A Top Tier Golf Course
 

Past communications from Flato have described a top-tier gold course for the property. There are a two reasons why a top-tier golf course is of concern on this land: exclusivity and environmental concerns.

1. An  Exclusive Community

According to Flato, this will be a "top tier" golf course, designed by Doug Carrick.

Although Flato claims that it wants to build community, Carrick designed golf courses are designed to be exclusive.

The numbers:
               $100: The average green fee for one of the fourteen Carrick--designed courses in Ontario.
     
                  $44: The average green fee for 14 golf courses within an hour's drive of Cameron

           $40,000: The initiation fee for Predator Ridge, a top tier Douglas Carrick designed golf course surrounded by multi-million dollar estate homes in B.C.

            $45,000: The initiation fee for Predator Ridge if you don't live in one of the estate homes.

              $4,950: Annual dues for members of Predator Ridge golf course.

                  $200: Green fees for non-members at Predator Ridge.
          
                      <1%: The percentage of current community members that can afford Flato's new Cameron golf course.
                           
This will be a top-tier golf course surrounded by estate homes that will not be available to most current members of our community.

2. Golf Courses are Environmental Disasters

As is well known, the fairways and greens on golf courses are maintained with the assistance of large amounts of herbicides (to kill unwanted weeds) and pesticides. These toxins are washed into the water table and the lake, contaminating drinking water and destroying habitat.

Although course designers indicate that ponds will collect the run-off from the golf course, this does not take into account the character of the site, which is an alvar, a very thin layer of soil over limestone and rock. In such a topography, water does not absorb easily and will drain readily into the groundwater that feeds local wells and drains into the lake.

In addition, enormous amounts of water are used to keep fairways and greens lush and green during hot summers. Since this land consists of a very thin layer of soil on limestone, it will need even more water than usual. As current residents can attest, such water is in short supply in Cameron.

Even more importantly, this land currently contains at-risk species of plants and birds whose habitat will be destroyed during construction. See more here.