(PHOTO: Poole Creek Walkway. Photo by Barry Gray.)
On January 23, 2018, a report will be coming forward to Planning Committee recommending Council delegate authority to the General Manager, Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department to enter into an agreement for a financial contribution with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority for works related to the Upper Poole Creek Subwatershed.
In April of 2000, Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited completed the Upper Poole Creek Subwatershed Study (UPCSWS) on behalf of the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the Township of Goulbourn. The purpose of the study was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the subwatershed and, based on this, prepare a plan which will allow a healthy ecology to be maintained or strengthened while accommodating planned development.
Porter Place subdivision at 6279 Fernbank Road, located to the north of Fernbank Road and west of Stittsville Main Street in the Stittsville community and within the Upper Poole-Creek Subwatershed. The land has an area of 6.8 hectares. The approved subdivision contains a total of 149 units and was draft approved by the Ontario Municipal Board on January 5, 2016, and subsequently registered by the City on August 10, 2017.
Through the subdivision approval process, a draft condition was included that stated, “the Owner acknowledges that a financial contribution toward the protection of Poole Creek shall be made in accordance with the Upper Poole Creek Subwatershed Study Final Report if such contribution is necessary.” This condition was suggested by the City and agreed to by the applicant in the event that the Modified Etobicoke Stormwater System was not going to be used in the development, and it was not used.
The City collected this contribution through registration of the subdivision as part of a special charge that was paid by certified cheque. Staff are proposing to forward $65,076, which will be set out in the agreement, to the MVCA, who will produce a report to review the original objectives of the UPCSWS and provide a work plan to meet the restoration objectives set forth in the UPCSWS. This report will specifically assess the area between West Ridge Drive and the pedestrian bridge located just downstream of Stitsville Main Street in Stittsville.
For more information, the Planning Committee Report will be released to the public on January 16, 2018 on the City’s eAgenda website here. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via email.
(Originally published on Councillor Shad Qadri’s web site.)