Response to My Letter to the Editor

I guess I'm not crazy after all! I got a bit of a friendly back slapping from a fellow citizen; thanks Dan!

Parkway land an asset - use it
Editorial - Saturday, May 19, 2007 - Peterborough Examiner

Re "No surprise: Parkway a good plan for 50 years" (Letter, May 17)

Three cheers for Doug Lytle's letter. He has said what I have been saying for years about people lobbying for non-use of those lands designated for the purpose that they were collected 50 years ago, to build a Parkway.

I too get annoyed by people who purchase property adjacent to vacant land and then complain when the land is developed. Just like people who buy a home adjacent to a school then complain about the noise the children make as they play. This "Parkway land" was one of the reasons I purchased my home where I did, believing that city council would eventually follow through on the plans to complete The Parkway.

DAN STUBBS
Fairmount Boulevard

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My Letter to the Editor

No surprise: Parkway a good plan for more than 50 years Editorial - Thursday, May 17, 2007 Peterborough Examiner

Re "Never fear, soon those ugly parks will all be paved" (Letter, May 14) - Matt Vidler's letter was one of the best I've ever seen. I disagree with him, but it was an excellent read. Mr. Vidler's comments about a "crafty-enough council" are well founded - city council has been forced into piecemeal development of sections of The Parkway because of a lack of political will. The non-binding referendum on the subject was just that: non-binding. It is still up to our elected officials to do the right thing even after seeking public input. A non-binding referendum is merely used to gauge sentiment and is advisory. The government then interprets the results of non-binding referenda and may even (gasp!) choose to ignore them.

As far as a "war against nature," which is worse: slowly crawling through traffic to get from one end of town to the other, idling at a half dozen traffic lights for minutes at a time, enduring stop and go traffic (a proven pollution cause) or driving a fairly simple route through the city at a sedate pace while still saving time and fuel and possibly reducing the amount of net pollution? I don't know, but logic seems to dictate the latter is the lesser of two evils.

Let's not forget that the City of Peterborough has owned The Parkway lands for over 50 years for the express purpose of, you guessed it, building The Parkway - that's why they're called The Parkway lands and not the park lands. People who live along The Parkway lands knew there was the potential of a roadway being built next to their homes when they bought them - this shouldn't be a surprise or a revelation.

Mr. Vidler's comment about property owners next to Wal-Mart wanting to get market value for their homes is a point well taken. I was directly involved in the land negotiations for the new Wal-Mart and I can say, unequivocally, that each of those property owners was approached at the very beginning and asked if they would be willing to sell for market value plus a bonus for their time and trouble - all of them turned down repeated offers. No one bullied them, no one coerced them, no one misled them - they made informed choices of their own volition, so let's stop the Wal-Mart bashing on this front, shall we?

We need The Parkway to be completed. Now. It was a good idea 50 years ago, and it's still a good idea today. Let's get on with it.

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globeandmail.com: Ottawa's real estate targets exceed market appraisals

I still don't have a problem with the government selling it's real estate assets. If it makes economic sense to sell and will save the taxpayer some money, then I say it's worthwhile.  What really chaps my $%^ is the way in which this is being handled.

Not only have they engaged banks, rather than REALTORS to "handle" the sales, but they are trying to keep the details "confidential".  Sorry, that's not the way it works.  I've been doing this kind or work for a decade, and if you want to maximize return, then you need to expose an investment property to the greatest audience of potential buyers possible.  That means using MLS and the professionalism of trained Commercial REALTORs.  

Link to globeandmail.com: Ottawa's real estate targets exceed market appraisals

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The government is breaking the law!

I am absolutely livid about this one. The federal government appears to be breaking the law in a bid to sell and leaseback several of its office buildings. This article from the Globe and Mail tells the tale.



What really irks me as a REALTOR is that the banks are not licensed real estate brokerages in Canada. Some of them do have brokerage arms, but it isn't clear in this case whether or not the banks in question do, or if they do, that they are using those brokerage divisions. What I see is a couple of banks giving real estate advice and offering brokerage services without a license.



There have long been unlicensed practitioners out there in commercial real estate - those of us in the trenches see them every day. That doesn't make it right; and the Canadian Government should not, under any circumstances be condoning this!



I will be contacting the regulating authorities about this and will post back if I get anywhere.





Technorati Tags: commercial real estate, canada, government, illegal

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Area Company Goes International...Again!

I just came across this great article about a local company that has won a very prestigious contract to provide prefabricated log homes to a resort company in Cornwall, England.

My in-laws live in Bobcaygeon, and I've been by the Confederation Log Homes plant on Cty Rd 36 many times. While I'm not really a fan of log homes myself, they are an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative. I am always amazed at how much home grown talent we have access to, right here in our region.

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