Policy adopted to govern green space
Posted Jul 22, 2010 By Ashley Kulp
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Tweet ThisEMC News - Having adopted the tagline 'Green and Growing,' North Grenville wants to ensure it has a plan in place for the future of its public green spaces.
During the July 5 Committee of the Whole council meeting, council once again discussed a draft green spaces policy, which was first introduced by director of planning and development, Forbes Symon, back at a May 17 meeting. The policy was endorsed unanimously by council after their discussion and was passed at the July 12 regular council meeting.
The policy provides council with options to deal with the acquisition, development and disposal of public green spaces and includes Official Plan policies and Planning Act regulations related to green space, past practices for parkland dedication, as well as options for what should be done with the current inventory of green spaces and parkland.
The policy at the May meeting was favoured by council, but their "direction to staff was to come forward to identify options and a more consistent approach and in the form of a policy statement that would guide us for the future," Symon explained, adding that the policy only applies to municipally-owned land, not that owned by the conservation authorities, United Counties or Crown land.
Symon indicated there are five key policy areas identified in the new document, including sections dealing with just waterfront (in the Kemptville area and access points along the South Branch of the Rideau and Rideau River itself), trails and municipal land assets, major commercial recreation facilities, secondary green space functions such as meeting places and recreation amenities, and procedures on dealing with existing subdivision parkland blocks.
In terms of waterfront, the policy outlines the importance of developing access points along the Rideau River in order to increase the exposure of the UNESCO World Heritage Site to residents and visitors. Also, "where municipal road allowances provide public access to water, the municipality will not close or convey those portions of the allowance, unless it is deemed to be in the greater public interest to do so," the policy stated. "Road allowances which lead to water should be incorporated into the municipality's trail and public park systems."
Of the trails portion, Symon said they are "an increasingly important part of our municipal land assets" and the policy states that the municipality may ask for the dedication of land to the municipality for parkland to establish recreation trails as a condition of draft approval of a subdivision.
Recreational facilities are important and the policy notes that North Grenville has been "extremely progressive" towards its view of them. Secondary green space functions are areas where a neighbourhood can come together and spend time. "Where the density of new residential development justifies the need for neighbourhood open space, the municipality may request, as a condition of draft approval of a subdivision or provisional consent, the dedication of land to the municipality for parkland in order to establish a neighbourhood park," the policy noted.
For existing subdivision parkland blocks, where much of the land is undeveloped and vacant, each area will be looked at and it will be determined if it should remain status quo, sold off for residential purposes, kept as a neighbourhood park or a portion be sold and the funds used to create the park on the land.
According to Symon, any parkland which would be sold would go into a general recreation reserve. "...The money (from the sale of land) has to be used for recreational purposes. That's the law, it's in the planning act," he stated. "...I'm not suggesting in here (policy) on how to use that money, but it goes into a general fund and the council of the day decides how to use it."
Members of council were very pleased with the policy Symon had prepared. "I really like the language in here and how it's written," commended councillor Barb Tobin.
"It's a fantastic document and very, very comprehensive," said councillor Tim Sutton. "In subdivisions like Glengables there will be more residents than any hamlet when it's built out...so the taxation will be there to support some construction and maintenance as well. Thank you very much."
"It's an excellent document," added mayor Bill Gooch, who said that since he moved to a rural section of North Grenville, he has seen how beneficial neighbourhood parks in subdivisions can be.
"My neighbours are all very supportive of having a place where the community can build a rink and a covered area for picnics and a place for kids to play. If we provide the land area, I'm sure the residents would be more than happy to keep up the work."
Councillor Terry Butler agreed with his fellow council members but had a concern of the financial impact the policy would have.
"It's an easy thing to do: build a park or meeting spot, but down the road, there's maintenance and insurance," he said. "It can become a financial drain, cutting the grass, etc...do we have a memorandum of who is responsible for the maintenance?"
"We have lots of parkland...and there's maintenance that goes with those areas and as long as (staff) have thought of that and the financial impact on the taxpayers, then I'm supportive of the document," Butler continued.
Symon pointed out that during the creation of the policy, staff were "mindful of the costs of acquiring different assets."
"That's why there's three main focuses on the development of trails, the provision of high quality recreational facilities and waterfront access points," he answered. "A neighbourhood parkette is a secondary component and will only be created if a development justifies it. Growth and taxation will pay for the maintenance...I think we've been very sensitive to these issues and that's reflected through this policy."
Councillor Tim Sutton also said it's a "fantastic document and very, very comprehensive. In subdivisions like Glengables there will be more residents than any hamlet when it's built out...so the taxation will be there to support some construction and maintenance as well. Thank you very much."
While in the past, the municipality accepted cash in lieu of parkland or five per cent parkland as conditions of subdivision, with this policy they were doing something different. "What this policy is suggesting is a slightly different approach. We will get some land and get some money so the parkland can be developed as the subdivision is being developed," he pointed out. "...It's an important element of sustainability. Growth is paying for growth and we hope this approach, over time, will benefit the municipality financially."
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