Saugeen Shores councillors will hear about the possibility of moving the Cedar Crescent Village development in Port Elgin at tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
A report from Town staff has seen significant delays in a permit approval process with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA). The developer is asking for approval to move the building footprint outside of the regulatory permit area.
The new location for the development would be on the portion of the property which previously housed the train station and flea market, instead of at the harbour wall.
The development plan includes a restaurant, market space, commercial space and convention/meeting space.
The approval process with the SVCA began back in February 2021. In August, the Town requested an administrative hearing with regard to the unresolved dynamic beach limit.
According to a staff report, the review got underway on September 7th but was postponed due to extreme weather. A new administrative review date was set for November 22nd.
Staff say some advantages of moving the project further away from the water include the ability to resume the development approval process to Phase 1 (commercial north east corner) in May 2022.
Town staff say this proposal meets the intent of the original development, with the same services in the new location and is able to go ahead without further delay.
Staff say the Town of Saugeen Shores staff would continue to work with SVCA for a regulatory permit to support the overall project, but this way, construction of the buildings will be able to advance, “unencumbered by the SVCA approval process if relocated outside the regulatory limits.”