The territory's Liberal Leader will ask the city to amend its Official Community Plan so more housing properties won't be developed in south Porter Creek.

'We understand the need for lots,' said Pat Duncan, the MLA for Porter Creek South. 'We also have to understand and respect the need for wilderness within our city.'

She made the comments following a public meeting Thursday evening at Porter Creek Secondary School. She had organized the event with city planners to discuss the proposed zoning bylaw which is being rewritten to reflect the changes made to the OCP, which serves as an overall planning document for the city.

About 80 people turned out for the meeting, packing the school's cafeteria.

Duncan noted her own history in pushing for the area to be protected as a park since the 1990s, when she presented a petition on behalf of her constituents for the request to the territorial government.

The area runs between Rabbit's Foot Canyon on the west, McIntyre Creek in the south and Mountainview Drive in the east.

While the land is owned by the territory, it's the municipal government that's responsible for zoning. The area is part of the region proposed for infill development, which means placing residential housing zones in areas of the city which are already developed.

The infill development concept was part of the most recent OCP developed. The proposed zoning bylaw would zone the area in Porter Creek, part of Riverdale and an area in Takhini North to allow for such development.

'What didn't come out of this meeting, which I find interesting, is if you go to any of the industrial areas like Kulan or across from Kulan, those are some of the most beautiful areas in the city and they are zoned industrial,' Duncan said following the two-hour meeting.

She went on to question whether the city has taken a close look at areas which could be developed.

Because the zoning bylaw reflects the OCP, Duncan wants to see the overall plan amended so it's protected as a park.

This morning, Duncan noted she wasn't vocal on the issue during discussions on the OCP during its adoption in October 2002; as the premier, she was in the midst of the campaign for the Nov. 4 territorial election.

She also noted the particular infill proposal for Porter Creek wasn't heavily highlighted in the document.

In addition to her proposal for an OCP amendment, she has also asked in a letter to Mayor Ernie Bourassa and council that the portion of the zoning bylaw concerning the Porter Creek infill be rejected.

Duncan said although the city has grown, city officials need to be mindful of the views of residents.

'I think the message given to city tonight was, Look again.' Nobody's denying the need for lots, but look again; not this area,' ' she said.

The meeting began with an introduction by Duncan and city planner Mike Gau explaining the process from the development of the OCP to the zoning bylaw and specific changes proposed. However, it didn't take long for it to become a question and answer session, with many residents expressing their opposition to the proposal for Porter Creek.

City planners and Coun. Doug Graham continually pointed to the need for residential lots within the city.

'There's under 200 lots left to sell in Copper Ridge,' Gau said. 'After that's done, which is expected to be in 2007, there's no more land supply for urban residential lots. So anybody looking to build on a vacant lot is going to be out of luck unless we go through exercises where we can do infill.'

Last year alone, he said, the city's population grew by almost 800 people. Over the last two years, sales have been between 80 and 100 lots per year.

Gau noted a number of options for infill in Porter Creek were considered in designing the new OCP.

'They were all eliminated except for this one,' Gau said, pointing to a slide of a map shown on the cafeteria wall. 'Currently, the zoning for most of the area is future development . It's been future development since 1998, since the last zoning bylaw was approved.'

The future development zone is designed to protect land as is for uses that will be determined later.

The area in the south for infill would be rezoned residential single-detached, which is for single-detached housing in urban lots.

'When this area's subdivided, unless there's a major variation from the zoning, basically the zoning will snap into place with the subdivision plan,' Gau explained in responding to a question about the size of the infill.

A zoning amendment would then likely come forward later for parks and recreation and greenbelt space within the residential development, he said.

Residents were quick to point to the trail network and recreation sites in the proposed residential area.

'This area's just covered with trails,' one resident said, displaying a map he'd made of the site which showed the trails. 'It's a recreational area, and the city's got to know that.'

His comment was one of a few that was greeted with applause throughout the evening.

The area is also home to a number of steep sections, he said.

Steep sections, trails and other features would be part of a planning study for the area that the city would do and the public could participate in, Gau said.

At this stage, the city is letting people know there's the potential for residential development in the future.

Another resident wondered whether the infill proposal was 'a bit of a bluff just to take the heat off the lower shelf development, maybe.'

Many residents argued the city will eventually need to develop a large area like the lower area of Porter Creek, known as the lower bench, if the demand for property is what the city claims it is.

The lower area of Porter Creek south of the Yukon River and north of McIntyre Creek between Range Road and the Mountain View Golf Course would take a long time to develop, requiring an area development scheme, Graham said.

'So what we did was identify three areas that had a potential for development within the city,' Graham explained.

Those sites were the infill proposals in Porter Creek between Ponderosa Drive and Mountainview Drive, Riverdale and Takhini North.

'What this process does, at the present time, is identify that land, make sure everybody understands what's going on,' he said.

'And perhaps we as a council didn't communicate very well to our planning department what we envision as well because all of this land you see here that is future development and (is proposed for infill) wasn't really in what we originally intended,' he said.

Graham said his understanding was the infill proposed would be between Mountainview and Ponderosa drives.

He said he plans to propose a change to the OCP at an upcoming council meeting because 'what we first of all want to do is have the planners come out and lay out a basic plan of where we believe lots should be in that area.'

After arguing he's 'lived here longer than any of you,' he said he's seen what he considered his green space such as where he used to toboggan in the early 1960s at the current 11th Avenue eaten up by residential development.

'And I wasn't happy about it either, but I realized that if we're going to do this, let's do it in a very good way,' he said. 'And at the present time, or maybe in the past, we haven't done it as well as we should.'

What Graham would like to see done is to come up with a basic plan for the area then take it back to the community in another public meeting format.

'But at least at that time, you'll be able to see where we think green spaces within the residential development could be, where we could relocate trails if they're necessary to relocate and what we can do in terms of environmental constraints,' he said.

Graham, who appeared to be the only councillor present, continually stressed the balance council has to work for in having green spaces while still allowing for needed development.

'I think when you're talking about achieving a balance, it's very important to make sure that you err on the side of caution with your green spaces because that balance will quickly tip if you add more and more people and their recreational needs to a smaller and smaller area that is actually very sensitive and over-used even now and has, if I may say, no environmental protection, absolutely none,' Erica Heuer, former president of the Takhini North Community Association, told Graham.

A teacher from Jack Hulland School noted the heavy use of trails around the school and the teaching opportunities it presents in berry-picking and learning about wildlife.

'Little legs can't walk too far,' she said. 'This is the spot you go for all that stuff.'

She also noted she doesn't want her children to have to be driven to their recreation, but would rather have it immediately accessible to them.

Another resident questioned whether the territorial government could be lobbied on the matter because of its ownership.

Duncan responded by noting she has approached the minister responsible (Glenn Hart) to remind him of the history of the area and her 1997 petition.

'An example of what the territorial government could do a very good example is Versluce Meadows (proposed) park,' she said.

'That land, at the end of that lease life, is to go back to the territorial government.... The proposal right now is the territorial government will give that land to the city as a park.'

She also added the government is the developer of lots in the city 'so that's why this is kind of a two-front lobby effort.'

Duncan is planning to take her request to the city's public hearing on the zoning bylaw scheduled for the April 25 council meeting. The public hearing permits anyone to speak on the issue. Letters and e-mails can also be sent to Bourassa and council.

In addition to the public hearing, a public meeting has been scheduled on the zoning bylaw for next Wednesday at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel.