Ryan Légèr said he and his business partner Paul-André Savoie bought land 400 metres from the Coastal Shell plant with the goal of building townhouses after hearing about how the housing crisis was affecting their hometown of Richibucto.
Richibucto is part of the newly amalgamated community of Beaurivage.
The two planned to build townhouses on a parcel of land across from École Soleil-Levant school.
Légèr said that plan came crashing to a halt when he received an email from the municipality saying the land couldn’t be zoned for residential use.
“The exact words that we got were, ‘The emissions coming from the plant were to be a known nuisance to receptors in the area,’ which is kind of frustrating because we’ve got a school the same distance (from the shell-drying plant),” he said in an interview on Wednesday.
“So, it kind of makes you wonder, if it’s a nuisance to one, is it not to the other?”
A group of Richibucto residents are fed up with the smell produced from the shell-drying plant each night and have been calling on the municipality and the province to shut it down.
Maisie Rae McNaughton, spokesperson for the Kent Clean Air Action Committee (KCAAC), has previously described the smell as like “rotting, burning shells.”
“Who would want to live right beside that plant anyway?” McNaughton said, saying those who lived near the plant are facing difficulties selling their properties.
“It’s yet another dream that has been killed by Coastal Shell Products.”
Global News reached out to Coastal Shell Products on Wednesday and did not receive a response in time for publication.
Légèr said he and his business partner are out the $20,000 they spent acquiring the land, and are evaluating their options moving forward.
“Ever since I can remember we have more people leaving our community than coming in,” he said.
“In the last few years that was finally changing, we had more people coming in, creating the housing crisis. Makes me wonder, are we going to go back in the other direction.”
KCAAC is raising funds through an online crowdfunding campaign for legal action against Coastal Shell Products.
So far it has raised over $5,000.
McNaughton clarified this would be separate from the lawsuit launched by seven residents against the company for decreased property values and loss of enjoyment of their property.
“We are fighting this hard just to have peace and breathe clean air. This is ridiculous,” McNaughton said.
Global News reached out to Beaurivage Mayor Arnold Vautour for comment on Wednesday.
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