Picton Terminals owners are seeking a rezoning that would allow for tour boats to dock on their property.
A public meeting is set for August 25 at the Prince Edward Community Centre in Picton to discuss the rezoning from RU1 to MX zone, which would allow for transshipment and tour boat docking, as well as open storage as an accessory use.
If approved, this would allow 300-400 passenger Great Lakes cruise ships to dock at Picton Terminals.
Owner Ben Doornekamp is proposing to construct two new floating docks on the subject site to accommodate tour boat docking and transshipping activity.
The two docks will be approximately 36.5 metres (120 feet) in length and will be capable of accommodating large vessels coming from Lake Ontario which require deep-water docking facilities.
Fotenn Consultants Inc., retained by Doornekamp, states the current transshipment use of the site is permitted by the Official Plan designation but is not reflected in the permitted uses of the current zoning, which is why they are seeking the zoning amendment.
Doornekamp says he expects to host up to 10 cruise ships next summer.
The docks will be located to the north and south of the existing docking facilities, respectively. The northern floating dock will be used for the docking of passenger vessels while the southern floating dock will be used to dock tug boats which are used to haul barges to and from the site.
The northern dock is intended to enable cruise lines and tourist boats from Lake Ontario to dock at the site, at which point tourists will be carried by bus (or other form of private transportation) to their next destination in the County.
Given the relative absence of deep-water docking facilities in the surrounding region this represents a unique opportunity to support tourism in Prince Edward County.
According to Doornekamp to The Intelligencer, each cruise ship will arrive at 8 a.m., passengers will have breakfast onboard, get onto a bus to tour the County and then get back on the boat for dinner before shipping out.
He says the cruise line visits will be a benefit to the municipality as those passengers will be increasing revenues to restaurants, wineries, retail shops and tour operators.
The full zoning amendment application for Picton Terminals can be found here.
