An 800-name petition has been presented to the city in support of a campaign to prevent a privately- owned historic downtown park from being turned into condominiums.
The park, known as the Dominican Gardens, between Empress and Lorne avenues was recently put up for sale for $2.2 million by the Dominican Convent, its owners.
Worried that their area, with only eight hectares of greenspace, the least in Ottawa, could not afford to lose more land to developers, concerned residents mobilized in September by starting a petition to persuade the city to buy the park and conserve it as a greenspace.
“Our petition now has support from the city parks and recreation advisory committee. Committee members have told us that they can’t commit themselves beyond their goodwill because they are not sure what the final outcome will be,” says Sean Darcy, who initiated the petition.
The petition was presented to the parks committee Nov. 26, where it received a positive reception, says Darcy.
Aaron Burry, director of parks and recreation for the city, last week confirmed in an interview that the Dominican Gardens issue is being consideration by the parks committee.
“What I can tell you is that the issue is before the city, but it is still at a preliminary stage. The city is looking at the situation and right now I can’t predict what the outcome will be,” Burry said.
The move to save Dominican Gardens, according to Darcy, is in line with the Tree, Reforestation, and Environmental Enhancement program initiated by the city to address Centretown’s diminishing greenspace.
“What we are asking the city to do is use its own benchmarks, plans and statistics. We are simply demanding that it lives up to its ambitions and promises,” Darcy said.
At the end of October and beginning of November, the city’s environment sustainability division organized a series of public workshops aimed at seeking views on how better to conserve greenspaces, especially on private land.