Langmaid's Island update
On Thursday February 27 a second case management conference was held regarding the proposed Langmaid’s Island development appeal. The parties (Langmaid’s Island Corp, Township of Lake of Bays, Town of Huntsville, Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation, Lake of Bays Association and Kelly Zytaruk) agreed to an issues list and shared a draft procedural order. The hearing has been set for February 1 to March 5, 2021.
When the procedural order is finalized it will be available on the
Tribunals Ontario website
, case number PL180898 or under L for Lake of Bays.
Background:
Langmaid’s Island Corp has proposed the subdivision of Langmaid’s Island into 32 residential lots with mainland access from two waterfront landings on nearby South Portage Road. This development proposal is unique because Langmaid's Island is a designated Muskoka Heritage Area and is recognized as such in the Township of Lake of Bays Official Plan with specified constraints on the creation of new lots.
In November 2018, Langmaid's Island Corp. filed three appeals to the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal, on the basis that no decision had been reached by the respective approval authorities (The Township of Lake of Bays, Town of Huntsville and District of Muskoka) within the time limit mandated by the planning act. The appeals were filed a few days prior to council meetings that were scheduled to consider the applications and hear a second round of public comments. The planning staff reports for both the Township of Lake of Bays and the Town of Huntsville had recommended that the applications be denied. The Lake of Bays Association and the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation support the staff recommendations to deny the development application and were granted party status in the appeal in order to defend the policies that protect our local natural heritage and advocate for responsible land use planning that is consistent with the character of the surrounding community.
