Pros, cons of bylaws to be debated
Meeting to discuss land use, zoning set for today in Ingonish
A public meeting will be held today to discuss land use and zoning in Ingonish.
The meeting, for District 6 residents only, will be held at 3 p.m. at the Ingonish Recreation Society building and will feature a discussion on the pros and cons of having land use bylaws and zoning in the Victoria County community.
Currently, there are no land use bylaws in the Ingonish area. The only community that has a zoning bylaw in Victoria County is Baddeck.
“There had never been an interest, I’m not sure why it never actually came up, but it was never in place,” said Larry Dauphinee, deputy warden and councillor for District 6 in Victoria County.
“It’s a very controversial issue and that’s what I’m trying to find out, I’m kind of shocked that we don’t have any — I think we should, so I would like to find out from our residents what they think.”
The meeting will also include a presentation on zoning by John Bain, director and development officer with the Eastern District Planning Commission.
“Basically (the residents) will dictate if we go any further with (zoning) or not, so I want to
get some sort of response from them,” said Dauphinee.
“You have some people who are for it and you have some people who are against it.”
Over the years, Dauphinee said the county has received a number of phone calls from lawyers and people looking to purchase land in Victoria County, who are shocked to find out there are no zoning laws.
“I’ve heard stories where people have decided not to purchase land because of the risk of something happening beside them,” said Dauphinee.
“From the other side, I do have residents who don’t feel that we need zoning because if they own the land, they should have the right to do whatever they want, which is also valid.”
Residents unable to attend the meeting can forward their thoughts and concerns about land use and zoning to Dauphinee at 902-285-2599 or email larry.dauphinee@countyvictoria.ns.ca.