SHIFTING GOALPOSTS

An empty field might be an empty field now, but it could be a shopping mall tomorrow.

Knowing that, when Ross Cronkwright and his wife found their future retirement home in Beamsville, he did his homework.

"I even looked at the official plan and all the zoning (bylaws) and saw the potential GO train corridor coming along. I looked in those areas and saw six storeys high and thought OK, fine. You know, it's a few blocks away, no big deal," said Cronkwright, who is familiar with planning policies, given he works for a company the builds industrial warehouses.

Earlier this year, though, Lincoln council approved a nine-storey build in the area.

"What good is writing the rules if you're going to break them?" Cronkwright asked.

Part of the justification from