12/23/2023
Our last issue of 2023, a year when No Clearcuts discovered how many Kingstonians are truly generous nature lovers!
Year-End Fundraising We are still fundraising after spending thousands of dollars to hire our expert witnesses. Please donate to our funding partner, below, so you can help protect Kingston’s trees, wetland, and wildlife and receive a tax receipt for this tax year.
https://smallchangefund.ca/project/stop-the-chop-save-our-urban-forest-and-wetland/
City Trees Under Threat As we wrote in our last newsletter, Kingston is steadily losing its trees! Here are a couple of examples of impending tree removal.
a) The photo below is not a clearcut but every tree counts. This lovely old home will be torn down, along with nearby trees, for a 6-story apartment block at 386 Johnson St. This development is part of the Central Kingston Growth Strategy, so there was little public consultation.
b) A building permit has been approved for 300 units at 2312 Princess St., adjacent to the site of the 200 trees the same developer clearcut at Princess St. and Sydenham Rd. 47 trees will be lost including 15 Black Walnuts averaging 25 years old. A few of these are close to 50 years of age.
The top image shows the developer's vision. This shows a row of mature walnuts along the south edge of the building. Note the direction of north. The bottom image shows the trees to be removed, based on the developer's Tree Inventory, each indicated by a red dot. To note, all of the trees at the south end of the building are slated to be removed although the developer's image shows them all there. This is factually incorrect!
Citizen Tree Watch Please let us know of any trees that may be removed from any sites that have a Planning Department sign posted, such as below, so that we can prepare letters and delegations to the Planning Committee and to Councillors before a permit is granted.Tannery Talk On December 13, No Clearcuts was invited to speak to future teachers at the Queen’s Faculty of Education (see below). The NCK talk was part of a class project about the Tannery looking at the pros and cons of the proposed development. There were many wonderful questions asked. I33t was clear that younger people are not in favour of destroying what little urban nature still exists.
Our Message to Council regarding the Benefits of the Tannery Forest and Wetland We are getting close to the tribunal date and are also aware that Council could potentially consider settling the developer's appeal before the hearing. We sent all of the Councillors the following reasons to encourage them to think about why the earlier Council voted 8 to 5 against the develpment. We hope that you may use these as conversation starters over the holidays!
Hello! As you know, not long before you became a City Councillor, the previous Council voted 8 to 5 to oppose a developer's proposal to clearcut 1,800 trees and fill in part of a Provincially Significant Wetland on the former Tannery site before building.
The developer appealed the City's decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and the hearing will be held in late January 2024. No Clearcuts Kingston (NCK) is a Party to the Tribunal and will present evidence to help the City defend Council’s decision opposing the proposed development. We, and the City, have already hired Expert Witnesses.
Because most of the debate about the proposal occurred last year, we want to share 15 Reasons to protect the Tannery site and its natural assets. NCK Director Ceredwyn Hill sent you a few recently, here are a few more:
1) Climate Crisis: We face a potentially deadly challenge. In the spring, Kingstonians had to breathe in toxic smoke from unusually early and extensive wildfires. Trees and wetlands help clean the air. They will cool us as temperatures continue to rise and prevent flooding as heavy rains increase. We need our mature trees to sequester carbon, which smaller trees don’t do.
2) Biodiversity Crisis: Groups like Kingston Field Naturalists, Turtles Kingston, and others have documented the various birds, animals, reptiles, and more living and thriving on the Tannery site. The Little Brown Bat, Least Bittern, and Northern Map Turtle, among other Species at Risk, have been identified as residents there. One in three North American bird species needs urgent conservation action. We can’t destroy more habitat.
3) Housing Crisis: City Staff have documented several less destructive development areas in North King’s Town - and there are other possibilities around the city. We should intensify in these locations before destroying a 37-acre forest/wetland located so close to the city centre.
4) Exposing Contaminants: As Hill pointed out, the Tannery closed down 50 years ago and left contaminants in situ. If 1,800 trees are cut down and 250,000 tonnes or 20,000 truckloads of soil are dug up, scientists fear that contaminants might spread into the air and river in a more oxidized, toxic state.
5) Dumping Problems: The City of Hamilton recently dredged up 16,000 tonnes of sediment, but is having trouble finding a place to dispose of it. Where will the Tannery developer find a suitable site to dump 250,000 tonnes? The developer has not revealed its disposal plan.
6) Remediation Mystery: The developer has not presented a feasible remediation plan. There has, therefore, been no Risk Assessment done on whatever plan it might be. What if the developer cuts down all the trees and realizes the remediation is not physically possible or too expensive?
7) Traffic Troubles: The mayor has predicted that up to 5,000 people could be living on this site. Rideau Street is not an arterial road. It would be costly to make it one. Already City Staff are worried about traffic problems if and when they add 1,000s of new units in other more suitable parts of North King’s Town.
😎 Ecosystem Protection: The Tannery is part of an integrated ecosystem that includes the federally owned part of the Tannery wetland, Belle Island, Belle Park, and the bay. Our green/blue belt! It would be destructive to introduce a crowded, virtually treeless housing and commercial development to this diverse, natural area.
9) Heritage Site: Sections 6 and 7 of Kingston’s Official Plan call for the protection of the land beside the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Building four large apartment and condo blocks of up to 8 storeys, plus mechanicals, beside it will compromise this important status and viewscape.
10) Indigenous Concerns: The Tannery land is across the bay from sacred Belle Island. The Indigenous community was not consulted by City Staff about the Tannery proposal. The Belle Island Caretakers Circle has expressed concerns about the potential influx of up to 5,000 people, according to the mayor, as well as the negative impact on the island’s environment when a potential Tannery heat-zone is created.
11) Hydrogeological Questions: Because too little is known about the flow of water across or through the Tannery land, a hydrogeological assessment survey is needed before any decision is made regarding development on this site. NCK has hired a hydrogeologist witness for the OLT.
12) Natural Healing: One reason cited by those who support the current development proposal is that it would clean up a brownfield property. The group PhytoAction at the University of Montreal has advised that the area could be naturally remediated and preserved - a process that has already begun. Again, the developer has not provided details about its remediation plans.
13) Healthy Canopy: There are already 20 clearcuts, recent past and proposed, across Kingston. Little Forests Kingston is promoting 3/30/300 – ability to view 3 trees from every home; 30% canopy in every neighbourhood; 300 metres to the nearest park or green space. Kingston, which wants to be a leading sustainable city, should save our remaining trees.
14) Tax Break: The City needs tax revenue. However, the present Tannery proposal includes $63-million in tax relief for the developer. This means that we lose the many natural benefits of the present forest/wetland forever with no tax revenue for a decade.
15) Citizens Care: Kingstonians have supported the Tannery forest and wetland by writing letters to Council, appearing at public meetings, attending a rally, organizing fundraisers, donating thousands of dollars, and more. More than 100 applied to be Participants at the OLT hearing - a record. These citizens deserve to be heard and their opinions respected.
We hope these Reasons and others show the value of maintaining and enhancing Kingston’s most central forest! Please contact us for more in-depth information.
We also hope that, in the name of democracy and transparency, no in camera agreement is made with the developer.
Tribunal Schedule We’ve recently learned that the Tribunal hearing will be starting on Monday, February 5. This is one week later than the original start date. It gives us more time to prepare our case!”
Punitive Bylaw At the City Council meeting on Dec. 5, the Community Standards Bylaw was passed by all but Councillor Lisa Osanic. No one denies that our City has problems, but punishing the victims of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and more isn’t the solution!
No Clearcuts believes we CAN and MUST have affordable homes AND trees. We oppose the proposed Tannery development for many reasons, including the fact that the rental and condo units there will not be affordable, and there are unforested, less biodiverse lands nearby that should be developed first.
We hope you enjoy the Holidays! Thank you again for your support! See you in 2024!
No Clearcuts Kingston
No Clearcuts Kingston Newsletter by NoClearcutsKingston
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Clearcutting our urban forests is happening all over Kingston, one of twelve cities in Canada that is likely to become a heat island. Developers are clearcutting our urban forests to build luxury high rises. They are paving over our forests, and now even want to pave over our wetlands, with little t...
