Two Wilmot councilors are asking the region for details on land acquisition amid an ongoing turf war

Two Wilmot councilors are showing support for farmers involved in a controversial turf war with the Region of Waterloo.

The region plans to acquire 770 acres of agricultural land between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Center Road. The region says the purchase will provide development land ready for snow removal, but has not specified what that would involve.

Ward 2 Councilor Kris Wilkinson and Ward 3 Councilor Harvir Sidhu met with landowners on Wednesday, urging the region to release more information about what will happen if the land is sold.

“Farmers and landowners were not treated fairly or with respect,” Sidhu told those present.

Wilkinson says he wants more transparency from the region.

“Enough. We have two requests, we will give you the technical details and we will come and talk to you,” Wilkinson said.

But when the two were asked to discuss what they had heard from the regional council, they refused.

“It would be something we were privy to and it is confidential information in our closed sessions,” Sidhu said.

They stated that they were bound by the municipal act and could not disclose matters discussed at closed sessions.

“We cannot reveal what we talked about or why,” Wilkinson said.

Stewart Snyder hosted a community engagement event on his farm, which is one of the properties the region is looking to buy. He said he received one offer and turned it down.

“We’re not getting answers, we don’t know what’s going on,” Snyder told CTV News.

Snyder says he won’t consider selling until he’s told what his land will be transformed into and what the environmental impact will be.

“If we find out what’s going on, if they’re going to build a hospital here, it’s a completely different story,” Snyder said.

The Region of Waterloo told CTV News that “the region is in ongoing discussions with landowners, which remain confidential and are common practice in professional real estate negotiations.”

Alfred Lowrick, the landowners’ appointed spokesman, says a residential property has already been sold to the region and two more are in the works, but the land represents less than one percent of the 770 acres.

Farmers tell CTV News there is still a risk of expropriation if the situation does not improve.