After successfully quashing Muskoka’s tree-cutting bylaw, the Muskoka Landowners Association is now taking aim at other government policies.
This newspaper recently received a petition from the association titled: “What you can do to keep snowmobile trails open in Muskoka.”
The petition asks for the public to support private landowners by insisting that the District of Muskoka and Muskoka municipalities remove certain policies from the Muskoka Official Plan. The petition names provincially significant wetlands, environmental restrictions, natural heritage areas, areas of scientific interest and any others that restrict the landowner’s ownership and control of his or her property.
At a Muskoka district council meeting on Nov. 16, Carey-Anne Oke-Cook, association president, said the petition will be circulated and placed in local newspapers.
During Oke-Cook’s delegation councillors, in a first for district council, left the room. District chair Gord Adams told Oke-Cook there was a 10-minute delegation time limit. Oke-Cook has delegated at many meetings in the last few months.
Adams warned Oke-Cook her time was up.
“I am not done yet,” Oke-Cook said approximately 12 minutes into her delegation.
“You are done,” said Adams. Oke-Cook’s microphone was shut off and Adams called for a five-minute break. The majority of district councillors left the meeting while Oke-Cook continued to speak. She ended her talk, on private landowner’s rights and Crown land patents, by playing a recording of O Canada. Audience members and remaining councillors stood during the recording.
Oke-Cook claimed to have the support of the Muskoka Snowmobile Region (MSR).
A statement from the Muskoka Landowners appears on the MSR website. Norm Woods, MSR president, said his association continues to support the landowners, but the wording of the petition this newspaper received has not yet been approved by the MSR board.
In a telephone interview Oke-Cook said there is no time line or goal for a number of signatures. The plan is to take the petition to all levels of government at some point in the future, she said.
While environmental legislation comes from the federal government and is rolled into the provincial policy statement (PPS), municipalities have the power to remove designations on private land, claimed Oke-Cook.
Zoning can be applied to public lands, but not to private land, she also claimed.
Adams disagreed, claiming the province would step in if Muskoka tried to remove designations from zoning bylaws and official plans. The designations are established through provincial policy statements and municipalities are obligated to do the necessary studies to identify the areas and then put protection in place, he said.
“What they would be asking the district and the towns to do is actually break the law,” Adams said.
The landowner, he continued, can develop on specially designated land, but they must mitigate to protect certain features on the land.
When asked about the possibility of trails closures, Oke-Cook said the landowners association would like to remind the public and government about the contribution of the landowner.
The landowner does not benefit financially from the use of the snowmobile trails, but the users of the trails support all types of businesses, from snowmobile dealers to restaurants, she said.
Land use designations limit the use of property and decrease the value of the land, claimed Oke-Cook.
Adams suggested most Muskoka residents support the protection of the environment through government regulation.
“I would still argue that the majority of Muskokans value those heritage areas, value the environmentally protected areas and would support having policies, procedures and bylaws in place that would protect those municipally significant wetlands and heritage areas,” said Adams.
Oke-Cook declined to say how many members belong to the Muskoka Landowners Association because it is a private organization.
She did say membership has increased.
Adams said the petition is valuable feedback for the district, but doesn’t legally force the change of policies.
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