Village Squire, 1979-03, Page 29UPDATE
Waterfront
restaurants get
no warm welcome
It seemed like a good idea at the time: a
restaurant where you could enjoy fine food
and look out on the beauty of Lake Huron.
Yet that kind of idea had been running into
stiff opposition in two lakeside towns.
The battle first erupted in Goderich
where local developer Bob Gibbons
announced he planned to build a
waterfront restaurant on land he owned
and wanted a zoning change from
industrial to commercial. That application
was opposed by Goderich Elevator and
Transit which operates the huge elevators
at Goderich harbour. The company was
afraid that the future operation and
expansion of the elevator complex would
be endangered by the restaurant.
Complaints by restaurant patrons about
noise and dust from the elevators might
cause future problems for the elevators,
the company argued. That argument was
supported by the Huron County Federation
of Agriculture which argued that any
hindrances to the operation of the elevator
complex could hurt farmers in the county,
operators of the biggest element in the
county's economy. If operations of the
elevator were curtailed, they said, farmers
would have to travel farther to take their
grain to shipping facilities.
These arguments won the day at the
Goderich planning board but the decision
was overturned by an 8-1 vote of town
council. But the battle is far from over. The
Federation has decided to carry the battle
to the Ontario Municipal Board which
must approve zone changes. Gordon Hill of
the Federation said that his group is not
"Opposed to a restaurant with a very
stunning view", but that there are other
locations where such a restaurant could be
located that wouldn't be so close to the
elevator complex.
Meanwhile the long dream of a
Kincardine couple to have a ship -board
seafood diningroom hit a major snag in
February in a battle before Kincardine
town council. Hank and Thelma Buitendyk
bought the Avalon Voyager II last year
after it had plied coastal waters for many
years. They moved it to Kincardine
harbour where they intended in refitting it
to serve as a floating restaurant.
Problems arose, however, when it came
to where the boat could be docked. After
he/lo...
may u'e invite you to drop in to
PHZiN
hair fashions
there are four hair stylists to pamper your hair ... a
cosmetician offering facials. manicures, pedicures, eyelash
application and depilatory work ... and for ladies, massages
... you'll find a unique boutique ... handcrafts. handmade
sportswear. jev.ellery and many other unusual gifts
do come in and browse ... we're close to downtown
68 nile street, at albert...
STRATFORD
or call for an appointment... 271-3401
sitting in the harbour since last summer,
moored on the south side of the harbour,
the couple asked to move the boat to the
north side of the harbour. The south side
has better facilities, with sewerage
connections available, but it is zoned open
space. To comply with zoning regulations
the move was proposed to the north side
which is zoned commercially.
The move was objected to by 21 local
residents on the north side of the harbour
who signed a petition. They complained
about the potential for noise from the
ship's diesel -powered generator, smell
from wastes, the appearance of the boat
and the late hours the restaurant would
keep.
While the Buitendyk's argued that the
restaurant would attract people downtown,
attract visitors to the town who would
benefit the local economy and argued that
they were planning to fix up the ship so
that it would not detract from the
appearance of the harbour, the town
council seemed totally uninterested.
Although legally the council doesn't have
control over the harbour, councillors voted
to pass a motion that read in part "we are
not in favour of the proposed ship -restaur-
ant in Kincardine's harbour." When it was
learned the couple intended to seek
permission to continue on the south side of
,i1.1b7N
Qty,
YOUR
HEADQUARTERS
FOR
SHARP TV
EXPERT TV SERVICE
•ANTENNA & TOWER
INSTALLATION
NOW CARRYING
A COMPLETE LINE
OF C.B. RADIOS
162 MARY ST. GODERICH
PHONE 524-9089
March 1979, Village Squire 27