Ding, ding, round three coming to CBS council

By Craig Westcott

The third skirmish in what may be wryly deemed the new Battle of Foxtrap will likely be played out at the next meeting of CBS council this week on October 1.  

The wrangle involves an application by construction company Eric Taylor Limited to expand the operations at its garage at 40A Foxtrap Access Road to include repairs and inspections on heavy equipment belonging to other companies, in effect making it a regular commercial garage.

The problem for the company is that the garage is surrounded by a residential zone, where such activities are prohibited. The operations of the garage itself, and the company’s office on the Foxtrap Access Road, were grandfathered in as a non-conforming use in the Town’s development regulations years ago when CBS was incorporated. In more recent years, the land containing the company’s operations have been zoned Commercial, while the area around it remains Residential.

The main proponents in support of the company’s application, but with limitations as to how many vehicles can be worked on at the garage, are councillors Gerard Tilley and Paul Connors, who have also managed to gain the support of Mayor Darrin Bent and councillor Christine Butler on votes so far. Opposed to the expansion of the garage’s activities have been councillors Rex Hillier, Shelley Moores and Joshua Barrett.

The application was placed on the agenda and set to be debated for the third time at the September 17 meeting of council but was retracted by councillor Tilley when it was realized both Mayor Bent and councillor Butler were absent.

“With the concurrence of council, we’re going to defer this item on the agenda for 40A Foxtrap Access Road to the next public meeting,” Tilley said, setting the stage for the third, and what is likely last debate on the matter this Tuesday.