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Friends of the Cawthra Bush & Greater Mississauga Area
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June
28, 2004 - Toronto Star - by MIKE FUNSTON
STAFF REPORTER
Resident shocked by destruction of rare trees A woman who fought hard to protect a Mississauga stand of rare, mature trees from a housing development was devastated to learn that some of them have been cut down after all. A trench for sewer and water pipes will be built through the stand of shagbark hickory trees that Therese Taylor thought were protected under an agreement with the developer that was ratified by the Ontario Municipal Board. As it turns out, the rezoning bylaw that was approved contains a legal right-of-way for the trench that she didn't know about, and there's nothing she can do to stop it. About a dozen hickory trees, a Carolinian species rare in this area, have been cut down and others may be affected by the disruption to the water table, she said. "I naively believed that a tree preservation area meant that all the trees in that area would be preserved," she said. "We did not hire a planner or a lawyer to go over the bylaw with a fine-tooth comb." Taylor and another resident, Susan Karrandjas, appealed the project proposed by Fitzwood Investments to build 81 townhouses at Britannia Rd. and Bidwell Trail to the OMB last year. Mississauga city officials had originally told Taylor that it was too late to save the woodlot. But she collected a petition with 373 names and persuaded city council to hold off on giving final approval. The developer agreed to redesign the subdivision to save some of the oldest and rarest trees, about 40 per cent of the total woodlot. The location of the 30-metre by 4.5-metre trench "is consistent with the agreement we entered into, and we are honouring our commitments in all respects," Fitzwood spokesperson Mark Mandelbaum said "We examined a lot of different ways to deal with this subdivision at the time we made our agreement, and the plan was settled in accordance with what we agreed to. She (Taylor) had agreed to respect the fact that we had come to an agreement. Quite frankly, we do believe the company is doing whatever it can. We saved an awful lot of trees (about one-third of a hectare), a lot more than we were obligated to based on municipal requirements, and it would behoove Therese Taylor to accept that," Mandelbaum said. Mayor Hazel McCallion told Taylor that to interfere now would place the city in legal jeopardy and could have financial consequences for taxpayers. Reach-out and make a difference PLEEASSE SIGN OUR PETITION It will make a difference! Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [ Comments by Don B. - ] |
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