McCain heiress says she's being blocked from opening businesses in Peggys Cove

Eleanor McCain, a musician and daughter of one of the founders of the McCain Foods empire, says she's run into roadblocks trying to open businesses in Peggys Cove, N.S. And she wants the province to step in before the iconic seaside village enters tourist season.

McCain says she's undertaken major renovations on some of the six properties she owns along Peggys Point Road.

But only one, a gift shop, is zoned as commercial. It opened this year.

The Peggy's Cove Commission has denied McCain's requests for exemptions for the remaining five, while a new land-use bylaw is being drafted.

The province has declined to step in so far.

"I find it very disheartening and disappointing to have a government that is unresponsive and does not … want to lean in to find creative ways to open up these businesses. I don't think that's what we're about as Atlantic Canadians," McCain said.

"I think this is an issue for all Nova Scotians, because Peggys Cove is essentially not just a provincial icon, it's a national icon."

The commission is responsible for planning and development decisions for the area to ensure that commercial opportunities are balanced with the need to preserve the community. There are about 30 permanent residents in the village, and they play host to more than 700,000 tourists every summer.

McCain has a home in nearby Hacketts Cove and said the area has long been close to her heart, which is why she and Paul Hansen bought two parcels of land containing the six buildings in 2021 for $1.6 million.

McCain said she plans to open businesses in three of the buildings and non-profit groups in the other three, including a museum and an art gallery. The old schoolhouse built in the 1800s would become a performance space, McCain said.

But the PCC has denied McCain's requests to have the non-conforming properties operate this summer, including a takeout restaurant where previous food businesses ran for years. 

"To engage in a rezoning under the existing bylaw would send the wrong message to all those who participated in consultations on the revised Bylaw and are now awaiting the final document," commission chair Nicole Campbell said in a February letter about McCain's request.

The proposed bylaw plan addresses everything from dwelling size to regulations on building materials. It would also see some residential zones along Peggys Point Road turned into mixed zoning for commercial, residential and community purposes — and McCain's buildings would all become compliant.

McCain said it's not fair to ask her to wait, while multiple other businesses are operating against the current bylaw. Commission letters shared with CBC News show they are investigating at least one business that McCain raised with them.

"The process currently actually entertains that concept of neighbour turning against neighbour and that's one of the major issues here, which is unfortunate," McCain said. 

"When you have a commission that has conflicts of interest, that has a lack of enforcement … that sort of thing happens."

CBC News reached out to Campbell and the commission for comment, but did not receive a response by deadline. 

Councillor resigns from commission

The commission is made up of the area councillor, a representative of the Department of Business, the provincial director of planning, and Peggys Cove residents.

Area councillor Pam Lovelace resigned from her seat on the commission in May to protest the situation. When she first started attending meetings after she won the district in 2020, Lovelace said she was surprised to find the commission's meetings were not public, with only limited minutes posted online.

"The lack of transparency is completely unacceptable and I no longer want to be a part of that," Lovelace said. 

Both Lovelace and McCain have called on the province to step in and allow for zoning exemptions before the new bylaw comes in, which could be months away as a second community meeting on the rules has yet to take place.

Susan Corkum-Greek, Nova Scotia's economic development minister, told reporters Thursday she can appreciate McCain's "frustration" but the process has to unfold this way.

When asked about enforcement of the current bylaw, Corkum-Greek said that is a "central challenge" because the legislation governing the commission, which was passed in 1962, doesn't provide it with those tools.

The act "is outdated and inadequate, and it absolutely has to be modernized," Corkum-Greek said, adding that she hopes to overhaul the legislation before the next provincial election.