Dysart et al council put on a united front last week, unanimously denying support for an application from a Toronto-based development firm to amend the township’s Official Plan, which could have paved the way for a new 25-unit subdivision on Elephant Lake.

Project details were poured over for hours during a public meeting Sept. 23, with council following municipal staff’s recommendation to deny the proposal. Since Dysart is not the approving authority for OP amendment applications, the file can still be taken to County council for a final decision.

Led by NF 95 Developments, the ‘Algonquin Gardens’ project is split into two phases – northern and southern. Council spent the bulk of last week’s meeting deliberating over the northern application, which sought to redesignate 97.6 acres east of Elephant Lake from rural area to site-specific waterfront residential.

While not directly on the water, the applicant claims the lots “will have access to waterfront through a common access block located on the southern phase.” Kris Orsan, Dysart’s manager of planning, disputed this claim.

“Re-designating the lots would be inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) because the lots do not function as waterfront and their approval would represent an expansion of waterfront policies to lands that are distinctly rural in nature,” Orsan said.

He noted the northern phase does not directly front onto Elephant or nearby Benoir lakes, which are separated by a public road – Benoir Lake Road – and other intervening lands.

Orsan said the lots do not functionally or physically relate to the shoreline and that designating them as waterfront would “artificially extend the scope of shoreline development beyond the actual shoreline, without the direct relationship to the lake that the PPS policies are intended to regulate and protect.”

He said the lots identified in the northern phase meet the definition of backlots per Dysart’s OP.

“Allowing backlots to be reclassified as waterfront… would undermine the intent of the municipality’s OP policies for waterfront development,” Orsan added. “Such an approach would create a precedent where backlots across the municipality seek reclassification to waterfront lots through artificial linkages, effectively eroding the protective policies intended to manage shoreline capacity, environmental impacts, and land-use compatibility.”

The planner further claimed that many of the lots are too small or narrow to meet the standards normally required in rural areas, while some are affected by wetlands, floodplain and steep slopes.

In his report, Orsan opined that 14 of the 25 lots may not be developable at all.

“The proposed subdivision plan appears to overestimate the number of realistically developable lots. Many of [them] do not appear capable of accommodating appropriate building envelopes that would support compliant and functional development,” Orsan said.

Jeff Iles, Dysart’s director of planning, said rural properties are required to have a front lot line setback of 30 metres, though many of the lots included in the application propose a 7.5 metre setback.

Council received 32 submissions from the public opposing the application, with 12 people speaking at the meeting. Catherine Webber, has been a property owner on Benoir Lake for over 30 years. She delivered a petition containing more than 1,000 signatures to council.

“We feel this developer has clearly disregarded the rules,” Webber said, claiming some work has already been done, without approval. Tony Wang, a consultant representing the developer, said a road network originally installed in the 1980s has been recently upgraded to allow for improved access to the site.

Many of the residents expressed concern over the possible environmental impacts, including habitat loss for native wildlife; issues removing important wetlands could have on drainage in the area, as well as water quality; and the size and suitability of the proposed development.

Mayor Murray Fearrey said the file had been with the township for some time and had put “tremendous pressure on staff… the goalposts keep moving all the time.”

After staff said council could consider deferring the application to have several reports submitted by the applicant peerreviewed, deputy mayor Walt McKechnie and councillors Pat Casey and Nancy Wood-Roberts said they had no intention of supporting the proposal. Coun. Barry Boice also commented, “I’m not against development. But we have to protect the environment. I don’t think we need to defer, I think we need to deny.”

Orsan noted the southern phase of development is for 38 residential lots. Because that land is already designated waterfront residential, there’s no required change to the township’s OP. Instead, the application is to approve the subdivision and condominium plans as presented.

The planner again noted that many of the lots appear to be constrained by natural heritage features, including provincially significant wetlands and floodplain areas. He also noted the road meant to service the lots, connecting to Benoir Lake Road “appears to cross areas prone to flooding.”

Orsan also called the application’s lot dimensions into question, saying several have frontages near minimum standards. He added numerous lots show non-compliance with rear yard setbacks for dwellings and septic systems, with others not laying out where accessory structures or wells would be installed.

“Many of the lots appear to have littleto-no viable building envelopes due to environmental constraints,” Orsan said, recommending the township get all submitted studies and reports peer reviewed before making a final decision.

Council agreed to defer the applications to allow for a “comprehensive review.”

A consultant has told Minden Hills council that to support the development of four proposed sites in the village, upgrades will be required at its wastewater treatment plant.

Engage Engineering was hired to assess the available capacity in the Minden sewer system, reporting its findings at a Sept. 25 meeting.

One site has already been approved, with three others in the pre-consultation phase.

Council has already approved a 35-unit affordable housing development on the Gull River by the legion. The other proposed sites are: a development with 222 apartment units, 18 townhouse units, commercial spaces and recreational facilities; two commercial buildings; and a 60-unit condo development.

Coun. Tammy McKelvey wanted more information on the proposed developments, saying she did not know about them. However, director of public works, Mike Timmins, said the planning department had instructed him not to disclose the locations due to confidentiality.

The existing system comprises one wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 945 cubic metres per day; two sanitary pumping stations with force mains and a network of gravity sewer.

The firm said the existing average daily flow is 774 cubic metres per day, or 82 per cent capacity. There is residual capacity of 171 cubic metres per day. However, they said the estimated average daily flow from all sites would be 729 cubic metres per day.

“The treatment plant can accommodate one of either sites one or three within its current capacity. Upgrades will be required to accommodate the remaining sites,” a written report to council said.

However, they said the sanitary pumping station on Orde Street could handle the new developments, with no upgrades required.

The sanitary pumping station on Invergordon Avenue would need an upgrade to accommodate one of the sites, Engage Engineering said.

They further said the gravity sewer should not be over capacity, but upgrades may be required if all developments go ahead.

As for next steps, the Ontario Clean Water Agency will do flow monitoring at three locations downstream of two of the sites to confirm whether there is a need for gravity sewer upgrades. “It is expected that the flow monitoring results will show no capacity constraints in the gravity sewer,” the consultants said.

The township will also have to complete an updated topographic survey of the gravity sewer.

Timmins told council “I don’t want to jump to this idea that we have to look at expansions. We want to look at efficiencies; what we can do to potentially not have to expand the footprint. It’s an older plant … maybe there is something we can do to create efficiencies in there to claw back some of that capacity.”

Mayor Bob Carter asked what percentage of the flow is stormwater. Timmins said it was difficult to say, but part of the proposed flow monitoring next year could help them calculate that.

Carter noted that the possible extension of the long-term care home in Minden had not been included in the capacity study.

McKelvey said she had “serious concerns” the report did not include the Haliburton Highlands Health Services’ long-term care expansion. “We’ve known about it and supported their master plan and have had discussions with them, so I just don’t understand.”

Timmins said they have been requesting flow data from HHHS, but do not have that information yet. “When we have additional information, we will revise this, and come back for further discussion.”

McKelvey said they know from the master plan that HHHS is talking about 98 additional beds, 30 extra staff, 72 bathrooms and five tub rooms, so wondered if that was not enough information to do a calculation.

CAO Cynthia Fletcher said they could follow up with HHHS. She suggested this was the first of many discussions about utility capacity in the village. Council received the presentation as information only.

Returning to the site she frequented regularly as a child, Carol Marcus said the newly-unveiled Herlihey Park in Wilberforce is a touching tribute to her parents, Beatrice and Harold Herlihey, who played a key role in the hamlet’s growth in the early-to-mid-1900s.

For years, Harold was the general manager at Wilberforce Veneer and Lumber, which once sat on the same approximate footprint as the new seven-acre community park; Beatrice, meanwhile, was a schoolteacher and principal who also launched figure skating and swimming clubs that still exist today.

In 2017, Marcus and her late husband, Karl, donated the land overlooking Dark Lake, valued at $400,000, to the township to develop a park. Seven years on, Marcus was back in the community that helped shape her, and her sister Gloria, during their formative years.

“It’s so lovely for me to be here today, to see old school friends… and the transformation of this space,” Marcus said during the park’s unveiling Sept. 26. “I have a lot of memories from this place, my sister and I had a perfect childhood… we’re delighted to give something back to this community, something that can be enjoyed by all.”

Highlands East mayor Dave Burton said the Herlihey Park project has been a major focus for council, with the township putting money away since 2018 to support development. The federal government contributed $80,000 and the province gave $20,000 through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

He felt it was important the township spruce up the area, saying the land has a rich industrial legacy that shaped the Wilberforce community as we know it.

“From the early days of producing fruit baskets and hockey sticks to its role as a vital economic engine supplying hardwood and softwood veneer, the mill was a cornerstone of Wilberforce’s identity,” Burton said. “Despite facing many challenges, it remained a symbol of resilience and hard work deeply woven into the fabric of our history.”

There’s evidence of a sawmill operating around Dark Lake dating back to 1909, owned by James Sauder and Joseph Spears. The Herliheys got involved a short time later – Carol said her grandfather, Frank Herlihey, also owned and operated a mill on McCue Lake in Tory Hill.

After the Second World War, Jack Wallace became a partner and, together, the owners built the veneer plant, which for years served as the town’s largest employer, boasting 70 full-time workers.

In 1968, the mill was bought by Ted Samuel and Joe Klasner, who owned other wood-based operations in Orono. The site was operational until the mid-2000s and was torn down in 2012.

Marcus shared one story that always stuck from her father’s time running the plant.

“There was a break-in one night – Suzanne Klapow, the secretary, was there alone when two men came into the office asking for a job. She was in the middle of putting the workers’ pay in envelopes, but gave the men applications to fill out, which they did,” Marcus said.

“But then they saw all this money, held Suzanne up, locked her in the walk-in vault and when my dad returned from a Rotary meeting in Haliburton, he had to help her out.

“They called the police, who quickly apprehended the two men because they put all their correct details on their job application,” Marcus said, drawing laughs.

Burton said last week’s unveiling was the culmination of the park’s first phase, with more on the way. The Haliburton County Master Gardners are partnering on a multiyear natural regeneration of the site, while Burton said there are plans to install a pavilion and additional walking trails.

“Herlihey Park is much more than just a beautiful space – it’s a living tribute to our shared history, the community’s resilience and the generosity of the Marcus family,” Burton said. “Their gift has transformed this from a site of industry into a place of connection, reflection and recreation.”