Ottawa says acquiring a farm for $2 million is a bargain. Rural councillors don't buy it

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Ottawa has a rare opportunity to buy a 223-acre waterfront property near Fitzroy Harbour for $2 million to conserve it as a natural area, according to a report going to city council.

But some rural councillors aren’t buying it, and the debate around the issue at the agricultural and rural services committee on Thursday showed the stark divide between rural and urban views on the value of land.

The farm, located just to the south of the Quyon ferry dock, has 2,650 feet (807 metres) of waterfront on the Ottawa River.

The sprawling property is “one of the most ecologically significant properties that we’ve seen in recent years,” said Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, the city’s director of climate change and resiliency.

But some rural councillors argued there was nothing special about the land, wanting the city to develop a full inventory of land that might benefit more from protection.

Plus they’re miffed that the proposal went to the finance and corporate services committee in December, almost bypassing the rural affairs committee.

It’s important that matters like this come before the committee, whether they go to another committee or not, Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown said.

“It’s important that our voice is heard.”

The farm at 5689 Ferry Rd. ticks all the boxes under Ottawa’s stewardship and acquisition program, said Nick Stow, the city’s program manager of natural systems.

The price is fair market value and the city has the money in its acquisition account, which currently has a balance of about $5 million. The city has had its eye on the Ferry Road property for a decade, Stow said. It was put up for sale in 2023 with an original asking price of $3.5 million.

The property includes mature forests, meadows, a natural spring and buildings, including a cabin dating back to 1835. It has high value as a wildlife and aquatic habitat, the meadows can be planted with trees, and there’s a high potential for Indigenous archaeological sites given its proximity to other sites in the area, Stow said.

The land is also part of a regional landscape corridor extending across the Ottawa River to west Quebec. There’s potential for partnership with other organizations and for using the land for low-impact recreational purposes, he said.

“It’s the most promising property that we have considered in last number of years in terms of specific conservation values,” Stow said.

West Carleton Coun. Clarke Kelly said he supported the acquisitions program and wasn’t arguing in favour of eliminating it. But, given the budget pressures on the city, he said he had a hard time getting behind the $2-million purchase and believed the money could be spent better elsewhere.

Opponents of the proposal argued that costs to taxpayers could balloon if there were environmental cleanup costs. There’s a former burial site on the property and only its approximate location is known.

Meanwhile, because of its location and zoning, there’s no chance it will be snatched up by a developer, councillors heard.

“This property is over 30 kilometres from the urban boundary, zoned in a way that nothing could be built or developed here that would really damage those natural features,” Kelly said.

Shirley Dolan, who has a farm in West Carleton, said rural landowners were already doing a good job of conserving land.

“I believe that farmers and property owners are the solution, not the problem, and I would urge the city to work with farmers and property owners rather than going around and purchasing property,” Dolan said.

Others argued the purchase was an opportunity not to be ignored.

Jennifer Humphries, speaking for Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability (CAFES), said the group’s trees and green spaces caucus met recently and the 36 members who participated agreed that the value of the land as a conservation area was “huge.”

“This city has big ambitions. It aims to be the most livable mid-sized city in North America, and it aims to be green and resilient. Buying this land matches up with both of those ambitions,” Humphries said.

Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital, said public ownership was the “gold standard” to protect natural features.

“I would urge the members of the committee that, although this is located in the rural area, that they think of it from a citywide perspective because it adds to the city’s long-term preservation and conservation of green space.”

Trees on the property could be cleared, but they won’t be, said Brown, who added that the property had a low score as agricultural land.

“Farmers don’t needlessly clear forested property. They do it to return land to agricultural production. They don’t do it because they think trees are evil,” Brown said.

“The land is pretty well natural, and it’s been that way for multiple decades. Nothing has happened. You’re asking for us to spend $2 million-plus to have it remain as it is today. Perhaps there’s another organization that could purchase these lands outside of the taxpayer-funded model,” Brown said.

Kelly said he was not convinced public ownership would protect the land. It’s likely there are properties within the urban part of Ottawa that are at greater risk and could benefit more from this kind of investment, he said.

“I do think this is a convenient purchase that does allow us to tick a bunch of boxes, but I don’t believe it helps achieve anything that this program seeks to achieve,” Kelly said.

Johanis conceded there could be an exercise to identify potential conservation parcels all over the city, but it would all come down to what properties happened to be available for sale.

“And this one happens to be now, so we should act on it,” he said.

City council is to vote on the purchase, as well as Kelly’s motion for an inventory of priority conservation lands, on Jan. 29.

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