Key Niagara Region Committee Meeting Coming – This October 14th at 1 P.M. – on Proposed By-Law for Protecting and Preserving Trees in our Region
Find Out Below How You Can Have Your Say
A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large, followed by a Notice from Niagara’s Regional Government
Posted September 29th, 2020 on Niagara At Large
More than a decade has passed since Niagara’s Regional Government last updated its tree protection by-law, and many Niagara citizens have made it clear, in one way or another, that a revised by-law for better protecting what wooded areas Niagara has left is long overdue.
Over past decade, there have been numerous cases of trees being taken out with chainsaws or bulldozers. There would be an outcry from citizens who were often told that the laws in place for protecting trees do little or nothing to charge those who cut them down.
There are also examples of treed areas in Niagara right now – Thundering Waters Forest in Niagara Falls, Waverly Woods in Fort Erie, and the Irish Grove Woodlot in Grimsby come immediately to mind – that are targets of development plans of concern to many citizens.
Inside Waverly Woods, near the shores of Lake Erie in Niagara, Ontario. The area is now a target for urban development. Citizens in the community have organized to save this wooded area.
So the process already underway at the Niagara Regional government level to update Niagara’s so-called Woodland By-Law for protecting and preserving what are left of our trees is no small thing – especially at a time when scientists around the world are telling us that a healthy environment is one significant way of preventing pandemics like the one we are suffering through now.
This then, is the time to get engaged and make sure your voice is heard as our Regional Government comes closer to approving new tree protection rules and regulations for years to come.
To find out more about how you can get involved now in shaping the kind of tree protection rules we need for a healthy future, please read the following NOTICE, circulated this September 29th by Niagara’s Regional Government –
NOTICE
Niagara Region’s Proposed Woodland By-law
Niagara Region has undertaken a review of its Tree and Forest Conservation By-law, which governs the protection and preservation of woodlands in Niagara.
Niagara Regional Headquarters in Niagara, Ontario
You are being notified that the proposed By-law will be presented to Planning and Economic Development Committee at their meeting on Wednesday, October 14 at 1:00 pm.
A report and the proposed By-law will be available on the Region’s website as part of the agenda package on Friday, October 2. All Council and Committee meetings will be held electronically until further notice due to COVID-19.
The meetings are broadcast live on the Region’s website. If you require any accommodations for a disability in order to attend and participate in meetings or events, contact the Niagara Region’s Accessibility Coordinator at 905-685- 4225 ext. 3252 or accessibility@niagararegion.ca.
WRITTEN SUBMISSION To provide input in writing or to request personal notice if the proposed change is adopted, please send a letter c/o Regional Clerk, Niagara Region, 1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way , P.O. Box 1042,Thorold, Ontario L2V 4T7, or email clerk@niagararegion.ca.
MORE INFORMATION For more information about the proposed amendment, please contact the project team by phone at 905-980-6000 ext. 3459, or email at woodlandreview@niagararegion.ca.
PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PRIVACY Personal information collected or submitted in writing at public meetings we be collected, used and disclosed by members of the Regional Council and Regional staff in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).
The written submissions including names, contact information and reports of the public meeting will be made available. Questions should be referred to the Privacy Office at 905-980-6000 ext. 3779 or FOI@niagararegion.ca. Dated: September 29, 2020
To read a few related pieces posted on Niagara At Large over the past year, click on the following links –
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
Niagara At Large 