BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

Residents of Hudson advocating for the preservation of Sandy Beach as a natural space packed the town’s council chamber on Monday night to express their hope to save the waterfront site from development. The public show of support comes in the wake of the owner of a lot in the area submitting a request to the town last month for a building permit.

Although the request to build a home on the property that fronts on Royalview Street and extends to the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains, including part of the beach area, was refused by Hudson council, the event sparked residents to push council to acquire the property. Residents fear the permit request could be resubmitted at any time, addressing the issues that prompted council to refuse the initial development plan.

In an open letter circulated among the ad hoc coalition known as the Save Sandy Beach group before Monday’s meeting, residents were urged to express their desire to save all of the area surrounding the forested wetlands.

“If we all attend, our combined voices will make it clear that the Sandy Beach complex, including the undeveloped lot, is vital to Hudson and should be preserved,” the note stated.

Several at the meeting expressed their support for the town to attempt to purchase the property, and asked council questions about its support for that option, inquiring whether it has sought grants to offset the cost of acquiring the land and whether it would endorse fundraising efforts initiated by community members.

In response, Hudson Mayor Chloe Hutchison said council is looking at not just the possibility of preserving the lot on Royalview Street, which is currently listed for sale for $1.5 million, but all three lots in the forested wetland area around the beach. The other lots are owned by Nicanco Holdings Ltd., a company that has been stalled by the provincial Environment Ministry in its attempts to move forward with a development plan that would include about 200 housing units at the site.

“We are evaluating this option,” Hutchison said, referring to a proposal to acquire all three lots. “Can we afford the whole set?”

To that end, council is awaiting a cost-benefits analysis it commissioned earlier this year to inform its proposal, which Hutchison said would eventually be put to a referendum, providing all taxpayers a say. The analysis is expected to be completed by mid-November.

Both the owners of the lot on Royalview and Nicanco have expressed a willingness to sell their properties to the town. In the case of Nicanco, the discussions mark the first time in recent years the company would consider the option of selling its lots.

But Hutchison warned all in attendance, the cost of the waterfront properties will be substantial. She would not disclose a figure, however.

“We’d be doubling our debt load,” she said.

Opting to acquire the properties, if that is the eventual choice residents support would have ramifications, Hutchison said, including limiting the town to do other things, explaining how past decisions that have involved long-term borrowing, like investments in the town’s sewer system and the development of Jack Layton Park, are still being paid for by taxpayers.

Members of the Save Sandy Beach group said they are in the process of creating a registered non-profit group to launch a private fundraising campaign with the aim to help finance the acquisition.