Yup, here she goes again some are saying, and you know what? I don’t blame you.
I’ll bet there won’t be different flowers in bloom during the different seasons, or butterflies, bees, dragon flies, green frogs, grass snakes, the 2 species of Ground Nesting Sparrows will be gone as well as most of the ground feeding birds since there will be no insects left, and I’ll bet no Monarchs either since there is very very little left of the Milkweed. (tiny little patch off to the side in the lower meadow within the Natural Environment area)
Wonder where they are going to get the water to water the planted grasses or sod, after they lay it, from now on… and on and on and on…. since there is NO tree cover or any plans for any (non shown), it will be in a huge open field and exposed to the sun from early morning till late evening with the same grasses as in your lawn. Imagine what your lawn would look like exposed to the sun morn till night without any watering this past summer!
Excerpt from Policy Review Committee – August 16th, 2016 – Page 5
THAT staff engage Stantec and Cavanagh Construction, on a time and material basis, to construct Phase 1 of Roy Brown Park so that the pavilions and signage can proceed.
Pictures of what it used to look like and the nature shots you will not
see again (all the Meadows except a tiny, small tight spot are GONE)
The work to be done by the Developer is a dog park, flat structure and open grass area (Phase 1) Why it is being stripped of top soil I cannot understand.– Photos and text by Mark Smith
Before
After
Before
After
The ground cover also destroyed/damaged in the Northern Meadow when putting
in the trails. It appears to me they just drove where ever they wanted
to without any consideration for the ground cover (very thin, on bedrock).- Photos and text by Mark Smith
No longer exists
No longer exists
They also destroyed 1 of the only 3 birch trees in the park (I believe)
and badly damaged another putting the trail through from the swamp
culvert (Gas line trail) to Boundary road–Photos and text by Mark Smith
How much more?
Related Reading:
lindaseccaspina 
Councillors and mayors are elected to protect and promote the interests of the community as a whole. As long as we continue to elect representatives who put their developer friends first, and the public interest last, we can expect those developers to continue to do whatever enriches them, regardless of the impact on the citizens of the town.
This outrageous episode is a glaring evidence that the majority of our council is working for the interests of a developer, and not for the community that they pretend to represent.
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Well said Rick- well said – thank u
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Now you know what many feel like in Almonte…Cavanaugh Destruction…the only difference here is that it is the Province letting them destroy the river….
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and we probably wont win either.. I cant believe what they are doing there
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I’m very sorry that this is happening in Carleton Place. I know first hand what it’s like to have a project started before any public consultation or actual approval takes place, and it’s sickening (you try moving to a quiet, dead end road to start your family, and suddenly, across the road from you, have an illegal paintball operation run for several years before it was mysteriously and magically approved without satisfying any conditions put forth by the council….thanks, Drummond/North Elmsley). I know what it’s like to see animals (including species at risk) homes taken away with no environmental studies or planning process. Money talks, wildlife walks.
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Its pretty sad isnt it.. I am so sorry.:(
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Steve Yaver Apologies in advance because this is quite long! I’ve been reading the Carleton Place Official Plan, which was adopted in 2013 and amended in 2014, plus the Development By-Law for the town, which was adopted in 2015. They can both be found at http://carletonplace.ca/development-services-2.php. I pulled the following from the Town Plan, starting on page 45.
“Land for use as parkland or open space may be provided by conveyance in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act and through other actions by public authorities.
All lands conveyed as part of parkland dedication must be suitable for public recreational uses and acceptable to the Town in accordance with the Planning Act.
***For residential purposes Council shall generally require a parkland conveyance of 1 hectare for every 300 dwelling units created or the cash‐in‐lieu equivalent as provided in the Planning Act.”***(emphasis added)
There’s nothing like that happening on what was previously called the Bodnar Lands. So my question is – Did the payments that Cavanaugh made for the land qualify as “Cash-in-lieu”? Is that what the town really wants? Some money in its bank account, rather than the open space the plan calls for?
I’m not against development. In fact, I believe sound, sustainable development can have enormous benefit, such as new and/or expanded business opportunities (both downtown and elsewhere) as more people move in, a positive impact on the culture of the town (hey, maybe as more people move in we can get a movie theatre!), the opportunity for new jobs (including hopefully some white collar) coming to town with a larger local workforce, etc. But what’s gone down here in this development isn’t sustainable growth. It’s taken away open space in Roy Brown Park while not adding any within the development, as per the Town’s own Plan. It’s creating dense housing, where people are going to be more likely to get out of town for recreation, rather than stay in it, because frankly, there isn’t enough open space within proximity to their own neighborhood.
It would have been great if the town had tried to do some sort of compromise – no one wants to see Roy Brown Park gutted – but at least if there had been a mandate that an equivalent amount of land within the development be turned into open space, it might have made this easier for some to swallow. But no one had that foresight, so now a lot of people are upset, and I believe rightly so.
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That was a comment by Steve Yaver
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