The Ontario Municipal Board has ruled against the developers of the proposed Pointe Estates Development and its appeal of a city council decision.  The applicants Jeff and Patricia Avery were proposing a 91-lot subdivision on subject lands that are generally in the Pointe Louise area as the applicants were looking to create a unique waterfront community.  The OMB heard the appeal over a 13-day hearing in the Sault in the fall and denied the appeal in its entirety.  Among the findings of the OMB,  the development would involve the destruction of about 77% of the coastal wetlands on the subject lands.  The Board also finds the development is contrary to the Wetlands Policies of the Official Plan.  Passive or low intensity recreational uses are allowed in wetlands that are not provincially significant however in the Board’s view a 91-lot sub-division is not passive or low intensity.  The Board also finds that while the development would provide some form of enhanced fisheries habitat due to the refurbishment of the existing Alagash Canal that does not trump the destruction of a significant portion of a coastal wetland.