Niska Land Holdings

Background

In 1971, through a report titled Review of Planning for the Grand River Watershed, it was recommended that the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) acquire lands to support the Hespeler Reservoir as a flood control project. As a result, the GRCA purchased approximately 43 acres of land on Niska Road in Guelph. In 1977, the GRCA purchased an additional 116 acres from the Ontario Waterfowl Research Foundation (OWRF) in support of the same project. The consolidated land holdings total 160 acres and are referred to as the Niska Land Holdings in GRCA reports. 

• View a map of the total GRCA Niska Land Holdings.

The original recommendation for the Hespeler Reservoir was part of the flood control system that was originally proposed in a 1954 Hydraulics Report. This report was later updated in 1962. The recommendation was removed through an update to the Grand River Basin Water Management Study (1982).

In 1977, the GRCA entered into a commercial lease with the Niska Wildlife Foundation (NWF) for the management and operation of the existing Kortright Waterfowl Park. The NWF was a charitable non-profit corporation with the primary aim of increasing public awareness of wildlife resources and conservation.

In 2005, the NWF closed the Kortright Waterfowl Park to the public due to lack of funding for the maintenance of the property and safety issues.

In 2014, the GRCA completed the process of terminating the commercial lease with the NWF, and in 2015, the GRCA took possession of the land.

Management Plan

The lands that once contained the Kortright Waterfowl Park were in significant disrepair when the GRCA took back possession in 2015. There were several derelict buildings on the property, along with a number of hazards and debris. Many of these hazards remain on the property and are being removed as resources allow. These hazards include old and broken fencing, broken boardwalks and bridges, tree risks and buried infrastructure.

These hazards pose a significant safety risk to the public, and for this reason the Niska Land Holdings are currently closed to the public. Given the resources available to address hazards on this property, the GRCA estimates it will take a number of years to complete the clean-up of the site. At the same time, the GRCA is working on a Management Plan for this property.

The Management Plan will include the lands that were under the commercial lease with the NWF and the additional 43 acres that were acquired in 1971. It will include a detailed inventory of existing environmental features and determine their sensitivities. This information will help to identify significant environmental features on the property, lands that are surplus to the GRCA's needs and lands that are suitable for passive recreation.

At its January 26, 2018 General Membership Meeting, the GRCA board passed a motion directing staff to complete a management plan for the entire Niska Land Holdings prior to any of those lands being declared surplus.

The GRCA has begun to gather data on the natural features located within the Niska Land Holdings that will help form part of the Management Plan. This is an early step in the Management Plan process to help update the existing environmental information and understand the environmental. The Natural Heritage Characterization Work Plan is detailed below.

 Natural Heritage Characterization Work Plan

 The following provides a summary of the technical components to be undertaken by GRCA staff during the 2018-2019 inventory/survey seasons. New and updated data collection includes: ecological land classification, wetland delineation, plantation assessment, bird surveys, amphibian surveys, brook trout spawning surveys and a stream temperature survey.

 The following sources were referenced when developing the Niska Natural Heritage Characterization Work Plan:

1. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009. Marsh Monitoring Program Participant's Handbook for Surveying Amphibians. 13 pp. February 2009.
2. Cadman, M.D, D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. LePage, and A.R. Couturier (eds.). 2007. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, xxii + 706 pp.
3. Lee, H.T., W.D. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological Land Classification for Southern Ontario: First Approximation and Its Application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
4. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. 2014. Ontario Wetland Evaluation System, 3^rd Edition (Version 3.3). Queen's Printer for Ontario, viii + 284 pp. URL: http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/parks-and-protected-areas/ontario-wetland-evaluation-system-southen-manual-2014.pdf.

City of Guelph Official Plan Update

Official Plan Amendment No. 48 is the final phase of the City of Guelph's Official Plan Update. This phase ensures that the remaining sections of the Official Plan are in conformity with provincial legislation and plans and are consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement. OPA 48 (Phase 3 of the Official Plan update) was approved with modifications by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on December 11, 2013.

OPA 48 was approved with modifications by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) on October 5, 2017 with the exception of a number of site specific appeals and a policy appeal. A small portion of the Niska Land Holdings was one of the site specific land use appeals currently before the OMB.

• View a map of the 8 hectares currently before the OMB for consideration.

On March 14, 2018, the appeal was withdrawn as a result of Minutes of Settlement between Dr. Hugh Whiteley, the Corporation of the City of Guelph and the Grand River Conservation Authority. The Minutes of Settlement provide for an enhanced notification process, as the GRCA completes its plan for these lands.

GRCA's Ability to Purchase and Sell Lands

Under section 21(1)(c) of the Conservation Authorities Act, the GRCA has the ability to acquire or dispose of land, subject to the approval of the Minister  of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).

In order to sell land, the GRCA must first declare it surplus. To declare land surplus, the Authority must, at minimum, determine the following:

• the lands are no longer required for the project they were acquired for;
• the lands do not contain any provincially significant wetlands;
• the lands are not part of a Management or Agreement Forest; and
• the lands do not contain any regulated features under Ontario Regulation 150/06, but if they do, there are mechanisms in place to protect the significance of the feature.

The GRCA Board must approve the declaration of surplus land.

If land is declared surplus, it may be sold. The sale of land also requires GRCA Board approval. The GRCA is required to list the sale of the land on the public market at a sale price based on market based value by an accredited appraiser.

The GRCA is also required to notify the public and other public agencies of the intended disposition of land.

The public is welcome to submit any questions or concerns regarding a land disposition directly to the GRCA Board.

The Province requires that any revenue generated from the land sale must go into a special reserve for projects of the following nature:

• Acquisition of provincially significant conservation lands and/or managed forests
• Major maintenance of flood control structures
• Acquisition of ecologically sensitive lands
• Hazard land mapping
• Flood and erosion control projects (and related studies)
• Watershed management plans

These are all projects that benefit the public good and watershed residents.