A draft by-law was tabled at the Hudson Municipal Council on May 6, concerning the terms and conditions surrounding the closure of Sandy Beach for the summer season. The by-law will be adopted at a special meeting to be held on Monday, May 13. 

Once adopted, by-law 770-2024 will impose a $100 fine on anyone accessing the Sandy Beach nature park and beach. In the event of a repeat offence, the fine will be doubled. 

“We are working closely with Dunton and Rainville. The bylaws have been revised by our lawyer, who knows the file very well,” explained Hudson mayor Chloé Hutchison at the start of the meeting. 

On May 3, the Town announced that Sandy Beach would be closed for the summer season, after the owner of the site blocked access. Although the City has an easement over the beach, access to it is on private land. The Town must therefore build a pathway to the beach, on lots belonging to it.

At a regular meeting on Monday, May 6, the mayor reiterated that closing the beach was necessary to remedy environmental issues on the land where a trail will be built to link the city's territory and the Sandy Beach easement. 

“I remind you that Sandy Beach is located on private property and is a use easement that the city has owned since 2007 and it is our duty to maintain good order and safety on this area.
Our commitment continues to be to reopen the beach in the future and to work with the private owners to make that happen as soon as possible,” she said.

Asked whether the landowner was within his rights to prohibit access to the beach despite the easement granted to the Town in 2007, the mayor indicated that verifications in this regard were still underway. 

In addition to putting up new parking signs around the site, the Town of Hudson plans to call in a municipal patrol service to ensure compliance with the new regulations.  

“We have agreed with the landowner to put in place the regulations to authorize us to issue statements of offence. It's really important that the public understands that the measures put in place must be respected. Otherwise, the easement could become increasingly difficult to maintain... For the moment, we want to work with the owner. It's a sensitive issue, and we'd prefer to go into it in a spirit of collaboration with them and, above all, work on the sustainability of beach access,” concluded Ms. Hutchison.

The Hudson Town Council will hold a special meeting this Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m. to adopt by-law 770-2024.