Seguin Township recently rejected a proposed subdivision intended to be developed just inland from several waterfront cottages on Lake Rosseau, including that of Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short.
The proposed project is a 49-lot rural residential development from developer Rosseau Springs Limited that would have transformed 113 hectares of vacant woodland and warranted a new road off Highway 632. The site would have fronted onto Maplehurst Road, Summit Drive, and Highway 632 on the lands surrounding the historic Maplehurst Lodge, which burnt down in 1917.
Currently, these lands are designated as “rural and resource,” meaning residential development cannot be permitted without an amendment to the town Official Plan. As of now, however, Seguin’s Official Plan dictates that residential growth be focused in Settlement Areas, which are closer to the town and have better access to existing services and infrastructure.
Controversially, the site’s rural nature means future residents would be in charge of drilling their own wells and installing septic systems. They would also be responsible for hiring their own architects and filing individual building applications.
The bare bones subdivision plans were discussed at a June 1st council meeting where councillors ended the session divided on whether or not to greenlight the project. A vote was deferred to July 6, when the proposal was unanimously denied, including by Seguin Mayor Ann MacDiarmid.
“The Township of Seguin has four settlement areas that could take this kind of development, but the proposal was for rural backlot land without waterfront access,” says MacDiarmid. “And it’s a subdivision with 49 units. That means 49 septics, 49 wells, 49 building permits—all with no plan. This is pure and simple bad planning.”
MacDiarmid also says that the kind of housing proposed by Rosseau Springs isn’t the affordable housing the Township needs right now. “The lots alone are priced at $750,000, and that’s before you get your septic, and your road, and your building permit, and your well,” she says. “My guess is that these homes could cost maybe $2 million in the end. And we don’t need any more $2 million homes. We need attainable housing for workers.”
Local residents and cottagers have pushed back on the development as well, expressing concerns about environmental impacts, such as runoff ending up in Lake Rosseau. Martin Short, whose cottage would be nearby to the proposed development, told the CBC the development was “preposterous” and “silly.”
Short also praised the staff report recommending the Township reject the proposal. “They are asking for responsible growth that reflects planning policy, that protects Rosseau’s character, and that reflects the recommendations of professionals and the concerns of the community and people who are concerned about the environment,” he told the CBC.
Rousseau Springs has said it will be appealing the Township’s decision at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). MacDiarmid says that she expected the developer would appeal the decision and that Seguin plans to defend their staff report. She says she hopes the OLT sides with the report, which she describes as “airtight.”
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