Quinte’s Isle expansion

Passions run high during open meeting at Athol Town Hall

An information session about the proposed expansion of the Quinte’s Isle Campark devolved into chaos as concerned residents vented their frustration at the meeting format chosen by the proponents of the development. When the meeting opened, attendees were encouraged to ask questions directly to the owners of Quinte’s Isle, Fourward Holdings represented by Tim and Stephen Ward, or to the project’s planner, lawyer, ecologist or hydrogeologist on a one-on-one basis. This, however, proved to be unsatisfactory to many who had come seeking information about the expansion of the seasonal trailer park, which is proposing to add 337 new trailer sites on lands that are currently designated as farmland. Wellington resident Jane Macdonald demanded that the meeting format be changed. “I’d like to have one person at a time answer our questions … I’d like to see an actual dialogue here,” she said, voicing the concern of the majority.

The area marked Forward Holdings (sic) is the site of the proposed trailer park development, and lands subject to rezoning.

At first, Patrick Harrington, lawyer for Fourward Holdings, resisted the call for change, insisting that the meeting continue as planned. He eventually relented after facing several minutes of strident opposition, and project planner Ruth Ferguson Aulthouse began answering questions from those in attendance. The questions ranged from whether the project—which requires a zoning change from rural to shoreland designation— is in the public interest, whether environmental studies were properly done and available for public inspection, whether traffic studies were adequate, or what impact the project would have on nearby wetlands.

Ferguson Aulthouse is well versed in the planning process, particularly as it concerns Prince Edward County, as she created the County’s current Official Plan, which has been in place since 1993. This prompted a comment from resident Nina- Marie Lister, a member of the Friends of the South Shore group, on how the project complies with the County’s draft Official Plan, particularly when it comes to environmental standards. “I’d like to say there is an opportunity to set the bar higher by following the new draft Official Plan,” said Lister. “I know you are not legally obligated to follow it. You have done your due diligence, but the County has actually set a higher bar. So there’s a major opportunity for this applicant to be really great citizens and to show your interest in the long-term value of these lands.”

The meeting lasted around 90 minutes and most of the participants were relatively satisfied that their concerns were being addressed. Harrington said that all the information regarding traffic or environmental studies will be made available online, and that people should leave their contact information to be informed of future meetings. The project is still in the planning stage, and council will ultimately have to decide on its fate. After the initial hiccup, Ferguson Aulthouse thought the meeting went really well. “I was enjoying the one-on-one situations, but I can appreciate there were a number of people that were not able to participate because of the numbers,” she said. “I think the crowd was very reasonable and asked a lot of good questions, and there was an opportunity for everybody to hear all the answers. There are a number of requests for information, so that would be one of the first things we’d do.”

Both Tim and Stephen Ward were pleased with the outcome of the meeting. Their family has owned Quinte’s Isle for over 35 years, taking it from a park with 40 or 50 little-used sites to one with 690 sites and that is rated in the top two per cent of trailer parks in North America. “We had a lot of people saying they are not opposed to the development. They’d like something done a little bit different, or some minor tweaks to it,” said Tim Ward. “We had some people that are not in favour of the project, but we had a very positive response from the folks that were here. I think we have an opportunity to improve some of the natural environment around us, add parkland for the residents of Prince Edward County, improve access to Lake Ontario, as well as providing more jobs. I think there’s a winwin option here for the municipality, for the residents of Prince Edward County and for us to grow the park.”