Vicki Amirault, councilor for the area, posted on her Facebook page Tuesday night that the permit was revoked “based on legal advice received from the township’s legal counsel.” He said in the post that he could not comment further “as this is now a legal matter.” Peter Leslie, who grew up near the beach and still lives nearby, says residents are “cautiously optimistic” about the news of the license being revoked. “When I say we’re cautiously optimistic, it’s because we assume that development permits can be reissued at any time,” he said. “Our only concerns at this point, we have no idea what’s going on. So while it’s certainly positive that the development permits have been canceled, we don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know what’s next.” He said most of the heavy equipment was removed from the scene last Thursday. Former Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly and Diana Girouard bought the property, which sits just past the high tide on the dunes of Eagle Head Beach, last August. In mid-June, excavators began moving sand onto the property to dig a large hole. Crews also widened a path to allow large machinery to pass through the site. Last week, both the contractor and property owners were fined under environmental law for altering a watercourse by dumping material into an adjacent lake. Community members have rallied against the development, expressing concern about impacts on the wetland, wildlife and public access to the area. A municipal spokesperson told CBC News last week that the development complies with all municipal requirements.
