The former Lafarge lands along Silvercreek Parkway have never been a designated park or a nature preserve. But the expansive property has inadvertently become both over the years, as it sat growing greener, open to dog walkers, joggers and wildlife.
The land is about to lose a lot of its greenery, as preparations are underway to bring down nearly 2,000 trees on the development property.
Residents are upset and in mourning, and are especially irked that the clearing is happening when there are no imminent plans to develop the land.
April Nix, environmental planner for the City of Guelph, said in an email that the owner of the land is “in the process of installing perimeter and tree protection fencing on the site.” City staff is carefully monitoring the work, she added.
The preliminary work has been approved by staff, she said, in preparation for upcoming tree removal.
For several years, the land’s owner, Silvercreek (Guelph) Developments Ltd., has planned to develop the land with large-scale residential, retail, and service commercial components. The plans were challenged back in 2009 at the Ontario Municipal Board, then altered, and then approved in late 2013 by city council.
But aside from the east side of the land getting graded, replanted and paved with walking paths, nothing has happened in the way of development.
Anyone who has visited the land this week would have noticed the work that is going on. Fencing is going up around the entire forested area of the land, and a swath about five meters wide has been cut out of an area on the west perimeter of the property.
Residents of the area has long worried about the fate of a great bur oak on the site. The owner gave assurances some years ago that the towering tree would be preserved, and the city made similar assurances recently. While trees around the oak have been cut down in recent days, the oak is still standing.
Kathi Lee and her friend Judy Perry were walking dogs at the site Friday morning. Both said it is a shame that the owner plans to remove a great many trees, even though no development of the land is planned for several years. A letter, they said, was sent to homes near the Lafarge lands stating that development is not imminent.
“We walk in here a lot, walking our dogs in nature,” said Lee. “A lot of families use the land, and the kids have a bike jump in here. If they are not going to build, why are they going to get rid of all the trees?”
Lee said there is word circulating that a vigil will be held on the land on Sunday. Perry said there are numerous bird species on the property, including a healthy number of blue jays.
“We are Guelph,” Lee added. “I thought we were a green community, taking care of the environment.”
April Nix said the fencing is being put up to keep people off the site, and to clearly delineate the areas where tree removal can occur. The tree removal area is “based on existing limits for development and in keeping with the zoning that is in place for the property,” she said in the email.
Staff are ensuring the protection of the bur oak, she added.
The city published a notice on its website on July 14 stating a tree permit would be issued for the property, identified as 35-40 Silvercreek Parkway South, allowing for the removal of 1,950 trees.
Trees along Howitt Creek through the property and near the railway lines on the south and north sides will remain untouched. The notice stated that “more than 3,400 future trees and shrubs will be planted on site as it is developed, and compensation will also be provided to plant trees in other areas of Guelph.”
The notice added that no specific development proposal or site plan application has been submitted to the city related to the property. The site is zoned to permit a mix of commercial, high density residential and employment lands.
