Wallaceburg Coun. Jeff Wesley is upset about some landscaping being done at Wallaceburg’s former golf course.
Wesley said the proper protocol is not being followed at the former Baldoon Golf Course, as trees are being cut down and top soil removed from the Dufferin Avenue location.
“There is a proper process to follow and I am really disappointed that all involved did not wait until the rezoning came before Council before destroying parts of the golf course,” Wesley told the Sydenham Current.
“That is the way good corporate citizens work. What if the rezoning is turned down… there is no longer a golf course to go back to as it will have been destroyed. So then does Council approve the rezoning because there is no longer a golf course there? That is wrong.”
The Sydenham Current broke the story back in August of last year, that the golf course had been sold to two separate buyers.
Melissa Gaylard has been operating the former clubhouse as The Clubhouse at Baldoon – a restaurant, catering and banquet facility – since golfing stopped on Oct. 15 last year.
Local farmer Scott Kilbride, is seeking to turn the majority of the property into agricultural land.
Uprooted trees and machinery could be spotted on the former golf course on Thursday afternoon.
Kilbride told the Sydenham Current he had no comment at this time.
The purchase is pending the approval of an official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment and consent applications.
In September last year, the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) recommended that an environmental impact study be conducted on the property.
The SCRCA outlined details explaining why they were recommending an environmental impact study, including: the property lying adjacent to Baldoon is a “significant coastal wetland” and the property possibly contains “significant wildlife habitat” or “habitat of threatened or endangered species.”
The SCRCA said any decisions about the proposal should be deferred until the environmental impact study is completed.
Wesley expressed his frustrations in an e-mail sent to Mayor Randy Hope and CAO Don Shropshire.
“Without any notice to a local Council member, who also sits on the SCRCA, what is happening at Baldoon is terrible,” Wesley wrote.
“The environmental studies for the rezoning of this property are not complete (a requirement of the MNR and the rezoning) yet the proposed property owner is currently cutting down trees and stripping top soil off the golf course.”
Wesley added: “I have spoken with Brian McDougall, (general manager at the SCRCA) and Bruce McAllister (director of planning in Chatham-Kent) to find out how this could happen. Both are not sure why this is taking place at this time. I have asked Bruce to look into this with a report for Monday, whether for closed, open etc. It will depend on the contents of the report or I may raise it under any other business if that is what I need to do.”
Wesley said he will wait for the report at council before he comments further.
“This process is so wrong on so many levels,” he said.
Council is set to meet for a regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
Watch for more on this story.
Maybe a fine should be imposed to Mr. Kilbride for not waiting for the studies and the rezoning to be complete. It makes you wonder why he is removing stuff before the studies are complete…is he removing evidence of wildlife habitats so nothing interferes with his plan? Thank goodness someone is watching and reporting it. It is already sad that we are losing the golf course. We don’t want someone purposely interfering with the wildlife too.
Many agree…
Leave it alone!!…
Let it Be!!!
Mother Nature won’t be, Happy!
Wait & See!!!!! ????????
Maybe if Jeff Wesley had not been so concerned about property rights during the tree bylaw controversy, this would not have happened or at least there would be recourse if it did. You should be angry with yourself Mr. Wesley. It is Mr. Kilbride’s “property” after all; who is the Municipality to stand in the way of Mr. Kilbride’s economic progress (sarcasm)?
Kudos to Councillor Wesley for drawing public attention to the uprooting of trees prior to the recommended SCRCA (St. Clair Region Conservation Authority) environmental impact study, and required rezoning by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Whether a renegade has taken the law into his own hands, or staff have bent the rules or looked away, or whatever has actually happened here, I stand for serious consequences. It is not a matter of supporting the great majority of law-abiding farmers, as some other posts have stated. It is about holding to account the arrogant or ignorant minority who flout the policies and the law. There has been no lack of education on the tree cutting issue in this community for any farmer or municipal staff member; the issue has dominated our media repeatedly and at length. Let us not defend the cheaters, who gain economically for themselves while costing the majority of responsible farmers their reputation and relative competitiveness, and the rest of our right to a healthy ecosystem. The policies and laws we do have must be enforced and applied fairly to all. If Council cannot say NO – with meaningful consequences – to willful environmental destruction for economic gain, then their YES to a Chatham-Kent Natural Heritage Implementation Strategy is worth no more than the paper it is written on.