Fort Erie has a new parks and open space master plan

Enough of the concerns and questions councillors raised regarding a new parks and open space master plan have been answered.

The Town approved the proposed plan, which outlines a vision and future park needs for the growing community. There remained some hesitancy around the council horseshoe, but not enough to keep the report from passing.

By approving the plan, Mayor Wayne Redekop said the municipality now has some ammo to use when they go searching for grants and other funding opportunities.

“We need to have a document that we can rely upon when we’re making applications for funding from the Province or Feds…and we need to have some type of framework for what we’re contemplating as we go forward in the future,” he said.

The plan gives a high-level overview of expected needs over the long term, considering both maintenance and upkeep of existing parks, as well as the construction of new parks. With the town’s population expected to continue growing, the plan provides some recommendations on target areas to match that population growth.

Those target areas received some opposition from councillors.

Ann-Marie Noyes worried there was too much of a focus on population and not enough on geography. She also worried one specific part of the plan could be used against them by developers.

According to projections within the plan, Fort Erie has enough parkland and open space to cover their needs until 2041. Noyes had concerns that when developers come forward with plans, they could use that as justification for opting to provide cash in lieu instead of dedicated parkland in their development proposals.

Consultants and staff said the document is aspirational in nature, with flexibility built in, though Noyes remained unsure.

“I’m concerned that the developers are not going to take into consideration that flexibility and that we’re going to be tied to the recommendations in the report,” she said.

“I don’t think they’re eager to give us parkland. I think they’d much rather put houses on it because it’d probably make a lot more money.”

Director of Planning and Development Services Anamika Dilwaria remained confident, however, that staff will be able to work with developers in the future to come up with amicable solutions regarding parkland.

Councillor Tom Lewis said he had some similar concerns regarding the focus on population, though presentations from consultants at the meeting helped.

“I heard enough tonight to put that somewhat at ease,” he said.

The councillor did put forward an amendment, which his fellow councillors supported, that requires the plan be reviewed after 10 years, something the Town does with other similar documents.

Noyes had other concerns regarding the process. It took several years to get the plan before council, with the process starting way back in 2017. The plan says several factors interrupted the work, singling out the COVID-19 pandemic as one of them.

The councillor took issue with that, saying it should have been done before the pandemic hit.

She also took issue with the suggestion that extensive consultation took place. Consultants ran focus groups and workshops before COVID-19 hit, along with an online survey that generated more than 500 responses.

To get an update on the public’s views, they held two open houses last year, as well as another survey that received more than 150 responses.

Noyes said she didn’t think those numbers should be considered extensive, though she acknowledged getting community input is a challenge across the board.

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