When it comes to iconic views, the town of Mahone Bay has one of the best, but a few people in the historic town say the famous view of the three churches perched along the harbour could be clouded by a development that is planned for Main Street. "What the proponent of this development wants to do is put up a four-storey building much larger than the building that was there before," said Zak van Vuren, who owns a property across from 629 Main Street. "There's nothing of that size in that stretch of the road." van Vuren plans to speak at a public hearing in Mahone Bay on July 6.

Increased traffic a concern

The agreement reached between the developer, Dover Holdings, and the town, is being appealed.

One of the concerns is an increase in traffic, on the town's main drag, which is already busy during peak tourist season.

"Pushing more traffic in there with no additional parking for the commercial facility really makes it difficult," said van Vuren. "You're jamming a lot into a small space."

The six-unit building would consist of five residential units and commercial store front on the ground level.

NIMBY argument

"My view is that this is very much a, 'not in my backyard' argument," said Paul Taylar, president of Dover Holdings. "There's two gentlemen across the street that don't have waterfront and the building that will go up will block their view and they don't like that." Taylar said he is not worried about the public hearing. "I think our building stays within the keeping of the street and it's within all the height restrictions and setback restrictions," said Taylar. "It will look like it has belonged there all along."

'We're doing our best'

Finding the fine line between new development and the small town's rich history on the waterfront is a sensitive issue.

"We haven't upset the developer," said Mahone Bay Mayor Joe Feeney. "We're doing our best to be fair to him and to our taxpayers."

Public hearing set for July 6th over proposed six unit development on Mahone Bay waterfront. <a href="https://t.co/Ekf2RixUBy">pic.twitter.com/Ekf2RixUBy</a> —@PaulRPalmeter