[getsmart-l] YRNG Stories of Dunlap Observatory lands

[John O'Gorman]

Now for the unconscionable OMB: "The site is zoned institutional, meaning council will have to approve any changes and, if necessary, take a stance before the Ontario Municipal Board, which has final say on all planning decisions. "

http://www.yrng.com/article/69139
Town moves to save half of Dunlap Observatory lands 
Richmond Hill 
Feb 13, 2008 06:56 PM By: David Fleischer 
Richmond Hill chose to listen to the age-old wisdom, ‘a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush’ in determining its next step in the battle to save the David Dunlap Observatory lands. 

The town decided Monday an effort to protect half of the observatory lands is better than the risk of losing them all.

Politicians approved a staff report recommending they pursue heritage designation for  48 per cent of the 180-acre observatory site. 

Councillor Lynn Foster invoked the age-old proverb as one by one, councillors supported the report, much to the chagrin of a packed council chambers, many of whom had been calling for protection on 100 per cent of the site.

It was the second go-round for councillors, who reviewed a report from consultant Andre Scheinman on Jan. 28 and found it lacking.

That report recommended seeking heritage protection for the site’s western half, but Mr. Scheinman was asked to see whether there was justification for protecting the entire site under provincial heritage guidelines.

Last week he sat down with town staff and Prof. Tom Bolton, who has worked at the site for nearly 40 years, but the extra information was deemed insufficient to bolster the town’s arguments for full preservation.

“I’m sorry I was not able to persuade them to designate the whole property,” Mr. Bolton said Monday night. 

“If that (remaining) 52 per cent is developed, it will have a profound negative effect on the ecology of the remainder of the site.”

Other delegates spoke passionately about the site’s history and ecological features.

Among the most dramatic delegations was that of David Grey Eagle Sanford, a Mohawk and global representative for traditional indigenous human rights.

“We, as first nations, are making claim to these lands as a show of good faith and good honour,” Mr. Sanford said, listing a litany of broken promises to preserve greenspace and aboriginal sites.

He described the university’s sale of the land as just the latest in a long series of betrayals of nature at the expense of development.

“This is really all about greed and big money,” he said, holding a feather aloft.

Mr. Sanford has been involved in court efforts to protect lands from development, including a Markham battle over a burial site.

“Tonight I stand before you, as a human being. . . and I ask this council and everyone else that is here to stand up with me and say, ‘no more’,” he said.

What the town is pursuing is called Cultural Heritage Landscape designation. A new concept in Ontario, it allows municipalities to protect more than just buildings.

“The attributes that make this site special are derived from the overlay of the observatory research presence on a 19th century faming landscape. 

“The farm itself, in isolation of the observatory, while of cultural interest, does not embody the complexity which defines the Cultural Heritage Landscape,” the report reads.

Town staff await a date for their hearing before the province’s Conservation Review Board. Councillors opted to accept the staff recommendations, and told leery residents the heritage designation is just one tool they have for protecting the lands.

The town will consider other tools — including natural heritage protection for the springs, wetlands and grasslands in the site’s eastern half — for protecting it from development.

The site is zoned institutional, meaning council will have to approve any changes and, if necessary, take a stance before the Ontario Municipal Board, which has final say on all planning decisions. 

http://www.yrng.com/article/69138
MP makes case with University of Toronto president 
Richmond Hill 
Feb 13, 2008 06:55 PM By: David Fleischer 
A tough road may lie ahead, but after a meeting with the University of Toronto’s president, Richmond Hill MP Bryon Wilfert remains optimistic the Dunlap Observatory lands can be saved.

Last Friday, Mr. Wilfert met with university president David Naylor, vice-presidents Catherine Riggall and Judith Wolfson and faculty of astronomy chairperson Peter Martin. He asked the school to push back its deadline for accepting bids on the lands so those trying to save it have time to put together a viable plan. 

The deadline is tomorrow, with the winning bid expected to be announced one month later. 

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has hired a consultant to develop a plan for turning the site into an observatory Park, maintaining its use for astronomical purposes.

They expect to have a final plan by May and Mr. Wilfert asked Mr. Naylor to extend the deadline until then.

“The bottom line was we need that extension because it will give us a better opportunity to look at the potential for that site,” Mr. Wilfert said.

“They have to understand, this is not viewed simply as a business transaction (by residents),” he said.

Mr. Naylor was not willing to offer a definitive answer to Mr. Wilfert’s request, but he seemed amenable to another of the MP’s ideas, Mr. Wilfert said.

The MP has tried to get  the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to evaluate the site, but the university’s approval is required before it can visit.

Mr. Wilfert made another statement about the need to save the observatory in the House of Commons Monday and hoped for time to do so. 

“Clearly, this is a real jewel in Canada,” he said. 
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