The City of Windsor has been able to reverse a provincial hold on development at an important woodlot in the city.
Mayor Drew Dilkens announced through his Facebook page on Thursday that the province has partially lifted a "Provincially Significant Wetland" designation for the South Cameron woodlot. Dilkens said he spoke with Premier Doug Ford in December about city issues and one of them was the 150 acres of land just west of Mark Avenue and Kenora Street.
"A bureaucrat in Aylmer, Ontario had unilaterally placed the 'Provincially Significant Wetland' designation that neutered any future residential development on more than 150 acres of land," the mayor said. "This decision was made at a desk in Aylmer, Ontario without any provincial staff ever coming to Windsor to understand the impact of what they were doing."
He said efforts to have previous provincial politicians review this decision went "unanswered" but now residential development can go ahead.
Dilkens said he received the news on Thursday that nearly 50 acres of the land has had the erroneous wetland designation removed, opening the possibility for future residential development in that part of Windsor.
"Thank you to Premier Ford, Minister Clark and Minister Yakabuski for taking this issue seriously and finding a reasonable solution that allows development while protecting the environment," Dilkens said.
