BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report
The Town of Hudson has struck a deal to buy Sandy Beach.
Now, it will be up to residents of the municipality to ratify the agreement that would see the purchase of 35 acres of the wooded waterfront land for $8.75 million as council prepares to adopt a loan bylaw to finance the acquisition.
“Holy s—t! We’re here. All the 30 years on this Save Sandy Beach group and that Save Sandy Beach group have all been working toward this. And we are here,” said Hudson councillor Mark Gray in an interview with The 1019 Report on Monday after council unanimously approved an agreement in principle to purchase the land on the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains.
“It’s a smart deal,” Gray continued. “I think people will see it’s an intelligent approach.”
“The community has asked for it,” said Mayor Chloe Hutchison. “So it is in their hands.
“Here’s an opportunity,” Hutchison added.
In all, the town proposes to buy seven lots — six owned by Nicanco Holdings Inc. and one owned by a numbered company — conditional to public approval of a loan bylaw to finance the purchase.
On Monday, town officials presented a calendar of next steps, which includes a public information meeting on Aug. 27 that will outline the financing details. This will be followed by a special meeting of council on Sept. 11 to present a notice of motion of a loan bylaw, followed by another special meeting of council on Sept. 16 to vote on final approval of the loan bylaw, which will be financed over a 40-year span.
The loan bylaw would be subject to a public register, set for Sept. 24. This process would allow any eligible voters to indicate their opposition to the town borrowing money for the purchase by signing the register. If 491 signatures are collected on the register to block the bylaw, the issue will be put to a town-wide referendum, which would be held after the Nov. 2 municipal election. The outcome of referendum will determine whether the public supports the purchase.
If fewer than 491 signatures are collected on the register, the borrowing bylaw would be approved.
Council is proposing to take $2 million from the town’s accumulated surplus to reduce the amount of the loan bylaw, while an additional $2 million has been offered by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, the regional authority that placed a building freeze on the Sandy Beach area in 2022. But the CMM grant comes with certain requirements, including ensuring that if the green space is opened to the public, that it not be restricted only to Hudson residents.
“We’re ecstatic,” said William Dueck, a spokesman for the Save Sandy Beach group, which has been advocating to save the area from development for several years.
But Dueck admits the community will have to weigh in on whether it wants to accept the CMM grant.
“We have to be careful, I think, as a community to protect and preserve this place,” Dueck said in an interview yesterday. “We have to be careful how this space is managed.”
The Save Sandy Beach group is prepared to ramp up its fundraising effort to help lessen the financial burden on taxpayers, especially if there is a move to refuse the CMM grant and the conditions it comes with, he said.
Fundraising efforts just in the past weeks, he said, have been very positive. And he is optimistic the group’s campaign will help lower the cost of the purchase and/or provide funds to manage its administration and upkeep.
“There’s a huge appetite for this to move forward,” Dueck said. “There’s an appetite for Hudsonites to achieve this goal.
“We all stand to benefit,” he continued. “For everybody in Hudson there is a net gain in having this go through.”
“If citizens really want it, they will have it,” said Helen Kurgansky, a former town councillor who is a member of the board of the Save Sandy Beach group’s registered non-profit organization.
“This is our chance. It’s now or never. We have to grab it,” Kurgansky said. “There are so many reasons to save it. There are people who will help us make it happen.”
Hutchison said the town would look to rezone the area to ensure that it remain a natural space in perpetuity.
If the loan bylaw is approved, she said, the cost per household for the project would appear on municipal tax bills as a separate line item, with the cost, according to her calculations, hovering between $88 and $105 per year. The exact figures will be outlined at the upcoming information meeting and will depend on scenarios that include whether the CMM grant is accepted or rejected and if additional fund from the town’s surplus is put towards the purchase.
Hutchison added that as soon as the bylaw is approved — whether that is after register if fewer than 491 signatures are collected or after a referendum — Nicanco has agreed to open the walking trails and allow access to the beach. The beach has been closed since the spring of 2024, when Nicanco had announced it would no longer tolerate residents and visitors trespassing on its property. The move sparked an emotional response from many residents who had for years enjoyed walking along the trails through the woods that provide access to the beach.