November 2024 Municipal Update - Victoria-by-the-Sea
RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF VICTORIA
NOVEMBER 2024 NEWSLETTER
CHANGE OF DATE FOR REGULAR NOVEMBER COUNCIL MEETING
At the November 7th Special Council meeting, council members considered a request to change the date of the scheduled council meeting on November 12th. Council members decided to change the date of this meeting to November 18th at the regular time of 6:30 pm.
AMAR SEAFOOD PROJECT
In April 2024, the Municipal Office received an application from Amar Seafood to rezone the property they own across the road (PID #207290) from their current facility and to build another facility on that property. The Planning Board and Council have been working with CAO Yves Dallaire to process the application. At a Special Council meeting held on November 7th, 2024 Council members asked CAO Dallaire to provide the public with an update on where the Municipality is with the Amar application process and provide a synopsis of the next steps that will be taken. Council members felt that it would be beneficial for the public to understand what is happening at this time and what may be happening in the near future.
The process being followed:
The Amar Seafood project is being managed according to the provincial Municipal Government Act and the Planning Act along with the Rural Municipality of Victoria’s Zoning and Subdivision Control Bylaw. These two acts and bylaw set out the specific processes that must be followed by a Municipal Government for such a project. These documents provide clear guidance for how the Municipality must consider applications of this nature, however, it is also important for the Municipality to have the policies and procedures in place to ensure the laws are followed. The Municipality continues to be committed to ensuring its policies and procedures are followed throughout these processes.
The application from Amar Seafood required the Municipality to initiate two separate processes:
1. The rezoning of the property from “agricultural” to “light industrial”.
2. The issuance of a development permit for the new aquaculture facility and interpretation center to be built.
Once these two processes are completed, the Provincial Government is responsible for issuing the final building permit. In this case, the provincial building permit will be issued after the Environmental Impact Assessment has been completed.
Over the summer public meetings were organized by the Planning Board in order to provide information to the public as well as to understand possible questions and concerns As a result, Amar Seafood modified its request for rezoning from 53 acres down to 15 acres.
The Planning Board’s recommendations were brought to the Council meeting on July 8th. At that meeting, the Council agreed to rezone only 12.75 acres of the property; an amount of land needed by the Company to build its facility and based on the representations of the developer and public meetings, and to issue a conditional development permit for the project.
At a meeting on July 23rd, 2024 the Council adopted the rezoning of the 12.75 acres by amending the Zoning and Subdivision Control Bylaw. The bylaw amendment was approved by Minister Lantz on September 16th
The Municipality was notified that an appeal had been filed with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) objecting to the rezoning of the property. The appeal was launched by the Victoria Business Association and Victoria Friends of the Park. The Council subsequently voted to direct the Municipal office to contest the appeal. .
Despite the ongoing appeal for the rezoning of the property, the Council remains responsible for establishing the conditions of Amar’s future development to be included in a Development Agreement between Amar Seafood and the Municipality. Negotiations for the development agreement took place from September to early November 2024 between the Municipal Office and Amar Seafood.
On November 7th, 2024, the Council reviewed the draft development agreement and was satisfied that it dealt appropriately with the Council’s direction provided to the Municipal Office. The Council then directed Mayor Ruben and CAO Dallaire to finalize and register the agreement.. This agreement will become a binding contract between Amar Seafood and the Municipality for the future development of the aquaculture facility..
The development agreement:
Once it is signed and registered, the development agreement will be shared with the public in the interest of transparency and accountability. The agreement requires the building design to be reviewed and accepted by the Council. It also requires the successful completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment that addresses the many concerns the public and other stakeholders raised during the public meetings and submissions. As well, it provides requirements for the developer to pay extra costs associated with the construction of the water service infrastructure, the extent of landscaping of the site and the reimbursement of all the professional and legal costs associated with the rezoning and the development permit.
The next steps:
At the November 18th meeting Council will consider the next action for the Municipal office; the issuance of the development permit. In doing so, the Council will have information about the two conditions that had to be met; the approved rezoning of the property and a signed development agreement.
There are many steps still ahead before any construction begins. As mentioned, most of these steps are laid out in the development agreement and include, for example, the consideration of the building design, the completion and acceptance of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the issuance of a building permit by the provincial authority. These steps will ensure that the interests of the Municipality, the public and the developer are realized and managed effectively.
The Municipality wishes to thank the public and all stakeholders for their contribution to this significant investment in Victoria. If there are any questions or concerns about the processes and next steps that are being followed by the Municipality for this project, please contact the Municipal Office at 902-658-2541 or send an email to victoriamunicipalitypei@gmail.com
The Municipal Office
That’s all for this month! See past issues at www.RMVictoria.com/newsletters
Questions or feedback? Info for a future newsletter or photos you’re willing to share?
Contact staff at victoriamunicipalitypei@gmail.com
Office hours: Mon-Thurs, 9:30-12 & 1-3:30, except holidays and storm days.
Victoria Historic Schoolhouse
730 Victoria Road, Victoria, PE,
C0A 1J0, Canada