The ecologically sensitive turtle pond lands on Stoney Creek’s lakefront are up for sale, but it’s unclear who will foot the bill. The Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) recommends that the city purchase the school board owned properties, but city staff say park acquisition is unaffordable and suggest the HCA should be asked acquire them.
The two four-acre parcels – one owned by the Catholic school board, and the other by the Public board – lie between Francis Avenue and Church Street in the residential neighbourhood just east of Confederation Park. They were the focus of city-supported townhouse development proposals in 2007 that were ultimately abandoned in the face of fierce community resistance and additional evidence of their environmental sensitivity.
At that point, both boards had declared their lands surplus and had accepted options to purchase from local developers, but now the properties are being offered to the city. Two nearly identical staff reports going to councillors on Monday recommend refusing the offers unless the price is $1 for each parcel because of their environmental restrictions.
“The subject property has been identified as a Core Area (Environmentally Significant Area) in the Urban Hamilton Official Plan; [a] portion of the land has been identified as a locally significant wetland by the Ministry of Natural Resources and based on a previous Environmental Impact Statement, the property was identified as a significant Wildlife Habitat under the Provincial Policy Statement as a migratory bird stop over area,” say staff. “Any form of development or site alteration, proposed within or adjacent to the area, would not be permitted unless it can be demonstrated through an Environmental Impact Statement that there would be no negative impacts on the ecological features and functions of the Core Area.”
In February, the HCA approved a resolution calling on the city to purchase the lands and notified councillors of this decision. However, the motion also directed conservation authority staff to investigate an HCA purchase if the city fails to do so. That appears likely to be the next step if councillors accept their staff’s position on the affordability of the two parcels.
“The Parkland Dedication Reserve cannot fund any of the existing deficiencies of parkland in older neighbourhoods,” says the staff reports. “Any future significant purchases of parkland in deficient areas would have to be funded from other sources such as area rating, legacy reserves, etc.”
The reserve comes from park dedication fees that are imposed on new development and are usually equivalent to five percent of the value of the land being developed. However, these monies often fail to cover the establishment of even sufficient parks in new areas, much less already built-up neighbourhoods.
Unlike other cities, property taxes are not used by Hamilton to fund park purchases. There was some hope that the Future Fund might provide monies to correct the shortage of parkland, but that $137 million windfall has been largely exhausted – most recently be council’s decision to commit $60 million to a Pan Am stadium and velodrome.
Neighbourhood flooding last month increased community demands for preservation of the turtle pond area which include extensive wetlands. Residents have endured repeated inundations of basements, backyards and streets and think it is past time for the city to correct the problems.
A February letter to council from Sherry Revesz, chair of the Community Beach Turtle Ponds Association, asked the city to carefully evaluate potential flooding impacts from development of the remaining natural lands in the area.
“The properties in our neighborhood have had extensive flooding over the years and almost yearly over the past 5 years,” stated Revesz. “There are people in our neighborhood who can not get insurance any longer and/or can not claim because they have claimed one too many times.”
Residents were hit with more flooding beginning on April 20.
“I, along with many others, can’t keep affording every year to rebuild our backyards or restore our basements; I’m frustrated,” Sherry Revesz told the Stoney Creek News this week. “I have to call the city all the time when this happens. I can’t help but wonder what it’s costing the taxpayers when city crews have to come here every year, close down the road and pump out the water.”
CATCH Articles: Citizens at City Hall
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