Home designers battle in Frankford
River front development site of new season of Renovation Resort
Many days reporting is like opening a box of chocolates. You’re not sure what you’re going to get but you’re hoping for something good.
On Thursday, I thought I’d log on to Lower Trent Conservation’s monthly board meeting because I was curious to see what they said, if anything, about the recent kerfuffle with Trent Hills over the cost of risk management services. The change had left a $30,000 hole in Lower Trent’s budget and I was wondering what they’d do. More about that later.
But first the chocolate.
When I looked at the website, I saw that before the regular meeting the board was holding a hearing about a development project in Frankford. At first, I thought, well, that’s outside Trent Hills so I don’t care. But I looked a bit further and spotted that the owner of the property was Ken Nicholson of Campbellford. That caught my attention.
The hearing was about the fact that three of 43 houses in the project on the west bank of the Trent River in Frankford, across from Bata Island, were in what is now considered flood plain. The development was originally planned in 2007 but never completed. Nicholson purchased the property in 2017 and has been moving forward since then, cleaning up the former industrial site and meeting all the planning requirements.
In January 2024, the City of Quinte West’s Planning Advisory Committee approved a zoning by-law amendment for the property that imposed restrictions on what could be done along the shoreline.
Later last year Lower Trent adopted updated flood plain mapping, designed to reflect the dangers we face from the more severe storms we are getting due to climate change, and it was determined that three of the proposed lots were in the new flood plain.
Lower Trent’s staff acknowledged that not much fill would be needed to protect the properties but they had no authority to approve any change. That’s why the issue came to the board for a hearing.
After a quick presentation and some discussion, the board voted to allow fill to be added to three lots so units could be built.
But, here’s the chocolate, during the discussion it was mentioned that construction is under way on other units and some were completed last summer. They were part of Scott McGillvrary’s and Brian Baeumler’s newest TV show – Renovation Resort, season two, on Home Network. It starts Sunday, March 30 at 9 p.m.
I had just seen a commercial for the new season and recalled that season one involved construction of new cottages on Percy Boom.
The new season follows four builder and designer duos as they transform the empty shells into luxurious waterfront vacation homes – all under the watchful eyes of McGillivray and Baeumler, says Corus Entertainment. The winner receives $100,000.
Once the weather allows, the lots will be landscaped and sold, Lower Trent was told.
In case you’re wondering, you can still rent the Percy Boom cottages that were built as part of season one. You can see them here and book a night from $175 a night for an original cabin to $585 a night for the Mediterranean Escape, which sleeps nine.
But back to the original reason I tuned in online. Chief Administrative Officer Rhonda Batemen told the Lower Trent board that Trent Hills had reached an agreement to continue using its services. She didn’t discuss the financial implications on the conservation group’s budget of the $42,000 savings that Trent Hills enjoyed .
She did continue her disagreement with Mike Metcalf, deputy mayor of Trent Hills. At the Feb. 25 council meeting, Metcalf noted that Bateman had said the 18 risk-management agreements with landowners could not be transferred to another oversight group. But his reading of the Clean Water Act, 2006, was that these agreements could be transferred, so it was possible to shift the contracts to Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, which had offered to do the work for less.
In her report to Lower Trent’s board, Bateman insisted that she was right and while records could be shared, they couldn’t be transferred, unless Lower Trent agreed.
She quoted the law: “Every risk management plan shall contain a provision stating that it cannot be transferred to another person without the written consent of the risk management official.”
Left unsaid was the implication that Lower Trent might not provide that consent.
Trent Hills Councillor Gene Brahaney is the new chair of Lower Trent board and Councillor Rick English also represents the municipality on the board.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories anytime on the website.