Deputation to TBM Council In Support of Proposed Bayou Cable Park

The following deputation was presented at the March 27, 2023 Town Council meeting by BMCC Vice-President Sean Landreth, on behalf of the Blue Mountains Chamber of Commerce.

Town of the Blue Mountains                                                                                                March 13, 2023

32, Mill Street, P.O. Box 310

Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0

Attention: Corina Giles, Town Clerk

RE:      Bayou Wakeboard and Waterski Cable Park Development Proposal

As Council and Staff are aware, the Blue Mountains Chamber of Commerce has expressed its strong support for the above-referenced proposal in the past. With the matter now returning to Council for consideration, we wish to take the opportunity to again express our support for this project on behalf of our growing membership. As the leading business organization in the Town of the Blue Mountains, the Chamber of Commerce strives to advocate for public policies that foster a strong, competitive economic environment to the benefit of businesses, families, and the community. On behalf of our members, our aim is to create a thriving and sustainable business community. We seek to achieve this goal, in part, through advocacy, based on member input and relevant research.

In keeping with the above mandate, we have reviewed Staff Report PDS.23.003, which is scheduled to be presented to the Committee of the Whole on March 14, 2023, before ultimately being considered by Council. With great respect to the Planning Staff responsible for its comprehensive analysis of the planning merits, the Chamber does not agree with the recommendation to outright refuse the applications brought forward by the project’s proponents. While the Chamber is not able to offer qualified planning justifications of our own in response, we support the Planning Justification Report and other submissions made by the proponents of the project and offer our own understanding of the matter below.

From our review of Staff Report PDS.23.003, it appears that the recommendation to refuse the applications is centered around the analysis applicable to the conversion of employment lands to non-employment uses and related criteria. Among other points of analysis, the crux of the analysis in support of Staff’s recommendation appears to be based on opinions that the approval of the applications would cause an unjustifiable depletion of employment land stock currently available in the Town. With respect, and on behalf of our membership, we do not agree that the approval would impede the long-term employment growth projections as cited in the report. Frankly, we believe this viewpoint to be overly narrow and not reflective of the current market realities. While Town Staff have an obligation to view the matter on the longer-term, the Chamber is focused on the “here and now”, confident of the short-term benefits this proposal would bring to our community and in full recognition of the commitment and significant investments put forward by its proponents. Furthermore, we note that a comprehensive review of employment lands within the municipality is currently underway, thereby presenting an opportunity to possibly designate such lands elsewhere to increase inventory.

Ultimately, the Chamber does not believe that the subject property will ever, realistically, serve as a site for manufacturing, warehousing, offices, or other associated or similar uses in the near future. Rather, we believe that the best use of the property is the option currently proposed by the proponents. Furthermore, we disagree that the proposed commercial recreation use constitutes a “more of the same” approach and point to the meaningful economic impacts this proposal will have in the short-term. On behalf of our membership, and as we lend our voice in support of the proposal, the Chamber wishes to highlight just a few of the reasons we believe that this project will contribute towards creating a thriving and sustainable business community. These reasons include:

• Creation of a permanent jobs
• Increased consumer traffic for local retail and hospitality businesses
• Partnership opportunities with local businesses
• Increased tax base and improved infrastructure to the Town
• Consistency with our existing recreation tourism positioning (Section A3.8.2 of the OP)

In addition to the above, we again point to the report generated by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport – TREIM Model – dated January 17, 2019, which further details the projected economic impact of the proposal in Grey County based on an estimated 14,400 visitors annually.

For Staff to point to the Official Plan’s strong support for the proposal, conceptually, while pointing to the location of the subject lands as constituting the main obstacle, is both naïve and short-cited as its recommendation risks thwarting the chance of an otherwise viable and economically impactful project today. On behalf of our members, we therefore urge Council to approve the applications and reject the recommendation set out under Staff Report PDS.23.003. In the alternative, we would support Council’s decision to defer the applications to allow Staff to work with the proponents to further explore the minimum requirements of Traffic Impact and Archeological Assessment, as identified in the report.

We thank you for the opportunity of adding our collective voice in favour of the Bayou Wakeboard and Waterski Cable Park Development Proposal. The Chamber stands ready and willing to assist Council and Town Staff as a partner in ensuring that the development’s positive economic and social impacts on the community are realized.

Yours truly,

Gavin H. Leitch

President