Notice of Public Meeting Concerning an Amendment to The District of Muskoka Official Plan

District of Muskoka Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 50 -

2020 Lake System Health Update

The District of Muskoka Community and Planning Services Committee will hold a Public Meeting on:

PURPOSE: The Public Meeting is being held to receive feedback on a proposed Amendment to the Official Plan of the Muskoka District Area (OPA 50 – 2020 Lake System Health Update), pursuant to the provisions of the Planning Act, as amended.

SUMMARY: The proposed OPA would result in ten new waterbodies being identified as vulnerable from a recreational water quality perspective and one waterbody (i.e. Peninsula Lake in the Town of Huntsville/Lake of Bays Township) being removed from the vulnerable lake list.

PROVIDING COMMENTS: Feedback on the proposed OPA is strongly encouraged to be made in writing, preferably before the public meeting date but would be accepted any time prior to a decision being made by The District of Muskoka.  Members of the public or agencies wishing to make oral submissions either in support of, or in opposition to, the proposed OPA may do so at the public meeting through Zoom.  A link to the Zoom meeting and instructions on how to participate online or via telephone will be made available in the March 18, 2021 Community and Planning Services Agenda.  For those wishing to observe the proceedings (and not provide verbal comments), the District’s webcast can be accessed at the following link: https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/council/agendas-minutes-and-webcasts.aspx

EXPLANATION OF THE PURPOSE AND EFFECT OF THE PROPOSED OPA: The proposed OPA would identify ten additional lakes as vulnerable in Schedule E2 of the Muskoka Official Plan (MOP) based on water quality indicators and would ensure that appropriate and proactive protections are applied through policy. These lakes experienced confirmed and documented blue-green algal blooms in 2019 and/or 2020.                                     

Any proposed development on vulnerable waterbodies would be subject to both the applicable standard and enhanced protection policies of the MOP.  Vulnerable waterbodies are also eligible for District-led causation studies to determine the relative contributing causes to the lake’s vulnerability.

While a lake (Three Mile Lake in the Township of Muskoka Lakes) is to be de-listed from Schedule E2 based for one criterion (i.e. long-term phosphorus levels), it remains on the Schedule under a second criterion (i.e. blue-green algal blooms).  Peninsula Lake is also to be removed from Schedule E2 based on the results of a causation study, but the enhanced protection policies would continue to apply to development applications on that lake where private individual on-site services are proposed.  Therefore, functionally, there is no change to policy applicability or implementation around these two lakes.

In addition, as waterbodies can be listed in Schedule E2 for more than one indicator, a tabular format is being proposed as a simplified approach.

APPEALS AND NOTICE OF DECISION: If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to The District of Muskoka before the  proposed OPA is adopted, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of The District of Muskoka to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) and the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the LPAT unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

To protect your appeal rights, if you wish to be notified of the decision of The District of Muskoka on the proposed OPA, you must make a written request to the District Clerk, by email at amy.back@muskoka.on.ca or by mail to 70 Pine Street, Bracebridge, ON, P1L 1N3.  Please include your name and mailing address in the correspondence.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Copies of the proposed OPA and related background information are available for review online at muskoka.on.ca. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of The District of Muskoka Municipal Offices, further information can be provided electronically upon request.  Should you need assistance, please contact Summer Valentine, Director of Planning, at 705-645-2231, ext. 4388 or at summer.valentine@muskoka.on.ca during regular office hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

DATED at the District of Muskoka this 25^th day of February 2021.