Citizens Environment Alliance
628 Monmouth Rd., Windsor, Ontario, Canada N8Y 3L1
CEA in the News - ‘Respect nature’ — New coalition warns of Windsor's dwindling green spaces
‘Respect nature’ — New coalition warns of Windsor's dwindling green spaces
Madeline Mazak - Windsor Star · Published November 13, 2024
Alarmed by what they see as the continued rapid loss of Windsor’s remaining natural spaces, local environmental groups have banded together to challenge urban development in Windsor and Essex County’s remaining woodlands and wetlands.
The new coalition’s first target is a city parcel of natural lands adjacent to Windsor’s airport now being eyed for industrial development.
“The bottom line is, we feel that planning is going along at such a pace — everybody’s excited about more business — but there needs to be a respect for nature along with that,” said Ian Naisbitt, longtime chair of the Little River Enhancement Group.
As efforts to attract more economic and residential development ramp up, a goal of the Windsor-Essex Environmental Priorities Coalition is more protection for the city’s dwindling natural areas.
“What we’re talking about are the last pieces — the vital components of areas that have already been developed,” said Derek Coronado, coordinator of the Citizens Environment Alliance.
“We’re fighting over fractions that are left of natural spaces. We’ve wiped out so many,” said Coronado, a founding member of the new coalition.
A year ago, city council approved giving “employment land” designation to a nearly 200-hectare patch of city-owned property near the Windsor International Airport.
That designation clears the path for industrial and business development expected to complement the nearby NextStar Energy battery plant and the planned mega-hospital.
But while the property’s three woodlots, designated for natural heritage as provincially significant wetlands, remain protected under the land designation change, coalition members argue that the measures designed to maintain that status fall short.
A report completed last year identified 15 species at risk in the area, including the Butler’s gartersnake and Canada warbler. The coalition also warns of increased threats of flooding.
“Those very few spaces are still functioning,” Coronado told the Star. “They provide important ecological services for the community that people don’t pay attention to, or don’t take into consideration.”
Windsor’s commissioner of economic development and innovation, Jelena Payne, told the Star the city, like any private developer, “would have to go through all of the steps and processes that are outlined at a federal level, a provincial level, and even a municipal level. We are not exempt.
“If there are any environmental considerations, we’d work with the federal government and all parties involved.”
Provincial regulations around species-at-risk, she said, “are very stringent. Even with our Housing Solutions Made for Windsor plan, we’re doing all of the environmental site assessments.
“We’re following all of the proper protocols that are out there. We’re engaging with consultants as required. Our reports have to go to the provincial government. We would take all of the steps that everybody else takes.”
The 196.38-hectare site in question is part of the Little River corridor wetland, which stretches from the airport, flowing northward and eventually draining into the Detroit River.
Naisbitt, who has advocated for decades for Little River area preservation, warned that without proper planning, development could disrupt the wetlands’ vital role in absorbing water and preventing flooding in surrounding and downstream Windsor neighbourhoods.
Industrial development, he added, could also pollute water sources, endanger at-risk species, and compromise woodlands.
“If you start developing those areas, then you’re dealing with excess amounts of water,” said Coronado.
“We’re in a period now where we get long dry periods, but when rain does occur, it’s in very heavy amounts. We have a history in this community of flooding, most recently, the big floods in 2016 and 2017, and the Little River watershed in that area is also part of a flood plain, as well.”
The proximity to the airport poses more challenges, said Naisbitt. Typically, artificial ponds are built around wetlands near urban development to collect excess water, but that’s not possible here as they attract birds and eagles, a hazard for planes flying overhead.
As a condition of the city owning the airport lands, which it obtained from the Town of Tecumseh in 2003, the city can lease out sections but never sell the property.
“All the lands that are being offered or negotiated with are being leased,” said Payne.
“We would maintain stewardship. In all of our agreements, we ensure that we work language in that, should the entity cease to exist on that parcel of land, they have to restore the lands to the original state.”
The new coalition is also raising the alarm over the loss of environmental protections with the introduction of Bill 23, the province’s More Homes Built Faster Act. The bill was introduced in 2022 to address Ontario’s housing crisis and support the construction of 1.5 million new homes over the next decade.
The removal of regulatory barriers, said Coronado, allows municipalities to bypass environmental protections and streamline development.
Windsor and other Ontario cities are under pressure from the provincial government to build more homes faster to address the current housing crisis. Achieving construction targets qualifies municipalities for additional provincial funding.
The Windsor-Essex County Environmental Priorities Coalition includes the Citizens Environment Alliance, Little River Enhancement Group, Detroit River Canadian Cleanup — Public Advisory Council, Friends of Ojibway Prairie, Canada South Land Trust, Wildlife Preservation Canada (Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery), and Green Core Restore.
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