OFGAC Presentation to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

4 October 2005
Re: Agenda Items 4 through 7 - Sale of Lots 35, 36, 37, and 38 on Ethier St., Orleans

Once again, land of un-assessed but potentially high ecological value is being sold by the City. OFGAC is concerned that land with ecological value is being sold without proper regard for the principles enunciated in the Official Plan about maintaining and enhancing greenspace.

Lots 35 to 38 form part of a larger block of wooded land close to the Ottawa River in the Hiawatha Park area of Orleans.

In May 2005, the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee became aware that four wooded lots were being offered for sale. We initiated contact with the Parks and Recreation staff to ask if that land had ever been offered to them for use as a passive park or woodlot - an adjunct to Hiawatha Park. While a clear answer was never forthcoming, it does appear that there may not have been a full and complete circulation (along with an indication that this was a woodlot containing large trees) to interested staff.

We initiated an enquiry with RPAM staff on June 3, 2005 and received the reply in September. In our enquiry, we stated that "OFGAC is of the opinion that these [4] lots with their large White Pines and other mature hardwoods should not be sold until their ecological value has been fully assessed". The staff report on these four lots does not record OFGAC's registered concern. We understood that Advisory Committee comments on matters being put before you were to be included in staff reports. How can we Advisory Committees work with you to draft a message/instructions to staff to ensure that AC concerns and plaudits are reflected in staff reports?

This parcel of land, 9 lots in all, was too small at 4,320 sq m, to have been evaluated under the Urban Natural Areas Ecological Evaluation Study (requires 8,000 sq m to be considered). So it has slipped under the radar.

Nevertheless, you should know that there are several large White Pines on the 4 lots that are to be sold and at least 4 very large White Pines, with diameters ranging from 62 to 80 cm and well over 20-25 m in height (25 to 32 inches dbh and 100 ft tall) scattered through the 9 lots. As well, there is a venerable Red Oak that is 65 cm in diameter (26 in) situated at the rear of one of the five lots that are not for sale. Other species present include Butternut (now on the federal endangered list), ash, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Balsam Fir and shrubs too numerous to list.

I have photos of two of the White Pines trees to show. One of them, facing Ethier, is not particularly big in diameter, but it still towers over its neighbours. The other, in the interior, is large, as you can see from the photo.

The city will clear $453,983 from the sale of these wooded gems ($532,601 minus $78,618 - a charge that the City agreed to bear so that the landowner across the street could recoup some of his costs to build the road). In other words, we are losing this remnant woodlot to pay a $78.6K debt to a private citizen for road construction. As a percentage of the City's total road and sidewalk construction budget, this is miniscule. And, if as the staff report indicates, the land was being sold to pay this debt, why was notice of the proposed land sale circulated to other departments in the first place. If Housing, for example, said they could use the land, does that mean that it might not have been sold?

Large White Pines like these and the woodlots in which they may be found are becoming increasingly rare in Ottawa. The pines are part of our 150 plus years of history and we are losing them. The Greenspace Master Plan and the Forest Strategy that might propose the means to save such remnants remain unpublished.

The staff report states that the five remaining surveyed lots are not to be sold. OFGAC recommends that

• this Standing Committee state clearly that the remaining five forested lots and the adjacent retained ravine lands remain in the city's inventory permanently; and,
• that you change the zoning to "conservation" to reflect that commitment.

OFGAC also recommends that you

• place covenants on the four lots to be sold requiring the new owners to retain as many of the large trees as possible, especially the White Pines. In other words, require site plan approval with an appropriate tree preservation plan;
• that the Design with Nature principles in the Official Plan be applied to these lots; and,
• that you require the retention of all of the trees at the back of the lots, as this will provide a buffer between the new buildings and the wooded lots to the rear (west) and the ravine land (to the south).

We further recommend that greater attention be paid to the ecological value of land proposed for sale by ensuring that ALL city land holdings with trees and/or other ecological values be identified, regardless of size of the plot of land or of the size of the trees and shrubs on it.

Finally, we request that you direct the money from the sale of these 4 lots to the Environmental Resource Areas Acquisition fund and that it be used to purchase lands held in private ownership and identified in the Urban Natural Areas Environmental Evaluation Study or other small woodlots such as this one.

We regret these 4 sales and the loss of yet another small wooded area that, according to the neighbours, housed Pileated Woodpeckers, Sapsuckers, and possibly a Red-tailed Hawk and an owl. These may not be species at risk and so hold no special status within the OP, but their importance to the neighbourhood should not be overlooked. Today's Ottawa Citizen features an article outlining, once again, the value of trees and forests in reducing the stresses of today's life. It is important that we recognize the values of these smaller scale natural areas in providing a 'sense of place' as our city expands.

Iola Price
Chair, Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee