There’s a little slice of paradise in Nipissing Township along the shore at Birchgrove Drive West and Sunset Cove Road. Residents call it “The Rock,” and hundreds of them are worried they might lose access to the site.
These residents have created a Save the Rock Facebook Group, wrote a letter to Nipissing Township, and launched a Change.org petition – which has garnered over 600 signatures – to support public access to the “The Rock.”
Members of “Save the Rock” issued a release explaining how this piece of shore spans both public and private land, “and has been used ceremonially and recreationally by members of the Indigenous community, area residents, and visitors for generations.”
“Today,” the release clarified, “longstanding community access to the public is threatened by a contentious property survey and lack of concrete solutions by Nipissing Township.”
Last year, a “small, undeveloped” private section of the site changed ownership, and these owners, according to the release, “applied to purchase the adjacent public shore road allowance then put up no trespassing signs and a fence on what many believe is municipal property.”
Residents are concerned that “this acquisition would, in effect, privatize the entire site,” effectively cutting off public access to the much-loved piece of land.
The Township of Nipissing issued a release detailing that the site “by Township understanding, is the 66-foot unopened, municipally owned shore road allowance in front of Lot 11, Concession 19,” and this lot is privately owned, the Township noted.
In July, 2022, council received an application to Stop Up, Close, and Purchase the unopened Shore Road Allowance on this parcel, as “it is the Township’s normally followed procedure to support these applications” and sell the shore road allowance to adjacent owners.
However, in January 2023, council rescinded support of the application. Now, since the issue is heating up the residents, council has had discussions with municipal solicitor Ed Veldboom regarding “competing surveys and contradictory shore road allowance boundaries.”
The Township also noted that the unopened road allowance between Concessions 18 and 19 leading to water “will remain in the possession of the Township of Nipissing and following past practices of the Township, will not be opened of altered in any way.”
Council acknowledged the concerns of the “Save the Rock” group, which requested the Township investigate the heritage designation of the shore road allowance. Council agreed that was a fine idea, and Township staff have reached out to the Ministry of Heritage.
The group also suggested the Township investigate Indigenous land rights to the shore road, and staff are looking into this with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs.
Council was unable to give a timeline for answers as staff must wait to hear back from these Ministries. Once the information comes in, it will be presented at an upcoming council meeting.
That one will be well-attended, as many within the community are far from keen about possibly losing access to this cherished site. As resident David Cernanec said, “The Rock has long been a place of shared memories, outdoor adventures, and spiritual significance for countless community members.”
“And now the message being send to the public is ‘stay away.’”
For Cernanec – and other Save the Rock members agree – the “right step is to get an independent survey done,” settle all boundary disputes, and “ensure that this issue does not set a negative precedent for other longstanding public spaces.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
