Antigonish County grants storage units, building size increase in public hearings

ANTIGONISH COUNTY: Following two public hearings, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish is allowing the development of four new commercial storage facilities, as well as an increase to the size of outbuildings.

Both public hearings took place during the municipality’s regular monthly council meeting on Oct. 11. No one from around the council table or from within the gallery spoke in favour or against either project application.

The first, a development agreement from Riavan Investments looked at allowing for a maximum of four commercial storage buildings along Highway 4 in Brierly Brook.

“We had a development agreement for some dry storage units, which will be located just off Brierly Brook Road at the corner where the roundabout comes,” McCarron told reporters following the council meeting. “Tonight was second reading for that; it seems like it went smoothly with the developer as well, we’re quite pleased with that.”

The recommendation to council passed unanimously.

“Based upon the staff recommendation, the advisory council recommends that municipal council give second reading and approve entering into the development agreement,” Mary MacLellan read into council. “With a maximum of four commercial storage facilities.”

The second, a text amendment made to the West River Antigonish Harbour land use bylaw, looked at increasing the existing area of 83.6 metre-squared (900 feet-squared) to 130 metres-squared (1,400 feet-squared) on accessory buildings. The amendment will also include a limit to the size of accessory buildings based on the total lot area of a property.

“So basically that is to allow for a little bigger accessory building,” McCarron said. “It was just sort of a friendly amendment to the current bylaw, and it just allows on bigger lots, a little bigger sized building. A standard housekeeping item.”

Additionally, staff are also recommending to provide architectural guidelines for accessory buildings to maintain a consistent architectural aesthetic within neighbourhoods.

Like the first, the recommendation to council passed unanimously.

Drake Lowthers

Drake Lowthers has been a community journalist for The Reporter since July, 2018. His coverage of the suspicious death of Cassidy Bernard garnered him a 2018 Atlantic Journalism Award and a 2019 Better Newspaper Competition Award; while his extensive coverage of the Lionel Desmond Fatality Inquiry received a second place finish nationally in the 2020 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for Best Feature Series. A Nova Scotia native, who has called Antigonish home for the past decade, Lowthers has a strong passion in telling people’s stories in a creative, yet thought-provoking way. He graduated from the journalism program at Holland College in 2016, where he played varsity football with the Hurricanes. His simple pleasures in life include his two children, photography, live music and the local sports scene.

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Drake Lowthers has been a community journalist for The Reporter since July, 2018. His coverage of the suspicious death of Cassidy Bernard garnered him a 2018 Atlantic Journalism Award and a 2019 Better Newspaper Competition Award; while his extensive coverage of the Lionel Desmond Fatality Inquiry received a second place finish nationally in the 2020 Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for Best Feature Series. A Nova Scotia native, who has called Antigonish home for the past decade, Lowthers has a strong passion in telling people’s stories in a creative, yet thought-provoking way. He graduated from the journalism program at Holland College in 2016, where he played varsity football with the Hurricanes. His simple pleasures in life include his two children, photography, live music and the local sports scene.