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Nearly three years after closing down, the former Baldoon Golf Course outside of Wallaceburg is set to be discussed in front of Chatham-Kent council once again.
Official plan, consent and zoning by-law amendments are being requested and will be discussed at a May 15 Chatham-Kent council planning meeting at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
Bruce McAllister, director of planning services for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, said a planning report will be publicly available on May 11 in advance of the meeting.
“The Baldoon applications have been deferred since last summer, but are now once again scheduled to be heard at the May 15, 2017 Council Planning Meeting,” McAllister told the Sydenham Current in an e-mail.
A notice from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent about the meeting also went out to neighbouring landowners last week.
The notice provides some background about the matter and the latest updates.
Here is a summary of the notice:
The golf course has been closed since 2014 and was sold to the current owners in 2016.
In late 2014, the previous owners submitted planning applications to convert the majority of the property to farmland and to create a lot for the former clubhouse, which will continue to be operated as a restaurant and banquet facility – known now as the Clubhouse at Baldoon.
In order to support the planning applications an environmental impact assessment was required.
This was due to the presence of a nearby provincially significant wetland to the northwest of the property, an existing pond complex within the golf course and the Dykeman Drain on the eastern boundary of the property.
The previous owners engaged an environmental consultant to conduct the necessary studies and to prepare the environmental impact assessment.
The necessary field studies were completed in late 2014 through the first half of 2015, before any site alteration to the property was undertaken.
The report was completed and submitted to the Municipality in March 2016.
The main findings of the study, showed the pond complex and Dykeman Drain were considered significant wildlife habitat and potentially significant habitat for endangered species, specifically the eastern foxsnake.
Therefore, the consultant recommended the following recommendations:
– The pond complex be preserved and surrounded by a 10 metre naturalized area buffer.
– The Dykeman Drain habitat be protected by a three metre naturalized area buffer.
– Alternatively, the owners could pursue an overall benefit permit process with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) in order to backfill the ponds, if necessary.
The previous owners decided not to pursue further discussions with MNRF about potentially backfilling the ponds and instead decided to move forward with the concept of protecting the pond complex along with the recommended naturalized buffers.
This resulted in the original planning documents and planning report by Storey Sawmays Planning Ltd. on July 5, 2016.
These planning applications were originally scheduled to be considered by Chatham-Kent council last summer.
However, when the current owners acquired the property, they requested that the applications be deferred so that they could reconsider the applications and have further talks with MNRF.
Municipal officials said in the notice that ongoing dialogue with the various agencies, the Municipality and the owners took place in late 2016 and early 2017.
Based on these discussions and further review of the environmental impact assessment, it was concluded by MNRF that the ponds on the former golf course are not considered provincially significant wetlands and not considered regulated habitat for the eastern foxsnake.
Therefore, the ponds do not receive protection under the Endangered Species Act and an overall benefit permit is not required to alter them.
However, the ponds are considered significant wildlife habitat and protected from development and site alteration unless it has been shown there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or the ecological functions.
One of the ways to achieve this is to provide an enhanced habitat compensation area based on a compensation ratio of 1:1.
The pond complex covered approximately 2 acres and the owners do not propose any alterations to the Dykeman Drain itself.
Moving forward, the owners, with the assistance of Ontario NativeScape, have prepared a habitat compensation plan, which will protect and enhance approximately 2.15 acres in the northwest corner of the property.
The MNRF has reviewed the habitat compensation plan and is satisfied with it.
Based on this approach, the current owners are once again moving forward with the planning applications.
Anyone is allowed to attend the public meeting on May 15 and anyone can made a written representation in support or in opposition of the proposed amendments.
Anyone who wishes to address council about the matter are asked to notify the Municipal Clerk’s Office prior to the meeting at 519-360-1998.
To read the full notice, click here.
Watch for more on this story.
– Photo credit: Aaron Hall
To bad they were allowed to destroy the property before these important issues were dealt with. Money talks……