P.E.I. commits to protecting public access to beaches as climate change shifts shoreline

The P.E.I. government says it will take steps to protect the public's right to unimpeded access to the Island's beaches and shores as the coastline continues to recede inland — even on land that was not public before erosion took a toll.

Developing a public beach access policy was one of 16 recommendations in a report released Tuesday by the UPEI-based Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation. 

The provincial government commissioned the report as a roadmap to mitigate damage from future weather events like post-tropical storm Fiona, and amid heated questions about buffer zones and shoreline access as a high-profile development was being built at Point Deroche on the North Shore.

The province has committed to implementing all the recommendations. 

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The beach access policy has implications for property owners and beach-goers because the ownership boundary for coastal properties is generally the top of the bank or the ordinary high-water mark.

This means that any part of the land that gets wet under a high tide, including P.E.I.'s beaches and intertidal flats, is considered public space.

"As the backshore of the coast erodes and the natural boundary of the coastline recedes, the high-tide water line will reach further inland. The area that was once part of the adjacent property becomes part of the foreshore, and consequently becomes public land," the report states.

The right to access shorelines is not new in Canada or P.E.I., but the report recommends that the government address how it would continue to be protected under the conditions of a changing climate or sea level rise.

"Such a policy and/or legislation could include provisions for the enforcement of the removal of structures (buildings and/or armourstone) that over time have become non-conforming and impede public access to and along the beach," the report says.

The recommendations are intended to provide a clear vision for how and where coastal development will be permitted in the future, planning for the impacts of coastal hazards, and "safeguarding the Island's beaches for future generations."

It urges the government to develop shoreline management plans for 17 different segments of the coast, called littoral cells, each with its own strategy to manage environmental, social and economic conditions.

Shoreline management plans are standard in many jurisdictions in Canada and around the world. 

The plans may work in conjunction with other jurisdictions, such as federal and municipal governments, as well as longstanding practices of Mi'kmaq communities, the report says. New shoreline alterations would then be restricted to areas with an approved shoreline management plan in place.

Other recommendations include:

• Develop a home and cottage relocation program that encourages property owners to be proactive in saving their structures, and not rely on temporary measures such as armouring the shoreline. Individual owners are already relocating some buildings on P.E.I.; provincial records show 19 permits have been issued for homes or other structures to be moved within the same coastal property since 2018.
• Establish a cap on financial disaster assistance for property damage and loss if owners make a claim for multiple events over time.  
• Make coastal hazard disclosure mandatory when it comes to real estate deals.
• Expand the environmental buffer zone, now a 15-metre protected space adjacent to all watercourses and wetlands, including the exposed coastline.
• Expand the existing Buffer Zone Acquisition Program to include coastal buffer zones and more specifically, subdivision buffer lots.
• Develop enhanced penalties for violating the Environmental Protection Act, including requiring the coastline to be restored if it's damaged, with the restoration cost footed by the landowner or developer.

In an interview Tuesday, Environment Minister Steven Myers said the recommendations would be implemented as soon as possible, though some may take up to five years.

"This is obviously going to be a big change for Islanders. This isn't something that is small or minor. It's taken a year to write," he said. 

"There's been an enormous amount of research and effort put into this report and the presentation of it. We've had the most expert hands in Prince Edward Island touch this to make sure that it's going to be a gem from a scientific standpoint."