As they work toward creating a tree cutting and woodlot preservation bylaw, Chatham-Kent council will bring in a third party facilitator/mediator to gather more public feedback and engagement.
The Kent Federation of Agriculture has asked publicly for a third-party neutral facilitator to help bring in more information to help create the bylaw. The KFA said they have concerns that science-based facts and recommendations have not brought forward to council as they create a forest preservation framework.
Council approved bringing in a third-party facilitator by a 10-6 vote.
Councillor Mary Clare Latimer said a facilitator will help address the perception that many landowners’ concerns are not being heard as well as any misperception that municipal staff is directing the bylaw development process.
She said an unbiased third-party facilitator will help in the creation of a “Made in Chatham-Kent” forest preservation framework rather than a recommendation that reinforces Chatham-Kent’s rural-urban divide.
Some councillors had concerns that bringing in an outside consultant could extend the bylaw process as it could be some time before a third-party consultant was picked through the request-for-proposal process, which could slow down the decision-making process past the current council’s term, which ends near the end of this year.
