By Mia Rabson

THE City of Winnipeg is trying to prevent a new subdivision from killing off some of the largest cottonwood trees and disturbing the only known pair of mating bald eagles within city limits.

The consultant overseeing the project says it's trying to act responsibly but the city keeps changing the rules.

The development is called River Ridge, a 30-hectare spread on which 132 houses will be built. It runs from Main Street east to the Red River, and between Chief Peguis Trail and Red River Boulevard. The area includes about 3.4 hectares of an ecosystem known as river bottom forest.

The forest is home to dozens of trees believed to be between 100 and 150 years old, 36 of which measure over a metre in diameter. Eleven of the trees -- mostly Cottonwoods -- have a diameter greater than 1.2 metres. It is the only river bottom forest left in the city that is home to trees of that girth.

"The size of the trees is very rare, and it's an ecosystem that needs to be preserved," said David Marsh, a planner with the City of Winnipeg.

George Holland, president of the Manitoba Naturalists Society, said the mating pair of eagles who live in the forest are not just rare, they're unique.

"This is the first case in history bald eagles have been found nesting within city limits," Holland said.

"Without that area being protected there is going to be a problem. They are pretty wary (birds)."

Marsh claims half of the 3.4 hectare river bottom forest will be disturbed by the current development, mainly because of a dike which is to run through almost the middle of the forest. The dike is necessary to protect the development from regular flooding on the Red River.

The city charter requires a developer to keep 10 per cent of its land as green space, and Marsh says the forest area the city wants protected would not exceed that 10 per cent.

"We are only asking for what's required," Marsh said.

David Palubeski, president of Lombard North Group, the planning and landscape architecture firm representing the land owners in the River Ridge development, said the city's demand is closer to 25 per cent for one of the home developers in River Ridge. All 3.4 hectares the city wants protected is on land owned by Greenview Homes of Calgary, one of Palubeski's clients.

He said Greenview's development plan will protect much of the forest, and 73 per cent of the large trees will be left as is. He also said Greenview consulted an arborist, who said the eagles will not be disturbed as long as no construction occurs near their nest until August, when the parents and their babies will have flown the coop for the winter.

But Palubeski says the city keeps demanding more.

When Greenview and the other owners first began planning for the land last August, it went to the city with a test proposal for development and asked for approval. The city laid out what it liked and what the conditions would be for the development.

At that time, Palubeski claims, protecting the river bottom forest was not among the conditions. The city didn't begin squawking about the forest until February, once the developer had begun to move forward with its plans, Palubeski says.

He says his client has already moved the dike a few metres to protect more of the forest, but the city wants it moved so it completely bypasses the forest. It would add $70,000 to his client's costs.

"To be frank, my client is flabbergasted by the city's response," Palubeski said.

Marsh said the city normally negotiates with the developer for where the green space will be in a development but it does have the authority to indicate which land it wants dedicated as green space. It can also theoretically refuse to approve a development over a dispute regarding the 10 per cent green space.

A public hearing on the development is scheduled for June 14.

Tory Education Critic Myrna Driedger, who stumbled onto the forest while looking at the plans for a new high school within River Ridge, says she hopes the developer changes its mind about the forest.

"It seems like a reasonable request to protect this area," she said. "You have a one time opportunity to protect an environmentally sensitive area. I hope the developer gives this some second thoughts."

Driedger trudged through the forest recently to get an idea of the land the city wants protected and said she thinks the public really needs to know what is going on.

Another developer recently agreed to sell a section of river bottom forest in south Winnipeg after community members complained. So far, 26 hectares of forest in Royalwood was sold back to the city for $2.25 million.

Palubeski said his client would sell the forest land to the city if that was an option but thus far the city has said it doesn't have the money.

Marsh says the city doesn't have to buy it back because it's within its 10 per cent allowance. But he said the city is still working with the developer looking for a compromise.

"We're not against the development, but we do have concerns with several of the parts."

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca