“Fear mongering” comment over HCD is “patronizing”: Councillor

April 30, 2014 · 0 Comments

(Re: Historian hopes “reason will prevail” in Heritage District debate, April 24)

Mr. McIntyre is the self-appointed guru of all things historical in the Town of Aurora.
His optics may be more than slightly skelly-eyed as a consequence.
Not every property owner is in a position to seriously propose the municipality acquire his property for some artsy-fartsy, airy-fairy, nonsensical notion of a four acre “heritage park”
Even at a discount, the deal is no bargain to people working at several jobs to pay a mortgage, or rent, and put food on the table or a child through university.
His idea of “fear-mongering by a few” is the same dismissive, insufferably patronizing comment Councillor Abel was compelled to apologize for on Wednesday evening.
To his credit, the latter did make his apology in public. It was the second time.
Content expressed on behalf of residents of the Northeast Heritage District is not real and John McIntyre is not their spokesperson.
If that project was being proposed at this time, there might have been a very different outcome.
How long would it take, I wonder, for landlords to acquire fine old homes in heritage districts and turn them into student housing, rented by the inch, had the university pitch been successful?
How long would they remain fine old homes at the hands of students?

Councillor Evelyn Buck
Aurora