This is an abridged version of our second letter to Council regarding continued concerns around the proposed Zoning By-law Amendments to allow development of two new parking lots in Tobermory.
We attended Council Meeting on July 12th — hoping for a vote to defer the decision to proceed with these amendments until additional information was provided and Council had fully considered the large number of public concerns expressed about this proposal. This did not happen.
Council then voted 3-2 to proceed in favour of the applications [pending a meeting with SON] at the Council meeting on July 26th. Citizens who had sent letters with many valid comments were told that our concerns would be addressed through the Site Plan Control Agreement process. No further information was given about exactly which concerns would be addressed and what this process will entail.
Despite hours reading of the Consultant Planning Justification Reports, the Bruce County Planning Reports, the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority Report, the Environmental Impact Analysis, the Traffic Signal Warrant Analysis, the Site Plans, and the Minutes of Council meetings, we still have unanswered questions:
• First, what is the rationale for the large number of proposed new parking spaces? These two developments recommend an additional 748 parking spaces – 278 for Blue Heron Company and 470 for The Bruce Anchor. This is almost double (roughly 1.7 times) the number of their current 450 parking spaces to approximately 1195.
The companies state that they need all this extra space, and yet have shared no data to support this.
• Second, will these new parking lots impact the revenues needed by the municipality to pay for infrastructure costs resulting from tourism (eg. more washrooms, waste clean-up, garbage and recycling, etc)? Tourists may see the extra benefit to booking a boat tour if they can be guaranteed free all-day parking, but they will need washrooms and waste disposal when they are in town, even if these are provided at the new parking lots.
-What is the data about current municipal paid parking spaces in Tobermory — numbers, occupancy rates, variations by time or day of the week? How many are used for all-day parking?
– If there are more visitors to Tobermory as a result of new parking capacity, with the accompanying need for even more increases to infrastructure, would the Blue Heron Company and The Bruce Anchor consent to a ‘quid pro quo’ agreement with the Municipality to cover these additional costs?
• Third, all planning reports downplay the impact that these developments likely will have on the volume, flow and safety of vehicles and pedestrians. Many of the letters from residents to Council explicitly addressed these concerns.
-All reports indicate that a traffic light at the corner of Hay Bay Road and Highway 6 is needed, but there is no indication that the MTO plans to do this in the near future.
-If new sidewalks are installed from the proposed parking lots to town, will the companies cover these costs?
-Is this not the time to reconsider the entire parking and pedestrian situation in Tobermory?
• Fourth, the Consultant and County reports state that environmental impacts can be mitigated at the parking lot sites and that the current plans can provide reasonable protection against undue damage to the environment and the at-risk species living there.
-Is this good enough? Will this be another precedent for future projects that will again be at the expense of our fragile eco-system?
-Councilor Golden stated that site plan controls will have to be strictly enforced. Who will cover the additional costs of enough by-law enforcement officers to handle this?
• Finally, none of the reports address the potential impact of further increases in tourist numbers on the people and natural areas around Tobermory.
-With increased parking capacity, how many more visitors/customers will come?
-Will more boat trips be added to the present schedules?
-Can Fathom Five sustain any more of a tourist impact?
The Site Plan Control Agreement says that “all stakeholders must approve” of the agreement before it can proceed. Has Council consulted with any of its own committees about these proposals? What about OSTC and Parks Canada?
In closing, we wish to reiterate that we appreciate the importance of the cruise companies to the community. We have enjoyed boat tours ourselves and encouraged family and friends to do likewise. However, we fear that these developments, as currently proposed, will further compromise the integrity of our community and our unique natural environment.
Respectfully submitted,
Judi MacLeod and Jacqui Wakefield
