Guelph City Council has decided to rewrite its policy concerning river corridors, according to a citizen’s email sent to the Wellington County birding hotline. The new Official Plan will remove references to a linked open-space system listed in the existing plan. Current policy is based on the 1993 River System Management Plan, which was ahead of its time in recognizing the value of urban river habitats.
The only public meeting to address the new official plan was already held by Guelph City Council on April 2. Several councillors did not attend and others left before the end of presentations, according to Hugh Whiteley’s notice.
Green space is valuable to the community. Besides that, river corridors provide habitat essential to wildlife, particularly migratory species.
Whitely has invited citizens to a workshop tonight, April 18 at 7 p.m., at 10 Carden Street. It will address the value of Guelph’s open-space policy, discuss whether the new plan is deficient in protecting the city’s rivers and creeks, and consider an action plan.
I hope you can get some clarification on the city’s change in policy. It seems open space (and environmental policies in general) are under attack.
I agree, Steve. There is a tendency to dismiss environmentalism as a quaint holdover from the ’70s. Maybe as the situations becomes more dire, it will be met with increasing denial.