Stay out of the beach issue, councillor tells politicians
Posted Jul 22, 2010 By Theresa Fritz
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Tweet ThisEMC News - With many nerves frayed and tempers flaring this summer in Constance Bay over a stretch of idyllic beach, no one is more frustrated than the councillor in whose ward the beaches are located.
Ward 5 West Carleton-March councillor Eli El-Chantiry admitted the issue of beach ownership in Constance Bay for all residents as well as those living along Plan 412 on Lane Street is stressful. But, he says individuals' sticking their noses into the community's business does not help.
Referring to various media reports in which provincial politicians, Ottawa mayoralty candidates and others offer their opinions on the issue, El-Chantiry could barely hold back his frustration. Having met with parties involved on all sides, he said the beach controversy is being taken very seriously locally.
"I can assure you this issue in Constance Bay is nothing new," he said. "Stay the hell out of my area and stop playing politics with the community."
He reiterated the Ottawa Police asked the City of Ottawa for clarification on property ownership and that is why the city provided its legal opinion.
The city's position was acknowledged by city solicitor Rick O'Connor during a meeting in Constance Bay May 29.
He said that opinion was provided so that police would know what legal authority they had and what they could charge someone with as the law varies from private to public property.
"The people on the plan (Plan 412) own their land to the shoreline," O'Connor said back in May, noting that is based on how lot lines are drawn on the plan. "In our opinion, this is private property and this is what we have shared with our police colleagues. This is not the City of Ottawa declaring that this particular land's ownership. It is a legal interpretation based on the documents we have been able to read."
He said he didn't think this was new information to many of the residents since in 1983 the former Township of West Carleton received a legal opinion from an Ottawa firm stating the beach on Plan 412 was private property. That interpretation was also maintained in another legal opinion sought by the township in 1985, O'Connor added.
As such, the residents of Plan 412 installed 'no trespassing' signs along the beach. The signs were erected May 15, 2010 after the city issued its legal opinion. The signs read 'Private Beach to Shoreline - No Stopping, No Alcohol, No Walking After Sunset'.
Since being erected, the tension in the quaint and picturesque community has, at times, risen to a fever pitch. Some of the signs have been spray-painted, a Facebook group opposing the signs has been created and the group 'Friends Against Privatization of Constance Bay Beaches' has started up, while the existing Constance Bay Residents' Beach Committee tries to continue with the work it began in 2006.
El-Chantiry said the legal opinion provided by the city state's Plan 412 residents own to the shoreline, but even he wonders what the shoreline is.
"Where is the shoreline? Is it the shoreline of today, the shoreline of tomorrow - high water, low water? All these questions won't ever be answered until it goes to the Supreme Court to make a ruling on what is the shoreline and where it ends. There is no property on earth that has a beginning and doesn't have an end."
UPSET
El-Chantiry said he is upset with the fact that existing politicians seem to be trying to gain political favour in his ward by speaking out on an issue in which they really have no say.
"This personal, very divisive issue cannot be solved by enforcement alone and cannot be solved by one group. Everyone agrees, we don't want the rowdiness, we don't want the drunkenness, the misbehaving, the mischief, we don't want any of this," El-Chantiry said. "I am a property owner and surely I want people to respect my property just as I respect other people's property if the property is defined from where to where. It can't be property from somewhere to nowhere and that is where the problem is."
He took offence to the fact that some people took his comment about Constance Bay being the "jewel of the city" as the reason for an increase in traffic to the beaches there. He said he has every right to brag about his ward.
"This is a community beach. This is not a City of Ottawa beach. It's not a public beach. It does not have the criteria to be a City of Ottawa facility," El-Chantiry explained.
He said he hoped that individuals not directly associated with the beach matter would cease and desist from making comments in the media about a situation that does not affect them.
"Folks, this is not about politics. This has absolutely nothing to do with politics. This is something that is dividing the community with a knife. We have to stop this and try and work together to solve this in a very good manner, so stop tinkering," El-Chantiry concluded. "It's not something you are going to get a lot of votes on."
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