Presentation to Planning and Environment Committee
11 January 2005
Agenda item 17

Urban Natural Areas Environmental Evaluation Study

The Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee is pleased to support the recommendations of this study. We were part of the Technical Advisory Committee, providing input as the study proceeded. That there is (or will be) a comprehensive science-based assessment of the ecological value is a real feather in the city's cap. But now the really hard work begins, that of completing the study, doing something useful with the data and immediately making the study results available in electronic form.

We want to remind you again that greenspace and tree cover is important to the residents of this city. Greenspace, rural and urban forests and roadside trees should be considered as Green Infrastructure. And, our Green Infrastructure should receive the same degree of care and attention (including funding) as do our roads and sewers and our buildings. Regretfully, they do not get that attention.

Our city is losing more trees through removals than are being planted. In 2004, the tree planting budget was cut. Funds to maintain our community forests were also removed from the Budget last year.

So, at budget time in 2005, it is doubly important that you heed the staff report before you and fund the work that is proposed here, in addition to restoring the funds for tree planting and forest maintenance and cleanups.

OFGAC therefore recommends that you and Council

1. Fund the remaining evaluations of as many of the 73 unevaluated sites as is possible ($140,000) and that Councillors ask landowners in their wards to allow access to privately-owned sites.
2. Support the development of an acquisition strategy and appropriate policy so that the highest-rated sites now held in private hands may be acquired (at the present time, all funds seem to go for acquisition in the Carp and March Hills area - that is laudable but other lands need to be acquired too).
3. Add funds to the Environmental Resource Areas Acquisition fund so that these important areas may be acquired.
4. Instruct the planning staff to place a "hold" on all applications to develop any of these sites until all the evaluations are completed.
5. Instruct staff to immediately place the data from the evaluated sites on the city's website and/or place them on a CD so that groups such as ours may access the data electronically instead of having to come to City Hall to inspect written data on paper. In binders.
6. Use the Municipal Act to acquire sites that may have high social value but are of lower ecological value. (You may recall that we provided information in February 2004 on using the Special Services Levy and/or the Local Improvement Charge to partner with citizens groups to acquire greenspace. The mechanism is there, let's get on with using it.)
7. For those sites now in City ownership that will require special management (such as removal of exotic invasive species) make it possible to involve community groups where possible to assist in appropriate management activities. This may require small amounts of seed funding.
8. Continue the work on the Greenspace Master Plan.

Iola Price
Chair
Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee