Part of Balm Beach Fence Destroyed

On Sunday, June 29, a person with a chain saw destroyed at least two sections of the fence.  We do not have full details of the incident but it was reported by A channel news and was the subject of a short segment on Toronto radio station CFRB.

 

Following the incident, PUBB has issued the following statement:

 

PUBB is very sorry to learn of the physical action taken against the fence on the south side of Balm Beach and wishes to make it clear that this action was not supported in any way by PUBB.   Doug Lorriman, PUBB spokesperson, said “although our objective is to see the fence removed, we have promoted from the beginning that this be done through legal means.  We do not condone destruction or violence.  We do not feel that the action taken yesterday helps our cause or Balm Beach.  It does, however, underscore the frustration that many people feel from the lack of political leadership on this matter.”

 

Information Meeting

PUBB

(Preserving the Use of Balm Beach)

 

Is hosting an

 

Information Meeting

Regarding the

Balm Beach Fence

 

Date:             Saturday, June 21

Time:             10:00 am

Place:            The Place, 300 Balm Beach Rd. W.

 

PUBB will be providing a report on efforts to legally remove the fence from the beach and restore historic public access and use.  The meeting will:

Ø Review what has been done to date

Ø Present the current status

Ø Consider future actions.

 

Save your beach rights

 

Balm Beach Secondary Plan

In an earlier posting, it was reported that Tiny council had decided to commission a study to create a Secondary Plan for Balm Beach.  This month a Request for Proposals was issued to consultants for this study.  The proposals are due at the end of May and we hope that the study will start soon after that.

 

Council has said that it wants good public input in this study.  We will keep you advised on how and when this input will be sought.

 

We hope this study will lead to some positive developments.

 

Contact your MPP

It came to my attention that some people may not know how to contact their MPP.  Good point.

 

To find contact information, go to www.onla.on.ca and click Members (MPPs).  A list of contact information is available from that page.  If you do not know who your MPP is, there is a Postal Code search option available on that page as well.

 

Another way to get a list of MPPs is from the Shorewalk Association web page.  In fact, I encourage you to visit their site at www.shorewalk.ca.  There is a lot of good information there.

Right of Passage Act

As reported on this blog last year, MPP Kim Craitor introduced the Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act.  Unfortunately this bill was introduced to late in the session to receive more attention than first reading.

 

Mr. Craitor promised that, if re-elected, he would reintroduce the bill in the new session.  Well, he was re-elected and he reintroduced the bill in March.

 

The next challenge is to get the bill past second reading before it goes to committee.  For this to happen, it needs a good base of support from the MPP’s.

 

We ask you to contact your MPP and seek their support for this bill.  It will not solve all the problems at Balm Beach but it will certainly help.  In your messages you can explain how private interests are slowly denying public use of beaches which have been previously accessible for generations.  You should also explain how the fence has affected your enjoyment of Balm Beach.

 

To see a copy of the bill, go to www.ontla.on.ca and take the following path:

 

Home  >  Bills & Lawmaking > Current Parliament > Bill 43, Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act, 2008

 

Your support in this way is important in helping our efforts to have the fence removed.  Please act.

Fence Update

Those who have not been up to Balm Beach yet this year will remember that the fence extended across about two thirds of the beach to the water and the remaining gap was filled with numerous pieces of furniture which impeded but did not totally block passage.

 

This year things have changed.  In the fall the fence was extended by another four sections which significantly narrowed the distance to the water.  This spring, the boat rack was relocated to fill the remaining gap to the water so now passage is virtually impossible without getting your feet wet.  As this entry is being written, the wave wash is hitting the last post of the fence and the boat rack is completely awash.

 

This unfortunate development underscores the need to seek all legal remedies to have the fence removed and restore historical access and use of all the beach.

Blog Reopening

This blog has been silent for the past few months because many of our members have been away or otherwise engaged.  But summer is coming and the fence is still an issue here Balm Beach.   We will restart our use of the blog to keep you up to date on matters pertaining to the fence and general beach access and use in our community.

 

Please stay tuned.