Sign the Petition: No Urban Boundary Expansion Decisions Without Full Fiscal and Environmental Transparency

Mayor Bryan Paterson and Kingston City Council

Kingston is at a crossroads. Decisions made today about our Urban Boundary will lock us into how we grow, move, and spend tax dollars until 2051. But right now, City Council is being asked to vote on large urban growth boundary expansions before the homework is finished.

Council is being asked to sign a "blank check". Critical reports on the long-term cost of new sewer, water, and electrical infrastructure construction, the capacity of our roads, the increased transportation costs, and the economic and environmental impact on our disappearing wetlands and forests haven't been completed or made public yet. Proceeding without this data isn't just bad planning—it’s a financial and environmental risk to every Kingston resident.

Sign this petition to demand that data comes before decisions. Tell Mayor Paterson and Council: No expansion decisions until the full fiscal and environmental costs are presented to and voted on by council.

To: Mayor Bryan Paterson and Kingston City Council
From: [Your Name]

WHEREAS the decision about increasing the developed area of the City of Kingston has implications for all residents and taxpayers of the city; and

WHEREAS "good planning" means having all relevant information available before changing the City’s Official Plan which will guide development until 2051; and

WHEREAS there are a number of foundational reports that have not yet been made public including:

- The cost of providing the city’s portion of new water and sewer services to any proposed new development and the ongoing costs
- The capacity of existing roads to manage increased traffic generated by each proposed new development area
- The cost of providing required city services to each of the proposed new development areas including police, fire, ambulance, library, and recreational services, and road maintenance
- The impact of each development in a new area on nature and the services they provide including flood control (wetlands), cooling and oxygen (forests), ecosystem health, and mental and physical health for people; and

WHEREAS it is the responsibility of councillors to understand the implications of the reports presented to them and listen to input from all constituents to make their decision with due diligence;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the city continue with the Official Plan revisions without making any decision on, or providing City staff with direction on, where to move the urban growth boundary until after all relevant reports have been completed, made public, and presented at public meetings at which members of the public can hear presentations on the contents of the reports and ask questions.

*Members of the public means individual, business representatives, and others working in the city of Kingston.