A plea by the Save Ojibway group has been dismissed by the Ontario Municipal Board.
The decision means Coco Paving can go ahead with plans for a big box development across from the Ojibway Nature Reserve at Sprucewood Avenue and Matchette Road.
Many residents and environmentalists opposed the development fearing its impact on wildlife and plants in the area.
Nancy Pancheshan with the Save Ojibway group says the Ojibway Prairie is home to more than 4,000 plant and animal species, many of them rare and some of them endangered.
“Though a very sad day for Ojibway and its species, the efforts to protect this unique prairie isn’t over”, says Pancheshan.
She says it’s time now for the City of Windsor, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Essex Region Conservation Authority to step up and play a part in protecting this significant natural area and the species that live in it.
The project still requires site plan approval and ERCA must also review the proponent’s development plan before any construction may begin.
