City council moved to approve a development plan for Blenheim Road minus proposed lookout point and trail access to nearby environmentally sensitive wetland at Barrie's Lake.
The 164-dwelling subdivision application known as Grand Ridge Estates Limited is part of the Cambridge West Secondary Plan, which is created as an amendment to a municipal official plan to define specific land use plan for an area within the city.
The subdivision plan includes a small fraction of nearby Barrie's Lake, which is marked as open space block in maps, to be transferred to the city to build a trail network and lookout point.
It is this environmentally sensitive area that became the point of discussion at Tuesday's council meeting.
"Barrie's Lake is an extremely valuable environmental feature in the area," said Tom Woodcock, planning ecologist with rare Charitable Research Reserve. "It's a provincially significant wetland. It's regionally designated environmentally sensitive policy area 57. It is home to numerous species at risk of flora and fauna. It's (an) extremely important area for wildlife, particularly migratory and breeding birds in our area."
He said he wanted to reiterate the poor environmental planning that was involved in having public access to the buffer of Barrie's Lake.
"The 50-metre (setback) is required for provincially significant wetland in the case of development and it's been expanded in this case to be somewhat larger (area)," Woodcock said. "To protect the significant wildlife habitat feature, which is the turtle nesting area. The key thing that needs to be discussed is what a buffer is for. It's to protect environmental features, such as this environmentally sensitive policy area against development. It's not a city park and nor should it be managed as one."
Granting implicit or explicit access to the edge of the wetland will grant access to the rest of Barrie's Lake, he said.
"Which is why we suggest there may be conflict with the current owners and also a risk to public safety," Woodcock added. "I'm asking that no matter who manages this property, the lookout tower and the trail within the wetland buffer be removed from the plan."
Council members seemed happy to oblige.
Coun. Jan Liggett, who had moved the motion, immediately added an amendment to it.
"I want to remove the tower, the lookout, and the trail and have a firm fence boundary for Barrie's Lake," she said.
Then Coun. Donna Reid requested a second amendment.
"I would like to propose that signs be placed on the fence of Barrie's Lake stating that it's privately owned and that it is wetland and protected," she said. "With no signs, people just tend to do what they want to do. I really feel signs would be helpful."
