Meetings & Documents
 

January 6, 2014


Monthly Meeting
January 6, 2014


Attendees:

  • John Sankey, President
  • Peter Foulger, Treasurer
  • Peter Brimacombe, Secretary
  • Christine Johnson
  • Steve Long
  • Issie Berish
  • Marilyn Koch
  • Sylva Baroody
  • Kamal Ubhi, Councillor’s Assistant
  • Denis Aubin
  • Steve Martin
  • Bernie Geiger
  • Donna Allen
  • Ralph Harrison
  • Claude Paul Boivin
  • Lynda Pedley
  • Glenn MacCrimmon
  • Judy Kelley
  • Gordon Sexton
  • Doris Yee
  • Iga Dzikiewicz
  • Richard Lawrence
  • Dawn Lawrence
  • Eileen Lalonde
  • Chanel Boucher
  • Peter Lidington
  • Julian Taylor
  • Gary Guzzo

John Sankey presented the agenda. The major item is the disposal of the DND property. The property is a narrow strip of land north of Hunt Club Road between the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club to the west and the backyards of the individual homeowners on Paul Anka Drive to the east. Hunt Club Creek runs down one side of the strip of land. Hunt Club Creek is described at this link: http://www.johnsankey.ca/hccreek.html
He asked if there are any other items.
Bernie Geiger: There is the issue of reduced bus service – in particular route 146.

DND Lands
John Sankey: To dispose of the land, DND must first transfer it to the Canada Lands Corporation (CLC). CLC does not deal with individual property owners. There are four options:

  1. persuade a public entity, such as the City of Ottawa or the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, to take over the land,
  2. form a land trust, perhaps under the Nature Conservancy of Canada, to manage the land in the interests of adjacent property owners,
  3. hire a real estate broker to buy the land then distribute it to individual homeowners, and
  4. work with the golf course for them to buy the land with access for homeowners.

He invited the homeowners to express their views. If there is a consensus then the HCCO can represent them.
Richard Lawrence: He is a homeowner that abuts the property. DND put up the existing fence to exclude the public from Hunt Club Creek. It is to the west of the property lines of the homeowners so the effect is to give them a bigger backyard.
John Sankey: Portions of the Creek are not well maintained. He doubts that the golf course would want to take on the maintenance of the Creek. The HCCO has status under the Stream Watcher program of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.
Richard Lawrence: After the 1998 ice storm, the homeowners complained about the state of the Creek. After some discussion, DND put up the existing page wire fence. It’s to the west of the homeowners’ property line.
Denis Aubin: DND has maintained the area. He did find junk but the contractors working for DND have cleaned it up. A lot of good has happened. Another option is to maintain the area as is.
John Sankey: “As is” is not an option. Any of these options could be pursued if there is a consensus of abutting homeowners. The City already owns 2 sections along the Creek where the public is allowed.
Judy Kelley: There are so many trees on her side of the Creek that it would be difficult to put a path along it.
John Sankey: On the other side, most of the trees are quite small.
Bernie Geiger: The golf course has acquired more land. They could buy this land to expand and protect the golf course. Canada Lands Corporation has to sell for the highest price. What is the zoning?
John Sankey: It doesn’t have zoning because it is federal land.
Lynda Pedley: She is not clear on the difference between public and private partnerships.
John Sankey: The City and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority are two public bodies. The City can buy and maintain the land within its existing budget. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority cannot. It would have to have extra funds to buy and maintain the land. The Nature Conservancy is a private body. Private bodies have more flexibility. For example if the City bought the land, it would be a public park and the public would have access to it. The Nature Conservancy could allow or exclude the public.
Bernie Geiger: If some homeowners buy the property but some don’t then the ones that don’t would have the same benefits as the ones that do.
Julian Taylor: The likelihood of all property owners buying the land is low.
Gary Guzzo: The Hunt Club Golf Course believes it owns the property. The Creek is a municipal ditch, the municipality should be responsible.
John Sankey: He does not sense a consensus among the homeowners. Richard Lawrence is a homeowner who has knowledge and experience with the management of this land. Is there agreement among the homeowners to have Richard lead in following up this issue?
There was general agreement.

Motion to approve December 2013 minutes
Motion: To approve the December 2013 minutes. Moved by Issie Berish, seconded by Sylva Baroody, carried.
Christine Johnson: She would like to receive all draft meeting minutes even when she is not able to attend a meeting.

Councillor’s Report
Kamal Ubhi distributed the Councillor’s report:

Newsletter
Christine Johnson drew the winner of the free pizza: Jinzhao Wang
John Sankey: Reported that four articles have already been submitted and three sponsors secured for the March issue.

Treasurer’s Report
Peter Foulger presented the Treasurer’s Report. There were two new sponsors of the newsletter: City of Ottawa (Maria McRae) and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (John Fraser).

Traffic
John Sankey: Jerry Beausoleil has been trying to get traffic statistics from the City. Jerry is busy with family matters so John Sankey is trying to get them. He has asked for the traffic box data along Hunt Club Road under the Freedom of Information rules.
Lynda Pedley: Can we have traffic lights at Paul Anka and Uplands?
John Sankey: It’s a question of warrants. It’s definitely a possibility.
Al Gullon: He is an engineer who is an expert in traffic. The Shared Space is an urban design approach which we should follow
John Sankey: Pointed to his own paper on arterial roads and invited people who had other views to prepare their own position paper.

Minor Variance
John Sankey: There is an application for a minor zoning variance at 11 Royal Hunt Club Court. The Committee of Adjustment is scheduled to hear this matter on January 15, 2014.

Next meeting: Monday, February 3 at 19:30.