(For a printable PDF of this newsletter, please click here)
A Message from the President
By Glen Norton
The LWRA closed off the 2018 season with another successful corn roast, hosted by the West family once again. The weather was perfect, attendance was great, and just about every cob of corn was eaten. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped make this event a success, and particular thanks must be given to the Wests, who have hosted this event for many years on their beautiful piece of property. As we announced at the corn roast, we will need to find a new location for the event for 2019 and beyond, so if any member has property that would be suitable and would be willing to host, please let one of us on the Board know of your interest.
Of significant interest to many of our members (and non-members), the Ball family has submitted an application for rezoning to the Town of Huntsville which, if approved, would allow them to build residences on Treasure Island. Your LWRA Board has filed an objection to the rezoning, and the location of the proposed launch site on the mainland. If you have been following any of the postings by your LWRA executive, or others, you will know that the Town has placed the application on hold until the Balls have held a public meeting to discuss their proposal with anyone interested in attending. We are now waiting to hear from the Balls regarding a date for the meeting, and will pass it along as soon as we have it.
You can read the LWRA submission on our website at
https://www.lwra.net/treasure-island-development-proposal-lwra-response.
We really need some new (younger!) people to step forward and agree to be on the Board as there are too many of us old guys on the Board now, We also would like to see people from Jessop (Jingo), Palette and Ripple lakes other than just Waseosa.
Enjoy the rest of your winter, and I will look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM, if not before.
Upcoming Event Dates
By Glen Norton
The AGM will be held on Saturday the 6th of July, starting at 1:00 (please note the new time) at Glen Norton’s cottage (724 North Waseosa Lake Rd.). Water or road access is fine.
The water fun day will once again be held on the beach at the Verhey's, (21 Cottage Lane) where it has been for numerous years now. The date will be Saturday, August 3rd.
We are very fortunate that Sandra Bauer Heinz will once again be running this popular event, but she needs an assistant, someone who would be willing to take over the organizing of this event in the future. Please seriously consider stepping up, particularly if you have children who have been attending this event over the years. We can not keep asking the same people to volunteer year after year.
Annual Dues, 2019
By Richard Middaugh, Treasurer
Your dues are our primary source of funds. They pay for everything from the insurance for our events to the “free” hotdogs and drinks for kids at the Annual Fun Day Regatta.
Membership in the LWRA is open to any area ratepayer with a limit of one membership per property and one membership per person. All new memberships must be approved by the Board of Directors to ensure compliance with the rules.
Annual dues are set by the membership at each Annual General Meeting. For 2019 they remain unchanged at $40.00. Dues can be:
1. Sent c/o 21 Cottage Lane, Huntsville, Ontario, P1H 2J4
2. Paid in person at one of our events.
3. Paid by e-transfer to treasurer@lwra.net (please use the password “annual”)
Dues are payable January 1st each year but a grace period is extended to the start of the Annual General Meeting.
Princess Margaret Update
By Katarina Simons, Director
We are pleased to report that following comments by the LWRA and others about their initial proposal, the Princess Margaret Foundation withdrew their initial requests for exemptions to the Huntsville Zoning By-Law, relocated the building and redesigned their proposal in a manner respectful of our lake’s character.
Progress has been made on the property. Local contractor and Waseosa resident Wayne Cripps cleared some land, poured a foundation that is approximately 60’ x 30’ and has been working away through the winter.
Official Plan Review and the LWRA Lake Plan
By Dwayne Verhey, Secretary
In 2002 the Town asked us to produce a Lake Plan for the new Official Plan. We were given various guidelines and a deadline for submission of September 2006. But when we submitted it, we were told "oops, there was a mixup, the final vote is next week, your deadline was a month ago".
Offered the choice of paying $2,500 to apply for an Offical Plan Amendment, or waiting for the next scheduled review in 5 years, we opted to wait but when the time finally came, the new Director of Planning told us he was swamped and had to put off any changes two years. Two became 3 and so on.
Meanwhile Brian Gray met with staff to ensure it was consistent with the Town's vision. The 2016 version was submitted to the town for inclusion in this revision of the Official Plan. Many of our concerns are now addressed elsewhere in the OP and will apply to the entire Town, however, there will be six lake-specific conditions for our 4 lakes:
a) Lakefront properties shall be developed only for residential use except for Camp Huronda. The continued institutional camp use by Huronda is encouraged and protected. Subject to MOE approval and monitoring of the required septic system, the construction and modification of buildings, where required to accommodate the target of 136 campers plus support staff, shall be permitted.
b) New lot creation will require a minimum frontage of 120m.
c) If the phosphorus level in any lake is more than 150% of its background level (50% above background level), or such other threshold as may be established by the District of Muskoka, then new lot creation will be suspended until the level returns to less than the allowable threshold.
d) Existing, undeveloped waterfront lots can be developed for residential use, subject to a minimum setback of 30m from the high water mark.
e) Redevelopment may be completed within the footprint of an existing habitable construction that does not meet the required zoning setback, subject to an absolute minimum setback of 10m from the high water mark, and provided a minimum of 75% of the shoreline is vegetated to a depth of 15m.
f) Where redevelopment outside existing footprint or additions to existing structures cannot meet the required zoning setback, the resulting structure must be no closer to the shoreline than the existing structure, subject to an absolute minimum of 20m from the high water mark.
Your Directors are:
Glen Norton, President 905-870-1632
Dwayne Verhey, Secretary Voice: 705-788-3693
Fax: 705-788-9126
Tony Doob , V-P 705-789-8779 or 416-921-5973
Jeffery Strasberg, Director 647-990-2297
Paul Keighley, Director 705-789-4907
Katarina Simons, Director 416-606-6054
Richard Middaugh, Treasurer 519-426-8110
Our e-mail address is: secretary@lwra.netsnail-mail: c/o 21 Cottage Lane, RR#3 Huntsville, Ontario P1H 2J4
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