The MPP for Windsor-West wants the province to immediately reinstate the provincially significant wetland designation for the South Cameron Woodlot.
Lisa Gretzky has fired off a letter to Premier Doug Ford saying she has been 'contacted by countless constituents who are alarmed by the decision.'
The province has re-designated a part of the South Cameron Woodlot, bounded by Totten Street, Dominion Boulevard, Daytona Avenue and Ojibway Street, in the area west of Holy Names High School.
It has removed 50 acres of the property from its provincial significant wetland designation, which means it could potentially be developed.
But Gretzky calls the decision 'short-sighted and ill-advised.'
"We have had flooding in that area so what is going to happen when they build on that land and those new homes flood," says Gretzky. "Are those people going to be able to access flood insurance? Is it going to be affordable insurance, what does it mean to the people that already have homes there?"
She points out people in this area have successfully pushed back in the past for projects like the Herb Gray Parkway.
"Spring Garden ANSI is another example where there was going to be development and there was a reversal on that, acknowledging the importance of that area. Ojibway is another one. So I think this government needs to be talking to and not just talking to, actually listening to what the people in this community are saying."
Gretzky says Windsor already has a low percentage of wetland acreage which is critical for protecting wildlife and for flood mitigation.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says the original designation was flawed and was done by a bureaucrat in Aylmer who never visited the city.
Many Windsorites are concerned about development on South Cameron woodlot.
— Lisa Gretzky (@LGretzky) March 11, 2019
Windsor has a low % of wetland acreage & has become increasingly prone to flooding. We need to protect this area, not pave over it.
I've written to the Premier& asked him to reverse this decision #onpoli pic.twitter.com/vNBFggkh81