Coast guard cancels lighthouse renovations DAVE STEWART The Guardian

The Brighton Range Light in Charlottetown is one of the most photographed lighthouses on Prince Edward Island. The coast guard has cancelled, for now, plans to repair the beacon. Guardian photo

Plans to renovate one of the most photographed lighthouses in Prince Edward Island has been cancelled — for now.
Mark Chin-Yee, a coast guard spokesman, told The Guardian Wednesday that they haven’t been able to reach an agreement with city council and have to put the plans on hold, at least until next year.
The coast guard is proposing an overhaul of the Brighton Range Light, the lighthouse that sits at the edge of Brighton Shore and is photographed on an almost daily basis from Victoria Park.
Those renovation plans include removing the upper 1.5 metres of the structure, replacing the deck, lowering the cupola and light and recladding it with vinyl siding and vinyl windows.
Estimated cost of the project is $250,000.
On two occasions since the coast guard met with Deputy Mayor Stu MacFadyen and area residents, council has rejected the renovation plans.
“Right now, we have cancelled the project,” Chin-Yee said in a telephone interview from his office in Dartmouth, N.S.
“The work has to be done before the winter.”
Each year, before the ice sets in the harbour, the coast guard removes the buoys, leaving the Brighton Range Light as the only navigational aid in the harbour.
To start the work now means that one navigational aid would be disabled and the coast guard can’t do that.
“We’ll go back and work with council to come up with an acceptable solution to them and us and then we have to resubmit the project for funding.”
Chin-Yee says renovations are needed due to normal wear and tear on the lighthouse over the years, especially from ice buildup in the harbour that has taken its toll on the base of the structure.
A storm surge in 2000 caused extensive damage to the lighthouse, prompting the federal government to consider decommissioning the light.
Residents fought against the plan and the light was saved.
However, little work has been carried out since.
Chin-Yee says the coast guard understands the Brighton Range Light is a significant historic presence in Charlottetown.
After meeting with MacFadyen and area residents in March, the coast guard was under the impression everyone was OK with plans for the structure.
However, the lighthouse is designated as a heritage property and requires the approval of council and the heritage committee.
Chin-Yee says in order to protect the base against ice buildup, the base needs to be raised 1.5 metres but that means reducing the height of the structure by 1.5 metres because, as a navigational aid for ships, the Brighton lighthouse and the lighthouse behind it must be exactly the same height.
“The altitude of the light is critical because it lines up with another range behind it . . . it’s a bearing (for vessels). You line up the two lights and that way you know your ship is on the right heading.”
Council also has a problem with replacing wood on the lighthouse with low-maintenance vinyl siding.
However, Chin-Yee says the type of siding they want to use gives the appearance of wooden shingles.
“Wood is a continuing maintenance headache. We look at the cost of installation for its life cycle, not just one-time costs.”
As anyone who has wooden shingles on their house knows, wood needs to be repainted every few years whereas vinyl siding does not.
In addition, failing the raise the base of the lighthouse out of harm’s way means the coast guard has to worry about constant patching.
“Nothing happens before 2010 at the soonest.”