• Ile Perrot

Pincourt talks about birds, beaches and cemeteries

Marla Newhook for The Gazette
The Gazette
Monday, September 22, 2008

Beaches, birds and cemeteries were on the mind of some Pincourt residents
who attended a public consultation meeting earlier this month in preparation
of the Town's revision of its master plan for parks, green space and natural
habitat.
 The town’s original master plan was produced 20 years ago and many of the
projects back then, such as the Omni-Centre Community Complex and local
parks, came to fruitition.
Now, said Mayor Michel Kandyba, it is to time to decide what to do with the
remaining green space.
 "Everybody should have access but we have to find a balance of how to give
access and protect it at the same time, there are all kinds of methods
depending on the value of what's there," Mayor Michel Kandyba said at the
Sept. 16 meeting attended by almost 40 of the town’s 11,863 residents.
 With the boom of housing construction and development in Pincourt in recent
years, residents expressed concern about maintaining natural habitats, but
were reassured that the remaining green space is protected not only by
municipal bylaws but by the Ministry of Environment.
 "If we want to change the designation, we would have to go through another
public consultation," said Kandyba.  "We are exploring the idea of making
the designation permanent so no one can change the designation."
With the last of the housing development projects on the road to completion,
Pincourt is left with 12.5 per cent, or 1/8, of its 8.36 square-kilometer
territory as green space or natural habitat.
 Pincourt was recently awarded a $200,000 grant to start phase one of an
improvement project at Bellevue Park and rue Duhamel, which runs along 900
metres of beach property. The improvement project is slated to begin this fall.
 The idea of creating a memorial park where people can plant trees in
remembrance of a loved one was mirrored by some councilors who had discussed
the issue in a separate meeting.
 "We're looking into other areas to see how they manage it," said Mayor
Kandyba.
 One resident's suggestion for a local cemetery was dismissed as Mayor
Kandyba explained that there just wasn't enough space to allocate for a
cemetery in Pincourt. The nearest cemetery is in Ile Perrot.
 The final report of the Parks, Green Space and Natural Habitat Master Plan
prepared by the firm PLA Consultants will be released in 2009.