ManorPark Community

With the gradual arrival of Spring, an era will end at CFB Rockcliffe. By late April or early May, the Canada Lands Company will officially take over the base from DND thereby setting in motion a community consultation process regarding the future development of the site. That process is expected to last for almost 2 years.

As the community with the most at stake in this development, it is essential that we play an active role in the consultative process so that we can have some influence on the size and shape of the project. Be assured that your Community Association is paying close attention to this issue. Since the beginning of the New Year, we have been carefully studying the landscape and quietly preparing the groundwork for the challenge ahead.

Last month I had an opportunity to meet with officials of CLC. Their consultants envision a development of 4,500 houses and apartments as well as a few shops and offices. The NCC may take 25 acres of the 336 acre site for a future museum. I came away from the meeting encouraged by the fact that we would be working with a single government agency where there would be some degree of accountability, but still very skeptical about that agency’s approach.

The CLC presentation at the meeting was very polished, but failed to focus on projects that they had actually worked on. Most of the images presented were of very attractive parks and real estate developments in the United States. In response to my question about how the CLC planned to handle the increased traffic volume that will result from such a massive project, the Chairman stated that traffic studies had assured them that the current roads were sufficient for the job. They talked about the importance of light rail to the project, but chose to be ambiguous about timing.

I have asked David Goldfield, Past President of the MPCA and Jeffrey Thiessen, Chairman of Development Issues to come up with an action plan which would help us define how we can best represent Manor Park on this issue. Jeffrey provides a preliminary look at their findings in a separate article in this issue of the Chronicle.

The advantages of working in concert with our neighbours on this issue are obvious. We have only to recall the success of the 'Save The Mile Circle Project' 20 years ago. On February 13, Jeffrey Thiessen and I met with community association leaders from our neighbouring communities. They share our concerns regarding development of the base. We are in the process of joining forces with them in preparation for the forthcoming public hearings. I want to thank our MP Mauril Bélanger and our City Councillor Jacques Legendre who are both going out of their way to ensure that we will have a meaningful place at the table. The coming months will be challenging. However, I believe by standing together we can make a difference. We will need volunteers and we will need your financial support. Stay tuned for further details.