The original land use agreements are located in the club file at the Sauble Beach Community Centre.
They Include:
Township of Georgian Bluffs; This is for our agreement for the Georgian Rail Trail. It runs from Bruce Road 10 to the Owen Sound City Limits. This is a five year agreement expiring in December of 2023. In it SBPATV agrees to maintain, sign and monitor the trail in exchange for the township requiring permits for ATV’s using the trail. The township may continue to sell its ATV pass for the trail, however that pass is only good on the Georgian Rail Trail. SBPATV is able to monitor the entire length of the trail.
City of Owen Sound: This is an annual agreement that allows for use of the Georgian Rail Trail within the City Limits to Grey Rd. 1 It also includes some provisions for ATV damage to other city areas by SBPATV members. SBPATV is obligated to provide the city with a membership list, however this was only done in the first year. The city allows ATV use from Sunrise to Sunset, April 1 to October 31 and the agreement matches those dates.
Grey County: The Grey County agreement was in place for allowed sections of Grey County Roads prior to 2017. At that date, most roads in our area of the County became legal and the agreement is moot. It is on file as a template if we ever request other county lands. Grey County roads allow ATV use from Sunrise to Sunset; April 15 to November 17.
Bruce County Roads: Our allowed areas are in form of a bylaw, not an agreement and provide for the legal exceptions for legal use of Bruce County Highways.
Bruce County Forest: (Amabel Tract) This 5 year agreement was extensively renegotiated in 2016 and is valid until December 31, 2021. It encompasses the lands for Bedrock Alley, Swamp Trail, Deer Run and parts of Boat Lake. The county allows ATV use from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m; April 1 to November 31. (Bruce County Trail Maintenance Guideline) Kevin Siegel is the Bruce County trail Warden and all ATV communication with the county is required to be channeled through him. We have requested a beginning of a dialogue with the County regarding the Lindsay Tract and it will follow the same template.
Town of South Bruce Peninsula: We originally had an agreement for the development and maintenance of the town road allowance which makes up most of the Boat Lake Trail. The agreement expired in 2005 and with the trail in place and the towns position that anyone could use it, there was little reason to renew it. We have often requested an agreement for use of the SBP Rail Trail in line with the Georgian trail agreement but to date none of the town personnel have picked up on it.
Pat Bridges Land: We have an ongoing agreement with Pat which may be cancelled at any time. Pat’s land is Willie’s Way from Centre Diagonal to Hwy 6.
Carson’s Trail: We have an ongoing agreement with the Reaburn’s which may be cancelled at any time. Their land runs from Silver Lake Crescent to Bruce Road 13. The trail is off limits from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and must be signed as such.
Chad McAllister: Available April 1 to October 15. Need to outline location.
MNRF: MNRF lands include most of the Sauble and Rankin River Trails. Their policy is that as the Queen’s land it is usable for anyone therefore we do not have an agreement. That policy also does not allow for the creation, maintenance or signage of trail. “Use what is there, create nothing new” and we have no exclusive use. Staff understands this is not always a great policy. Some maintenance needs to be done and some signage makes for a better trail experience. Most of their public relations problems are complaint driven, so as long as we keep them in the loop so they are not “surprised” by anything we are doing we have a very good understanding and can do responsible and reasonable trail maintenance. Rob is the liaison with MNRF.
** All of our land use agreements are subject to us being a member in good standing of the EOTA and that we keep our 5 million liability insurance policy in place.
