On Thursday, April 28 the District of Muskoka’s Community and Planning Services Committee held a public meeting on Minett to receive comments from the public on certain subjects of interest to the District such as water and wastewater and other District–provided services.
Deborah Martin-Downs spoke on behalf of Friends of Muskoka and the MLA requesting that the necessary upgrades to roads, the Port Sandfield bridge and other infrastructure be addressed and be paid for by the property owner. She also explained other comments contained in our April 25th letter
Cindy Forbes spoke on behalf of the Bruce Lake Family Association reinforcing our comments and reminding Committee that Bruce Lake is in the immediate vicinity of Minett and their members will be impacted in many ways by development in the Resort Village.
Committee expressed concern about increased boat traffic and recommended keeping boat slips to a minimum and finding some mechanism to ensure Wallace Bay does not become overcrowded and unsafe.
District Chair John Klinck expressed concern about the overall amount of development planned, stating that he is “personally offended by the development at Legacy Cottages, the way it started, what it looked like and what it might look like in the end”. He appealed for a process that would require some restitution for “poor decisions” that were made when the Legacy property was clearcut (eg. greening where possible). We couldn’t agree more!
Planning Consultant Nick McDonald assured Chair Klinck and Committee that before any development occurs at the larger Clevelands House property, a large number of studies will need to be completed to the satisfaction of the Township of Muskoka Lakes, including a phased servicing plan, transportation plan, traffic impact, parks plan, building height plan, urban design and architectural guidelines, and a fiscal impact study – all paid for by the developer and peer reviewed by the Township. Costs of implementation would also be borne by the proponent at no cost to the Township. These studies were recommended by the Minett Steering Committee whose members included Deb Martin-Downs (MLA President), Laurie Thomson (FOM President), Frank Pottow (MLA and FOM director) and Sandy McNair (MLA director), who all strongly advocated for these studies. [MJPRSC recommendations]
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Next steps…. We will let you know when this comes back to Township Council for final discussion and approval