CCKT voices its concerns with Cardinal golf expansion
By Bill Rea

There's a lot of support for the proposal to expand the facilities at Cardinal Golf Club on Highway 9, but Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) are not among the boosters of the plan.

Township councillors and the public were updated on the proposal last Monday night, a proposal which club owner Dalt Hicks said will be able to answer the golf needs of anyone. "We're going to take you from the cradle to the grave," he declared.

Township planners are slated to report further on the plans, probably some time in the new year.

They reported the proposal involves amending the Official Plan and zoning to get rid of the classifications that allowed aggregate operations on the property at Lots 13 and 14, Concession 1 (north of Highway 9). The plan is to expand the golf operation, with 18 new holes, a club house and accessory uses, including two existing residences.

Planners said this process actually started in February 2001, but was "frozen" a few months later by the Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Act. The applications were considered transitional under the moraine conservation plan, since they pre-dated it.

Planning consultant Randy Alcorn told councillors there are a number of advantages to having an expanded golf facility at the site, including the jobs provided there and increased tax revenue. He called the proposal "another 18-hole profit centre."

He added the terrain in the area is relatively flat, not hilly, as is commonly associated with the moraine.

Water for irrigation will come from the South Drainage Canal, under a permit from the Ministry of the Environment. There will be a well in the area to address the water needs of the club house.

Marina Ferrante, executive assistant for the King Township Chamber of Commerce, was among those who spoke in favour of the applications, calling Cardinal "one of the top five businesses in King Township."

Area resident Clayton De Vries raised the concerns about the former aggregate operations on the property.

"This whole area is home to me," he declared, adding the current classifications could see it going either rural or industrial. He did not want to see industry.

"I like golf courses," he remarked. "Golf courses are a lot better than old asphalt plants."

Support also came from the Save The Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) coalition. Debbe Crandall of STORM said the original proposal intruded on some natural features of the moraine. But there have been changes, as the result of work between STORM, Cardinal and the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, which she said are to be commended. She added Hicks deserves a lot credit.

The revised plan, Crandall said, goes a long way toward meeting the spirit of the moraine plan.

But Crandall had concerns with the idea of the applications being transitional, adding there are concerns with the way the proposal deals with set back provisions. She said these issues need to be recognized and efforts have to be made to resolve them.

CCKT Chair Debbie Schaefer told councillors the group has already expressed its opposition to expanding the Cardinal operation. She stressed they had no problems with the plan, but stated the concerns were based on issues of climate change, water shortages and pesticide use.

Planners had stated Hydroterra Limited had been brought in by the municipality to do a technical review of groundwater issues, and their conclusions were it meets Ontario drinking water standards, except in terms of hardness. But planners said that can be mitigated.

Schaefer argued the proposal will draw some 1.175 million litres per day, which would add up to about six per cent of the daily savings that York Region has realized through its conservation programs over the last eight years. And while she agreed the water being taken from the canal is not part of the Region's Water for Tomorrow program, Schaefer pointed out water is disappearing from numerous areas of the township.

She also cited that Hydroterra had stated that best management practices had to be implemented on fertilizer and pesticide/herbicide applications to minimize potential quality impacts to the groundwater system. she argued this new golf area will be on the moraine, in an area identified by MOE as one of high aquifer vulnerability.

"The bar for excellence should be much higher than current best practices," she argued.

Schaefer also backed Crandall's arguments regarding the transitional nature of the applications, stressing the set backs set out in the moraine plan need to be adhered to.

Councillor Jack Rupke observed water used to irrigate grass returns to the ground and replenishes the local aquifer. He wondered what the problem was with that. Schaefer countered she's read documents from experts who state 80 per cent of water used of golf courses is evaporated.

"Well, 20 per cent's better than nothing," Rupke replied.

Councillor Jeff Laidlaw said he liked the idea of doing better than best practices in the area of pesticide management, and hoped that would be the case here.

Rupke recalled when the asphalt plant was operating, commenting there were a lot of complaints about earlymorning noise, smells, crop contamination, etc. He pointed out what's on the site now could be a lot worse than what's proposed.

Councillor Linda Pabst observed there's been a lot of concern expressed about moraine and wetlands, but she added golf courses make every effort to protect streams and maintain areas. She also pointed out there are some areas of the course where people aren't allowed at certain times of the year.

"I think it will be a lot better for our environment than any asphalt plant," she remarked.

Hicks told councillors he wants 90 holes of golf on the site, not asphalt or gravel operations.

"We're not here to wreck the environment," he said. "We're here to enhance the community."