Special Study
Forum submission at the Planning and Environment Committee
Brunton's report on the Special Study Area
Closeup view of northern escarpment
Contour map of the Special Study Area
Text of the Kanata Highlands proposal
From: Edward
Balys <edbalys@mac.com>
Date: Fri
May 21, 2004 2:14:35 PM
Canada/Eastern
To: Bruce.Finlay@ottawa.ca
Cc: Peggy Feltmate <peggy.feltmate@ottawa.ca,
Ned Lathrop <Ned.Lathrop@ottawa.ca>, Dennis.Jacobs@ottawa.ca, Susan Murphy
<Susan.Murphy@ottawa.ca>, nancy@meloshe.ca, berniem@achilles.net, Paul
Webber <pwebber@bellbaker.com>, Don Loeb <dloeb@avantiprop.com>,
Kenny@balys.com
Subject: Special
Study Area: Proposal for Resolution from Landowners of 400 acre Kanata Highlands
Properties
BY FAX AND E-MAIL
May 20, 2004
Mr. Bruce Finlay
Planning Environment and Infrastructure
Policy Branch
Planning and Development Department
110 Laurier Ave West, 4th Floor
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
RE: Kanata Special Study Area – Proposal
from Landowners of Kanata Highlands Properties
Dear Mr. Finlay:
On April 28, 2004 our planning
consultant Nancy Meloshe and I met with you and Susan Murphy to discuss your
upcoming report with respect to the preparation of an Official Plan amendment
for lands within the Special Study Area between the proposed Terry Fox Drive and
the Hydro Cut in the former City of Kanata. The Kanata Highlands property
represents about 63 acres of land within the Special Study Area and our lands
are delineated on the attached plan. (Ref. Photo/Map of KHP)
At that meeting you advised that the
City’s Environmental consultant, Dan Brunton was still completing his field
work and that it was staff’s intention to hold a public meeting in June to be
followed by your report to Planning and Environment Committee in July 2004. You
advised that it was your intention to designate much of the Special Study Area
lands as General Urban Area but most of our lands east of the Terry Fox Drive
would be designated Natural Environment Area.
As you know we have actively
participated in the planning study for this area and we have retained at
considerable expense to the landowners a qualified team of professionals
including planners, civil engineers and environmental consultants to undertake
studies for our lands and to represent our interests through the planning
process.
We believe that approximately 43
acres of the south portion of our lands severed by Terry Fox Drive alignment
should be designated as General Urban Area for responsible development while
preserving the northern 20 acres, (30%), as Natural Environmental Area as we
have outlined in the enclosed photo/map plan.
The 20 acres to be preserved will include
the prominent east tip of the Hazeldean Ridge and the environmentally sensitive
lands identified by Dan Brunton for his 'tunnel' under Terry Fox Drive. It will
also include a generous widening of the Hydro Cut to make a more substantial
environmental linkage of the NEA
lands in KNL's Kanata Lakes development to the south with the City's Parklands
to the north.
The 43 acre portion of our lands is a
well-drained, relatively flat plain of former pastures and well-timbered woods
of secondary growth and deciduous trees. In the opinion of our environmental
consultant, Bernie Muncaster these lands lack most of the features and diversity
in the natural habitat that have generally been considered NEA. These lands have
no old growth trees or significant landforms. There are has no coniferous or
mixed forests nor do the lands contain many of the features present in other
portions of the Kanata Lakes area that have been considered Natural Environment
Area. We also noted that most of this portion of land has not been identified as
a Significant Environmental Area nor given any of the three Priority ratings in
D. Brunton's 'South March Highlands
Study Area Natural Assessment Report' dated July 1992. (p.86, Figure 40:
Significant Areas)
We appreciate the importance of preserving
the natural environmental quality of the March Highlands. In addition to the 30%
of land to be preserved with the right to develop 43 acres of land in the
Special Study Area east of Terry Fox Drive, we also propose to reserve 110 acres
of environmentally significant lands northwest of the Terry Fox Drive alignment
for acquisition by the City. These lands include the spectacular Hazeldean Ridge
that is part of the pre-Cambrian shield with its pockets of old growth trees and
the head waters of Shirley’s Brook on both sides of the railway tracks. These
lands in public ownership would make a significant addition to the adjoining 604
acre City owned natural parkland.
With City ownership of the NEA lands on
both sides of Terry Fox Drive, a significant passageway structure can now be
designed and strategically positioned to provide not only the vital connectivity
your experts have requested for fauna and wildlife and watercourses but also to
serve the Kanata communities for their recreational usage and safe passage under
the 4 to 6 lanes of Terry Fox Drive. It would become the prime community
recreational access to the the City parkland to the north.
We believe that this proposal represents a
win-win solution for the City, the community and the landowners. We propose that
43 acres of our land east of Terry Fox Drive as outlined on the attached plan
would be designated as General Urban Area. A 20 acre parcel of our land east of
Terry Fox Drive and north of those lands proposed to be designated General Urban
Area would be designated Natural Environment Area and dedicated to the City. In
addition, the 110 acre parcel of land north identified west of Terry Fox Drive
would be preserved as Natural Environment Area and reserved for acquisition by
the City. The remainder of our lands west of Terry Fox Drive and north of
Huntmar Road would be designated General Rural Area.
As discussed at our meeting of April 28,
2004 you are prepared to include our proposal in your report to Planning and
Environment Committee for consideration. We would also like to have the
opportunity to present this proposal at the public meeting in June. We have met
with Councillor Peggy Feltmate and a number of the leaders in the Kanata
communities and they are aware of our proposal.
We would be pleased to discuss our letter
with you in more detail and we look forward to your positive response in the
staff report to Committee and Council.
Yours Truly,
Edward A. Balys, P Eng
President
Photo/map Balys-2
balys-map2.jpg ¨
cc Councillor Feltmate
Ned Lathrop
Dennis Jacobs
Susan Murphy
Nancy Meloshe
Bernie Muncaster
Paul Webber
Don Loeb
Kenneth Balys
Subsequent addition by Ed Balys (June 17)
The City staff at tonight's public meeting slotted me 20 minutes to present the KHP landowners' proposal dated May 20/O4. We have engaged CSW and Jerry Corush, well known for interconnection of parklands, who will be making the presentation of our proposal and will explain the possibilities it opens to link and expand the City's 604 acre parklands to the north with the NEA lands in Kanata Lakes. I have been advised by the City's planning staff that a generous amount of time will be scheduled for Q's & A's.
This meeting is very important because our proposal is not supported by City's planning department. Unless the residents of Kanata show strong public interest and offer support for our proposal at tonight's meeting, it will not get Councilor Peggy Feltmate's support either, -and that will be essential if our plan has any chance at the Planning and Environmental Committee meeting on the SSA lands now delayed to September. Then this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we offer to make Kanata live up to, if not exceed its hype as 'the green city with uptien kms. of interconnecting nature trails' may well be lost for ever.
With the support of the KHP landowners, I put our best efforts in this plan to create a 'win-win' proposal that all the diverse interest in KHP lands are addressed, fairly accommodated and presented to all in an open, up-front manner. If it is rejected, I will no longer be able to control the KHP landowners. I then foresee the KHP lands will quickly be sold to one of the major land developers that are on standby who will then go directly to the OMB route and most likely will win. As you can appreciate, this coarse will only preserve token areas of land as green space.