Activist seeks injunction against Cabot Links
Neal Livingston is seeking an injunction against Cabot Links Enterprises ULC that would permanently halt a development of upscale cottages in Inverness.
According to documents filed with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the Riverville renewable energy developer and environmental activist is asking the court to declare that a property owned by Cabot Links is “dedicated for public use.”
As well, he is asking the court to forbid any developments on the nearly 2.4-hectare property that would impede public use.
Part of hole No. 7 of the Cabot Links golf course is on the property.
The owner of both the Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs courses had proposed and got building permits for nine high-end cottage units on the property.
Cabot, which planned to build the cottages last fall, put the development on hold pending a resolution of Livingston’s legal challenge.
Though a spokesperson for Cabot could not be reached for comment, the company did print a statement in the Inverness Oran newspaper last fall regarding the legal challenge’s impact.
“To be clear, Cabot by no means accepts the complainant’s version of history and we will defend ourselves from these claims,” reads the statement.
“However, we do believe it is unfair to the purchasers to begin construction at this point in time. We understand the implications of pausing the development. This means that many local contractors and tradespeople who were set to build these terrific homes throughout the fall and winter will not have a project, nor will the municipality stand to benefit from the significant property taxes anticipated from the development.”
Derek Simon, attorney for Livingston, said though Cabot owns the property it had been used for decades by the community.
“It’s a concept in law considered public dedication,” said Simon.
“So if you show an intention
to offer land for public use either explicitly or through your actions and the public accepts that offer, then you have obligation to maintain that.”
The land has a long and convoluted ownership, trading hands between a former coal company to the province, to the former Town of Inverness, to the Royal Canadian Legion and then the Inverness Development Association before being sold to Cape Bald Packers in 1987.
The fish processing company
sold the land to Cabot Links in 2011.
“Nowhere in the deed is there any reference to public interests on the land,” reads a rebuttal filed by Cabot Links Enterprises ULC .
“Further, as indicated, the land was zoned marine industrial — not parkland or public.”
Livingston is not arguing, however, that Cabot owns the land — but that the public has historically used it.
Affidavits filed to support his claim include an aerial photo and testimonies by three local residents that through the 1960s and 1970s there were picnic tables, playground equipment and a parking lot for the public to use there.
“The Inverness Beach Park has a long history of public use both for access to Inverness Beach and for recreational uses in and of itself,” reads Livingston’s application to the court.
“The first owner of the Inverness Beach Park to restrict this public use and access is Cabot Links, contrary to the dedications of the Inverness Beach Park by and intentions of previous owners.”
The case will be heard by Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Port Hawkesbury starting on April 17.
In the meantime, Inverness County warden Betty Ann MacQuarrie takes a dim view of the delays caused to the Cabot Links cottage development.
“They could go ahead and build as far as the municipality was concerned,” said MacQuarrie.
“I guess somebody had a problem with that. The cottages would not only create an economic impact but also create an appealing look for the village and wouldn’t hurt the view.”