A community engagement process is underway in Chatham-Kent focused on woodlot conservation across the community.
Municipal officials say on April 26, 2021, Chatham-Kent Council enacted a temporary woodlot removal by-law, to be in place for 120 days.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is inviting residents to share their views on the issue of woodlot preservation in the community, Municipal officials added.
At the June 14, 2021 council meeting, administration provided council with an overview of the community engagement process and the online engagement platform that will be used to gather resident feedback.
The online platform guides residents through a series of questions and asks them to share their thoughts on options to manage woodlots through potential education programs, incentives and regulations.
“Council has been clear in its desire to have administration develop and propose options for managing woodlots based on a full community engagement process,” stated Bruce McAllister, general manager of community development, in a press release.
“Given the importance of the subject to council and the community, we wanted to make every effort to bring awareness to this engagement and the possibility for the community to provide input.”
Administration has also developed a broad community awareness and outreach campaign that employs a variety of media to bring awareness to this engagement process.
This includes direct mail outs to all landowners of woodlots, a media release, a local radio ad campaign, a local newspaper ad campaign and a social media campaign, Municipal officials say.
The online engagement platform can be accessed through the www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca “Consultation on Council’s Woodlot Motion” project page and will be open from June 14, until July 9, 2021.
In addition, a Virtual Town Hall Meeting is being planned and will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Additional details on the event and how to register are provided on the project page.
The information report received by Council on Monday can be read, here.
For more background on the story from April, click here.
