After years of daydreaming, you finally bought a cottage in Muskoka. It’s your weekend and summer escape, and the place to bring loved ones for fun at the lake.
Life is good. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a mammoth construction project breaks ground right next to your happy place.
It could be a huge resort property with high density residential units masquerading as commercial, or it could be an enormous multi-cottage compound that breaks all the planning rules as no one fought against the application.
Preventing this kind of thing from happening is one of the key mandates of the Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA), and particularly their Government and Land Use Committee (GLUC).
Steve Rohacek, chair of GLUC, says the 16 volunteers on the committee are dedicated to examining land use issues in the MLA catchment area.
“We promote and advocate for responsible land use for responsible and sustainable development,” explains Steve. “We look at land use planning applications, official plans, comprehensive zoning bylaws, and other similar topics.”
The MLA’s catchment area consists of the Big Three lakes – Muskoka, Joseph, and Rosseau – as well as smaller lakes within the Township of Muskoka Lakes and the surrounding municipalities of Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Seguin.
The committee isn’t against all development: their goal is simply to ensure what is being done conforms to the Official Plan and existing zoning bylaws in each municipality.
The MLA usually gets involved only when applications for zoning amendments are brought to the elected officials on a municipal committee or council. Issues are typically only brought to these committees when a property owner or developer is asking for changes that fall well outside existing bylaws.
“We ask the questions: is this precedent setting? Is it a precedent that goes against the character of Muskoka and could be used in a negative way in the future?” explains Steve.
Resorts or residentialThe MLA looks at almost everything through an environment-first lens. As MLA president Ken Pearce explains, “our economy in Muskoka is the environment.” Protecting that environment has been a key part of the MLA’s mission since it was launched more than a century ago.
“If you destroy the environment, if you destroy the water quality, cut all the trees, and blast away all the rocks, nobody’s going to want to come here,” says Ken.
The group will attend and speak at council meetings, public meetings, and even Ontario Land Tribunals as advocates in this regard. With the support of donors and members, they hire lawyers and professional planners as needed.
One of the key debates in recent years has been whether resort-zoned properties can be turned into multi-residential developments. There are well over 200 such properties in the MLA’s coverage area, including many that haven’t operated as resorts for years, but which retain their commercial zoning. If all of those convert to multi-residential properties, it would add thousands of permanent homes to the waterfront.
Ken explains that full-time residential units on a high-density property increase the risk of septic overuse and failure, as well as excess pollution from boats and people. The impacts to the environment are potentially disastrous.
“One resort in Minett has seen their wastewater treatment system fail a couple of times in the summer. One time it happened on the July 1 long weekend when it’s getting peak use,” recalls Ken. “That’s why it’s important to have proper municipal services for resorts and not in-ground septic systems. When it’s that size and gets that much use, you need wastewater treatment facilities.”
The MLA has been able to work with the District of Muskoka and the Township of Muskoka Lakes to ensure that major resorts in the Resort Village of Minett had to keep their residential units to 30 percent or less, and to require proper wastewater treatment facilities.
“Keep it reasonable and with less impact on the environment,” Ken says. “There are several hundred of these properties, and if they all go wild, it’s going to be a bad thing.”
Knowing the municipalityStaying abreast of it all requires GLUC volunteers to attend multiple council and committee meetings and be aware of the relevant bylaws for each.
Many lakes fall into different municipalities. Lake Muskoka has portions within Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, and Muskoka Lakes, while the upper parts of lakes Rosseau and Joe aren’t even in the District of Muskoka, falling within Seguin Township in the District of Parry Sound.
“Navigating the different rules and bylaws on each part of the lake is a vital part of what we do,” explains Steve.
Membership is imperativeThe MLA not only advocates for responsible land use and development, they also work on a wide range of issues including taxes, the environment, water quality testing, safe boating, and more.
All this good work can be undone without a robust membership. The MLA was launched in the 1890s by concerned cottage owners, but it has long since expanded its membership to include permanent residents, including some who don’t even live on the water but who are concerned about the same issues.
The adage that there is strength in numbers certainly applies to the ongoing battle against overdevelopment. Members, volunteers, and donors alike all agree that when it comes to protecting the Muskoka they love, getting involved with the MLA is the obvious decision.
