21 November 2006
Resident Concerned Development Could Spoil Green Space
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Maureen Landriault is concerned Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
has applied to sell just under 10 acres of property, consisting of all property but the rail line, to a private homeowner off
Lakeshore Dr. and Somerset Ave. in Minnow Lake.
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Sudbury Ontario - A Minnow Lake woman says she's
concerned a popular swimming and fishing spot on Ramsey Lake could be spoiled if the city allows a private homeowner to ever build
and block public access to a swimming hole long known by Minnow Lakers as CPR Bay.
Maureen Landriault is concerned Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) has applied to sell just under 10 acres of property, consisting of all
property but the rail line, to a private homeowner off Lakeshore Dr. and Somerset Ave. in Minnow Lake.
Art Potvin, manager of development approvals for the City of Greater Sudbury, concedes the private landowner has applied to sever an
abutting lot to property he already owns. However, any suggestion this would cut off access to the popular swimming location and
fishing hole on the other side of the train tracks on Ramsey Lake off Somerset Avenue is unwarranted, said Potvin.
"This is an unbelievably popular site for swimmers and people who like to fish and I'd hate to see any development that would
cut off public access just so one rich person could build another monster home," said Landriault, who lives only a
stones-throw away from the CPR tracks on Somerset. "The access to this swimming area and closeness to Ramsey Lake
are a big reason I bought this house two-and-a-half years ago."
She calls CPR Bay "just a gorgeous place in the summer time" and one used by hundreds of people for swimming during the
summer months.
Even though city officials have told her they have no intention of rezoning this piece of land from its current status of open
space/private, she believes the private owner will one day want to build on this property and would likely apply to cut off public
access to the property, said Landriault.
"Right now this is all part of green space that belongs to CPR all along the train tracks," she said. "I'm dead set
against the city allowing to sever this parcel of land for one owner... I just have no doubts the landowner would eventually want to
build there... there's no other reason that makes sense to me."
While the CPR has posted signs for years saying it owns the land and prohibits access to the lake and popular swimming hole, people
have been crossing the rail tracks and swimming and fishing in this location for decades, said Landriault.
"This is a special place for a lot of people who have been swimming there for years," she said. "I'd just hate to see
it blocked off so one person could benefit."
There are only a handful of places on Ramsey Lake where people can swim outside of the downtown public beaches and "it would be a
shame" for CPR Bay to be closed off to public access, she said.
"It's time to quit allowing a few rich people to take over full control of this lake," she said.
Potvin said there's a huge difference between an application to sever a piece of land than allowing a private landowner to build and
Landriault is putting the cart ahead of the horse by suggesting access to this public recreation area would be endangered by this
application.
"There is an application to sever... and rezone a small piece of the property to residential, but that's it," said Potvin.
There's not been any suggestion by the landowner to build or block access to CPR Bay, he said.
He doubts very much city staff or city council would ever allow any development on this piece of property that would block public
access, said Potvin.
The Ramsey Lake Improvement Plan and city's long-term plan call for open spaces along most of what remains public access
land around the lake and he doesn't foresee that policy changing any time soon, said Potvin.
Potvin says the swimmers and anglers who have used CPR Bay for decades are "technically breaking the law" because they are
accessing private land owned by CPR.
However, no one has complained and he admits thousands of people use this area for swimming and fishing every summer.
It cost the city significant dollars to fence off another public access swimming location off Portage Street in Minnow Lake several
years ago, when the CPR sold another parcel of land near Ramsey Lake, said Potvin.
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