October was a busy month with the municipal election on October 24th, and our AGM on October 26th.  The warm weather in early November allowed us a reprieve to cut wood, pull boats, and prepare for winter. Here is an update on what has happened and will be happening.

Municipal Election

The municipal election turned out to be a tight race between two individuals, Mr. Kristian Graziano and Mr. David Miller.  All other councillors were acclaimed. We look forward to working with the winner, Mr. Graziano, on local council along with Brian Bochek, who has moved over to the district council seat. Mr. Graziano was a guest at our most recent board meeting, and will join us on a quarterly basis.

AGM

We held our virtual AGM on October 26th, and due to the fact that there were no contentious motions on the floor, the meeting went along in a calm orderly manner, without much discussion.  We welcomed Patricia Mitchell onto our board and now have a full complement of nine members. One of the motions passed was for the SMLCA to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate running a winter festival. This initiative is dependent on sufficient interest from volunteers, as the board’s resources are already completely committed. If you would like to contribute some time to plan and execute this event, please contact us at info@sixmilelake.net.

Volunteers Needed

We also need volunteers to sit on other committees. One key focus area is setting up a technology committee to work on our technology infrastructure. This includes work on refreshing our website, looking into evolving our membership database, managing distribution lists and email address set up/changes, and building a cloud-based document repository. In addition, we are looking for help in the following areas:  Echoes, Volunteer Coordinator, SWAG Coordinator, and a Webmaster.

GB Township Meeting

The township will be hosting a public meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM to discuss a proposed official plan amendment regarding site plan control.

The proposed amendment relates to the list of supporting documentation required for a complete site plan application and clarifies that studies may be required at the site plan control stage in addition to drawings and plans. The purpose is to ensure clarity, consistency, and transparency in the planning application process.

These proposed changes would provide flexibility to allow township staff to require studies reasonably necessary to support applications for site plan approval and provide additional administrative information for processing site plan control applications.

If you wish to register to comment during the meeting, send an email to clerks@gbtownship.ca. You can watch the meeting live on Zoom, the link and agenda will be provided on the Council Portal https://georgianbay.civicweb.net/Portal/.

Bill 23 Impact on Shore Land Planning

On October 25, 2022, the Ford government introduced Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. While this bill is intended to open the way to increased building of homes in suburban areas, the effect of this bill will have implications on sensitive areas such as fresh water lakes and rivers. Particularly, the bill seeks to remove the use of site plan agreements which protect the vegetative buffer on shoreline building development.

Please take the time to sign a petition to rescind Bill 23 by going to https://watersheds.ca/save-our-shorelands/

Free Shoreland Webinar

If you would like to learn more about how you can restore your shoreline to a more natural, environmentally friendly state, Watersheds Canada will be hosting a free webinar on November 28^th at 12:00 p.m. entitled, The Science Behind the Ribbon of Life: Why Vegetated Shorelines Matter.  To sign up go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/science-behind-the-ribbon-of-life-why-vegetated-shoreline-buffers-matter-tickets-461878159007