Richmond Councillors DIsagree on Urgency of Land Use Issues

RICHMOND COUNTY - The latest edition of Richmond Municipal Council's latest Committee of the Whole meeting saw a disupte arise over the proper means of dealing with issues that would normally find their way to the county's municipal Planning Advisory Committee, and this week's edition of Roundtable breaks down the debate. 

The initial discussion, spotlighted at the 1:46 mark of the series' tenth episode, saw councillors discussing the avenues open to them to deal with right-of-way access by county residents hoping to cross a portion of another person's property without trespassing or violating their privacy. Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette noted that a number of these concerns had arisen in her District Four, and after a brief discussion, councillors agreed to submit these specific issues to John Bain, the director of the Eastern District Planning Commission, for further review. 

However, dissent arose when discussion on the Isle Madame Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-Law arose moments later. As chronicled from 6:19 onwards, several residents - including nine that were participating in the Zoom call that hosted the February 19 Committee of the Whole meeting - had expressed concerns about the proper storage of recreational vehicles on several local properties. 

According to DIstrict One councillor Shawn Samson, the issue deserved more attention because it led to the broader discussion of whether Isle Madame should have its own campground and whether Richmond County should play a role in the development of such an enterprise. 

"Some of these RVs and travel trailers are just family and friends gathering on properties for the summer...and this is not for the entire summer - they go to other campgrounds for the rest of the summer," Samson insisted, adding that a campground would alleviate such activities. 

However, District Five councillor Brent Sampson - who is also the chair of the Planning Advisory Committee - suggested that it would be "a waste of time" to pursue this discussion before it came to the committee level. That earned scorn from Mombourquette and Samson, who each respected the committee structure but insisted that the issue had merit at this particular council meeting.

The episode wraps up at 17:26 with a recap of Richmond County's planned application to the federal-provincial funding initiative known as the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). While all five councillors agreed on the concept of requesting funding for an upgrade to the Arichat-Petit de Grat sewer treatment plant and closure of the former RIchmond Municipal Landfill, Samson expressed concern that the sewer plant upgrade could result in increased water and sewer rates for residents of Arichat and Petit de Grat over the following 20 years. The county's chief administrative officer, Don Marchand, pledged to provide Samson with the projections he needs in this regard to confirm whether or not such a course of action could occur.