Growth in the right places: why I’m opposing the Gateway Employment Lands
Last evening I walked the lands north of Bridge Street with neighbours who live next to the proposed Gateway Employment Lands.
If you have not been out there, here is what I saw: active farmland. A creek and greenspace people care about. Homes at Martin Grove Village. Township public-notice signs. And neighbours with Protect Farmland signs in their yards.
This is not empty land waiting for a better idea. It is Woolwich countryside in use.
What is being proposed
CRA Lands is asking Woolwich to change the Official Plan for roughly 108 acres near Bridge Street West, Martin Grove Road, and King Street North. The ask is to pull agricultural land into a new urban employment designation so a large industrial / business park can follow later.
Supporters call it a logical extension of Waterloo’s employment area. I call it the wrong kind of growth in the wrong place.
Why I oppose it
I support growth in the right places, for the right reasons. That means using land already designated and underused for industry before we break the countryside line.
Crossing that line here is not a small technical tweak. It is a precedent. Once Woolwich starts converting working agricultural land at the city edge into industrial land because it is convenient for servicing, the boundary that protects our rural character gets softer every year. That is the beginning of a different Woolwich.
- Farmland and the countryside line. These fields are in agricultural use. Other industrial areas in the region already sit under capacity.
- Water and the landscape. People who live and farm next door worry about stormwater, springs, ponds, and wildlife. Those concerns belong in the decision, not after the land-use change is locked in.
- People who live next door. Martin Grove Village is a residential community of more than 130 homes. Neighbours told me some of those homes are among the more attainable places to live in Woolwich. An industrial park at their doorstep is not neutral for them.
Our neighbours at council
On June 23, Martin Grove neighbours spoke at Woolwich Council about this application. Their written submissions are public. A few lines that stuck with me:
Randy Dyck (one of our tour guides last night) noted there was still no sign on Martin Grove Road across from Martin Grove Village at the time of the meeting, and argued there is no reason to breach the countryside line into agricultural land when vacant industrial land already exists.
Abdullah Lawendy shared that productive farmland, once developed, is gone forever, and that underused employment lands should be considered first.
Rob Albrecht (of John's Nursery), who farms next door, warned that the proposed stormwater pond sits beside his water source.
Cheryl Priess raised groundwater risks from paving over land that now recharges aquifers and wells for the Martin Grove Village.
Council needs to hear from more of us before an Official Plan change changes the land use. You can watch the June 23 meeting here.
Why this matters now
The applicant for development has been clear that this first decision is an Official Plan amendment to create a land-use change.
When residents talk about truck routes, building locations, setbacks, and storm ponds, the reply can sound like those details come later. Later is too late if the Official Plan already says this farmland is employment land.
That is why public comments on the Official Plan and on this application matter now.
What you can do
- Comment on the Gateway / CRA Lands application
- Weigh in on Woolwich’s Official Plan review (public meeting October 6, 2026)
- Talk to your neighbours about what is actually proposed
- Plan to vote October 26, 2026 (internet voting October 16–26; advance in-person October 17–18)
I am running for Ward 2 because local decisions like this shape the Woolwich our kids inherit.
If this is on your mind, email me at [email protected].
— Steven Haase
Candidate for Woolwich Ward 2 Councillor
St. Jacobs