Chair B. Royds called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.

The Agenda was amended to reword Item 6(c)1 to read Aggregate Resources Act Application; to add 6(f) Kanata KNL Land; to add 6(g) 1179 Dozois Road; and to change Item 7(a) from Board of Directors Membership to Board of Directors Membership and Meeting Location. The amended Agenda was approved by consensus.

The Minutes of the meeting of April 28th were amended to move the paragraph for 7k, 1216 Old Prescott Road, to the end of the material for 7f, 5309 Bank Street Rezoning; and to add the wording “Not pursued.” to 7k, 1216 Old Prescott Road.

Motion:  Barbara moved and Amy seconded approval of the Minutes of the meeting of April 28, 2004, as amended.  Carried.

Barbara reported that the Term Deposit Certificate has renewed for another two months, maturing on July 2, 2004.

Bill reported that beginning in July a rental fee of $50.00 will be charged for the meeting rooms at City Hall.  The cost of meeting rooms for May and June is $25 plus tax for a total of $27.52 per meeting.  An invoice from the City is needed for our financial records and before paying this bill.  Discussion of finding a less expensive meeting location is under Item 7a of this Agenda.

Bill to request invoice from City of Ottawa.

Barbara moved and Amy seconded that the Greenspace Alliance accept the membership application of Francine Portenier.   Carried.

It was decided to defer the proposed membership exchange with the Coalition for a Healthy Ottawa to the next meeting.

The pre-hearing for all appeals of the Official Plan begins on June 22nd. Someone from the Greenspace Alliance (not the same person all the time) should be present throughout the potential five days of the pre-hearing to make certain we become a party to those appeals by others in which we have an interest (primarily to support the City’s position).  Amy will find some volunteers and hold a pre-hearing meeting to get organized.  Tentative date of meeting is June 8th at 7:30 p.m. at Amy’s house.

Amy to organize meeting of volunteers.

This fund-raising event on June 6th will include music, a barbecue, and an eco-fair (organizations with tables) in addition to the run and walk activities. The run starts at I 0:00 a.m.  Councillor Alex Cullen will open the event.

Volunteers for run/walk day are needed.  Volunteers should be at the Arboretum by 8:30 a.m.  Barbara, D. Bright, and Janice volunteered.  Amy may need to call people if an e-mail to the List does not result in enough volunteers.  Barbara can provide table and folding chairs for Greenspace Alliance display table if needed.

Barbara to give Amy list of members.

(1) Aggregate Resources Act Application

Bill reported that a few people, including Iola Price (Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee) and Paul Koch (Environmental Advisory Committee), met with Mr. Tomlinson and his associates to discuss 5309 Bank St. The development review process provides that such a meeting will be held, if requested, when the applicant has not pre-consulted with the community.  Although the Greenspace Alliance will be opposing the application to remove aggregate from a quarry, Bill suggested an option for Mr. Tomlinson to consider.  Because not all aggregate will be mined in one year, he suggested a phased licence and phased zoning in strips from north to south.  An advantage to the proponent would be that aggregate resource zoning is taxed higher than agricultural zoning.  Phased zoning, particularly if the part not yet zoned for quarrying were put into a land trust, should better protect the habitat of rare and endangered species.

(2)    Report on Public Meeting

Bill and Barbara reported on the dual public meeting held on May 10th. The first part of the meeting was required by the Province for an application for a licence to remove aggregate and consisted of a series of display boards with people employed by Mr. Tomlinson to answer questions. One representative from the Ministry of Natural Resources was present. The second part was a Community Information Session hosted by Ward Councillor Diane Deans, with City planning and environmental staff present, and involved the proposed Official Plan Amendment and re-zoning Amendment. It included a question and comment period during which members of the audience made numerous comments about the insufficiency of the Environmental Impact Statement and the importance of the land as habitat for rare plants.  The Chair of the Ramseyville Community Association voiced concerns about the water table.  Mr. Tomlinson stated that no tree-cutting had been done on the site. Bill and others have since observed that trees have been bulldozed and cut, which is a breach of one of the conditions of sale.  A broken agreement concerning the sale of publicly owned land may have implications under the Public Lands Act.

Bill to investigate whether the Public Lands Act applies.