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MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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ST. ANDREWS - Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre, a not-for-profit group, is in the process of selling its nature trail to a developer planning to build a housing development on the land.

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Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre in St. Andrews is selling its nature trail to increase revenue in the wake of declining enrolment in its art courses.

But for the sale to go through, St. Andrews town council will have to approve the rezoning of the land from environmentally significant to estate residential. The town will be holding a public hearing on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to hear submissions on the proposed rezoning.

Jay Remer, president of the Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre board of directors, said enrolment in arts courses has been declining for the last five years and the group needed to find a way to increase revenue to keep the centre alive.

It plans to put the money it makes on the land deal into its endowment fund and use those funds to make up for the money it is missing from the drop in class enrolment.

"It is with regret that the land is being sold for this purpose but we feel it is not going to be a detriment to the community," said Remer.

"It will be an asset because it will strengthen the tax base and will make it so the endowment fund for Sunbury Shores can produce almost twice as much as it has before and will make it viable into the foreseeable future."

Remer said the parcel of land was purchased by the centre in 1966 as an investment and has been used as part of a nature trail called Two Meadows Nature Trail, which includes interpretive stands that educate walkers on the types of trees and plants that can be seen along the trail. Remer said part of the trail is owned by the University of New Brunswick and will likely remain open.

Last fall, the arts centre sought bids on the property and said its first priority was to sell the land to a group or individual that wanted to preserve the land as it is. Remer said the group did not receive an offer from anyone willing to preserve the land.

He said the board only received one offer from a developer named Evansland. Remer said the developer proposes to build seven high-end houses on the land.

If the deal does not go through, Remer said the board will have to look in other areas for funding and may have to launch a capital campaign to raise money for the endowment fund.

Mayor John Craig said he will not form an opinion on the rezoning until he hears the comments at the public hearing. If the rezoning is approved, Craig said the process will take until at least November to be finalized.