Ontario Municipal Board rejects condos plan over concerns about impact on wetlands and Blanding’s turtles
A developer’s plan to build condos along the northwest shore of Stoney Lake, on a piece of wetland-strewn land considered sacred by local First Nations, has been rejected by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
It took about a year for the OMB to make its decision. The 19-day hearing drew a large crowd of concerned citizens daily, when it got underway in September 2016, and was presided over by board member David Lanthier.
The 140-page decision states that there wasn’t proof the condo development wouldn’t harm two provincially significant wetlands on the site.
The decision states there’s a multitude of animal, amphibious, bird and plant species on the site, and that some are species at risk (the Blanding’s turtle and the muskellunge, for example).
The development would clear away habitat for many of these species, the decision states, and yet the developer had “guesstimated” wildlife movements on the site.
Also the decision states there aren’t any alterations the developer could make to the plans that would make things better – the presence of this large development couldn’t help but disturb the two provincially significant wetlands and the species that live there.
“Although it may be possible for a substantially altered development to occur within the entirety of the lands, the development does not represent good planning and development,” states the decision.
“Accordingly, the board is unable to approve the applications to support Burleigh Bay Corp.’s proposed development.”
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Photo from The Peterborough Examiner.
