Montague Boys and Girls Club opposition surfaces

News the Boys and Girls Club is expanding into Montague is not being met with enthusiasm by some neighbours who live near the group's new clubhouse.

The Montague Rotary Club donated $75,000 to help pay for a new clubhouse for activities and after school programs.

But now, some neighbours say the club doesn't belong in a residential neighbourhood.

Yvette Lunn is one of several parents speaking out in favour of the club. She has three children under the age of ten and says the organization can only mean good things for the community.

"I don't see how you wouldn't want it if you have kids," she said. "It's to help them be engaged in the community, to have respect for the community."

The Boys and Girls Club has chapters in Charlottetown and Summerside and is expanding their services to Montague.

Executive director Krista Shaw says the opposition will mean more steps have to be taken before the club can open.

"We're facing some resident opposition and we're also faced with going to the planning board for the town now," she said.

Shaw says going to the planning board could mean having to set up the clubhouse in an area that isn't appropriate for the Boys and Girls Club.

"They're going to try to put us into a commercial zone, which in Montague is the main street, which really lacks the greenspace and building of appropriate size," she said. "It's not close to schools or other amenities for these kids." 

Before the sale of the house went through, Shaw says the group did its homework. They called the town and found out the property was in a R-3 zone, the most flexible residential zone there is.

"We thought we had done our due diligence and that we would be safe, but unfortunately that wasn't the case," she said. 

Two neighbours who oppose the club moving onto their street said they are concerned about the impact the club would have on their property values.

Rhonda MacLeod is one of those neighbours and is also a volunteer on the town planning committee. She told CBC News she is concerned about increased traffic and noise.

Supporter Adam Ross says that's not what he witnessed when the club came to Charlottetown.

"I've never seen a negative impact from what this club has done in Charlottetown," he said. "I think with open minds and openness to change, I think we can really change the community here with the Boys and Girls Club."

Montague town council meets Monday night to determine where the Boys and Girls Club can go — whether they can stay in the current location, or whether the newly purchased clubhouse will have to be sold and the club will be forced to find another space in a commercial zone.

"I think it's unfair. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one," Lunn said. "We need families here. If families move away, the community dies."