Slice of St Malo beach destined for parking lot

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This article was published 17/08/2021 (1433 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A reclaimed beach on the shores of St Malo Lake will soon become a parking lot, to the dismay of the man who spent three years and thousands of dollars revitalizing it.

Daryl Sabourin spent his childhood on the Crown land shores of the St Malo reservoir swimming with his family. Later, as an adult, he took it upon himself to create a similar space for his children and neighbours. He spent time levelling the ground, whacking weeds, and adding sand to make the space feel like an oasis away from the public eye.

Nicknamed Kate’s Beach after his daughter, Sabourin says the petite, 30-foot space is not used by many, but is appreciated by those who do. He also takes it upon himself to oust anyone causing a disturbance or misusing the beach.

“It’s not a party place,” he said. “I try to minimize the traffic.”

Located west of Lakeshore Bible Camp and a few hundred feet from several boat launches in either direction, a problem Sabourin quickly incurred from building the beach is that it’s located on Crown land owned by the province. According to the Crown Lands Act, no structure or property can be built on Crown land without authorization.

Sabourin ultimately received Provincial Waterways Authorization (PWA) allowing him to keep the property where it was after receiving complaints from those around him. However, last month he heard of plans for the province to raze the space to make room for a parking lot.

“My question is, what would they even use the parking lot for? No one comes to this area,” Sabourin said.

In Sabourin’s PWA documents, restrictions state, “in its sole discretion, that all or any portion of the Manitoba Lands affected by the Works are required by Manitoba for other governmental purposes, the Grantee will remove or relocate the Works, or such part(s) thereof as Manitoba may determine necessary, within thirty (30) days after receiving notice of such requirement, at the Grantee’s sole costs and expense.”

Sabourin thought after receiving proper documentation and raising his voice with the RM of De Salaberry and province, the parking lot plan would not go forward.

However, that’s exactly what happened.

On Tuesday, Sabourin received a notice from the province giving him 30 days to vacate all his possessions from the area as the province would, in fact, go forward with a parking lot.

The notice, obtained by The Carillon, states, “We are proceeding with a project to build a parking lot on Crown land at the end of Lake Wire road…all boats, docks, structures, material, or other items owned by you on or within the Provincial Waterway must be removed from the Provincial Waterway on or before September 10th, 2021.”

Sabourin said he feels targeted by the province as he’s just one of many who have used Crown land shoreline for his own use. According to a provincial spokesperson, five PWAs exist on the reservoir.

“We have a boat launch that’s used by hundreds of people every week that’s falling apart, yet they want to build a parking lot in the middle of nowhere,” Sabourin said.

Lakeshore Drive east of Sabourin’s beach is a popular spot for weekend warriors to launch boats into the lake or float for the day. In winter, the launch is used in part to establish a roadway across the reservoir to Gosselin Road.

RM of De Salaberry Reeve Darrel Cure said because the land is provincial jurisdiction, the municipality has no say in what they do with it.

“The RM does not really have any input on what the province decides,” said Cure.

“If the province wants to do a parking lot there or a beach or whatever, it would be in their right to do so.”

A spokesperson for the province said the decision to build a lot was made in consultation with the RM to address public access areas to the reservoir.

“Manitoba Infrastructure will be proceeding with plans to build a parking lot in this area with planned usage of parking space to accommodate access to the reservoir. The size is unknown at this time,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Carillon. A gravel road leading to Kate’s Beach currently provides accessibility to the waterway.

The spokesperson wrote Sabourin does not have authorization from Manitoba Infrastructure for the property.

As for Sabourin and his manmade oasis, the fight is not quite over.

A community petition to save Kate’s Beach is already in the works. Calls are also being made to Manitoba Infrastructure urging the department to take a second look at the plan. Sabourin maintains there’s no need for a parking lot in the immediate area.

“If you’re going to build something, do it where the people are,” he said.

“There’s never been accessibility issues in this particular spot, and it’s only going to bring riffraff to a place I try and take care of.”

This story first appeared in the Aug. 12, 2021 edition The Carillon. Become a subscriber today.