Original photo from http://www.jjackowetz.com/blog/2018/5/16/brantford-in-the-1960s-post-20  & Brant Historical Society. I did change the colour of original photo. 

all links are in red. Arrowdale lands  type in Arrowdale Public Golf brantford.

The City of Brantford numerous times to sell.

 KPMG 

 real affordable housing 

 definitely in this area and in this ward, this is not a case of not wanting it in this area. 

 

 

Arrowdale lands have been an integral part of daily life within Ward 5 Brantford, Ontario since approximately 1883. it is located on part of the Haldimand Tract of the Mohawks and Six Nations first peoples.  It was the 4th golf course property that a "club" organized and used in Canada. Those founders went on and created our private members golf course Brantford Golf and Country Club, but first there was the Arrowdale land (Glenmount) that offers not only a 9 hole game of golf that founding families of the "town of Brantford" dearly missed from their homeland of Scotland,U.K but also a needed quiet zone for animals and people on early mornings and late into the evening.

The land has many uses besides municipal golf it is for animals, birds, insects, beautiful mature trees and of-course the community at large until this day. Arrowdale becomes this magical urban winter space every snowfall as many children get out for fresh air and activity to enjoy winter.It is a right of passage to go to as you get older by yourself, many adults also go to have fun and relax.

It sparkles in the daylight- kids yell FORE all spring, summer, and as long as can be in autumn. We learn about golf, social etiquette, respect for people, elders. Through this public space, we learn community engagement. Many families head to Arrowdale for family time, many walk, go for dog walks, strolls, this is a bustling neighborhood with high walking traffic. Most notable, this is an iconic and endeared place for most residents to golf, toboggan learn to try and cross-country ski. It is utilized daily for physical fitness, relaxation and mental health reprieve, a quiet zone in an economically challenged working class area.

The City of Brantford does not value the societal impact that Arrowdale Golf Course leaves on its residents. The City has tried numerous times to sell this land that was sold to them for the sum of $1.00.   A group in 2016 petitioned the city and thought the battle was over.

However, IT IS NOT! Even after council voted in favor of helping save the climate they still stand strong that Arrowdale will be sold.*UPDATE Council voted to sell 8-3 and Public Consultation denied in Dec. 2019  (*  On Tuesday, Dec 10th at 6pm, the potential sale of Arrowdale is on the City Council agenda & is listed as item # 5.3.2 "Affordable Housing"*) not even listed as Arrowdale Municipal Golf or Golf Operations and they refused to change that.

With due diligence time denied, we are purging forward to stop the sale. Please reach out and contact Friends of Arrowdale group on Facebook, get involved and reach out to an admin. We need  a lot of people to help us and to canvas a paper petition of constitutes of Brant, Brantford and Six Nations. 

While we are grateful you have signed this petition for federal purposes we will also need signatures of our new paper petition as City hall does not place much value in an online petition.  We however are grateful for your signature, activism and for keeping you up to date with your contact information.

We need to stop the sale now and forever and get FEDERAL designation of this property to be forever cherished and protected as it was intended. 

City of Brantford is counting on the fact citizens will not have enough time to do and act.   As we have already been peacefully protesting, we will continue to educate you as we canvas.

At the end If we do not succeed after all this the trickle down what will be left to a housing fund?

No property assessment done or environmental studies. What % of taxes would go into fund? What else will the fund be used for over the span of ten years? 

Why were no other properties looked at? 

What about the 90 + acres in the North end City is holding back on for future new homes in 20 years?

If we are in a crisis why are we not doing something Now with empty unused spaces available?

This is how they engaged people. No public consultation even though requested. Citizens will have 1 year/season left and 15 acres instead of the 4 acres council first offered. City of Brantford is losing the remainder of the original acres, that is 34 acres for development.

City Hall needs to focus on "trimming the fat" on renovations, departments, wasteful spending, and bureaucratic non-sense. They need to be honest and transparent with tax payers. 

Even the KPMG Service review is based on interviews with City Council and directed by what they want, not the public (* edit* I am not suggesting KPMG is corrupt nor a single individual of council)

We the citizens of Brantford need to be UNITED to keep this land from developers and keep Arrowdale Municipal Golf Course in our neighbourhood.

sale of the land and a % of taxes from said new development @ market price will  go into an "affordable housing fund" while new market construction will be built. We do not know what % this will be either.

This will destroy an eco-system, animals homes and municipal golf for this area. It will impact a lot of kids and families in our neighbourhood.

This is what we have been told by a council that already promised to leave this course alone in 2016.

In fact developing this land will add to the problem... decreasing housing affordability and increasing property taxes for the entire area. There is no guarantee that fund monies can not be used or borrowed for other uses until the aforementioned "affordable housing/ housing first/subsidy  housing" will be built. 

They wanted this deal done quickly,quietly. Quickly was certainly ascertained for the first two stages. We had peaceful protest marches, we have stayed out in the community and we plan on being out in the community more. We are seeking to keep up the positivism and professionalism in our demeanor. Please talk about this to your family, friends, neighbors. This was a strategic plan however there are more processes before a sale can be confirmed, Stay resilient this is NOT over. 

If they were so concerned with affordable housing they would have already designed and built it. Needing more "housing" did not happen overnight. Instead, they have purchased the Federal Post Office building to renovate that has cost $20+M so far and shows no sign of stopping. They should have made lemonade with their lemons and "do what you have to" or "make due with what you have". Built real affordable living arrangements for all citizens preventing homelessness to begin with. All the new built "communities" have put all of our housing securities at higher risk. 

According to our Point in Time "PiT" study we have a static amount of homelessness in our community, where we all agree 1 person is too many! We do not think the sale of this property will immediately alleviate the "crisis" our council says we are in. Many of the 1700 wait list is for 1 bedroom units, this should not be surprising due to population aging and younger people seeking less than market rents. Please see  canadian observatory on homelessness  for their research.

Brantford has many places where real affordable housing could be. Some of that is  definitely in this area and in this ward, this is not a case of not wanting it in this area. Ward 5 is a loving neighborhood that needs to stay united and bonded with each other and nature.

We the people need Arrowdale lands and municipal golf course, the animals need it and the entire Eco-system needs it. That is what our future generations will need: some solitude, some family time in an open environment with animals, insects, nature...laughter. Sun shining on a bright day bouncing off of trees and lush grass with fresh air. A quiet buffer zone away from traffic of Wayne Gretzky Parkway where we can interact with nature and earth.

A lot of other parks in our area are also in danger of  being sold to developers, new builds, even  the entirety of Mohawk Park could be on that agenda. This petition is just as much about democracy and upholding our civic rights. It is not "just the golf course", for this petition it is the land the golf happens to still be playing on. 

We need LAWYERS, ACTIVISTS, and ADVOCATES to STOP COUNCIL NOW! We need researchers and we need YOU TO TAKE ACTION and we need people to go write letters addressed to City Clerk in C/O  City Council, we need people to go to each and every council meeting and read the agendas.  Write to federal ministers tell them you want all 49 acres of land and golf operations preserved and you want them to create an action to stop the city from selling it for any reason.

Thank you so much from all of Ward 5, all citizens of Brantford who love our neighborhood "golf course" that is so much more to us. Thank you... from people who really want a good balanced, united neighborhood and environment for our future generations. Thank you most definitely from those who want to keep our founding Canadian Heritage of this land in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.