Former Harifax Mayor Peter Kelly was fined for changing the waterways of the oceanfront land

Former Mayor of HalifaxPeter Kellyis N.S. While building a house in oceanfront real estate in Queens County, he was fined for changing waterways without approval. Records from the

viewpoint show 4.7 acres of land at 112 Eagle HeadRd. Purchased by Peter Kelly and Diana Gilard in September 2021 for $ 175,000.

Kelly was the former mayor of Halifax and resigned in 2012 after multiple controversies

Recently he financed Charlottetown. After raising the issue of irregularity, he was accused of dismissing a senior employee and found that he had been dismissed from his duties as Chief Administrative Officer of Charlottetown.

Read more:Former Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly is fired from the role of Charlottetown City Hall

Now he is in another way that is causing controversy. Last weekAs Halifax examiner first reported, people living near the land he purchased harmed development-sensitive wildlife and the environment, and the general public to Eaglehead Beach. It is said that it is blocking access to.

"I'm heartbroken," said Tara Corkum, a local inhabitant who took part in a protest on the beach Monday afternoon. Said.

"Since this started, I have shed a lot of tears, and there have been many people in the community who have shed tears. It was a very important place for many in the town."

Corkum, a third-year environmental student who has lived in the area for a lifetime, is building Kelly's house. Residents of concern calledEaglehead Beach Conservationwho are against it.

She said the development, which began in mid-June, is being built "quite close" to the beach's highest water mark. Nova Scotia's beaches are open to the highest water levels.

Some of the tall grass on the beach was destroyed, Corkum said. “Because it is the entire webbing that connects the dunes, it can promote erosion in the area.”

This is a concern in coastal areas that have already been eroded. The former landowner told the group that he had lost more than 60 feet of land in 20 years, Corkum said.

"So erosion is happening, whether or not the seagrass is gone, but now that the seagrass is ... killed in the area, it will go pretty fast." She said.

According to Corkum, the beach and its surroundings are not well known and are home to many flora and fauna. She said snapping turtles, beavers, sandpipers and plovers were found there.

Buried pond

Similarly, the on-site pond is a larger network of ponds used by fish to reach. Is part of. Sea – partially buried.

Trend Story

Eaglehead Beach Protection Members are complaining to the Department of Environment, and on Monday, Bureau spokesman Tracy Barron confirmed that a brief indictment ticket was issued to the property owner to change the waterway without the Bureau's approval. did. Tickets will be fined $ 687.50.

Kelly declined to comment when approached by Global News in the property on Monday. Girouard, who bought the property with him, wasn't asked to comment.

A brief indictment ticket was also given to the company for intentionally changing the waterway at the same location, Mr. Baron According to the company, the material will be deleted by July 8.

Richard Anthony, owner of the fined company Anthony's Excavating, said the fine was related to rocks laid on the edge of the pond to prevent gravel from entering the water. Said.

"We were asked to bring them back. That's exactly the range." Anthony said. "That's the only thing that's wrong with the property. Everything is granted the right to die."

He is a land owned by Kelly and work is done above the highest water level in the ocean. Said.

"It's his private land, and we hit a stump or something, so we just take out the sand and put the rock back in place," he said. "Then, if you put in a foundation or concrete slab, the sand will flatten against it."

Anthony said that multiple departments were accessing the site and there were no other problems. rice field.

"They were all there – DNR, DFO, environment. The only thing they thought was wrong was some of those rocks. That's it," he said. ..

Baron emails a wildlife habitat affected by natural resources and renewable energy staff Said he continued to investigate the report.

Meanwhile, Corkum said he was pleased to see the "impact on the behavior we see", but not enough to address concerns about flora and fauna in the region. Said.

"Of course, we need more than a fine to stop working," she said.

Beach Access

Residents of the Eaglehead Beach Area have also expressed concern about public access to the beach.

Kelly's current sidewalk is used to access the beach and has been used by local children for decades to attend school.

Growing up "spitting distance" from the land in question, Peter Leslie is the only one to walk to the beach. The method is one side of the bay.

"The land was part of the land that everyone used," he said. "To access the beach without overcoming rocks and objects, you need to access this land."

Signs are placed along the path that is now the road for work vehicles. It effectively blocks access to people who want to visit public beaches.

Ministry of the Environment spokesperson Tracy Baron said that natural resources and renewable energy staff visited the site. He said he found that real estate owners did not stop people. Leslie questioned it because it used the part of the beach below the usual high water mark owned by the Crown.

"Why does the Ministry of the Environment discover about it?" He said.

Corkum said it's sad to see the path lost, which is the "very sad trend" of real estate being developed along the Nova Scotia coastline and the associated beach access. Added that it is part of the problem.

She said that in addition to her environmental concerns, coastal landowners also run the risk of losing their property to the sea.

"The sea is always fighting back, so it will do a lot of damage to the coast, the environment, and them in the future," she said.

"(Kelly) wants to know that inclimate change, the erosion remains the same and if it doesn't stop now, it will swim later."

— Amber Fryday

© 2022 GlobalNews, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.