By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
Municipal and School Board elections will take place this fall. Nominations are open for both.
No one has yet filed nomination papers for MNBP Council as of June 12, but it’s early days yet — nominations don’t close until August 19.
It’s a different story at Bluewater District School Board, however: Incumbent Bruce Peninsula Trustee (and current Board Chair) Jane Thomson has filed papers and hopes to serve another four years as our trustee.
ParkPass System at Little Cove
A ParkPass reservation system was implemented at the McCurdy Street parking lot in Lion’s Head last year. The system allowed people to reserve a parking space so they could plan their day’s hike to Lion’s Head Lookout and/or McKay’s Harbour. Based on that success, MNBP decided to use the same system at Little Cove Road (access to the National Park shoreline at Little Cove) for 2022. The system is now up and running.
An electronic billboard located beside Little Cove Road near the Highway 6 intersection offers three messages in rotation: “Little Cove Parking”, “Online Bookings Required” and “www.northernbruce
parking.ca” When the season arrives, it can be reconfigured to offer current information, letting people know when the lot is full and that there is no alternative parking.
The sign message can be revised to offer current information, letting people know that the lot is full and there is no alternative parking.
If the lot has space, people without a reservation can book a space on the spot. The payment website can be loaded either from a QR code on the signs or by tapping the wi-fi symbol on the sign. (The technology is pretty slick.)
Local residents and cottagers who have a parking permit can book parking spots for free — simply select “Resident” under “Visitor Type” and the cost switches to $0.00.
MNBP hopes parking fees will cover the staffing costs of monitoring and enforcement in the Little Cove area.
Lion’s Head Street Dance July 30
The Agenda for MNBP’s June 13 Meeting includes a staff report recommending that “Council designate the ‘Lion’s Head Annual Homecoming Street Dance’ to be held on Saturday, July 30, 2022, a Municipally Significant Event”. The Street Dance is traditionally the year’s biggest fundraiser for the Lion’s Head Family Centre; it is also the biggest event of the year in the village. Organizers and patrons alike are pretty excited about its return after a two-year pandemic hiatus.
Expect more details in upcoming issues of this newspaper.
Public Meeting on Zoning Bylaw Housekeeping Bill — June 27
The Housekeeping Bylaw amending the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw will be the subject of a Public Meeting at the June 27 MNBP Council Meeting. Interested parties can attend in person at the municipal office or can attend virtually on ZOOM. The Meeting begins at 1:00PM.
The process began with a consultant’s report by Cuesta Planning Consultants which was presented and discussed at the May 24 Council Meeting. A revised (Draft final) version will be presented for discussion at the June 13 Meeting; it will receive further revisions as necessary before June 27. The Draft version begins on page 100 of the Agenda for the June 13 Meeting (available online).
The Housekeeping Amendment includes provisions for Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) as required under new provincial legislation, as well as providing guidance on such issues as docks, boathouses, guest cabins, tourist cottages, food trucks and shipping containers.
Comprehensive Zoning Bylaws are normally replaced every five years or so. MNBP’s existing CZB dates back to 2002; two attempts to replace it have been derailed by public controversies over Environmental Hazard mapping and shoreline hazard mapping.
