Many Barker Street residents appeared at the regular meeting of Picton Town Council Monday night to protest the approval of the Ontario Housing Corporation proposal of building a 20-unit geared-to-income complex on a vacant lot on the street.

The resident’s spokesman, Joan Brant, addressed council saying it was the intent of the group to oppose the construction of the site and they hoped to receive a definite answer from council as to what their decision would be.

In a petition the group stated they felt the construction of the complex would create more social and economic problems for the Town of Picton as well as creating a “ghetto-type area”.

The petition stated the group feared the results of the approval of the housing development would result in a situation similar to the one on Disraeli Street where there is already one geared-to-income complex.

“The Town Police will tell you that Disraeli Street is second only to Main Street for police calls and this would mean that the town would need at least one more constable if not two and we feel the town of Picton cannot afford this extra expense for the added police protection”, the petition stated.

Also included were comments on the ideal situation created for families living in and the neighbors of the two-family unit on Barker Street.

The petition, signed by about 130 residents in the area, pointed out the possibility of OHC renovating some of the older homes in Picton for geared-to-income housing.

“These houses would be scattered throughout the town and therefore the tenants would be integrated with other residents of the town and not concentrated in one particular place to become yet another ghetto-type complex.”

“This land is prime agricultural land and at a time when the Ontario government is trying to preserve prime agricultural land why would they think of using this land when there is other land available not suitable for farming, for example the Prince Edward Heights area.”

The last point made in the petition concerned the resale value of the homes in the vicinity of the proposed site.