A vision for Meyers Pier that finishes the work Belleville started in 2019

This document is submitted by Belleville residents as a public-record contribution to the Phase 2 alternatives evaluation and the Phase 3 concept design of the Meyers Pier Schedule C MCEA. It draws directly on the City of Belleville's own 2019 waterfront activation planning work, which named Meyers Pier as a cluster site for public-led, revenue-generating waterfront use.

1. Response to the draft Problem & Opportunity Statement

Residents broadly support the City's draft Problem & Opportunity Statement. However, we recommend the following clarification, which sharpens the "vibrant community space" language and binds the EA to functional outcomes rather than aesthetics:

Meyers Pier is a landmark feature of the City of Belleville waterfront, providing recreational, economic, and civic opportunities for residents and visitors. The pier shall be sustained and enhanced as a publicly accessible, multi-use waterfront destination that supports active water-based recreation, small commercial water-related enterprise, and connection to the City's broader waterfront trail and tourism network — consistent with the waterfront vision developed by City staff and stakeholders in 2019 and the City's Parkland and Recreation Master Plan.

2. Functional requirements of the preferred alternative

The recommended alternative shall, at minimum, accommodate the following functions:

2.1 Active water-based recreation

• A dedicated, accessible non-motorized small-craft launch (kayak, canoe, paddleboard, sailing dinghy) usable without yacht-club membership.
• Dock space designated for short-term public use, including transient mooring for paddle craft and small day-use boats.
• Provision for future rowing and paddling courses, including consideration of breakwater design that could support a protected 1-km training course.

2.2 Commercial water-related enterprise

• Lease-ready space — modest in footprint — sufficient to host independent operators offering kayak / paddleboard / bike / pontoon rentals and guided tours.
• Servicing (electrical, water, communications) provisioned to support seasonal small-business tenants.
• Storage capacity adjacent to the operator footprint (e.g., sea-can-equivalent secure storage on permanent pads).

2.3 Public reception, retail, and washroom function

• A small, City-owned public building of the kind staff sketched in 2019 — ground-floor retail / food service / public washrooms, upper-level reception or event space.
• Designed so that revenue from leases offsets ongoing operating cost.
• Architecturally appropriate to the heritage character of the pier and the Bay of Quinte shoreline.

2.4 Trail, transit, and active-transportation connection

• Continuous, signed, accessible pedestrian and bicycle connection between the pier, the Bayshore / Waterfront Trail, downtown Belleville, and the broader trail network.
• Junction-style wayfinding (distance-in-minutes markers, repair stations, route maps) at the pier and at the downtown trailheads.
• Designated stop for any future waterfront shuttle service connecting Meyers Pier, downtown, hotels, and the casino corridor.

2.5 Marina and fuel function (sustained)

• Continued operation of the recreational marina, fuel dock, and existing public restaurant — recognizing these as economic anchors.
• Marina layout reviewed for compatibility with non-motorized use; safe separation of paddle traffic from larger boat traffic at entry.

3. Site, footprint, and shoreline considerations

• Public access first. The preferred alternative shall preserve and where possible expand publicly accessible shoreline. Privately gated areas, exclusive-use docks, or single-tenant footprints should be minimized.
• Cluster, not isolation. The EA should explicitly evaluate Meyers Pier alongside the other waterfront sites named in the 2019 plan — Victoria Harbour, the Freestone Point area, and the parcel across from City Hall. Concept choices that foreclose future cluster activation should be flagged and avoided.
• Resilience. Shoreline engineering should anticipate higher-frequency flooding events on the Bay of Quinte, with reference to Quinte Conservation floodplain mapping and Ministry of the Environment guidance.
• Heritage. The 1905-era ballast-filled timber crib construction has heritage value. Where rehabilitation can retain heritage character without compromising function or safety, it should be preferred over wholesale replacement.

4. Indigenous engagement

Residents support the City's stated commitment to meaningful consultation with Indigenous rightsholders through CIPS. We note that the Bay of Quinte shoreline is part of the traditional territory of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and other Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. We encourage the EA to make traditional knowledge integral to design rather than ancillary, including interpretive elements where appropriate and as directed by Indigenous partners.

5. Phasing and integration with the 2019 waterfront vision

In 2019, City staff and waterfront entrepreneurs developed a multi-phase plan to activate Belleville's waterfront through a clustered model of small public buildings, water-access businesses, and trail connectivity. That plan named Meyers Pier specifically. It was interrupted by COVID and never formally restarted.

The Meyers Pier EA represents an opportunity to deliver the first major Phase 2 / Phase 3 element of that plan. We urge Council and the EA team to:

• Reference the 2019 waterfront work explicitly in the Environmental Study Report.
• Brief Council on how Meyers Pier rehabilitation can serve as the anchor for resuming cluster activation at the other named sites.
• Identify and pursue cost-sharing opportunities across federal and provincial programs (see Section 6).

6. Funding pathway

The capital cost of a rehabilitation that delivers the functions above need not fall on municipal taxpayers alone. The following programs are currently open or recently expanded and align well with the project:

• Ontario Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF): $500M total following the April 2026 provincial top-up; competitive, application-based; supports both new facilities and rehabilitation.
• Active Transportation Fund (Canada): $400M+ over five years; direct application by municipalities; supports trails, wayfinding, bike infrastructure.
• Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF): formula-based annual allocation Belleville already receives; accumulable across years for larger capital projects.
• Experience Ontario Regional Fund: up to $125k per project at 50% cost-share; well-suited to programming and visitor-experience components.
• Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital Grant: not directly available to Belleville-the-municipality, but accessible via a community non-profit partner.

Residents request that the Environmental Study Report include a funding pathway section identifying which of these programs the City has pursued, which it intends to pursue, and the timing of those applications.

7. Process and transparency

• Publish all Phase 3 draft concepts on the project page as they are produced, not only at PIC #2.
• Extend the "interested parties" list communications to include not just notice of meetings but summaries of evolving design decisions.
• At PIC #2, present the preferred concept alongside the alternatives that were considered and rejected, with reasons.
• Provide a public-facing summary of how resident feedback shaped the preferred concept.

8. Conclusion

The "Do Nothing" alternative is unacceptable to residents. A failing pier is a failed waterfront. The "rehabilitation only" alternative, narrowly defined, is insufficient — it would preserve infrastructure without realizing the public, recreational, and economic potential the City itself has identified for this site.

Residents urge the EA team to evaluate and develop a preferred alternative that combines rehabilitation of the existing pier structure with the functional, public-access, and connectivity elements outlined in this document. We further urge that Phase 3 concept design treat this submission as a public-record input on equal footing with technical and consultant input.

Belleville has spent over a decade investing in a downtown and waterfront that can support a confident next century. Meyers Pier is one of the most visible pieces of that future. Getting this right matters.