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Vaughan green-spaces are slowly and sadly disappearing.  With the Vaughan Metropolitan Subway station and condominiums sprouting up everywhere, Vaughan, The “City above Toronto”, is intensifying its urbanization.  Just recently, a proposal to develop a hundred acres of the Board of Trade Golf course within the heart of the Woodbridge area was revealed to the public. This vast green-space is a part of the Humber River Valley system and a natural heritage site of the local community. It is a place of beauty in all four seasons.  A refreshing urban oasis for all, with wetlands in adjoining valleys and habitat for all sorts of wildlife such as deer, fox, cardinals and blue jays to mention a very few!

The City protects its architectural heritage, its century homes such as Wallace House on Woodbridge Avenue, and celebrates its rural past with its Agricultural fair in the fall.  Its Regional Official Plan also prohibits development of the green-lands within the city, for which the Board of Trade golf course is a part of.

The proposed development of the Board of Trade Golf course disregards this natural and historic heritage. Over 600 mixed units including townhomes are planned by the developer which will add some 2000 new residents, 1200 additional vehicles, and all sorts of service vehicles. Additional phases will almost certainly follow, with further destruction and loss of the green-lands.

No wonder this proposal is already the source of much anxiety for local residents as they foresee the dire consequences of this land development. Construction will disrupt the daily existence for thousands of residents for years to come. Pollution, noise and a further influx of thousands of cars will flood the already congested local streets including Islington, Langstaff and Rutherford.  Several thousands of healthy, mature trees that populate the golf course will have disappeared as the current bylaws that protect them will certainly have been defiled.  The beauty, heritage and legacy of the Woodbridge core will be gone forever.

Not only will this have significant negative impact on our community, it will certainly set a precedent for future infill development throughout Vaughan. The green-space near your home could soon be the next target for development. This proposal is to be opposed vigorously and vociferously by all who know and value the quality of life in The City of Vaughan, but especially by its elected officials and members of conservation agencies.