Wednesday, August 11, 2021

LAKE ONTARIO
Shoreline residents take beach development protest 'to the sand'

Those opposed to a waterfront development in Bruce County are staging an unusual beach build.




Scott Miller
CTV News London Videographer
Monday, August 9, 2021

PORT ELGIN, ONT. -- Building sand sculptures isn’t usually done in protest, but the construction of a sand model of a commercial development proposed for Port Elgin’s waterfront is how some project opponents have decided to get their message across to visitors and locals alike.

“Two years ago, Saugeen Shores council approved a 50-year lease of a large portion of our waterfront. They’ve approved a large commercial development to be built here and they did it before they had approval from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority,” says the sand sculpture organizer, and Port Elgin Beach Preservers founder, Patricia Frank.

Cedar Crescent Village, a private project to be built on public land, was approved by Saugeen Shores council back in 2019.

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The project -- featuring restaurants, shops, a conference centre and volleyball courts -- was supposed to be open by now, but COVID-19 delays and concerns over potential flooding have slowed it down.

The fate of the project now sits in the hands of the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority.

“We’re hopefully getting close to a point where we can get under construction. Anybody whose built anything will know these things go longer than you want them to, but hopefully we’re getting close,” says Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau.

Charbonneau says council approved the $7-10 million project and a 50-year lease because residents and visitors have told them they want more shops and businesses down at the beach.

“We’ve heard people tell us they want more amenities down at the waterfront. Whether that’s a restaurant, more retail opportunities for boaters at the harbour, so we want to see that move forward. It’s something the people of Saugeen Shores have been interested in seeing for a long time,” he says.

Not so, says Frank, who says she hears from project opponents every single day.

“It’s fighting with parking for beachgoers. They’re planning a 300-person event hall. Our opinion and the opinion of most of Saugeen Shores is that this beach does not need a 300-person event hall,” she says.

Whether the project moves forward, or stays a sand-based model, lies in the hands of the local conservation authority. There is no timeline for a decision.

“It was supposed to be open last July 1. Nothing is going to start at least until the fall. All the approvals have to be in place,” says Frank.

“Hopefully, we’re very close,” says Charbonneau.


Those opposed to a new beach development are protesting in the sand in Port Elgin, Ont., Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. (Scott Miller / CTV News)


YEARS AGO THE COTTAGE COUNTRY FOLKS AT PORT ELGIN DID A NIMBY ON A WIND TURBINE THE CANADIAN AUTOWORKIERS UNION WANTED TO BUILD AT THEIR SCHOOL GROUNDS. IT WAS ALL ABOUT PROPERTY VALUES


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