Title
Policy Guidelines to Protect more Tree Canopy in the new Brookswood-Fernridge OCP
Recommended Action
Whereas Council has now received for consideration a draft OCP plan for the undeveloped areas of Brookswood-Fernridge;
Whereas many of the developable properties within the undeveloped area are heavily treed and the majority of the Township's coniferous forest reserves are located within the Brookswood-Fernridge area; and
Whereas it is deemed necessary and desirable to balance sustainability components with development to include financial, social, and ecological considerations further to the Sustainability Charter and other Township policies, which values include the protection of significant trees for ecological, wildlife, recreation and aesthetic reasons;
Therefore be it resolved that Council direct planning staff to draft specific criteria in order to provide a framework in which to protect more trees and give effect to the language of the draft OCP, which considerations may include:
1. establishing defined percentages of canopy that must be protected in single-family residential developments based on a calculation with respect to potential negotiated formulas such as credits for trees saved, setbacks and side yard adjustments;
2. reduced lot sizes with bonus density provisions for tree preservation under appropriate circumstances;
3. requirement for supplemental plantings in order to mitigate canopy loss under prescribed circumstances and on a case by case basis;
4. utilization of community amenity charges to secure high value forested stands and habitat areas within developing neighbourhoods; and
5. all other best management practices as identified by staff in order to encourage the preservation of existing mature trees.