You are needed! Please come out to the town council meeting on Tuesday, September 29th at 7:30pm. Your presence matters!   At the September 14th meeting, Council was ready to quickly pass a designation by-law that many felt did not have the teeth needed to ensure the DDO is properly protected.   The Richmond Hill Naturalists and DDO Defenders produced a revised Dunlap Heritage Designation By-law that is broader in scope and more specific in the language used to describe the heritage attributes of the Dunlap lands.   As a result of this work and the voices of 16 concerned residents, Richmond Hill Council referred the Dunlap by-law back to Town staff so that public concerns could be reviewed.

The by-law will be tabled again before Council at the September 29th meeting.  Please come to this meeting and support local residents who are fighting for the best possible protection of Richmond Hill’s largest remaining green space.  All residents are welcome to speak for up to five minutes at the meeting. If you wish to address Council, please email the Town Clerk  ([email protected]) to have your name placed on the speakers list by noon today:

Your Subject Line should read:

Request to be placed on Speakers List, Monday, Sept. 14^th, Council Meeting, 7:30pm.

Include in the body of your request the following:

*You wish to speak to the matter of Agenda Item 1.12 – Designating By-law for the David Dunlap Observatory Lands-File no. D12-07228-123 Hillsview Drive- (SRPD. 09.092)-(Item no. 12)-(Proposed By-law No.100-09) and be placed on the Speakers List.

*Your name, address, phone number.

Your request will be confirmed by the Town Clerk early Monday afternoon via return email.

Contact Council Directly

If you can’t attend the Sept 29th meeting, you can send your comments directly to local and regional politicians. Please write:

Mayor

• David Barrow  -  [email protected]

Regional Councillors

• Brenda Hogg  –   [email protected]
• Vito Spatafora  –   [email protected]

Ward Councillors

• Ward 1        Greg Beros  -   [email protected]
• Ward 2        Arnie Warner  –   [email protected]
• Ward 3        David Cohen  -   [email protected]
• Ward 4        Lynn Foster  -   [email protected]
• Ward 5         Nick Papa  -    [email protected]
• Ward 6        Godwin Chan  -   [email protected]

Signing Up to save the DDO

Dozens of Richmond Hill residents are adding a little more green to their front yards by displaying a Development Free Zone sign.  If you want to help preserve our town’s last remaining green space and would like a sign of your own (for a small donation), please email [email protected] and one of our volunteers will be happy to deliver one to your door.

You are needed! Please come out to the town council meeting TONIGHT, Monday September 14 at 7:30pm. Your presence matters!

Tonight Council intends to pass the by-law designating the Dunlap Observatory property as a cultural heritage landscape.

We have concerns that there are too many loopholes and errors in this bylaw and that it will not be able to do the job it appears designed to do. Keep in mind that the by-law was released to the public on the Thursday night before the long weekend, with the Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss it on the day AFTER Labour Day, giving our community very little time to digest and analyze the contents of the by-law before Council’s only debate on it.   Concerned citizens have proposed a revised bylaw which would better protect the Dunlap property.  The revised version can be downloaded here:  Dunlap Revised Heritage Designation By-law.

Please come out to make sure Council does it right and gives this property the level of protection it deserves. You do not have to speak, but it’s important to come out so that our councillors know that you care about this issue.

You are welcome to speak for up to five minutes at the meeting. If you wish to speak, please email the Town Clerk  ([email protected]) to have your name placed on the speakers list by noon today:

Your Subject Line should read:

Request to be placed on Speakers List, Monday, Sept. 14^th, Council Meeting, 7:30pm.

Include in the body of your request the following:

*You wish to speak to the matter of Agenda Item 1.12 – Designating By-law for the David Dunlap Observatory Lands-File no. D12-07228-123 Hillsview Drive- (SRPD. 09.092)-(Item no. 12)-(Proposed By-law No.100-09) and be placed on the Speakers List.

*Your name, address, phone number.

Your request will be confirmed by the Town Clerk early Monday afternoon via return email.

You can access the Dunlap draft by-law here: http://tinyurl.com/lxgxjv

The Richmond Hill Naturalists and community groups such as the DDO Defenders  continue to advocate for the complete protection of the David Dunlap Observatory and Park.  If you support this community action, please call your local councillor (905-771-8800), write a letter and/or buy a lawn sign.  Tell Town Council you want LEADERSHIP & ALL Dunlap Parklands protected!

Please attend the Town of Richmond Hill Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday September 8th, 4:30pm, when Council will first consider the staff report for the draft Dunlap Designating By-Law.  We have been fighting for the Dunlap site’s preservation and protection for almost 2 years now – is OUR time to bear witness, be heard and be there for the Dunlap site.

SIGN UP to protect our heritage resources from more needless urban development ! Keep our  parks FREE of development !

SIGN UP to give Town Council the message saving ALL the David Dunlap Observatory Parklands is NOT COMPLICATED !

SIGN UP to tell Town Council to follow the Conservation Review Board decision calling for a MINIMUM of 80% of this property to be SAVED !

SIGN UP to tell Town Council to PICK-UP THE PHONE – call for help making the Dunlap Parklands the BEST CHOICE economic engine that a fully protected national park or heritage site can provide.

According to Canada Heritage Foundation, the David Dunlap Observatory & Parklands is among the country’s Top 10 Most Endanged Heritage Sites. This fall, Town Council says it will table a by-law providing protections to our greatest hertiage landmark. But Council says it can’t protect ALL 189- acres of the Dunlap Parklands from development, because it needs “someone riding in on a white horse,” to buy the property from the developers. The rider is here and waiting. Council just needs to PICK-UP THE PHONE.

Town Council needs to LISTEN to the consistent wishes of its residents. It needs to stop wringing its hands and PICK-UP THE PHONE. It needs to save and conserve ALL the Dunlap and the investment this community has made in its scientic, cultural and natural resources. For more than 73 years, the Richmond Hill and York Region community paid taxes to underwrite the good works of the Observatory. The developers DIDN’T.

Call, write and/or buy a sign. Tell Town Council you want LEADERSHIP & ALL Dunlap Parklands protected ! The public has the FIRST and ONLY right to this heritage, it is not this Council’s to give or deal these resources away. It is urgent you tell Town Council NOW to THINK and ACT in the best interests of our community, and not JUST in the short term interests of developers.
For current and future generations, we need to protect ALL the Dunlap Parklands and leverage our natural and cultural resources into the BEST CHOICE ECONOMIC ENGINE that a national park or historic monument site provides.

Please call the Mayor or your Ward Councillor at (905) 771-8800. Or email offiicemayor@richmond hill.ca or the entire Councill at Council_Members. [email protected].  Or use this time-saving sample letters.  Make the difference.  SIGN UP Richmond Hill !