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Norfolk will enforce court ruling over hazard-land designation

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Owners of vacant lots on Hastings Drive in Long Point will be expected to abide by a recent court ruling affirming the area’s hazard-land designation and associated usage restrictions.

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On April 13, Norfolk CAO Jason Burgess told Norfolk council that county bylaw officers are aware of the ruling and will respond accordingly to complaints.

“We look forward to taking a reasonable approach to enforcement as we transition out to the new ruling,” Burgess said. “Bylaw has been made aware of it. We’ll deal with it over the summer and into next year.”

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Burgess was responding to a letter from former Simcoe Coun. Peter Black, an advocate for restricted uses on Hastings Drive. In his letter, Black says vacant lot owners have left their mark on the ecologically-sensitive dynamic beach.

“It is a sad mess brought about by the use of heavy equipment, building, and the movement of large trailers disturbing this once pristine natural biosphere setting,” Black says. “Justice Gordon clearly states and upholds in his decision that no trailers are allowed nor any type of development as far back as Norfolk Township’s zoning bylaw.”

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The former Haldimand-Norfolk Region imposed the hazard land designation after a severe winter storm in 1985 wiped out dozens of cottages on Hastings Drive and elsewhere in Long Point. At the time, the water level in Lake Erie was at a record high. The few cottages on Hastings that survived have legal, non-conforming status and continue to be occupied.

In 2009, Norfolk County officials suggested to vacant property owners that limited recreational uses were allowed on Hastings Drive. In his ruling, Justice Gordon said that guidance was in error.

The judge goes on to clarify what is allowed and what is forbidden. He says day uses are permitted of the kind one would expect in a public park. As well, owners of vacant lots can launch boats from their property.

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The recent legal action was launched by Randy Mawhiney of St. Williams, owner of two vacant lots on Hastings. Hastings Drive cottage owner Richard Mercey responded with a counter-application.

The court heard that Mawhiney has made a number of alterations to his property. These include grading and levelling, installing a driveway, installing a cement pad for a recreational vehicle, installing a boat launch and a dock, the installation of electrical service, the drilling of a water point, breakwalls along the lakeshore, and the construction of three change houses.

Norfolk’s bylaw division charged Mawhiney with a zoning infraction in 2018. The new Norfolk council elected that year declared support for intensified recreational uses on Hastings and the charge was dropped.

In his letter, Black said it is incumbent on Norfolk County to embrace Justice Gordon’s ruling and enforce its own bylaw.

“After over 10 years of ignoring their own laws, it is time to begin mending this wound inflicted upon this world-renowned ecological natural wonder and hope that the scars left are not permanent,” Black said. “Mayor and council — please tell us, the taxpayers of Norfolk County, how you plan to enforce your bylaw and remove the illegal uses that have been allowed to establish on Hastings Drive.”

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