Tell City Hall to restore parkland zoning to former Kortright Waterfowl Park lands

Fill in the form by November 14 to send a message to City Hall to correct the Official Plan and restore open space/park zoning to all former Kortright Waterfowl Park lands.

Let City staff and City Council know that you want this zoning error corrected.

A Brief History

The former Frank Kortright Waterfowl Park located on Niska Road and the Speed River was purchased in 1975 with funds from the City (40%), the Province (50%) and the GRCA (10%). (% are approximations)
The purpose of the purchase was to protect this land as parkland in perpetuity by conveying it to the GRCA.
In 2012, a 20 acres parcel of the former Waterfowl Park was re-designated in the Official Plan without full information being provided to either City Council or citizens.
In June 2024, the GRCA decided move forward with selling this parcel and capturing the proceeds. Since that time concerned citizens have started mobilizing to push back on this proposal.
The current update of the Official Plan is an opportunity to reverse the 2012 error and restore the zoning to parkland.

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Dear Mr. Mollame (and circulating Mayor Guthrie and Members of Council):

Guelph's Official Plan Update currently underway is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to correct an historic error.

In 2012 the Council of the day approved a new Official Plan that changed the zoning of a 20-acre parcel of the former Frank Kortright Waterfowl Park from parkland/open space to housing. This change was made without either Council or Guelph citizens having full and accurate information about the history of the property in front of them.

This parcel of land was acquired in the 1970s as part of the purchase of the 116 acre Frank Kortright Waterfowl Park. The City of Guelph invested 30% - 40% of the cost with 50% - 60% coming from a Ministry of Natural Resources grant and just 10% coming from the GRCA. Guelph's investment in this one parcel is now worth $6 - $8 million dollars. 
 
The Waterfowl Park was explicitly acquired in order to protect it as parkland in perpetuity. In 1979 a Master Plan for a Hanlon Creek Conservation Area, which included the 20-acre parcel, was approved by both Guelph City Council and the GRCA.

In June of 2024, the GRCA approved a Management Plan for the Niska (Kortright) lands which recommended selling off this parcel.  Guelph City Council was brought up to date on this file earlier this year and City Staff have been negotiating behind the scenes to protect Guelph interests and our financial investment in this parcel.  Now, with the Ford government's announcement of the amalgamation of Ontario's Conservation Areas, there is significant community concern that these negotiations may become stalled or sidelined.

The best way to protect this 20-acre parcel of conservation land is to restore the originally intended zoning back to open space/parkland.

Rapid population growth means that recreation areas and access to greenspace are now needed more than ever. Guelph City staff have projected that we will be 174 ha short of parkland by 2051.

Now is the time to correct an historical wrong by changing the zoning of this parcel back to parkland/open space.

Sincerely,

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Email Petition: Kortright Waterfowl Park

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This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

First Name*

Last Name **

Email*

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Optional: Edit the email subject and message.
We add your name + email + postal code to bottom.

Email Subject*

Email Message

Dear Mr. Mollame (and circulating Mayor Guthrie and Members of Council):

Guelph's Official Plan Update currently underway is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to correct an historic error.

The best way to protect this 20-acre parcel of conservation land is to restore the originally intended zoning back to open space/parkland.

Rapid population growth means that recreation areas and access to greenspace are now needed more than ever. Guelph City staff have projected that we will be 174 ha short of parkland by 2051.

Now is the time to correct an historical wrong by changing the zoning of this parcel back to parkland/open space.

Sincerely,

We add your name, email, postal code

Volunteer Interest

Yes, contact me to get involved in more ways on this campaign

By providing your contact information, you consent to receive communications from Get Involved! Guelph. We’ll protect your privacy and you can unsubscribe any time.

Your name, address, and email will be shared with board trustees.

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Tell City Hall to restore parkland zoning to former Kortright Waterfowl Park lands

Let City staff and City Council know that you want this zoning error corrected.

Share the petition

Send your email to city staff and city council

Send Emails to

the City:

Join

citizens

Email Petition: Kortright Waterfowl Park

Sign the Petition:

Join

citizens

Email Petition: Kortright Waterfowl Park