Markham's food fight PDF Print E-mail
Council is divided on a plan to turn farmland into homes
Megan O'Toole,  National Post  April 03, 2010
A solitary bur oak, its tangled branches reaching toward a robin's egg sky, stands within a flimsy band of orange fencing that divides tree from field.
The bur oak is an official Markham symbol, and this one has grown at the centre of this lush farming field for two centuries, watching quietly as suburbia arrived along 16th Avenue.
But the mesh fence signals change. Soon, this protected tree will be all that remains of the field, a 40-hectare plot containing some of Canada's richest farmland. The rest will be supplanted by houses.
"This is a symbol of everything we don't want to lose," says Councillor Erin Shapero.
Ms. Shapero and council colleague Valerie Burke are spearheading a town council vote on the future of Markham's so-called foodbelt, a 2,000-hectare swath of top quality farmland. They want to halt development in the foodbelt, which stretches north of Major MacKenzie Drive toward the Oak Ridges Moraine, bounded loosely on the sides by highways 48 and 404.
Placing this region within Ontario's protected greenbelt is vital, the two councillors say, to preserve the Class 1 soil comprising 95% of Markham's rural area -- a noteworthy statistic, as less than half a percent of Canada's farmland falls into the top Class 1 category.
Council is divided on the plan, with some arguing the foodbelt is more idealistic than realistic, considering the difficulties faced by farmers trying to make a living in the region.
"In many cases the farms aren't profitable," says Councillor John Webster, pointing to a lack of infrastructure to support the industry within Markham. There are tales of farmers travelling to Peterborough to fix their machinery, and smaller farms especially face an uphill battle for economic viability.
"You can't legislate a farm to be productive," Mr. Webster notes. He believes some of the area north of Major MacKenzie should be turned into employment lands, saying while eating locally is important, "there's a section missing: We've got to work locally."
A council vote expected late this month or in early May will either light a fire under the foodbelt plan or smother it, as councillors select an overarching model for urban expansion. One proposal would contain 60% of expansion within the existing urban boundary and allow 40% to the north; Ms. Shapero and Ms. Burke believe the formula should be 100% and zero.
"It will change the face of Markham from a place defined by unsustainable urban sprawl, to a place where green overshadows grey, where clean air, water and quality of life are paramount," Ms. Shapero says. If residents want locally grown food, she notes, "we've got to start doing something to protect it."
A public meeting on the foodbelt strategy is scheduled Thursday at Markham's council chamber. Councillor Don Hamilton, who has not taken an official position, is sponsoring the gathering, which he says will afford representatives on all sides a chance to present their views.
Markham agriculture generates $62-million annually, but the town is losing farmland faster than any other municipality within the Greater Toronto Area--43%from 2001 to 2006, according to a recent assessment. The foodbelt proposal has gained momentum among residents since its December launch, but developers and some farmers remain staunchly opposed, knowing the designation would stymie their hopes to cash in.
"Some of these people invested in this land back in the '50s and '60s and they want to realize it, and you can't blame them," says John Kay, who rents a farm on Reesor Road. "Now their golden goose is going to get the knife. It's not even going to lay the golden egg."
Major MacKenzie has become something of a battle line in this debate. On the south side, rows of houses mingle with "coming soon" signs; across the street, farms rest atop green pastures and sodden springtime soil.
"It may be too late for a lot of these places," observes Bill Hodges, a retired farmer.
Some living in the proposed foodbelt are hesitant to talk; they offer hasty "no comments" before shutting farmhouse doors. Many are tenant farmers, Ms. Shapero notes, afraid to speak out should developers decide to end their leases. Others hope to sell their land to developers, and some already have, on condition they only get paid once the land is rezoned.
"What [Ms. Shapero and Ms. Burke] want to do is a good thing. It's the right thing to do," Mr. Kay says. "But who benefits from that is the public in the old-fashioned sense.... Real farmers are businesspeople. We're talking about a livelihood that brings in peanuts compared to an asset that, when it's realized, will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars."
Developers with interests in the area are of a similar mind.
Markham is expecting an influx of about 120,000 people over the next 20 years, and the town will have to accommodate that growth, says David Stewart, development manager of the Woodbridge-based TACC Construction. Without expanding the urban area north, all of that growth will be concentrated in existing urban neighbourhoods, placing a burden on roads and services such as swimming pools and libraries, he says.
Ms. Burke calls this type of talk "fear-mongering," while Ms. Shapero says it is time to find a new model: "We cannot continue to do business as usual. Things have to evolve and change."
A poll commissioned this year by the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance suggests public interest in the foodbelt plan is strong: 83% of Markham residents surveyed supported the concept, while nearly eight in 10 respondents said they prefer locally grown food.
Professors from York University and the University of Toronto last month launched an academic alliance for agriculture, which would support the Markham foodbelt project and provide guidance to other municipalities.
Jose Etcheverry, a York environmental studies professor who is leading the charge, calls it a "clear opportunity" to improve policies on agricultural preservation and enhance the lives of farmers.
"What's going on in Markham, it's a precedent-setting case," Mr. Etcheverry says. "It should be studied very closely and hopefully emulated throughout the province."
A provincial spokeswoman says it is "premature" to speculate on whether Ontario would approve the proposed expansion of the greenbelt, as the town and York Region would first need to give it the green light. Regional Councillor Joseph Virgilio suggests the concept may be unrealistic, since it would require the province to change its existing growth plan.