If you attended the Town Council meeting on Monday night, thanks for your support. It was disappointing on many levels. I am just going to comment on one aspect tonight. Fort Erie has an Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) of local experts (including one member with a PhD in the Biological Sciences), who know the environmentally sensitive areas of the Town and have various expertise related to the environment. Recognizing that consultants are hired by the developer and have an inherent conflict of interest, EAC finds that Environmental Impact Study (EIS) frequently omit specific resident species that might hinder development. EAC can ground truth an EIS and bring insight to council in terms of the overall environmental impact of a proposal on the town, independent of influence of the developer. In this case EAC had serious concerns and believed that the development will have a negative impact based on the loss of a portion of the mature woodlot and the adjacent foraging area which provides nesting opportunities and food sources (i.e. insects) for both resident and migratory species of birds and bats, and will likely lead to the elimination of three resident bird species recognized by Ontario to be of "Special Concern" (eastern wood peewee, wood thrush, red headed woodpecker). They advised that the portion of the mature woodlot that is proposed to be removed should be added to the environmental protection block along with a 15 m buffer and the draft plan should be revised accordingly and that Lakeshore Road should not be extended. They also recommended further study by an ornithologist on the impact of the location of the 10-storey building on migratory birds to assess the impacts of light pollution, bird strikes and loss of habitat for ground and mid-range bird species. They also recommended that a vegetated wildlife corridor be constructed to link the stormwater management pond to the southern edge of Dominion Road and that an underground crossing be installed to link to the Provincially Significant Wetland to the north to convey birds, amphibians and mammals. Unfortunately, Council was told by the representative of the Town’s planning department that EAC’s advice should be completely dismissed, and Council should solely rely on the EIS to base their decision. Time is running out. The developer is anxious to start clearing the property and the Planning Department is fast tracking this development. If you have any comments or concerns or want to help out please email CVFErie@gmail.com