Editorial — Worth a good look-see

March 13, 2014 · 0 Comments

There’s been a bit of apprehension expressed, which is understandable.
But it’s also nice to note there’s been quite a bit of interest being shown in the idea of a large seniors’ lifestyle community, which is being contemplated on some 200 acres just north of Caledon village.
About 80 people were out for last week’s meeting to get information on what’s being proposed and to offer their input, which was clearly welcomed by representatives of Heather Glen Seniors Village. The attitudes reflected a certain understanding in society that the aging population is growing and the rest of us (especially the older among us) are soon going to have to come up with creative plans on how to house them.
Needless to say, there are still a lot of details to be worked out.
“We have a lot of heavy lifting to do,” remarked Paul Mondell, one of the proponents of the project at last week’s meeting.
It’s important to stress this entire project is only conceptual at this stage. There has been no formal proposal made, so assuming it goes anywhere, there’s still an extensive public process to look forward to.
There have already been concerns raised, with some people at last week’s session wondering if this is an appropriate location, and how we ensure the accommodations will be used by the people they’re meant for; namely seniors. These are valid issues, although it would have been unrealistic to expect they would have been resolved after one meeting. One of the reasons why we have this process at all is so there will be a chance to raise the relevant issues, and then find ways to deal with them.
So while there’s a lot of interests being shown in this idea, enthusiasm seems a little muted so far. This notion deserves further study. If enthusiasm is appropriate, we’ll get there soon enough.