Guelph community group worries about future of land near former Kortright Waterfowl Park site

Residents are raising concerns after land owned by a conservation authority were declared surplus. CTV’s Heather Senoran explains.

A community group in Guelph is concerned about what could happen to a parcel of land owned by the Grand River Conservation Authority.

About 65 hectares of land near Niska Road in the Kortright Hills neighbourhood is owned by the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA). The land, which sites at the confluence of Hanlon Creek and the Speed River includes forests, wetlands, meadows and agricultural fields.

Part of that area was formerly known as the Kortright Waterfowl Park from the mid 1960s until 2005. The park was closed to the public due to a lack of maintenance funding and safety issues.

“It was being sold off and civic leaders of the day wanted to preserve it as parkland in perpetuity,” Susan Watson, a member of the group Get Involved Guelph, said.

According to the conservation authority’s website, an 8-hectare agricultural field south of Niska Road does not align with the organization’s mandate and, therefore, meets the criteria to declare the property as surplus.

It is a move that worries members of Get Involved Guelph who believe the land could one day be transformed into a residential area as it is zoned for medium and low-density housing.

“Some of the conservation areas in the summer, you can’t get in because they’re at capacity. This is not the time to be selling off conservation land for housing,” Watson said.

Watson believes the public should have a say in what happens to the 8-hectare property of land, even though they haven’t had access to it for years as it was used by an agricultural tenant.

Get Involved Guelph previously asked concerns citizens to send letters to City of Guelph staff to ask for the zoning to be reverted to parkland.

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said the ultimate fate of the land is not up to the city.

“[The GRCA] determined that it was deemed surplus. They will control the process on what happens with those lands.”

He added it might be premature to worry about what will happen to the property as there are no official plans and that specific 8-hectare portion is not listed for sale yet.

“It is not something that should be causing any friction with myself, council or our staff because we too realize the importance of these lands within our boundary,” he said.

Guthrie stressed that the city understands the importance of parkland.

“No matter what that future is, whether it’s a month or whether it’s ten years, the city will be continuing to have great conversations with the GRCA.”

A controversial history

This is not the first time the land has been at the centre of a controversy.

In 2017, the GRCA was involved in an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing after the 8-hectare portion of the area was included in a list of land use appeals.

Hugh Whiteley launched an appeal with the OMB after they city made an amendment to its official plan, designating the property for residential use.

At the time, he said his chief concern was that the public was not being properly consulted about the future of the land.

Eventually, a settlement was reached that required the GRCA formulate a management plan for the area. The settlement states the lands could not be declared surplus until the management plan was complete.

A Motion of Settlement also notes the GRCA agreed to create a website to keep the public informed about the plan, give 30 days notice of any GRCA Board meeting where they would consider declaring part of the Niska lands surplus and provide 30 days notice before any GRCA Board meeting to consider an offer to buy the land.

GRCA responds

In an emailed statement to CTV News, the GRCA said most of the Niska lands are natural areas and will remain that way. The statement said the GRCA has a strong relationship with the city and will continue to work with them in the future.

“In keeping with the Management Plan – GRCA continues to engage with the City of Guelph to explore opportunities and options that can provide recreational or conservation opportunities,” the statement read.

For now, its not clear what the future of the land will be, but the GRCA said dispositions follow a separate process that require board approvals.

“The GRCA is committed to managing land holdings in a responsible and sustainable way. The Niska Management Plan identifies key natural heritage features, natural hazards and current uses to develop recommendations for future use of the property,” the statement said.