The applicant, representing local ratepayers, brought an application to interpret a municipal zoning by-law, arguing that a deep water port facility's trans-shipment operations contravened the by-law.
The respondents argued the operations were protected as a legal non-conforming use.
The court interpreted the historical zoning by-laws and applied the framework for pre-existing uses, finding that the general historic use of the property for trans-shipment of bulk commodities had not fundamentally changed.
The court held that the current operations constituted a reasonable expansion of earlier activities and remained protected as a legal non-conforming use.
