March 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,

1) North King’s Town Public Meetings incl future of Wellington St. Extension – Feb 28!
2) Patry Tannery Development – Planning Committee Meeting 6:30 pm March 8!
3) We care about snakes – message from Matt Ellerbeck
 
1) North King’s Town Public Meetings incl. future of Wellington St. Extension – Feb 28!
What: First draft of detailed land use plan and cultural heritage research for North King’s Town (Boundaries: Queen St. (s), John Counter Blvd (n), Division St. (w) and Great Cataraqui River (e))
IMPORTANT MEETINGS for city staff to gain input EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS concerning COMMUNITY PRIORITIES for the North King’s Town transportation plan including
THE FUTURE OF THE WELLINGTON ST. EXTENSION.
Where:  Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560, 734 Montreal St.
When:  Session 1: 9:30 am – noon. Talking Circle followed by small group workshop sessions
Session 2: Open House 2:30pm, Presentation 3:00pm and Workshop 2:30-5:00 pm
Session 3: Open House 6:00pm, Presentation 6:30 pm, Workshop 7:00-8:30 pm
FURTHER NOTES:  
a) The talking circle session provides an opportunity to receive input on the area’s history and social and cultural practices that are important to Indigenous Peoples. All welcome.
b) Further information on the status of the North King’s Town Transportation Master Plan including the Wellington St. Extension is included at the end of this update.
c) Nice to help out the Legion by buying lunch or a beer!
 
2) Patry Tannery Development
Just as a reminder, here is the Patry vision.  It speaks for itself as to what it considers the positive aspects of the project. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vww7NJWgHnc&feature=youtu.be 
In our considered opinion there are a number of reasons why this project is simply the wrong project at the wrong time.  Here is a simplified version of some of the main arguments against it:
a) Density:  1500 units is way too many.  Should be halved and concentrated along Rideau St.  Great location for high rises on the periphery of the downtown.  High rise could emulate the old Tannery chimney.  Best if development could be done only on the old Tannery footprint leaving the rest as publicly accessible green space.
b) Traffic congestion problems:  Too many cars; infrastructure problems.
c) Projected timeline too long:- leaving potential mess and noisy construction for many years
d) No plan possible as yet for interface with K&P Trail and new road systems to be developed following completion of North King’s Town detailed plan.
e) Turtle population devastated.  Basking and potential hibernation and nesting areas destroyed.
f) Natural shoreline removal causing disruption for wildlife including fish and migratory birds.
g) Removal of every tree, clean-up  and asphalt cover does not actually deal with the contamination.  Cheapest alternative not the best option.
h) Storm water management issues – current raw sewage overflow from Kingscourt into Orchard St. Marsh through Belle Park
i) Clean-up of land does not include clean-up of marsh itself that contains serious chromium contamination?
j)  Compliance issues with Parks Canada, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rideau Corridor Landscape Strategy, 30 metre Ribbon of Life.
k) Compliance issues with city policies: North King’s Town, Official Plan, Transportation Master Plan, Active Transportation Master Plan
l) No accommodation for affordable housing or homeless problems.
PLANNING MEETING MARCH 8, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 6:30 PM.
It is extremely important for you to show up to join with us and other concerned citizens to show support and also to voice your opinion.  Come and bring friends and colleagues.  All those who wish will be able to speak for 5 minutes.
 
3) We care about snakes – message from Matt Ellerbeck
I have put together a new website to educate people about snakes, with the hopes that it will help alleviate the number of snakes killed by fearful individuals. Can you please share it across your network? Thanks! 
www.saveallsnakes.com
 
Status of North King’s Town Transportation Master Plan incl. future of Wellington St. Extension
A public notice has appeared in the Kingston Whig-Standard providing information about the events on the 28th.  It also serves as the formal notice of commencement of the North King’s Town Transportation Master Plan. Why a large fancy notice about the transportation plan that references the first two phases of the province’s Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) process?

The province allows for master planning exercises to take the place of the regular MCEA process, provided that the City satisfies the notice and consultation requirements set by the province.  At this point it is not known what the results of the transportation plan will be, but there is the chance that there may be some recommended projects that have to continue through the MCEA process. This isn’t meant to suggest any kind of expected outcome about the proposed Wellington Street Extension (WSE).  Discussion about possible alternatives is ongoing in the North King’s Town planning exercise. But there could be other recommended projects from the NKT transportation plan that might require additional review. This could include anything from proposed underpasses or overpasses to accommodate pedestrians or cyclists, or maybe opening up an unopened road allowance between two existing parallel roads to allow better connectivity for all modes of transportation. If we don’t follow the provincial process now regarding formal notices and consultation, we run the risk of having these other types of projects having to go back and start at square one of the MCEA process, which would be a waste of time and money for the City.
According to Sonya Bolton, Senior Planner “We actually intend on exceeding the notice and consultation requirements of the MCEA process for the NKT transportation plan, and will be offering plenty of opportunities for the community to be involved in the study, as well as all of the other technical work being done for land use, cultural heritage, and servicing. All of this great work begins next week with the events on Wednesday, Feb. 28, so please join us and share your ideas”
More info? www.cityofkingston.ca/NorthKingsTown.