Heather Latter
Half a dozen people were on hand to support making the local community garden a permanent feature in the Town of Fort Frances during a public meeting held Monday night to consider the rezoning of the garden property.
The Fort Frances Community Garden Planning Committee has requested to rezone the municipally-owned property fronting Lillie Avenue between Fifth St. West and Sixth St. West to permit the continued use of the property as a community garden.
The land was operating under a temporary use bylaw since Aug. 2010.
The rezoning would not only allow for use of the land on a permanent basis but includes a provision to permit accessory structures without the existence of a principal building and reduce the front yard setback to 3.65 metres.
“Without a doubt, the community garden has been improving with each coming year and it is the hope of the committee that the garden will be permitted to remain in place and flourish in the coming years,” said Krista Nielson, acting chair of Fort Frances Community Garden Planning Committee and health promoter with the Northwestern Health Unit.
She noted the garden has 60 adult plots rented this year and they have added four raised beds to the four that had already been in place.
In addition, they recently started up a Kids Garden Club with more than 35 youngsters registered.
Nielson also commented on the current location of the garden, which she said is ideal.
“The previously open, unused space is near to a playground, as well as low-income housing,” she explained. “Surrounding neighbours lessen the likelihood of theft or vandalism happening at the garden site.
“In the last three years, the Lillie Ave. community garden has turned from an unused field into an area with more than 50 people regularly utilizing the space to better their health,” she continued, citing the garden committee has received support at the local, provincial, and federal level.
“It would be a shame to see the investment of both time and [finances] go to waste,” Nielson stressed. “Moving a garden is not an easy task. The money, labour, and dedication that has went into bringing the Lillie Avenue garden to the successful state that it is in today can not be duplicated quickly.
“If the garden is unable to remain in place, it is truly hard to say if there will be a future community garden in Fort Frances, as it would mean starting back at square one,” she added.
Katie Cuthbertson, health educator with the Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre, also showed her support for the community garden remaining at its current location.
“It would be extremely disappointing to see the rezoning denied,” she voiced. “As community members, it is our responsibility to support endeavors that promote healthy lifestyles, especially with the rapid increase of obesity and disease.
“We can’t think of a single reason why the community should be denied the opportunity to come together and learn and share,” she added.
And no one spoke in opposition of the zoning bylaw amendment.
“At least I know myself, I’ve really supported the community garden in the community,” noted Mayor Roy Avis. “Going forward, I’m glad to see the interest is as high as it is.”
He explained the consideration of adopting the bylaw will be under the business of the next regular council meeting, after first being approved by the Planning and Development Executive Committee.
In related news, council denied a request from the Fort Frances Community Garden Planning Committee for the town to donate chain link fencing from the old Huffman School property for the community garden’s use.
The reason is twofold: the fencing will be used to secure construction materials during the Huffman subdivision work, and afterwards, the fencing will be installed along the west side of the east end rink to try to alleviate pucks from entering into the backyards of the new residential lots.
