City forest could be protected, but with conditions
Last Updated: Feb 15 2006 09:40 AM CST
A local environmental group says the city of Winnipeg should not accept a condition being imposed on the purchase of a piece of forest in south St. Vital.
The city's executive policy committee votes Wednesday morning on whether to purchase a six-hectare parcel of land in the Bois-des-esprit forest, on the Seine River near the Royalwood neighbourhood.
The land is next to a 24-hectare area of forest the city already owns, purchased with contributions from the province of Manitoba and the Save Our Seine environmental organization. The plan is to turn the whole area into a protected urban forest.
However, Ladco Development, which currently owns the land, has placed a condition on the sale that a no-activity zone be created in the forest next to all private property. The condition would impose a 30-metre buffer zone for development of pathways in the forest near private residences for five years.
David Danyluk, spokesman for Save Our Seine, says allowing the restriction sets a bad precedent.
"Now developers can say the public land, the city-owned land, we're going to tell you how it's going to be planned – what can be done, how it can be done, and for how long. That is a scary first step," he told CBC News.
If the city's executive policy committee approves the purchase Wednesday, it moves to city council for a final vote.