(NB: Please only sign this if you live and/or own property in the Municipality of Chester; indicate the postal code of that property in the municipality in the appropriate field when prompted.)

WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHY SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?

A developer wants the Municipality of Chester to rezone its undeveloped 30-acre property just north of Highway 103 at Exit 6, off Mill Lake Road to allow large-scale commercial development.

Current plans indicate a large plaza of about 300,000 square feet – about 3 times the size of the existing Hubbards Shopping Centre – to host a gas bar, drive-through food outlets, and 400 parking spots.

The developer can already do some commercial development on the property. But granting the developer’s request would allow the large-scale commercial development over the entire property – an area the size of 23 football fields. Rezoning also opens the door to a wide range of other “commercial and light industrial” uses in future over this entire area.

Allowing such development – with all the traffic, noise and light pollution – in this location is not in keeping with the quiet, rural character of the area that makes Hubbards appealing. It enables more urban sprawl down the highway, despite the large commercial plazas and retail services already located at Exit 5.

We call upon the Council of the Municipality of Chester to:

- reject the developer’s rezoning request (for a portion of PID 60422888), preserving the existing zoning and appropriate limits on the scale of commercial development; and

- direct municipal staff to work with residents on a plan to make better use of existing, under-used space in the Hubbards area that is already zoned for commercial use.