GREENSPACE ALLIANCE OF CANADA’S CAPITAL
Minutes of Meeting Held June 16, 1999
The meeting was held in the Billings Room of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton headquarters building, 111 Lisgar St.
The meeting began at 7:50 p.m. and ended at 10:00 p.m. S. Parlow chaired. B. Barr recorded minutes.
| Present: | Name | Association |
| B. Barr | South Keys/Greenboro Community Association | |
| A. Kempster | Federation of Citizen’s Associations/Champlain Park C.A. | |
| S. Parlow | Hunt Club Corridor Protection Association | |
| B. Royds | Hunt Club Community Organization |
Documents Circulated: (1) agenda; (2) minutes of meeting of May 11, 1999
1. Approval of Agenda: The agenda was amended to add some announcements. The amended agenda was approved by consensus.
2. Approval of Circulated Minutes: MOTION: Moved (Barr, Royds) to accept the minutes of the meeting of May 11, 1999. APPROVED.
3. Brief Announcements/Updates:
(a) Land Trusts. David Miller of the RMOC has e-mailed that he would like to have a Greenspace Alliance contact for a working group on land trusts. (Parlow)
ACTION: Parlow to give Miller her name as contact person.
(b) Resolution of Deferral #6 of Ottawa’s O.P. A proposed resolution of Deferral #6 of Ottawa’s Official Plan regarding uses in water front open spaces will go to Planning Committee on June 22. The resolution is modelled on the Region’s Official Plan. The solution allows minor recreational and commercial uses, including restaurants and institutional uses. Jack Ferguson can be contacted for a copy of the proposed resolution. (Kempster)
(c) Greenmap Project. Five people are working on the project. They are applying for a $250,000 millennium grant. The City of Ottawa, the Region, Natural Resources Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the National Capital Commission have agreed to contribute maps, including access to remote-sensing maps, to the Project and to cooperate. The Project has been approved by the Region as an official Ottawa 2000 project. A Greenmap could be a national customer for software Natural Resources Canada Geoconnections is developing for use by schools to make local maps. There is corporate interest from high tech industries. The project could be a showcase for their talents. (Royds)
(d) Proposed Development of Natural Site. Tamarak Developments owns land next to NCC land near Island Park Drive in Ottawa. The NCC refused to sell its land to the developer. The developer is proposing to build five single-family homes on land that is already subdivided. All that is needed is to open the road. (Kempster)
(e) NCC Core. A group of about twelve people from both sides of the Ottawa River met June 12 in workshop fashion to discuss issues about the Core. Kempster represented the Greenspace Alliance. The Linkages Project (linking certain downtown buildings by tunnels or bridges) was the most controversial issue discussed. Some people do not want to see sidewalks neglected for other types of linkages. There was agreement that the escarpment of Parliament Hill should be protected. (Kempster)
MOTION: Moved (Kempster, Royds) that the Greenspace Alliance write a letter to the NCC stating that any plans for the Core should preserve any remaining natural areas in a natural state to the greatest extent possible, including the Escarpment, Brewery Creek, the mouth of Brewery Creek, and the parts of the islands in the Ottawa River currently in a natural state. The letter should be sent to Francois Lapointe of Planning, and at the same time request a copy of “The Green Capital; A Synopsis of External Research”. APPROVED.
(f) Central Experimental Farm. LACAC (the Landscape Architecture Conservation Advisory Committee) has been discussing the proposal to create a commercial botanical garden on the Central Experimental Farm. The Farm is a Heritage Site. The present Arboretum is maintained mostly by volunteers. The Greenspace Alliance should continue to monitor the situation. Royds recommends that the ultimate solution should preserve the Fletcher Wildlife Garden and the Arboretum and that there should be no net loss of greenspace. (Royds)
(g) Greenprint Report. Greensprint wants to update their report for 2001. The last report was done in 1991. (Kempster)
(h) BioBlitz. A third BioBlitz will be held for 24 hours on June 18 and 19, beginning at 5:00 p.m. on June 18. The plants and animals of the Leitrim Wetlands will be studied. The meeting place is off Albion Road in Gloucester. (Barr)
(i) Pesticides Report. A report on pesticide use and the need to formulate an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for city-owned lands has been adopted by the City of Ottawa. (Barr)
Comments: The Greenspace Alliance should write a letter about the proposed golf course near Leamy Lake.
4. Committee Reports:
Membership. No report.
Ad Hoc Liaison. No report.
Land Priorities List. No report.
External/Internal Communications. Two letters of support went out on May 31, 1999, for two millennium projects, the Urban Ecosystem Stewardship Council’s publication project on woodlots and the National Capital Greenmap project. (Parlow)
5. Main Business – Planning for fall; Need delegate for Land Trust group
MOTION: Moved (Royds, Kempster) that the Greenspace Alliance should charge a membership fee of $10.00 per year, to be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting. APPROVED.
MOTION: Moved (Royds, Kempster) that an Annual General Meeting will be held the third Wednesday in September (Sept. 22). APPROVED.
MOTION: Moved, (Kempster, Royds) that the minutes should be e-mailed to the current list of “members”, and a decision should be made in September about the future disposition of the minutes. APPROVED.
Comments: The agenda and minutes should be e-mailed one to two weeks ahead of meetings. The agenda should be put on the website. The minutes should contain an action column. Dissent should be recorded. Links should be put on the Freenet to the e-mail address of the Greenspace Alliance and to its website. A notice of meetings could be put in the Peace and Environment Newsletter, and the e-mail address should be given. Notices could be put in seniors’ publications. The Annual General Meeting should consist of an election, by-laws, and a speaker. Possible speakers are Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club and Jacques Legendre, Regional Councillor. The by-laws need to be finalized. Membership needs to be increased. The Greenspace Alliance could sponsor events, such as nature walks of NOSS sites.
6. New Business: See motion under updates, (e) NCC Core.
7. Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Regional headquarters, 111 Lisgar St. [later cancelled because of conflict with Mayor Watson’s People’s Forum on Municipal Restructuring]. [Next meeting was Annual General Meeting, held Oct. 20. There was not enough time on Oct. 20 to also hold a regular meeting. Next meeting will be Nov. 17.]