work we have done to raise awareness and share the vision of a gateway to Charlottetown, a Victoria Park for the future, instead of just another housing development. It is a time to appreciate, again, all those who have signed the petition and written to their political representatives, for without the involvement of those many, many citizens this initiative would surely be dead in the water.
BUT
We have several more stairs to climb before this land is truly protected for future generations of Islanders. Please continue to give your support by writing letters to the newspaper, buying a license plate and talking to your friends and neighbours.
As well, please take a minute to e-mail every member of City Council and thank them for taking this step.
Clifford J. Lee ( Mayor)
mayor@city.charlottetown.pe.ca
Kim Devine – Ward 1 (Queens Square)
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Daniel (Danny) J. Redmond – Ward 2 (Belvedere) |
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Rob Lantz – Ward 3 (Brighton) |
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Mitchell G. Tweel – Ward 4 (St. Avard’s) |
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Sterling MacFadyen (Deputy Mayor) – Ward 5 (Spring Park) |
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David MacDonald – Ward 6 (Mount Edward) |
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Cecil F. Villard – Ward 7 (Beach Grove) |
| Peter F. McCloskey – Ward 8 (Highfield)petermccloskey@pei.sympatico.ca |
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Melissa Hilton – Ward 9 (Stonepark) |
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Terence H. Bernard – Ward 10 (Falconwood) |