Shut down

West Lake Watersports park temporary re-zoning denied

An application for temporary re-zoning for continued use of the water park, children’s day camp and a food stand at West Lake Water Sports has been denied. Last month, council heard from residents of Sheba’s Island and Winns Drive seeking answers to complaints made about zoning, parking and litter at the nearby Edgewater Family Camping Resort. The operators of the park were asking for a temporary by-law to operate the water park and day camp status quo for a one-year period. A future application for a new Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control Application for the purpose of rectifying the zoning deficiencies on the site would be filed as soon as possible.

At last Wednesday’s planning meeting, County Planner Matt Coffey explained that the application is to permit a water park, food stand and day camp on a temporary basis. “Based on feedback, and there wasn’t much justification from the applicant to demonstrate the water park would have no impact on neighbours or any suggestion some of that impact could be mitigated, staff’s recommendation was not to approve the water park, but to allow the day camp and food truck to proceed on a temporary basis for the remainder of this year only,” said Coffey, who then added that the day camp and food truck would be compatible with the neighbourhood. Coffey also noted that the jet ski and pontoon boat rental operation is a separate item and is not included in the water park definition.

Shawn Legere, planner and agent for the applicant, said the temporary use application would allow the owners time to prepare a comprehensive planning application and supporting studies, as well as allow them to continue earning a living. Legere noted that the applicants had outgrown the current site and are actively looking to secure an alternative site in the County to better suit their needs. Warren Cole, owner and operator of West Lake Watersports explained that there is a lot of support from the community, and a great number of those that are opposed purchased a home on Sheba’s Island long after his business began operating. “We do have all the necessary permits to run the water park and the jet skis and we have been here since the 1990s,” he said.

Sheba’s Island resident Steve Blakely lives down the shoreline from the park, and said it is a general nuisance. “We are routinely buzzed at high speeds by jet skis and boats. They are far too close to our docks where our family and our grandchildren swim,” he said. “Inflatables in very shallow water are anchored dangerously and we see many rescues, near misses, stranded boaters and kayakers upset with people yelling for help, something that happened as recently as last weekend.” Blakely was frustrated that the park keeps expanding without the appropriate approvals. “We strongly oppose the approval of a re-zoning on a temporary or full-time basis as the facility was not approved for the current uses, rather they proceeded to operate and expand without appropriate approvals. Since this business is operating outside permitted zoning usage, it is illegal,” said Blakely.

Winn’s Drive resident Christian Sauvageau said the park is contaminating the lake and community. “You should be doing a real investigation of the concerns before any rezoning is put in place for the waterpark. Hire a consultant and have a community meeting,” he said.

Laurie Ackerman, who also spoke at the June meeting, said the perception that this is about putting the family out of business is wrong. “I was the General Manager of the Prince Edward County Chamber of Tourism and Commerce for many years, so I do understand the importance of supporting our local businesses. This is not about putting the Coles out of business, but rather enforcing the County’s zoning bylaws. In this case, West Lake Willy’s Waterpark should never have been allowed to operate in the first place,” she said. “Do we really want the message out that the County is open for business, any business, anywhere, and it really doesn’t matter if you have the proper zoning, licence, insurance and by the way, the bylaw enforcement is on a complaint basis. So just go ahead and beg for forgiveness.”

West Lake Wakeboard School owner Ben Chalmers spoke in favour of the park, saying it would be best to give the family a chance to make the proper changes to manage the future of the business and not just destroy it. “Whether you like it or not, the County has become a tourist destination built on our own tax dollars. We funded it bringing tens of thousands of people here weekly in the summer with the picture of white sand beaches and dreams of walking through vineyards in slow motion. The reality is at 9 a.m. in most areas, this dream is crushed by ‘sorry we are full’,” said Chalmers. “What I see here is Warren trying to keep up with the influx of people we have brought here by our own tax dollars. He has expanded his business to meet the demands of our own tourist operations.”

Stating it was better for the park owners to find a better location, Councillor John Hirsch admitted he was not in support of granting a temporary re-zoning. “I have trouble really supporting any of it. So much of the complaint has been about boat traffic, and unsafe operation and noise and so on. If we eliminate these other uses then I think the boat rental issue will go away because it will get much smaller. People won’t come there if they can’t do all of these functions,” said Hirsch.

Councillor Jamie Forrester was troubled by the statements being made against the park. “I have heard a lot of statements being made about unsafe conditions and they way the operation is being run. Have you verified any of these? There are a lot of damaging accusations against this operation. Has there been any reports to WSIB or the OPP, or is this heresay?” he asked. Coffey admitted that he was not aware of any official violations due to water safety, but also, that his department would not receive this complaints. “That’s kind of important,” added Forrester. “As a councillor we are making decisions, and I hear a lot of things tonight that cannot be verified. To me that is heresay and we should not be making decisions on heresay. When I look at this, the only thing that shouldn’t be in operation is maybe the waterpark. I’m hearing a lot of not sure. Maybe. Could be. I don’t know how I make a decision on that,” he said. Manager of Planning, Michael Michaud, admitted that staff does not have a lot of answers because they are not planning or zoning related. “Based on safety and operations of a business, that it’s not our bailiwick, it’s not what we do. It’s not what we are here for. We are here to determine whether or not certain land uses can operate for a certain period of time and once that bylaw ceases to exist, those uses cannot occur any more after that unless they apply for a permit zoning and/or an extension to the temporary use zoning,” said Michaud.

Forrester added that there are only six weeks until school goes back. “Because we can’t answer these questions properly, is it our policy to shut down businesses when we don’t have clear and direct answers for this?” asked Forrester.

Ameliasburgh councillor Andreas Bolik questioned how the County ended up in this position. “We have a business that’s been here for long time and it’s incrementally increased in scope and intensity that was legal non-conforming and nobody officially noticed so this business grew and grew, until bylaw determined there was a violation of the bylaw. Just because you have been doing something doesn’t mean it becomes more legal the longer you do it. There are still a lot of questions remaining unanswered,” said Bolik.

Councillor Kate McNaughton put forward a motion to have the application referred back to staff to determine the maximum usage for the children’s camp and bylaw enforcement safety solutions. That motion failed.

In the end, all but Councillors Forrester and St-Jean voted to deny the application.