Mount Foster project reduced
The size of the Mount Foster development project has been greatly reduced, according to representatives from the Appalachian Corridor. Where the original project proposed called for 70 homes in West Bolton and Saint-etienne-de-bolton, an agreement between the conservation organization and the new developers allows for only 25 homes to be built in West Bolton. The change comes following opposition by Appalachian Corridor and many residents of both communities.
Melanie Lelievre, the Executive Director of the organization, said in a phone interview Monday that although more than 50 people showed up to the public information meeting in West Bolton hosted by Appalachian Corridor on Saturday, only one or two people at the meeting asked questions, and no one showed opposition.
“Some expressed in some way some doubts,” she said, but overall, most applauded the agreement. “The reaction was very positive.”
Lelievre stressed that it was only a small sampling, but she thought it was important to explain why Appalachian Corridor got involved.
“We consider the agreement to be the best compromise possible in order to protect most of the area’s elements of ecological interests,” Lelievre wrote in a press release. She said the project was underway by the time Appalachian Corridor became involved. Roads and houses have already been built. “The latest development plan would prevent greater ecological consequences since conservation areas would be protected in perpetuity.”
The original plan conserved only 13 hectares of the area. Under the latest agreement 217 hectares, including all the land in Saint-etienne-de-bolton, will be conserved and provide public access to the mountain summit.
West Bolton Mayor Jacques Drolet agreed that public reaction at the information meeting was mostly positive but he said that the town will have to look into its bylaws and the legal contract to ensure the public would have access to Scout Tower and to understand who will maintain the trails.
“We’ve yet to receive the written agreement.” Drolet said, adding that there will also need to be an agreement with Saint-etienne-de-bolton. “There’s still a lot to do.”
Drolet said the town was not optimistic that Appalachian Corridor and the developers would reach an agreement. Discussions had been ongoing for years. The work that had been started was stopped by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Fight Against Climate Change in the spring of 2013. Meetings and negotiations with the landowners began in April of that year.
The town council will have two public information meetings, one in French and one in English, Drolet said. He said the plan has to be accepted by a majority of the residents.
Some construction has already taken place, but the agreement conserves much more of the land than did the original project plan.