By Tessa Swanton (Townson),
Bruce Peninsula Press
Neighbours of vacant and heavily treed 123 Hardwick Cove Road in Stokes Bay spoke during a Public Meeting on April 27 during a Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula (MNBP) Council Meeting showing their objection to the zoning by-law amendment (ZBLA). A consent application filed with Bruce County to sever three residential lots from 123 Hardwick Cove Road prompted a municipal ZBLA to reduce the minimum lot area requirement for the three new lots and reduce the minimum lot frontage requirement for one of the lots referred to as lot “A3” by planners. The ZBLA also identifies specific building envelopes for future development on the new lots which surround three existing residential properties with houses.
Although the three new lots conform with the goals of the Bruce County Official Plan by meeting minimum lot size requirements, they do not meet lot size requirements in the municipal ZBL which is currently outdated from 2002. The County is in the process of passing a new County Official Plan (OP), and Mayor Milt McIver is adamant that the Municipality will follow with an updated ZBL following the County’s OP adoption.
A development agreement will be registered on title meaning that when a purchaser shows interest in a lot, the developable areas will be specified. The remaining lot areas will be equipped with a municipal “Holding Zone” suggesting that further evaluation from Council and an environmental impact study (EIS) are mandatory prior to development on any other sections of the new lots other than the designated building envelopes. An archeological assessment and EIS were conducted on the building envelopes suggesting mitigation measures like exclusion fencing during active work, tree clearing outside of April 1-October 30, and awareness of snakes, to avoid negative impact on bats and the Massasauga Rattlesnake.
The R2 (resort residential) zoned lots require a minimum lot area of 8000 sq.m. in the municipal ZBL while the County requires 4000 sq.m. Although the three new lots are under the ZBL’s minimum lot area regulation, Mayor Milt McIver confirmed “The County plan supersedes our zoning by-law” and “does govern Northern Bruce Peninsula.” The three new lots ranging from 5500 sq.m. to 6900 sq.m. appear large compared to other residential lots in the Hardwick Cove area as lots to the north are only 1400 sq.m. The third lot, A3, poses an additional exception to the ZBL requesting an 18m lot frontage allowance due to its configuration.
Brad Dickinson accompanied by other Hardwick Cove property owners attended the Public Meeting. He asked the mayor, “Milt, when was the last time you saw people from Hardwick Cove in here [at a council meeting]?” To which the mayor responded, “45 years ago,” representing the magnitude of the application on the lives of residents. “I’m here because somebody doesn’t want to follow the rules, somebody wants to make a change, and that’s going to impact my way of life,” said Dickinson. Dickinson’s property sits directly in front of the building envelope of lot A3 with the 18m entryway to the building envelope beside his land, forming an “L” shape for the lot (refer to graphic). Dickinson questioned, “Why should we change the rules for one person?” He uttered, “We live here, our kids [have] gone to school here, we participate in plays and fundraisers, it’s important to us that someone just doesn’t just come in and start draining their property in those three lots…Yeah, they’re small lots but they’re our lots and we love them.” He continued declaring his disagreement with the creation of lot A3, “The owner did a good job getting an environmental assessment, but they never came to us and got a people assessment, how’s that impacting the residents, how’s that impacting your neighbour,” he questioned. “The zoning by-law’s there for a reason, let’s enforce it, let’s say no for a change, rather than bending to the will or desire of a few,” he requested.
Speaking to concerns from Dickinson about drainage from lot A3 onto his property, Ron Davidson, a planner retained by the owners of 123 Hardwick Cove, mentioned that typically larger lots (like the proposed three new lots) have better drainage opportunities with lessened likelihood of impact on neighbouring lands.
To ease concerns from Dickinson, Davidson suggested a tree retention strip placed on lot A3 around 5-6 metres wide to ease visual impact. To alleviate drainage problems, Davidson suggested a requirement for a lot grading and drainage plan within the development agreement.
Following a request from planner Davidson, Council ultimately deferred the ZBLA application due to concerns from neighbours. It will be brought forward again in the coming weeks. Visit https://www.northbrucepeninsula.ca for more information.
