BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

The owner of the Sandy Beach area in Hudson has stepped forward with a new housing development plan for the waterfront site and is seeking to discuss the option with the town, The 1019 Report has learned.

“We’re at the infancy stage,” said councillor Peter Mate in an interview yesterday. “The ball is in play.”

“Nicanco has presented a new plan,” confirmed councillor Douglas Smith, describing it only as a “different configuration” from the original 214-unit housing project that had been approved by the previous municipal council in 2020. That plan was put on hold last October when Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette revoked a permit that would have allowed the developer to backfill part of the wetlands at the site.

Smith described the new development option presented to the town as having “more or less” the same densification as the 2020 project, meaning roughly the same number of housing units.

As of yesterday, there was no consensus as to how council will proceed with negotiations, Smith added. Elected officials are scheduled to meet to discuss the issue behind closed doors tomorrow.

Mayor Chloe Hutchison did not respond to The 1019 Report for comment yesterday.

Mate said it is the first time discussions with the property owner have been offered with the current council, describing this latest move as a “huge opportunity.” He refused to share any details of the plan, claiming making details public at this time would not “help the negotiations.”

Mate concurred that council has not reached a consensus on what level of development – if any – would be acceptable, however, he added that he would favour some development, including condo buildings that would be four storeys high. The previous plan limited multi-unit buildings to three storeys.

“It has to make financial sense for the developer,” Mate said. “Everyone will need to concede a little bit.”

This latest revelation comes as a provincial tribunal prepares to hear arguments in a challenge to the Quebec Environment minister’s decision to revoke Nicanco’s permit to backfill on the site.

Recently, the Tribunal Administratif du Québec postponed a hearing that had been set for May 14 until July 9.

Last week, the town of Hudson voted to close the Sandy Beach park area to all visitors and fine anyone who ignores the new rules.

That action was taken following the landowner’s move in March to no longer tolerate trespassing on its property, which feature walking trails that provide access to the beach.

According to the town, the restrictions on access to the area is temporary, as it has launched the process of establishing trails to access the beach from publicly-owned land. But that requires applying for a permit from the provincial Environment Ministry because the new trails would trace through sensitive wetlands. It is not known how long that process will take, or if permission to create new trails will ultimately be granted.

In announcing the beach would be off limits for the summer, Hutchison had said, the town’s aim was to work collaboratively with the landowner, rather than be confrontational, in order to “find a way forward.”

Earlier this month, an abandoned house on Beach Road near the wooded lots adjacent to the beach area that is owned by Nicanco was demolished. Smith said a request for a permit to tear down the building was never submitted to the town’s demolition committee, which he sits on. The permit, he said, was issued directly by the town’s urban planning department.

Councillor Mark Gray, who has advocated for the preservation of the wetlands in the area, could not be reached for comment.

Rob Horwood, a spokesman for the grassroots group Nature Hudson, said yesterday that his group maintains its opposition to any development in the forested wetlands at the site. The group also opposes the town’s plan to seek permission to install new walking trails along the water’s edge on town-owned land, saying: “It’s a bad idea to build on this sensitive habitat.”

Horwood said if the land owner and municipal officials should discuss reopening the trails that exist and “stop the nonsense.”