Summer has indeed crept up on us… we hope you are enjoying some of these long, lazy, hazy days with your family and friends!
We have been busy since the December announcement by ClubLink of its plan to redevelop our shared Kanata Golf Club land and we want to bring you up to date on what we have been doing.
The Kanata Greenspace Steering Committee (KGSC)…. wants to say THANK YOU!
First off, a big thank you to all of you who initially responded in December and January to the ask of the KBCA and KLCA community associations with a financial donation to jumpstart our community opposition campaign.
On the heels of Councillor Jenna Sudds’ mid-january Open House and Community Canvas a group of community volunteers stepped forward to create our first working group.
What We have Been Doing
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- Since then, the KGSC has been very busy (meeting weekly until April and bi-weekly into June)
- organizing a committee with the appropriate membership, expertise and structure to move forward
- providing immediate and appropriate financial governance for the initial financial donations provided by the community
- communicating with the City of Ottawa and providing support to our Kanata North Councillor Jenna Sudds as she lobbied for City opposition to the ClubLink proposal
- creating and delivering a community-wide sign-up and fundraising effort, the Spring Lawn Sign Campaign
- creating our website www.ourkanatagreenspace.ca to support outreach and fundraising
- identifying next steps and partnerships to ensure our volunteer-based, non-profit organization can succeed
Committee Membership:
Kanata Lakes: Sue Dodge, Jen Fyfe, David McNairn, Karen Noseworthy, Barbara Ramsay, Greg Sim, Tom Thompson, Lianne Zhou
Beaverbrook: Peter Chapman, Kevin McCarthy, Geoff McGowan, Neil Thomson
We continue to be ably resourced by Councillor Jenna Sudds as well as former Councillor Marianne Wilkinson with representation from six community associations on our membership.
ClubLink Update
If you are following Councillor Sudds’ updates (you can find them at Kanata North, there has been no response from ClubLink to the March 2019 letter by Tim Marc, City of Ottawa Senior Legal Counsel which
stated that the Legal Department would pursue a defence of the 40 Percent Agreement in the courts should ClubLink approach the City with a redevelopment proposal for the golf course land.
We continue to stay abreast of the issue and continue to believe the best offence (given the circumstances of this situation) is a good defence. As has been said many times, ClubLink’s assets are deep and if its will is strong “this will be a marathon, not a sprint”
We’ll stay on top of it and keep you informed of important changes.
Lawn Sign Campaign
What an overwhelming success!
- Our incredible team of 52 volunteers from Beaverbrook and Kanata Lakes knocked on thousands of doors across a significant part of Kanata North.
- They signed up over a thousand members and sold Lawn Signs leaving an image of entrenched opposition to the ClubLink proposal across our community.
- The Committee wants to the thank each one of those 52 volunteers once again! You’re the best!
And thank you to all of you who signed up in support of our organization and purchased a lawn sign to support our cause when they came to your door. - One of our continuing goals is to identify more volunteers in Kanata Estates, Richardson Ridge, Morgan’s Grant and Arcadia.
If you know someone who shares your passion for a green Kanata and would like to help us …please send them our way! Our email is below.
What’s Next for the KGSC
- Our ClubLink redevelopment opposition campaign remains front and centre as we work to
- fundraise to ensure that our community has the financial plan to protect our shared right to access the Kanata Golf Course lands as shared recreational and open space
- protect all of the green and open spaces of Kanata North from the ongoing pressures of urban development
- identify partners who can help our volunteer-based organization succeed
Moving forward, we are planning a quarterly Newsletter to keep in touch with you. Watch for it in your inbox!
Coming Events
The KGSC will be hosting a booth at the Kanata North SUMMERFEST on Wednesday, August 7 from 4-8pm on the Sandwell Green. Stop in for a visit with us and pick up another Lawn Sign for yourself or your neighbour!
For more information please check out Kanata North Summer Fest
For now, we want to thank you one more time for choosing to join us in the fight to protect our green and open spaces and our access to them. It is so very central to what life in Kanata North is all about!
Best wishes for an enjoyable summer in Kanata North!
Barbara Ramsay and Geoff McGowan
Co-Chairs
Kanata Greenspace Steering Committee
chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
T 613-725-6595