Council will have a lot to think about when it comes to the proposed demonstration garden, following the submission of 32 letters and eight oral submissions at their public hearing last week.
The public hearing was regarding a zoning change that, if passed, would convert the grounds across from the hospital from residential to public use so that the Groundbreakers Society could implement a demonstration garden.
“It’s in our interest to create a space that is one the community embraces,” society volunteer Erin Hart said, “using this space to encourage small scale agricultural development.”
They already have some small raised beds, Hart said, and the plans include a gazebo that they hope will bring the community in to learn about what vegetables will grow here, and how residents can set up our own gardens.
The property is owned by Northern Health, who have partnered with the Groundbreakers because it fits with their policies of encouraging healthy living. Health Services Administrator Cormac Hikisch reminded council that those lands, while zoned residential, would never be converted into more residential units as their long-term plan for those lots is to use them for the new hospital.
While most of the people they visited had nothing but good things to say, Hart did say she was pleased that with the concerns raised, they were all specific.
Bonnie Merlo, who lives adjacent to the properties, was concerned with how adding a garden would impact water run-off. That area is already marshy, she pointed out, and asked how the additional watering of a garden would affect neighbouring properties.
She also voiced concerns on how the property would be policed if it were to become a hangout for the “less desirable” portion of our community. What, she asked, would be the security measures taken, and who would deal with the litter left behind?
The traffic that this would be encouraging crossing the street was also a concern, particularly for younger children. As well, that area is already widely used in the community as a green space, Merlo said, where children play. Also, what of the deer who walk through that property?
“There is a number of areas of concern that were brought forward so it gives council that much more to debate about,” Mayor Cress Farrow said, who noted there were also a number of people who supported the project.
Thirty of those 32 letters were form letters in support of the project. Council will decide whether or not to move the proposal forward at their next meeting. If they choose to move ahead it would be a month until the rezoning application is adopted.