Courtice Shores: A Vision and a Proposal
Courtice Shores is a vision I have for what started off as an idea for a municipal park in the south part of an (approx) 86 ha piece of land immediately east of Darlington Provincial Park. The western boundary of the area is Courtice Road; on the north by Darlington Park Road. This is a small portion of the ~34 km of waterfront that Clarington has, but the public is limited to access via a very small percentage of this. Interesting to note that Fort Lauderdale/Broward County in Florida only has 4km more coastline than Clarington.
(From Google Maps) The ‘Courtice Shores’ parcel of land with the Algoma Farm on the left and the undeveloped land ( actually home to several AM radio towers) on the right, bordered by Courtice Road (at Dawson’s Point).
(From Google Maps) The area surrounding ‘Courtice Shores’.
(From Google Maps) The land between Darlington PP and Courtice Road (by Dawson’s Pt).
The land is on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is situated between Darlington Provincial Park, which itself is on the eastern side of McLaughlin Bay and The Second Marsh which is supported by provincial funds. On the east side of Courtice Road is a Durham Region Sewage Treatment Plant, and the Durham/York Waste To Energy Incinerator, along with an OPG building and an East Penn warehouse. There is also an auto parts business and a Black and McDonald building nearby. There was an effort to have a Durham Region Anaerobic Digestor, but that has been put on hold.
The Waterfront Trail deviates from Darlington Park Road and the service roads that stretch next to the 401 to follow the shoreline cliffs east of Courtice Road and south of the sewage plant. It ends next to a field that overlooks the lakefront, and the Darlington Nuclear complex of Ontario Power Generation. Beyond that is the new Small Nuclear Reactor construction project, and the visual of the St. Mary’s Cement complex, and their incinerator smoke stack.
The 86ha of land is owned mostly by the municipality of Clarington, and Algoma Orchards. Algoma purchased the land relatively recently (pre 2018), and uses it to grow a lot of apples.
Mayor Foster and the 2018–2022 Municipal Council was working to establish a municipal park, negotiating with the land owner to donate land for the park while being allowed to develop a subdivision adjacent to the provincial park in exchange. Still, now, despite previous success and progress, we are no closer to having a municipal waterfront park in Courtice. This is only complicated by the loss of access to development charges by municipalities.
Negotiations, as I understand, have basically ground to a halt. With the post MZO world with MZO-like variances being allowed for development in questionable circumstances, and the right of the landowner to maximize their benefit from the land, the possibility of there being a development that rivals the waterfront of Grimsby On The Lake.
Grimsby On The Lake is an amazing development, really, but is it right for this land?
An excerpt from the Courtice Waterfront Plan (Municipality of Clarington 2022) showing the proposed municipal park along the lakeshore and the proposed subdivision above the park, adjacent to Darlington Provincial Park.
Images of Grimsby-On-The-Lake
(photo credit S. Rae)
Why?
Clarington cannot get this done alone.
The landowner deserves to be compensated for their land, which is another reason Clarington needs the province to step in.
The province has an interest in protecting Darlington Provincial Park.
Bigwind Lake Provincial Park and the Proposed Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park are great additions but are not in areas that are under the threat of development AND are not unrenewable lakeshore lands.
WIth recent decisions regarding highway 413 and more, this government would do well to commit to protecting a unique landform in an area that will be highly developed.
Access to lakeshore and parkland are a benefit to the mental health of people who use this.
Clarington, and Durham are bound to grow extensively for the foreseeable future and to have a sizable park to access on Lake Ontario for different reasons than one would access Darlington, is invaluable. (A park with multiple uses like Sunnybrook Park in Toronto; running and cycling trails, sport pitches, wilderness hiking and trails, with some restaurant development near the water). This park could actually complement Darlington Provincial Park.
Protecting this land from development reinforces a commitment to Darlington Provincial Park and the integrity of the Second Marsh and McLaughlin Bay.
Of the 34km of waterfront that Clarington has, most of it is inaccessible due to industrial purposes.
By virtue of what will be the nuclear power generating epicenter of Canada (the world?), along with 2 incinerators, and sewage treatment, Clarington needs a break.
As it stands, access to the lake by anything but a car or truck is dangerous (through the Exit 425 underpass), but it would be a start.
It is the right thing to do.
David Piccini, MPP and former Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, indicated when I spoke with him around our interview on Exit 425, that he was unaware of what Clarington, one of the communities he represents, was planning for this land next to the provincial park. Inquiries to the park superintendent and current minister responsible, MPP Andrea Khanjin, have gone unanswered, save one glimmer of hope that faded quickly.
Todd McCarthy, our MPP for Durham and Exit 425 (Courtice), after agreeing to quarterly interviews on Exit 425 (given the lack of media coverage in Clarington) in exchange for no interview during the last election, has never committed to an interview. One time, after he became a minister, he personally responded to my modified request for a personal, unrecorded meeting. He even suggested a short turnaround and left it for his staff to arrange it (copied on the email). They scuttled the Minister’s suggested time because of a required briefing, and since then I have not received another positive response to even an unrecorded meeting where I could present this suggestion. Never mind a recorded interview to update constituents and let them get to know him better.
Steve Rae,
exit425401@gmail.com
