Residents in Kingston, Ont.’s Collins Bay neighbourhood are demanding an immediate stop-work order to halt the rapid clear-cutting of trees in the Mile Square Forest.
The community group says the destruction of the significant woodland, located within Kingston’s urban boundary, began a couple of months ago but has rapidly intensified over the last few weeks.
“It’s not trees getting cut down, it’s a forest,” said Joyce Hostyn, a member of the neighbourhood group. “It’s a forest with birds that can only live in a true canopy forest. It’s a forest with woodpeckers that has a nest here that has federal government protection that was never checked into.”
The City of Kingston has a tree bylaw that prevents residents from removing or injuring trees on private property without a permit. However, a 2017 amendment exempts farmers from the permit process, provided the tree removal is part of normal farming practices.
The neighbourhood group believes the landowner, Bernie Robinson, is using the exemption as a loophole and intends to use the property for future development rather than agriculture.
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Sarah Knight, another resident, noted the clearing could be violating other protective measures.
“There are all kinds of really important species and rare habitat on this site that haven’t been assessed or evaluated,” Knight said.
Robinson firmly denied the development accusations in a phone interview, stating he has no plans for development “whatsoever” and intends to continue farming the land.
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“We exercise best farm practices and have done that our whole lives,” Robinson said.
However, residents argue their research shows the land is not viable for proper agriculture. The area features a rare alvar ecosystem, which is characterized by very shallow soil over limestone bedrock.
“This land would’ve once tried to be farmed and abandoned because it’s not very farmable as it’s very, very shallow limestone,” Hostyn explained. “It’s a very rare habitat. That’s one of the habitats in there — you can’t farm on that.”
The City of Kingston confirmed in a statement that it is aware of the tree-clearing activity near Mile Square.
“The matter is currently under investigation, and appropriate enforcement action has been initiated,” the city stated.
The community group plans to continue advocating for a work stoppage until officials conduct a thorough environmental assessment of the property.
This is the problem the city has created when it introduced in its mapping as part of the official plan. Every square inch (mm) within the municipal boundary comes under the city’s “Natural Heritage Study” which suddenly opens all private property to commentary. Private property is no longer yours,…it belongs to EVERYONE! whether it’s your single family dwelling or your farm. You no longer control anything. You pay taxes,…and the public through the city will tell you what you can do with it!
And beware,… its coming to a property you own!
Private property. This simple right is being denied to the farmer. It is the farmers land he pays the taxes. Government and citizens should not have any real say on what he is doing. Why not protest something worth getting upset about. Like the feds making it legal to murder each other. Or pot stores on every corner. Quick loans and pawn shops. Tow trucks with no regulation. Election interference with floor crossing, on and on and on
They should buy the property and when they own it do as they please within the laws of development.
If it’s zoned for agriculture it can’t be developed without rezoning. If the land owner applies for rezoning after clear-cutting, he should be fined.