Municipality revokes development permit for beachside property in Eagle Head

The Region of Queens Municipality has revoked a development permit issued to the former mayor of Halifax for a site next to the beach in Eagle Head, N.S.

Vicki Amirault, the councillor for the area, posted on her Facebook page Tuesday night that the permit was revoked "based on the legal advice received by the municipality's legal counsel."

She said in the post she could not comment further "because this is now a legal matter."

Peter Leslie, who grew up near the beach and who still lives nearby, says residents are "cautiously optimistic" about the news of the permit revocation.

"When I say we're cautiously optimistic, it's because we presume the development permits can be reissued at any time," he said. "Our only concerns at this point, we have no idea what's going on. So while it's definitely a positive that the development permits have been cancelled, we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what's coming next."

He said most of the heavy equipment was removed from the site last Thursday.

Former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly and Diana Girouard purchased the property, which is situated just past the high tide mark on the dunes of Eagle Head Beach, last August.

In mid-June, excavators began moving sand on the property to dig a large hole. Crews also widened a footpath to allow large machinery to get through to the site.

Last week, both the contractor and the property owners were fined under the Environment Act for altering a watercourse by dumping material into an adjacent pond.

Community members have rallied against the development, expressing concern about the impact on wetland, wildlife and public access to the area.

A spokesperson for the municipality told CBC News last week that the development is in compliance with all municipal requirements. 

Municipality keeping mum

Reached by phone on Wednesday morning, Mayor Darlene Norman refused to answer any questions about the revocation of the permit.

"I cannot tell you anything about why it was revoked, simply that it has been revoked based on legal advice from our counsel, and once these issues have been resolved, then I can comment further. However, until that point in time, there's nothing I can say about this," she said.

Norman said she could not say when she will be able to provide more details, whether a new permit could be granted, whether there is a lawsuit or legal challenge in the works, or what had changed about the situation since last week.

Amirault was equally tight-lipped, refusing to say whether the municipality wrongly issued the permit or whether the developer was in violation of municipal rules.

"I just cannot comment any further right now," she said. "It is a lot of unknowns.… I just wanted to issue a statement just so the residents actually knew what was taking place."

CBC News has tried to contact Kelly and Girouard, but has not received a response.