Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee
Established in 2001, the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee (OFGAC) provides a forum for interested citizens and City Councillors to engage on current forest and greenspace issues in the City of Ottawa. The committee has 15 members, appointed by City Council, from all areas of the City of Ottawa.
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Mandate
The Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee (OFGAC), through the Planning and Environment Committee, provides advice and guidance to Ottawa City Council on ways to help safeguard the environment of the City through the use of trees, forests and greenspace. Members assist Council by:
- Providing input into policies and budgets related to greenspace preservation and the management of urban and rural forests;
- Recommending ways in which the City can meet its greenspace and forest related objectives as outlined in the Official Plan and other planning documents; and
- Promoting public awareness of the role of greenspace and forests in protecting and enhancing quality of life.
Definitions
The urban forest includes individual city trees, rural woodlots and forests (and other vegetation)within the City of Ottawa.
Greenspace is open space which includes wetlands in its natural, undeveloped state as well as a supporting network of land in private and public ownership that has been developed only to the extent consistent with natural systems protection, recreational uses, or agricultural and forest production.
Responsibilities
Among the Committee's official responsibilities:
- Providing a forum for citizens interested in forests and greenspace to raise issues and concerns;
- Providing advice and guidance to Council, through the Planning and Environment Committee, on City policies, programs, by-laws, regulations and budgets related to forest and greenspace management;
- Advising on areas where the introduction of trees and tree cover would be beneficial to the environment or where their removal would have a negative impact on a site or ecosystem;
- Identifying issues that may impact on trees, tree cover or natural systems and recommending ways to minimize the impact;
- Advising on the introduction of windbreaks, the shading of transportation corridors, the greening of streets, roads, parks and conservation areas, the preservation of tree cover, and forest management in the City;
- Promoting and facilitating cooperation with local community groups and environmental organizations on education and other initiatives related to forest and greenspace management;
- Conducting advocacy on behalf of issues relating to Ottawa's forests and greenspace;
- Providing advice on the protection, management, acquisition and conservation of greenspace and other environmentally sensitive areas in Ottawa;
- Working to reduce the burden on the City's Environmental Resources Areas Acquisition Fund by promoting partnerships with developers (in the form of land bequests and conservation development) and with other stakeholders (in the form of land trusts and conservation easements);
- Liaising with other City of Ottawa Advisory Committees as appropriate.
See also