Grey Highlands council has rejected zoning and official plan amendments to re-start a campground on the shores of Lake Eugenia.
At its meeting on March 19, council unanimously voted to turn down an application for official plan and zoning amendments for the Hawthorne Cottages proposal. The application would have created a 13-site campground on a one acre property on Lake Eugenia. Nine of the sites would be for permanent trailers and four sites would be for tents. The tent campers would be serviced with portable toilets.
The proposal has been with the municipality for a number of years. Council previously deferred the application in June 2022 and a public meeting held in October 2024 generated opposition to the proposal from local residents.
The property was formerly a campground, which closed a number of years ago. The application included a number of reduced setbacks that would have to be implemented in order to allow a campground on the one-acre property.
The setbacks were a significant sticking point for members of council.
Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen asked planning staff if there was any window for council to change or re-negotiate the setbacks in the application.
“Council is not comfortable with the setbacks,” said Nielsen.
Planner Abdullah Pasha said if council wanted to alter the setbacks, the property procedure to follow would be to defer the application and ask for those changes.
“Changes cannot be made during the meeting,” said Pasha, who noted that the proponents for the application would have to agree with council’s changes as it was them making the application.
Coun. Paul Allen, the Grey Highlands planning chair, said council had three choices: approve, deny or defer.
“There is no use going through an hour-long discussion, coming up with something and it only getting turned down (by the proponents),” said Allen.
Coun. Tom Allwood said it was time to make a decision.
“This item has been before us many times. The bylaw before us today is not something I could support,” said Allwood, adding that he felt the campground being proposed is too small. “It doesn’t seem to work.”
Coun. Nadia Dubyk asked if an amended application could come back to council if council chose to reject the current proposal.
In response, Allen said no, a defeat of the application would end the process (unless the proponents appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal). Allen said if council defeats the application, any future action on the proposal would be an entirely new application that would have to go through the full planning process.
“Once it’s voted down, it’s done,” said Allen. “If we vote and turn this down, this application is done, it’s gone.”
The application did not find any support from council and was turned down in a 7-0 vote.