BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West
Attention, timing and momentum. These are the forces the Save Fairview Forest group have successfully harnessed, accomplishing what few believed would ever be possible. But as it prepares to review its successes this evening at its third annual general meeting, the group is keeping its eye on the prize, a goal that now appears less pie-in-the-sky than ever before.
“Things are finally moving in the right direction,” said Geneviève Lussier, president of the group that has been lobbying for the protection of the woodland just west to the Fairview Pointe Claire shopping centre, north of Highway 40.
The group has staged weekly rallies by the forest for 227 Saturdays. That is more than four years of protests every weekend on the sidewalk that traces the limit of Fairview Forest, a 39-acre tract of land north of the REM train line that is the only remaining piece of undeveloped wooded area in Pointe Claire.
The group’s goal is to save the forest from being developed by its owner, Cadillac Fairview, which is also seeking to redevelop much of the adjacent shopping centre property, building three multi-level residential towers in the parking lot of the mall site.
“It’s nice to be able to celebrate our success this year,” Lussier said in an interview with The 1510 West, referring to tonight’s meeting.
And in the last year, those successes point to a shift in support for saving the woodland.
The first breakthrough, which has been churning for more than a year, will be unveiled later this spring, when the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal releases its new urban planning documents, which will identify the woods as a “natural space of ecological interest,” an official designation required for land to be protected.
This follows part of the forest being officially designated as wetlands, which prohibits development in these areas and in a 30-metre buffer zone surrounding them. This, on its own, protects half the forest, Lussier said.
“That is a huge win,” she explained.
But it is not the only one.
In the last year, the Quebec government has adopted Bill 39, a law that gives municipalities more latitude to expropriate what are defined as exceptional natural spaces. In the past months, other municipalities, including Longueuil and St. Bruno, have used the legislation to protect tracts of land within their borders.
The provincial and federal governments have also made new funds available to underwrite the acquisition of natural areas.
While at the municipal level, Lussier said, the City of Pointe Claire earlier this month closed the tender on a study that will focus on all the privately owned natural spaces in the city, a result of a resolution council adopted last fall to formally take a new look at the future of green spaces in the municipality, including how recent provincial legislation can be leveraged.
“When this resolution was passed we were cautiously optimistic,” Lussier said, explaining the resolution showed a willingness to look at the issue.
It is not clear where it will lead, but as Lussier added, “We have been lobbying all levels of government,” referring to the municipal, CMM and provincial levels. “There are multiple funding opportunities to look at.”
Since the start of Save Fairview Forests lobbying efforts began, Cadillac Fairview has also sold 11 acres of the green space to accommodate the REM, whittling down the 50-acre woodland to 39 acres. Although, the forest is smaller, Lussier said, the cost of acquiring what remains will be less costly, making the task more manageable.
Save Fairview Forest’s annual general meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. at Cedar Park United Church, 204 Lakeview Ave. in Pointe Claire. It is open to the group’s members and all others who would like to attend.