Up for debate
Council chamber full for public hearing on possible Big Pond Centre development
Waves of differing opinion washed over the municipal council chamber during a public hearing Tuesday into an RV park proposed for a lakeside Cape Breton community.
The forum, that lasted about five hours, was held to gather public input into a pro- ject that, if approved in its entirety, would see the development of a campground with as many as 541 fully serviced RV sites on a 109-acre parcel of land in Big Pond Centre, about 40 km west of Sydney.
The hearing into Calgary developer Chris Skidmore’s application to have the land rezoned to allow for the Ceilidh on the Lakes RV Campground project was attended by an estimated 120 people, forcing city hall staff to open up a staff room with a closed-circuit screen for those who couldn’t find a seat in the crowded council chamber.
The meeting opened with
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor
Cecil Clarke acknowledging receipt of a pair of petitions containing 1,179 names of people opposed to the proposed development. Clarke then laid out the rules of presentation before announcing that municipal council will address the rezoning application at its regular monthly meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
But before the presentation stage of the hearing got underway, municipal planner Karen Neville outlined the details of the project and what council must consider when the time comes to vote on the application.
“The criteria in the planning strategy to consider this application are visual compatibility and noise, dust and fumes emanating from the site, and traffic attracted to and leaving from the site,” said Neville, who added that the project proponent must also obtain additional approvals and permits from various government departments before the development could proceed.
At the conclusion of her presentation, Neville stated that CBRM staff recommend council approve the zoning amendment only for Phase One of the development, that being for 211 serviced sites located on a parcel of land located between Highway 4 and the shoreline of Bras d’Or Lake.
Next came more than twodozen presentations by members of the public, including organic farmer Roy MacInnis, whose land lies adjacent to the proposed campground.
“The council has the responsibility to protect me — if this goes ahead our organic farming will likely not happen,” said MacInnis, who has been a vocal opponent of the development since word of the proposed project surfaced last autumn.
“I have provided you with scientific information to help you with your decision, please vote no to this amendment.”
Eddy MacIntyre told the hearing that his family has held property in the Big Pond area since 1829 when the Crown granted an ancestor a 200-acre plot of land.
“Now, 189 years later, we are facing a crisis of major proportions as there is a Calgarybased developer that wishes to completely change and destroy the tranquil setting that has been the community of Big Pond since that time,” said MacIntyre, who added that amending the land-use bylaw would amount to a “lifechanging” experience for both permanent and seasonal area residents.
Another Big Pond resident, Debbie Moffatt, said that while she is not against development, she is opposed to the location of the proposed RV park.
“We pay our taxes to support the CBRM in order to enjoy our quiet, private, rural setting — we consider this a contract with the CBRM to protect our zone and we pay our taxes to maintain this contract,” said Moffatt, during her impassioned presentation.
“It doesn’t seem that a lot of property owners will be impacted by this zoning amendment, however low density is the very definition of our zone, but make no mistake that because we are few, we are not complacent as is evident before you today.”
Other arguments presented against the project included concerns that a busy campground would create noise
pollution, put pressure on the area’s limited aquifer, damage sensitive wetlands, harm the fragile ecosystem of the barachois (lakeside lagoon) and create dangers on the busy highway that runs through the area.
But not all of the presenters were against the proposed development.
When Terry MacPherson took to the podium, he announced that he has just resigned as president of the Big Pond Community Council, a group that went on record as opposing the project.
“I think we need to support development projects like this in order to strengthen the local and regional economy and I’m asking you to approve this zoning amendment as recommended by your planning staff — you will not regret making this decision,” said MacPherson, who said his family has long supported economic development in the area.
The proposed development’s point man, Chris Skidmore, was in attendance at the hearing, but only spoke for a couple of minutes. Skidmore, who refused an interview with the Cape Breton Post, did however present three letters of endorsement.
The Business Cape Breton organization stated that “RVing and camping continue to be a vital growth industry for tourism.” And documents of support were also sent by the Eskasoni Council and the First Nation’s tourism arm, Eskasoni Cultural Journeys.
Now that the requisite public hearing has taken place, it will be up to CBRM council to decide on Skidmore’s land-use re-zoning amendment application. But even if council votes in favour of the application, the developer must still meet provincial and federal criteria in regard to issues such as highway access, water usage and sewage disposal.
And those issues are likely to involve a number of Nova Scotia government entities, including the departments of Environment and Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and Tourism Nova Scotia. The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans may also become involved given that the waters of the Bras d’Or Lake fall under its jurisdiction.