Waterfront property owners seething over zoning proposal

By Robert Frank, September 19th, 2012

Proposals to preserve Beaconsfield’s bucolic charm have offended many citizens who showed up at an information meeting at city hall, Sept. 17, to ask about proposed new zoning rules.
“People want to have the feeling of being in the country and want that sort of aesthetic,” observed District 3 councilor Wade Staddon. “At a point, it’s a philosophical choice.”
The city plans to table a zoning bylaw at its Sept. 24 meeting that would revise Beaconsfield’s zoning rules for the first time in two decades.
City urban planning director Denis Chabot told citizens who attended the meeting that details will be published in an advertisement in The Suburban, and are also available on the city’s www.beaconsfield.ca  web site.
“There are communities, particularly to the east of us, where owners have where owners have done a lot of renovation and the aesthetics have been compromised,” said Mayor David Pollock. “We don’t want that to happen here.”
The most stringent restrictions would be imposed on residents who live on the south side of waterfront streets, to ensure that passersby can see the lake.
During the meeting, Lakeshore road resident Shelly Baird questioned Chabot about inconsistencies in the proposals.
Chabot acknowledged that prestigious waterfront properties along Gables Court, East Gables Court and Thompson Point would be exempt from the visual access provisions.
“The city’s master plan includes only riverfront roads, so these streets are not included in the view bylaw,” he explained.
Baird also asked about new rules that would ban construction material or equipment from driveways of south-facing lakeshore properties.
Chabot replied that equipment will, in fact, be permitted “during season of use.”
He confirmed that, off-season “you will be allowed to store your sailboat on the side and block the view [of Lake St. Louis].”
He explained that the restriction on obstructions to public view “only applies to permanent structures like walls.”
Elizabeth Nader-di Genova has initiated a petition against what she considers discriminatory new zoning rules, attracting 50 signatures in the first 24 hours.
“Lakeshore road residents face far more restrictions than any other Beaconsfield citizens,” she told The Suburban in an interview following Monday’s information meeting. “I’m surprised that they still let us come home late at night.”
She was incredulous that “city councilors like District 1 representative Michael Montagno, who lives on the north side of Lakeshore, are advocating measures like these against their neighbours across the street.”
“The city circulated the zoning notice in mid-summer, when many people were on vacation,” she added. “Many people didn’t know about the proposals, particularly seniors who don’t have access to the Internet.”n