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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-11-09, Page 5Wednesday, November 9, 2016 • News Record 5 No implementation, no endorsement of current draft Shoreline Management Plan Lynda Hillman -Bagley Postmedia Network They will not implement and they do not endorse. These are the words the huge crowd heard at a special Ausa- ble Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) board of directors meeting last week at South Huron's rec centre in Exeter. The meeting was called to consider the motion by board member Burkhard Metzger and was scheduled for Novem- ber 24th, but because of public outcry regarding the clarity of the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), the meeting was moved up. This meeting was open to public but not a public meeting. The plan, dating back to 2000 deals with shoreline erosion and the threat of homes falling into Lake Huron. This is not a one size fits all and the public has made that very clear staling yes, there are some homes that are threatened -but not all. The draft plan, as presented would have halted all development and that fact sent shudders from Bayfield to Port Franks. The motion from the Octo- ber 20th meeting stated, ABCA Board of Directors declares that it does NOT intend to imple- ment the ABCA Shoreline Development Guidelines of Section 7.8 in the report (pages 113-117) in its proposed form and does not endorse the underlying principle of "man- aged retreat" and the unilateral prohibition of any shoreline protection works:' In a unanimous vote at the special meeting the amend- ment to the motion stating the "ABCA Board of Directors declares that it will not imple- ment the ABCA Shoreline Development Guidelines of Section 7.8 in the report (pages 113-117) and does not endorse the underlying principle of "managed retreat" and the uni- lateral prohibition of any shore- line protection works:' And fur- ther, says the new motion the ABCA "continues to endorse the use of polices as contained in the 2000 Shoreline Manage- ment Plan andthatthe Board of Directors direct ABCA staff to provide options to re-engage the public to update the 2000 Shoreline Management Plan:' Grand Bend Real estate rep Mike Sloan was the first to breath a sigh of relief. He has been working on a property deal that has been stalled due to the language of the plan. He said he credits the efforts of Lambton Shores deputy mayor, who is on this board, Lynda Hillman-Rapley Postmedia Network (L -R) ABCA Board members Burkhard Metzger(Central Huron), Doug Cook (Lambton Shores), Dave Frayne (South Huron) and George Irvin (Bluewater) at last week's special meeting. for working diligently and understanding what was at stake for all the shoreline own- ers and future buyers. "Just like the stock market that will plummet and rally based on feelings, real estate markets can be made and bro- ken on feelings, perception, and sentiment. And how has the public been feeling about what the ABCA published on the Web? Scared, nervous, terri- fied, angry, resentful, annoyed, confused, violated, etc. Whether or not the recom- mendations in that report were ever going to come to frui- tion has been irrelevant to the property owners that could be affected such restrictions. Until the ABCA was willing to go on record and tell us that it WILL NOT happen, my sellers weren't going to sell their houses, our local contrac- tors weren't going back to work, and our local business owners weren't going to be sleeping soundly. Once again, this is exactly why we needed the ABCA Special Board Meet- ing. And to the credit of ABCA staff and Board members, this is what we received, " said Sloan. He told Postmedia he real- izes the importance of the ABCA relating to the ecological, geological, and geographical integrity of water bodies and watersheds, regulates the Lake Huron shoreline in Ontario from just south of Port Franks to just north of Bayfield. "Their duties are important as both safety and environmen- tal preservation near bodies of water are key issues for all of us;" he said adding, "Itis about their lack of disclosure as it pertains to potential property regulation in the future, and also, their ten- dency to paint the entire shore- line in our region with one brush that has the people con- cerned. We should not have blanket policies covering the entire shoreline when condi- tions can vary dramatically from one propertyto another' Two local associations pro- vided Post Media with corre- spondence they had sent to the ABCA prior to last week's meeting. The letter authored by Chris Lewis asked that the wording of the motion be amended. They also voiced their concerns of the plan, "As expressed by many, the effect of this Draft Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) would be catastrophic to the communities at large and not simply the shoreline resi- dents. If not completely with- drawn, the proposed SMP will lower property values, reallo- cate the tax burden to address revenue deficits, reduce eco- nomic activity, increase unemployment, reduce com- mercial and residential invest- ment and literally destroy communities. Perhaps the most significant result would be multiple legal challenges and litigation which would continue for years thereby impacting families, busi- nesses and the quality of life generally. 'L If this Motion does not remove the uncertainty sur- rounding these recommen- dations then it will continue to impact critical decisions in our community. To date, this uncertainty and skepti- cism has had the following drastic and understandable reactions: A shoreline conditional res- idential real estate transaction has been suspended because the buyer is skeptical about the intent of the SMP and the possibility that it will be reworked and revised restric- tions proposed in the future. A shoreline resident will sus- pend construction of a prop- erty which will cause him to lose between $2 to $3 million in costs to date. Local contrac- tors and suppliers stand to lose significant revenues and suspend employment of local workers. A prominent local contractor has had $ 1.5 mil- lion in work put on hold or canceled. In both construc- tion suspensions in the Beach o Pines, the existing property owners received permission from the ABCA to proceed with no mention of proposed restrictions." Lewis said to date members of the Beach 0 Pines Associa- tion have have consulted and involved ABCA Board Mem- bers, steering committee Mem- bers, local politicians, provincial politicians, legal counsel, and importantlyneighbours includ- ing Homeowner Associations in our jurisdiction. All of whom believe we must work hard to bring stability and confidence back to our region immediately. Oakwood Park Associa- tion's letter authored by Marc Trudell stated in part, "The mere existence of the highly restrictive recommendations for existing and new develop- ment as proposed by the con- sultants is already having a negative impact on the mar- ket values of shoreline proper- ties, even though these rec- ommendations are not policies of the ABCA. These recommendations are pro- hibiting a meaningful discus- sion in the community in regards to a common sense update of the existing SMP taking into account the exist- ing science and private prop- erty rights." Trudell went on to say the consultants report is already having a " needlessly negative impact on property values along the Lakeshore." Representing Huron East Ray Chartrand said, at last week's meeting that he was pleased this came back to the board and that that this vote reinforces what ABCA staff has been telling the public; that this was a draft consult- ants report asking for recom- mendations and then sent out for public for comment. "It was never recom- mended that it go to the public in this format. We still need to update the plan and this motion will give staff, the public and municipali- ties time to do that. The pro- cess may take a little longer but we want to make sure we get it right:' Chartrand continued, "This draft document was never presented to this board -never. My opinion is, if this came to the board- not one of us would have okayed it. So I recommend in the future -before any draft pro- posal ends up on any web- site- it should come across this board first. It is a lesson learned as to what just hap- pened." A member of the public asked that this be a motion of this board and it was agreed they will do so at their next meeting. After the meeting steering committee member Jamie Colliver, told Postmedia their committee had never dealt with this report. ':... The Steering Commit- tee spent a number of hours listening to consultants research presentations. At one particular meeting we questioned the consultants on their research and asked for clarification on many statements. The Committee was given a binder late in that meeting which included the consultant's research but at no time did we discuss the recommendations listed at the back of the binder. "I questioned other mem- bers of the Steering Commit- tee today to ensure we agreed that there were no discussions on recommen- dations at any point in prior meetings. In fact, had we dis- cussed these controversial recommendations the Steer- ing Committee may have never agreed to making the recommendations part of the report going out for pub- lic comment. "We certainly agreed with the ABCA Board today when they asked management to pass everything by them for discussion prior to releasing draft documents for public comment. I believe the Steer- ing Committee should have the same protocol as the Board and be able to discuss in detail things like controver- sial recommendations prior to release. I believe there is a les- son to be learned here about communication:' Many shoreline residents said they will be watching the updated process very closely. "There is no ques- tion there is erosion, but each case is individual," said one home owner.