Venting of potentially dangerous methane gas, impacts on fish, and locating a driveway on a route used by tiny endangered turtles are among aspects of a King Street East storage centre proposal being reviewed. Proponents of the four building proposal on empty property at the corner of King Street East and Olympic Drive, held an unofficial public meeting last week to discuss details of their zoning and official plan amendment application.

The request is to permit a self-serve storage facility, a use currently not allowed under the site's commercial recreational zoning.

An environmental impact assessment of the site, which is within the Cootes Paradise environmental significant area, and its surroundings including Lake JoJo, Veteran's Marsh, the Desjardins Canal, has been submitted to the City of Hamilton's natural heritage planners.

Though the proponents have concluded the plan will have no impacts on the surrounding environment, the city natural heritage planner Cathy Plosz said that remains to be seen.

"I'd challenge that statement," Ms. Plosz said of the proponent's position that natural heritage resources associated with this site are of low quality, and the plan will have no negative impact on significant species, as well as no impact on the Cootes Paradise environmentally significant area.

She said staff may disagree with the applicant's assessment of the project's impacts on fish in Lake JoJo, amphibians and reptiles on and around the property. Ms. Plosz said staff are reviewing the submitted impact assessment and cannot comment on it.

More fill must be added to the property to meet flood proofing and drainage requirements.

According to a presentation by planning consultant Ken Dakin, the only regionally significant species found in the area - the Eastern Kingbird - was removed when its habitat was destroyed by construction of the nearby municipal recycling facility. The proposal includes four buildings with individual storage units. Each building would be 27.4 metres wide with varying lengths of 63.2, 76.2, 71.7 and 81.8 metres, facing King Street East and the former Veldhuis greenhouse.

Two Dundas residents on a committee that supported the Hamilton Conservation Authority's recent purchase of the Veldhuis site, and will help achieve a goal of re-naturalizing the site on the banks of the Desjardins Canal, were at last week's meeting.

Brian Baetz, a McMaster University engineering professor, and former town councillor Joanna Chapman, both raised concerns about the proposal.

Ms. Chapman questioned the plan to build a driveway access to the storage facility from King Street East.

"Hundreds of turtles cross there," she said. "An entrance off King Street East is the worst place. It would be desirable to close King Street East entirely."

Mr. Baetz was particularly interested in the history of the former dump which lies beneath the site.

"There's a combination of materials down there, including organic and man-made," Mr. Dakin said. "Deep organic has potential to create methane."

A venting system will likely have to be put in place to safely release the underground gas, but details of that system are not yet available.