Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey told County of Haliburton council at its last meeting that his township will continue to fight a proposed development of 25 residential lots, 38 cottage lots, and three blocks for waterfront access, as well as condominium roads, fronting Elephant Lake.
Director of planning, Elizabeth Purcell, brought the file to the Feb. 25 County council meeting. Her report included background information on a proposed draft plan of subdivision and common element condominium.
She said some of her initial key findings are that the land contains provincially-significant wetlands, watercourses, and regulatory floodplain areas, “creating significant environmental constraints.”
She added her preliminary review, “identifies potential consistency issues with the 2024 Provincial Planning Statement, particularly regarding rural development, natural heritage, and flood hazards.”
She said the developers are proposing private wells and septic systems, with multiple technical studies having been submitted to support the suitability. She said other, key, supporting studies, such as an environmental impact study, hydrogeology, lakeshore capacity, boating capacity, stormwater, archeology, and landfill review are now under third-party peer review.
Purcell noted a related official plan amendment was denied by Dysart et al council and appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
During a short discussion, coun. Jennifer Dailloux asked about the sensitive wetlands, and the fact the developers are saying property owners would not be able to access them to get to the shoreline. Rather than every lot accessing the lake, the plan calls for three blocks for waterfront access.
Fearrey condemns development on sensitive wetlands
Dailloux asked how that would be enforced to ensure people are not accessing the lake from their lots. “Who would be responsible? How often would they be checking. What’s the teeth behind that?”
Purcell said it was a bit of a “precarious situation because people are people and if you have a shoreline lot, a lot of people would like to access the water from their own lot. It would be an enforcement matter through the Municipality of Dysart, or through the province, as it is a provincially-significant wetland.”
Dailloux then asked Dysart what it thought would be possible from an enforcement standpoint.
Fearrey told her, “that’s one of the reasons we turned it down. We can’t handle this. If they get this approved, then we might as well forget about trying to protect our lakes and our wetlands. It’s just a terrible proposal. So, we’re going to fight it as hard as we can to make sure it gets defeated.”
Purcell said the land is now vacant with existing access via Benoir Lake Road. She said the site is 122 hectares, with a little over 1.6 km of frontage on the road, and more than three kilometres on the lake.
The planning director said the County received the file Feb. 9. Staff will make its recommendation at a later date.
People can submit comments, be notified, or get additional information from epurcell@haliburtoncounty.ca or 705-286-1333 x 222.
Purcell noted if a person, or public body, does not make written submissions to the County before the approval authority gives, or refuses to give, approval they are not entitled to appeal the decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
