Sierra Club Peel Region Group Wins Greenbelt Decision In Streetsville

It was a long three-year process for the Sierra Peel Group but it ended successfully on February 12 when the OMB approved the Greenbelt designation and zoning for 26 acres of Credit River Valley lands at Streetsville. The Kraft Mill property has an industrial exception zoning since 1965, allowing it to expand on floodplain lands beside a provincial fish sanctuary.

The work began in 2003 as Sierra Club Executive members brought forth their shared vision of a restored greenbelt at Kraft Mill. The breakthrough came in 2005 when Mayor McCallion and Councillor Carlson committed to greenbelt expansion through the Streetsville Review Process. Sierra Peel was a constant and assertive stakeholder in making sure that the greenbelt zoning was actualized.

Sierra Peel organized the community in preparation for the OMB, which was held in late January 2009. We had nine powerful witnesses who spoke passionately about the Credit River valley and its protection. Also, Sierra Club hired an expert planner to give evidence at the OMB about the importance of expanding the greenbelt to the 26 acres in the Credit River Valley in Streetsville.

In addition, we made sure that the City had an expert witness from Credit Valley Conservation had to support our shared vision.

We learned these valuable lessons at this OMB Hearing that others can benefit from:

1)    Never go as just a participant if you want to have any chance of winning. Go as a party.
2)    Always be supported by the best expert witness that you can get.
3)    Witness statements from citizens receive much less weight than expert witnesses.
4)    Never let the municipality carry the ball alone. Backroom politics may undermine your case as participants. It’s a common ploy for municipalities to go to the OMB, giving the impression of support for the citizens, but once at the Board they can maneuver to have that support undermined by lack of evidence by expert witnesses.
5)    Negotiate and mediate first with all parties involved and well in advance of the OMB Hearing. Only after an all out effort, go to the OMB. There are so many things that can happen at the Hearing to diminish your case, not only by the OMB officer who may have no evidence to support your side, but also by the municipality who may play politics through instructions to their lawyer.

Now our long-term goal is to have the valleylands restored to their best and highest use. We will work hard to have twenty-three silos and machine house removed from the valley and to restore the entire area back to nature. Its value to the broader community as a carbon sink and as an area for education and public enjoyment far outweighs its present use.  For now we shall savour our long fought victory.

Peter Orphanos – Chair
Sierra Club Canada
Peel Region Group