RESTORE COOTES

Rezoning request denied TheSpec.com - Local - Rezoning request denied Owner says he's not giving up on Dundas storage plan Jackson Hayes , The Hamilton Spectator , (Feb 18, 2009) Doug Hammond's plans to build a self- storage facility in Dundas hit another speed bump yesterday as his rezoning application was denied by the economic development and planning committee. And though he anticipates another rejection when city council votes on the committee recommendation next week, he says the fight could be far from over. "This is going to fall on the taxpayer," Hammond said after the committee's unanimous vote. "The city is going to have to hire a planner ... but that...

Authority, city should swap land: Councillor TheSpec.com - BreakingNews - Authority, city should swap land: Councillor Eric McGuinness (Hamilton Spectator) Hamilton Mountain Councillor Tom Jackson suggests swapping city land for a vacant Dundas site that conservationists say is key to a potential urban eco-park that expands the Cootes Paradise nature sanctuary. He and five other directors of the Hamilton Conservation Authority voted unanimously Thursday night to oppose rezoning two hectares at King Street East and Olympic Drive for a self-storage warehouse. Their position now goes to city council’s economic development and planning committee, which will consider the rezoning application Feb. 17. The directors’ action supports a unanimous recommendation by c...

The Hamilton Naturalist Club is presenting a lecture by Stephen Bede Scharper, Monday, February 9, 2009, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, starting at 7:30pm . I include this short piece here, because it gives a taste of Scharper, but also because we need to re-examine our car habits, especially the way servicing cars destroy nature, as in Cootes Drive/Cootes Paradise. On Sacrifice, Spirituality and Silver Linings - Stephen Bede Scharper Reproduced from the Toronto Star Did you ever think of giving up your car? When I posed this question to my wife two years ago, she rolled her eyes and the bubbles above her head flashed the words “Ridiculous!” “Impossible!” “Recycling and composting are fine, Dear,” I heard her thoughts missile toward me, “but this is going way too far.” I felt like Galileo proposing a heliocentric universe to Pope Urban VIII. Suddenly, I was questioning a sacred tradition. After all, this was the way the world had been since the ancient Greeks. Wasn’t it Heraclitus w...

View the Eco-Park Document here Make Cootes national park, group urges TheSpec.com - Local - Make Cootes national park, group urges Create eco-park in urbanized area Eric McGuinness , The Hamilton Spectator (Jan 28, 2009) The idea of a Cootes Paradise National Park is being revived by local conservationists. But they say it is jeopardized by plans for a self-storage warehouse beside the Desjardins Canal at the east entrance to Dundas. They point to a new vision of an urban eco-park -- maybe a national park -- incorporating the Cootes marsh, drafted by Urban Strategies Inc., the firm responsible for McMaster University's campus master plan among other Hamilton projects. Joe Berridge, a partner who has helped reshape waterfronts in Toronto, New York and London, produced the concept document at the invitation of Ben Vanderbrug, retired general manager of the Hamilton Conservati...

Public meeting for creek plans TheSpec.com - Local - Public meeting for creek plans The Hamilton Spectator , (Jan 26, 2009) Efforts to improve water quality in Hamilton Harbour are moving further upstream as the Hamilton Conservation Authority develops environmental action plans for Borer's, Logies's and Sydenham creeks. The creeks are within the watershed of Spencer Creek, which flows through Flamborough and Dundas before emptying into Cootes Paradise at the west end of the harbour. Draft plans to restore and protect the health of the creeks and their ecosystems will be presented at an open house from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow at Rock Chapel United Church, 451 Rock Chapel Rd. Individuals, bu...

HCA is offering mediation for storage dispute Gateway site would make ‘a lovely community acquisition,’ chair says Richard Leitner, Dundas Star News Staff Published on Jan 16, 2009 The Hamilton Conservation Authority is offering to host talks aimed at finding a friendly way to stop a controversial proposal to build a self-storage facility at the eastern entrance to Dundas. After more than two hours of presentations and discussion, board directors last week deferred voting on a resolution opposing the development to allow for a meeting between proponent Doug Hammond and a group of residents headed by former Dundas councillor Joanna Chapman. Authority chair Chris Firth-Eagland said he’s encouraged both Ms. Chapman and a lawyer representing Mr. Hammond committed to meet to review options for the vacant property, located at the northwest corner of King Street and Olympic Drive. He said the two-hectare site, purchased by Mr. Hammond from the former regional municipality in 1999, “would make...

Intersections and collisions. Kaz Novak, The Hamilton Spectator Cootes Drive is closed due to a collision between a fire truck and a sub compact at the corner of Olympic Dr. One injured in firetruck crash TheSpec.com - BreakingNews - One injured in firetruck crash Cootes Drive at Olympic Drive closed John Burman One person is in hospital and Cootes Drive is closed after an accident invol...