By a split vote, Gravenhurst Planning Council shot down The Rosseau Group’s (TRG) request for the town to amend its official plan and change by-laws to allow for its proposed Muskoka Wharf project to go forward.
The vote was tied with Mayor Heidi Lorenz, councillors Coun. Erin Strength, Michelle Robinson, and Randy Jorgensen voting in favour and councillors Jo Morphy, Penny Varney, Peter M. Johnston, and Sandy Cairns voting against it. A tie means the changes are defeated.
Coun. Christina Hunter was absent from the Aug. 29 meeting.
The vote came after council voted during its July council meeting, to defer a vote on the proposal – also known as “The Starboard” – to get more information.
Melissa Halford, the town’s Director of Development Services, says TRG has 20 days to appeal the decision. If they do, the process would be handled by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
TRG’s proposal would have seen them build a mixed-use condominium building along with two levels of underground parking and a two-storey boathouse. The development was to be built at Cherokee Ln. near the Muskoka Wharf.
In her latest report to council on the proposal, Halford wrote the proposal is consistent with the town’s, District of Muskoka’s, and province’s standards and “are appropriate and represent good planning.”
Prior to the meeting, TRG had made a handful of changes to their proposal, including reducing the size of the northerly boathouse, the southerly dock, and removing two-thirds of the seating area.
It’s the second time that interested residents sat through a meeting concerning the project, with the first happening during Gravenhurst’s Feburary Planning Council meeting
Coun. Jorgensen spoke in favour of the project. “I think it’s important to, from my point of view, to say that I’m on the side of growth and development in the town,” he said. “We need growth and development in the town. We don’t get a lot of opportunities like this to have a major project come forward.”
He cautioned that his fellow councillors need to be aware of the signals they could be sending developers “in terms of are we a good town to deal with or not.”
Despite being in favour of the proposed condominium, Coun. Penny Varney said the dock and boathouse don’t sit well with her, wondering how the area will be able to support the addition along with the already heavy boat traffic.
Coun. Peter M. Johnston was complimentary of how the process was handled by town staff and council. “It was a textbook example of how a large project like this should be analyzed and addressed by a council. We didn’t make any quick decisions.”
