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The South Nation Conservation Authority has cancelled a plan to build a wetland and boardwalk on city land in Navan, caving to an opposition group of residents who feared restrictions to property rights.
The conservation authority, which was eager to install a pond and a looping path system off the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail, pulled the plug on the project after sensing possible danger to the health and safety of its employees and the project site.
“It is our view that construction on the proposed site could lead to additional confrontation,” general manager Angela Coleman said in a letter sent to Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais on Monday.
In an interview on Thursday, Blais said he spoke with Coleman last Friday about the project and whether there needed to be additional changes to address residents’ concerns.
Blais said it was clear that the conservation authority was nervous about possible retaliation by opponents.
A public meeting on June 7, which was the last opportunity for residents to provide feedback, pretty much sealed the project’s fate.
“The meeting was very aggressive,” Blais said. “I think it shocked a lot of people. That’s clear in the emails to my office.”
The conservation authority massaged the proposal to eliminate an access point off nearby Birchtree Crescent, calming traffic concerns from opponents.
However, the conservation authority couldn’t convince angry residents that the wetland project wouldn’t hurt their property values and create land-use restrictions. Some residents were worried that the wetland would eventually be considered with others to be a provincially significant wetland, bringing all sorts of rules for nearby landowners.
Opponents were receiving advice from the Ontario Landowners Association.
The conservation authority tried to explain that the project wouldn’t result in a provincially significant wetland, but the message fell on deaf ears.
Seeing the backlash, the conservation authority decided the project “may not be a good fit” for the organization and for Navan.
The conservation authority had more than $300,000 in funding committed for the project, including $200,000 in the form of a special levy from City of Ottawa taxpayers.
Blais, who also sits on the board of the conservation authority, said he’ll be checking to see what happens to the $200,000 now that the wetland and boardwalk won’t happen.
“I’m disappointed that we don’t get to move froward that what I think would be a good amenity for the village,” Blais said.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
The conservation authority, which was eager to install a pond and a looping path system off the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail, pulled the plug on the project after sensing possible danger to the health and safety of its employees and the project site.
“It is our view that construction on the proposed site could lead to additional confrontation,” general manager Angela Coleman said in a letter sent to Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais on Monday.
In an interview on Thursday, Blais said he spoke with Coleman last Friday about the project and whether there needed to be additional changes to address residents’ concerns.
Blais said it was clear that the conservation authority was nervous about possible retaliation by opponents.
A public meeting on June 7, which was the last opportunity for residents to provide feedback, pretty much sealed the project’s fate.
“The meeting was very aggressive,” Blais said. “I think it shocked a lot of people. That’s clear in the emails to my office.”
The conservation authority massaged the proposal to eliminate an access point off nearby Birchtree Crescent, calming traffic concerns from opponents.
However, the conservation authority couldn’t convince angry residents that the wetland project wouldn’t hurt their property values and create land-use restrictions. Some residents were worried that the wetland would eventually be considered with others to be a provincially significant wetland, bringing all sorts of rules for nearby landowners.
Opponents were receiving advice from the Ontario Landowners Association.
The conservation authority tried to explain that the project wouldn’t result in a provincially significant wetland, but the message fell on deaf ears.
Seeing the backlash, the conservation authority decided the project “may not be a good fit” for the organization and for Navan.
The conservation authority had more than $300,000 in funding committed for the project, including $200,000 in the form of a special levy from City of Ottawa taxpayers.
Blais, who also sits on the board of the conservation authority, said he’ll be checking to see what happens to the $200,000 now that the wetland and boardwalk won’t happen.
“I’m disappointed that we don’t get to move froward that what I think would be a good amenity for the village,” Blais said.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
