Residents of the Willows gathered around Wetland 80, situated right beside their neighbourhood, on Nov. 17 to peacefully demonstrate their opposition to proposed land developments on the natural space.
Sharon Olliffe, a resident of the Willows, explained that everyone in their community believes that their concerns are not being heard.
“We have spoken in [the] chambers, we’ve tried that, but there’s been a second meeting [that] we weren’t even made aware of,” she said. “The developer wanted the town council to choose Plan A or the newly-constructed Plan B.
“They never ran it past us, they never talked about it, and either way, if there is a development back here it will kill this wetland.”
An environmental concern for the residents involves where water will be directed upon the disappearance of the wetland.
“We’re concerned about water in our basements and overland water,” she said. “I, personally have already had overland water, and my house was built on a wetland. It was a small one, but we still have problems.”
Christian Legro Francesconi, a resident with a property that backs directly on the wetland, explained that when he first purchased his home, he was under the impression that Wetland 80 would never be touched.
“We bought the house brand new two years ago, and we were assured that [Wetland 80] was a protected wetland, it will never be touched, and we would never have to deal with any construction or anything like that,” he said. “Then, maybe 14 months later, they tried to do this amendment on this land, and they are just going to affect the value of our properties, the density, a lot of vehicles are going to be around, and well, basically they just lied to us, plain and simple.”
For members of the RancheHouse who have input on the future of the wetland, Francesconi said he hopes town council will listen to the voters and work with the community.
“They allowed this to happen, so it would be responsible for them to honour what they are supposed to do in the first place,” he said. “And they work for the community, we voted for them, and we will [vote] again or not depending on how things turn out.
“I think they have to be more on the community’s side. The community that they serve instead of just trying to close deals with the constructors here.”
Another resident of the Willows with land directly backing Wetland 80, Leta Taylor, outlined that many property owners in the community purchased their land because of the wildlife in the area.
“We love the wetlands, we love the wildlife, we built our homes on these properties, and we want to stand up for them,” Taylor said.
Taylor further explained that Wetland 80 is classified as a Class 4 Wetland. She believes that the Town should find a balance of beauty and building, which is the precedent that her fellow residents are aiming to demonstrate.
“Let’s try to preserve our wetlands and uphold our guiding principles,” Taylor said.
