[getsmart-l] Save the D. Dunlap Observatory

[Janet May]

>From the Toronto Star

 

Fight to save Dunlap site coming down to the wire TheStar.com - GTA - Fight
to save Dunlap site coming down to the wire 

`All we are asking for is time to put together a partnership to save the
place'

January 30, 2008 

Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporter



There's an air of uncertainty tinged with faint optimism in Richmond Hill
these days, as the Feb. 15 bidding deadline approaches for the land that's
home to the David Dunlap Observatory, site of Canada's largest telescope.

The potential sale of the lush 77-hectare property, on which generations
have romped freely, has galvanized residents and politicians alike since the
University of Toronto declared the land surplus last year and put it up for
sale. The prime urban property is reportedly valued at $100 million.

Residents fear developers will snap up the wooded land and fill it with
subdivisions, condos and big-box stores.

They're hoping Queen's Park or even the federal government might step in at
the 11th hour and purchase the land so both the telescope and the natural
features survive as part of a vital urban park in a sea of suburban homes.

In the past week, York Region and the Town of Richmond Hill have thrown up
what barriers they could, passing bylaws and receiving reports that would
designate swaths of the property as protected woodlot or culturally
significant.

But despite pleas to extend the deadline, the University of Toronto is
pressing ahead with a deadline for submissions. Spokesperson Ruta Pocius
says changing the rules at the last minute would be unfair to some bidders.

There has been "significant" interest by as many as several hundred bidders,
Pocius said.

The university believes the telescope has outlived its usefulness because of
growing light pollution, but some academics and astronomers disagree. The
public tours offered there, along with a chance for kids and adults to peer
at the skies, are priceless, argue those opposed to the sale.

Rallies have been held, thousands of signatures collected and both local and
regional politicians have expressed support for preserving the land for the
public good.

Now, eyes are on Queen's Park, with hopes hanging on recent public
statements by Premier Dalton McGuinty and Education Minister Kathleen Wynne,
who grew up near the observatory.

"I do know the Dunlap observatory has a wonderful history, a wonderful
tradition," McGuinty told reporters when more than 100 people protested at
Queen's Park this month.

"I tell you, I grew up in Richmond Hill and the Dunlap observatory was very
much a part of my background, so it's certainly something I would be willing
to talk about," added Wynne, cryptically.

"All we are asking for is time to put together a partnership to save the
place," said Marianne Yake of the Richmond Hill Naturalists, a group that
has fought hard to preserve the entire estate.

Mayor Dave Barrow says there is an "obvious provincial interest" in the
land, but time may be running out because the issue has only appeared on the
province's radar recently. "We're asking (the university) to slow the
process down to see if there is something that can be done," Barrow said.

 

 

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