A Toronto millionaire wanted to build a beachfront mega-cottage on a remote stretch of Prince Edward Island’s pristine north shore. Then the locals got wind of it.
, he found in the tiny island’s coastline a kind of sanctuary—a serene landscape that seemed to reward endless days and weeks of exploring. After retiring from his job as a government policy analyst several years ago, Guptill dedicated even more time to his passion. Today he walks the island’s shores almost daily, posting regular maps of his hikes to a Facebook group for fellow beach fanatics. Few people know the island’s coast as well as he does.
“Let one do it and soon our beaches will all be taken over by foreigners with money,” wrote another Facebook commenter— “foreigner” referring not to people from other countries, but from other provinces. “The beaches belong to us.” Rasch claimed his property was exempt from setback rules thanks to an obscure clause in provincial legislation. The government agreed with him. The province’s Green Party, who formed the official Opposition at the time, did not. Neither did a growing coalition of irate islanders. The affair now sits at the centre of a legal battle that may both derail the project and permanently change how beachfront development occurs on P.E.I.
The road to Point Deroche is classic P.E.I., flanked by the island’s iconic red soil, scrappy shrubs, verdant ponds and, of course, several potato fields. The smell of salt water and the sounds of birdsong carry on the summer breeze. The entrance to Kelpie Lane—the private road leading to Rasch’s under-construction house—is less welcoming, delineated by several no-trespassing signs.
Nicholas Jay, the project’s contractor, suggested to local officials that they didn’t know how to accurately measure the site. In late September, Jay informed provincial planning staff that, given the upcoming hurricane season, he intended to continue with construction—even though the stop-work order was still in effect. Then, in mid-October, Eugene Lloyd, acting manager of provincial planning, cheerfully informed Jay that he could proceed.
Guptill, meanwhile, decided kvetching online was no longer enough. Throughout last fall, he and like-minded allies hosted community forums with names like “Point Deroche Disaster” and “Land Abuse & Power of the People,” where they called on residents to push back against what they saw as petty corruption and protect the island’s precious natural resources.
There’s another complicating factor on P.E.I., beyond tensions between locals and come-from-aways. The province’s shoreline is quickly retreating, as the fate of the MacAndrew house clearly demonstrates. One hot and sunny day this June, I visited two members of the University of P.E.I.
Islanders may be upset that moneyed migrants are usurping the best spots near the province’s precious coastline. But in the long run—or the not-so-long run—there’s a bigger problem for those newcomers. “They arrive on a beautiful day like today,” says Dwyer of seasonal residents, “and they get sucked in, but then what?” A handful of realtors are now requesting coastal hazard assessments that anticipate impending damage from climate change, he says, but the practice is still rare.
But this, says Guptill, only brings up more questions. The policy clearly states that buildings can only be constructed within the 15-metre buffer zone if they “cannot be located outside the buffer zone,” presumably due to space constraints. In the case of Rasch’s property, which occupies 17 acres and extends about a kilometre from the beach, there appears to be ample wiggle room.
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