The Chéticamp Area Advisory Committee held a public consultation on Tuesday following an official request to amend a zoning bylaw regarding campgrounds. The committee wanted to hear from the community before writing a proposal to municipal council. 

Over the last few months, several Point Cross residents have been raising concerns about the development of a new RV campground in the area. They argued that a project with capacity for over 100 RVs should not be allowed to operate in a residential community. While the Eastern District Planning Commission (EDPC) is exploring possible amendments to accommodate both tourism businesses and residents, changes would not apply to the campground that sparked complaints. Only future projects would have to comply with the new regulations unless they stop operations for 12 months or more.

By the end of the meeting, EDPC director John Bain announced he would implement a moratorium on all new campgrounds for 150 days, saying it would give municipal council enough time to make a decision.

The process would take a minimum of three months. Following Tuesday’s public meeting, the advisory committee will come up with recommendations for the municipality. Those recommendations will go through another public consultation and two rounds of votes in council before being up for ministerial approval.

After hearing from the community, Bain said he’s considering the creation of a special campground zone, which would remove them from the residential zone completely. The changes would apply only to the Chéticamp area, from the edge of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park to about Grand-Étang.

St-Joseph du Moine residents were surprised to find out there are no municipal zoning regulations in their area. Last year, the Nova Scotia government gave several municipalities three years to fill the gaps in zoning regulation, including Inverness County.