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AYER’S CLIFF
Au Ripplecove, les travaux continuent à grand train. Malgré l’invitation formelle de la municipalité au dialogue, le promoteur reste muet. Les citoyens sont, à juste titre, inquiets.
Le 1er mars dernier, la municipalité d’Ayer’s Cliff a reporté l’adoption du changement de zonage et invité le propriétaire du Ripplecove au dialogue : « le conseil croit nécessaire et urgent de revoir avec le promoteur l’ensemble des changements possibles et des réalisations prévues afin d’arriver à trouver le meilleur compromis »
Un mois plus tard, les travaux très majeurs continuent et aucune discussion n’a encore été amorcée.
La semaine dernière, un groupe de citoyens a déposé à la municipalité un document étayé de plus d’une vingtaine de considérations. Plusieurs des préoccupations des 106 signataires sont directement reliées à la protection du lac Massawippi .Bleu Massawippi partage leurs inquiétudes, notamment « le plan d’urbanisme vise à préserver l’intégrité du Lac Massawippi en forçant la re-naturalisation des bandes riveraines et en favorisant le maintien de la couverture végétale et boisée » et « le Lac Massawippi constitue l’attractivité principale pour le Village d’Ayer’s Cliff et que sa protection est essentielle ».
Ces principes sont indiscutables et pourtant, l’impasse demeure. Il convient de se demander comment le promoteur peut espérer continuer son entreprise légitimement sinon sereiment en faisant fi de la colère de 100 voisins immédiats et d’une municipalité qui remet clairement en question l’acceptabilité sociale du projet tel que conçu. Pour garder son statut privilégié d’institution locale d’exception, le Ripplecove, incontestablement, doit gagner le respect et la confiance de la communauté municipale et citoyenne.
Le dialogue et la transparence sont, à n’en point douter, les seules avenues possibles dans l’intérêt du promoteur, de la communauté, de la municipalité et du lac Massawippi.
À l’assemblée publique de février, le promoteur s’est dit ouvert et sensible aux préoccupations de ses voisins. Il est grand temps qu’il joigne le geste à la parole, qu’il sorte de son mutisme, qu’il recherche et trouve, avec la municipalité, un compromis viable socialement et écologiquement.
Cette démarche, pendant qu’elle est encore possible, est infiniment plus urgente que la poursuite de travaux qui, malheureusement, suscitent plus d’hostilité et d’indignation chaque jour.
Lire a ce sujet Le Reflet 1er avril
NORTH HATLEY
Le plan stratégique sera déposé le 12 avril, on ne sait pas encore si le lac aura finalement la place qui lui revient.
North Hatley, le 2 avril 2021
Dans un communiqué émis le 30 mars, North Hatley a annoncé le dépôt de son plan stratégique à son assemblée du 12 avril prochain. Le lac y aura-t-il gagné sa place? C’est à voir.
Réagissant à la première mouture du plan en février dernier, Bleu Massawippi avait déploré l’absence explicite du lac dans les objectifs stratégiques et les grands axes de cette planification décennale, ce qui avait entrainé le report du dépôt initialement prévu le 1er mars.
Depuis, une rencontre formelle entre le maire, deux représentants du comité, le directeur général et deux représentants de Bleu Massawippi a eu lieu. Plusieurs propositions concrètes ont été abordées. Quelques autres communications ont complété les échanges.
Dans son communiqué, North Hatley défend avec ferveur son engagement envers le lac : ” Cette géomorphologie place incontestablement le lac Massawippi au cœur même des préoccupations de North Hatley.” et plus loin ” Nous sommes bien conscients, comme les autres municipalités concernées d’ailleurs, que la dégradation du lac pourrait représenter une menace pour tout un milieu de vie auquel nous nous identifions et dont nous sommes particulièrement fiers. C’est pourquoi nous tenions à faire en sorte que la préservation du lac soit au cœur de nos préoccupations.”
Ces paroles sont de bonnes nouvelles et ces engagements sont louables. Pourquoi ne pas les écrire dans le plan? Les maires, les conseillers, les directeurs généraux passent. Le plan est là pour rester 10 ans.
Dans les discussions, North Hatley ne cache pas ses limites et ses préoccupations au niveau financier, on le comprend. À cet égard, deux questions se posent : Combien le lac rapporte-t-il à North Hatley? Combien North Hatley lui redonne-t-il?
Les conseillers examineront une dernière fois leur plan stratégique en atelier le 6 avril. S’ils répondent à ces questions, ils devront se rendre à l’évidence et inscrire les mots lac, environnement et changements climatiques à leur plan, noir sur blanc au même titre qu’ils l’ont fait par communiqué.
C’est le meilleur investissement qu’ils puissent faire.
Lire le communiqué de North Hatley
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AYER’S CLIFF
At Ripplecove, work continues at high speed. Despite the municipality’s formal invitation for discussion, the developer remains silent. Citizens are rightly concerned.
Ayer’s Cliff, April 2, 2021
On March 1st, the Municipality of Ayer’s Cliff postponed the adoption of the zoning change and invited the owner of Ripplecove to dialogue : ” the council believes it is necessary and urgent to review with the promoter all the possible changes and planned achievements in order to find the best compromise ”
One month later, the very heavy work continues and no discussions have yet been initiated.
Last week, a group of citizens submitted to the municipality a document containing more than twenty considerations. Over 100 citizens expressed concerns directly related to the protection of Lake Massawippi. Blue Massawippi shares the same concerns, notably that “the urban plan aims to preserve the integrity of Lake Massawippi by forcing the re-naturalization of riparian strips and by promoting the maintenance of vegetation and woodland cover. ” and “Lake Massawippi is the main attraction for the Village of Ayer’s Cliff and its protection is essential”.
These principles are indisputable and yet the impasse remains. One must ask how the developer can hope to continue his enterprise legitimately if not serenely, ignoring the anger of 100 immediate neighbors and a municipality that clearly questions the social acceptability of the project as conceived. To maintain its privileged status as an exceptional local institution, the Ripplecove must undoubtedly gain the respect and trust of the municipal and civic community.
Dialogue and transparency are, without a doubt, the only possible avenues in the interest of the promoter, the community, the municipality and Lake Massawippi.
At the February public meeting, the promoter said he was open and sensitive to the concerns of his neighbors. It is high time that he put his money where his mouth is, that he comes out of his silence, that he seeks and finds, with the municipality, a socially and environmentally viable compromise.
This approach, while it is still possible, is infinitely more urgent than the continuation of work which, unfortunately, arouses more hostility and indignation every day.
NORTH HATLEY
The strategic plan will be tabled on April 12, and it is not yet clear whether the lake will finally get its rightful place.
North Hatley, 2 April 2, 2021
In a press release issued on March 30, North Hatley announced the tabling of its strategic plan at the April 12 meeting. Will the lake have earned its rightful place? That remains to be seen.
Reacting to the first draft of the plan last February, Blue Massawippi had deplored the explicit absence of the lake in the strategic objectives and major axes of this ten-year plan, which had led to the postponement of the submission initially scheduled for March 1st.
Since then, a formal meeting between the mayor, two representatives of the committee, the general director and two representatives of Blue Massawippi has taken place. Several concrete proposals were discussed. A few other communications have completed the exchanges.
In its press release, North Hatley fervently defends its commitment to the lake: “This geomorphology unquestionably places Lake Massawippi at the very heart of North Hatley’s concerns” and further on “We are well aware, as are the other municipalities in the area, that the degradation of the lake could represent a threat to an entire living environment with which we identify and of which we are particularly proud. This is why we wanted to make sure that the preservation of the lake is at the heart of our concerns.”
These words are good news and these commitments are welcome. Why not write them into the plan? Mayors, councillors, executive directors come and go. The plan is there to stay for 10 years.
In the discussions, North Hatley did not hide its limitations and its financial concerns. We fully understand. In this regard, two questions arise: How much money does the lake bring to North Hatley? How much money does North Hatley give back?
Councillors will take a final look at their strategic plan in a workshop on April 6. If they answer these questions, they will have to face the facts and put the words “lake”, “environment” and “climate change” in their plan, in black and white, just as they did in their press release.
That is the best investment they can make.
(Le Reflet du Lac – online translation)
TRIBUNE LIBRE: North Hatley’s strategic plan: a rigorous approach, its own identity
On February 16, the Municipality of the Village of North Hatley made the public presentation of its Strategic Plan, a vision that will enable it to guide its actions for the next decade.
“After five public consultations carried out by the consulting firm Espaces Stratégies, the recommendations of the Steering Committee (a committee made up of citizens and elected officials), some suggestions from the Bleu Massawippi organization and rigorous work by the members of the Committee, we are proud to say that it is with a high level of representativeness and professionalism that this Strategic Plan is now coming to fruition.
“It is at the end of this important exercise that North Hatley will submit its Strategic Plan on April 12th.
“In the document presented publicly, the Municipality asserts an identity through the image of a “natural amphitheater”. If the mountains create the effect of natural terraces, Lake Massawippi is undoubtedly the stage around which this concept of amphitheater revolves. This geomorphology undoubtedly places Lake Massawippi at the very heart of North Hatley’s concerns.
“We are well aware, like the other municipalities concerned, that the degradation of the lake could represent a threat to an entire living environment with which we identify and of which we are particularly proud. This is why we wanted to ensure that the preservation of the lake was at the heart of our concerns.
“In addition, North Hatley also reaffirms that among the four major strategic directions put forward in its Strategic Plan, two are inseparable from the environmental concerns of the area: Planning a sustainable and coherent land use planning and Being an agent of change and a partner. for the benefit of the development of the village and the region.
“Through its strategic orientations, North Hatley aspires, with the collaboration of the actors concerned, in particular the Municipalities that are members of the Regional Park Massawippi, to play a more assumed role in the protection of its environment and the territory surrounding it.
“In the wake of the submission of its Strategic Plan, North Hatley reiterates the preponderant place of Lake Massawippi as one of the fundamental components of its identity.
“Thanks to its strategic planning approach, North Hatley has a destination chosen by its community; she must now plot the route that will allow her to access it. To reach the target, North Hatley hopes more than ever to be able to count on the complicity and commitment of its citizens and on the expertise, ideas and proposals for courses of action of the various interest groups and actors in the field who , like her, have environmental health, the happiness of her community and the influence of the territory at heart.”
The North Hatley Strategic Planning Committee:
Michael Page, Mayor
Guy Veillette, President
Alexandre-Nicolas LeBlanc, M.S.M.
Benoit Tremblay, General Manager