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A tough call
Friday July 25 2008
 
Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) members were put in an unenviable position last week when they had to tell the friends and family of a young man killed in a tragic accident at a BMX track at Halton Place that the track must be levelled.
While nearby neighbours were likely pleased the NEC ruled 12-4 to let stand an earlier restoration order (in effect, to have the track flattened and land restored to its previous condition), there were no winners or losers from this decision.
Not when this case involved the death of a young man— 20-year-old Tim DaSilva— who died two years ago when he was crushed by a roller he was driving while building the course of his dreams.
While the NEC decision may seem, on the surface, unfair, it was the right one.
The fact the bicycle course was built without a permit, on land zoned for agricultural use, cannot be overlooked.
NEC member Joan Little said she felt a responsibility for the neighbours of Halton Place who are “facing escalating commercialization of this particular property.”
Halton Place, is a fabulous facility and a jewel in Halton Hills’ crown. But the farm is in use for roughly 40 days of the summer for equestrian events (a perfectly suitable agricultural use) and adding several BMX events would leave neighbours with little quiet time, Little felt. NEC members obviously concurred.
Perhaps a larger issue to consider is how agricultural lands are used in the future.
Several Halton Hills councillors  supported the track last year, allowing for a “flexibility” in the rules and arguing steps must be taken to make rural areas more economically viable via alternate uses such as the BMX track.
We agree, but not at the expense of other rural residents who have to put up with the increased traffic and noise such uses would bring. In this case, others should not have to pay the price because a neighbour chose not to follow proper procedure.
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