Among Knowlton’s greatest attributes are its quaint character and beautiful properties that reflect the town’s Loyalist heritage. Even some of the most modest homes and buildings of Knowlton exude that character.
Which is why many people are horrified by what is being built along Highway 104 as you head out to Cowansville: unattractive box stores and apartment blocks built mere feet from the highway, with no landscaping and no charm. For a town that prides itself on its cachet, this strip of eyesores is pulling Knowlton down fast.
Like most towns that take pride in the way they look, the Town of Brome Lake does have rules and regulations, and a citizen’s advisory committee, that governs aesthetics. But the rules apply only in certain parts, for example in the centre of Knowlton. Clearly, they do not go far enough, and they do not cover enough territory.
These aesthetics rules need to be beefed up, and quickly, to ensure that whatever is being built on the territory – all of it adds to its charm – not the opposite. The lot that the Dollarama was built on, for example, was somehow, oddly, not part of a zone covered by the aesthetics rules, which allowed the developer to legally build a structure with a design and materials that stick out. That should not be allowed.
The multi-unit apartment building across from IGA is another matter. The developer got a permit based on plans that were accepted, but then went ahead and built something different from what the zoning allowed – with 12 units instead of 8. The town and contractor are in a legal dispute over the matter, and over plans to build nine more such blocks. But the offending structure is already there.
Knowlton can’t afford to be pushed around by developers who couldn’t care less about the towns aesthetic charms. As Lee Patterson, the councillor responsible for urban planning, told Tempo in an interview, “the status quo is no longer acceptable. We need to get cracking (to tighten up and strengthen the rules) or promoters will be dictating what development looks like in our town.”
The Strategic Planning process is the perfect opportunity for the town to take control of these issues. The pandemic is over – there is no excuse anymore to delay. We have already lost enough time as pressure mounts for more development. The quaint village ambiance is a big part of the Town of Brome Lake’s economic base and appeal and continues to provide economic opportunity to its residents. It must be protected – everywhere across the municipality.
There are ways to build and manage affordable housing for young families that is attractive and inviting, to allow commercial development and to build more luxury housing as the needs of the community shift and evolve. There are ways to have aesthetic guidelines without creating excessive bureaucracy and cost. It takes creative thinking. There is no time to waste.
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