Minett Official Plan Policy Review
Community and Planning Services Committee Meeting - June 23rd, 2022 at 1 p.m.
Meridian Planning Consultants to present Minett District Official Plan Amendment Presentation
Minett is located along the western shoreline of Lake Rosseau (on Wallace Bay) to the north of Port Carling, in the Township of Muskoka Lakes. Minett is a
well-established resort community, dating back to the 1860s. This resort character is still evident due to the resorts that continue to operate in the area. Three larger resorts still exist today, including Clevelands House Resort, The Rosseau Resort (JW Marriott), and Legacy Cottages (formerly known as Lakeside Lodge), all of which are clustered around Wallace Bay. There is also currently a mix of permanent and seasonal dwellings located in Minett.
Local Official Plan Amendment (OPA) No. 34 was adopted by the Township of Muskoka Lakes in January 2007, approved with modifications by the District of Muskoka in May 2007, and ultimately approved with further modifications by the Ontario Municipal Board (now the Ontario Land Tribunal) in 2008. This OPA re-designated Minett from a “Community” to a “Resort Village” designation, in recognition of its historical land uses character and development plan.
The Township of Muskoka Lakes initiated an Official Plan Review in 2019. Prior to the Official Plan Review, the Township passed an Interim Control By-law (ICBL) 2018-66 restricting development in Minett while undertaking studies informing its review of land use policies for the Resort Village of Minett.
An integral component of the land use review was the establishment of the Minett Joint Policy Review Steering Committee (MJPRSC) by both District of Muskoka and Township of Muskoka Lakes Councils. A final report from MJPRSC was submitted in January 2020 and reconfirmed in June 2020 once two studies commissioned by the MJPRSC were completed. As a result of the recommendations from the MJPRSC and requests from affected landowners, a further Working Group was established for the purposes of refining the MJRPRSC policy directions through a collaborative process.
The Working Group meetings resulted in consensus-based Local Official Plan policy proposals in August 2020. The updated policies re-affirmed the role and function of Minett within the Settlement Pattern of the District of Muskoka and remained consistent with the overall land use and development policies of the Muskoka Official Plan. The proposed general policies require further refinement through an update to the comprehensive zoning by-law as well as plans addressing and providing detail on a variety of matters related to the ultimate development plan, including servicing.
The District of Muskoka indicated in December 2020 that they would not be able to support significant residential development in the Minett Resort Village on the basis of private communal services. On the basis of this decision, a Draft Amendment to the Township of Muskoka Lakes Official Plan (OPA 56) was pre
pared and presented at a public meeting under the Planning Act on May 28, 2021. OPA 56 was then adopted by Township Council on December 15, 2021.
There is now a need to update the District of Muskoka Official Plan to ensure that it complements and provides appropriate direction to the Township of Muskoka Lakes on the implementation of the development plan for the Minett Resort Village while having regard to District interests. Proposed Official Plan 49 (Resort Village of Minett) to the Muskoka Official Plan would establish the long-term role and function of the Minett Resort Village in the context of overall growth and development in the Township of Muskoka Lakes and District of Muskoka.
