Five years after Rideau Lakes launched a sweeping review of campground development, council remains divided over whether the township needs a tourist campground licensing bylaw at all.
Township planner Tom Farrell told council July 6 that staff have “not identified a meaningful regulatory gap that requires a separate tourist campground licensing bylaw,” but several councillors argued the township still lacks a baseline inventory of its campgrounds before any final decision can be made.
Farrell said many of the concerns that prompted the township’s campground review in 2021, including expansion, density, park model trailers, shoreline setbacks, sewage systems, fire safety and seasonal occupancy, are now addressed through the township’s official plan, zoning bylaw, site plan control, building permits, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks approvals, and conservation authority regulations.
He warned a licensing program could duplicate existing regulations while creating significant administrative, legal and financial risks, including increased enforcement responsibilities, potential litigation if licences are refused, additional staffing requirements and economic impacts if campgrounds are unable to meet the licensing requirements.
Several councillors pointed instead to compliance issues at the township-owned Lower Beverley Lake Park, arguing council should fully understand its own campground before deciding whether to proceed with a licensing bylaw for private operators.
“I feel it is in part because of the failure of our own campground,” Coun. Paula Banks said.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Banks agreed the township should first bring its own campground into compliance.
“If our campground can’t pass, then we need to do some work and get ourselves into compliance, because we can’t be the bad child to do everything wrong while everybody else has to do everything right,” he said.
Several councillors also argued the township still lacks one critical piece of information: a baseline inventory showing what currently exists within its campgrounds.
“Without a baseline, we have nothing,” Paula Banks said, arguing campground owners and seasonal campers could provide annual information on trailers, sheds and other structures to establish a starting point without requiring inspections of every campsite.
“We don’t have a starting point,” Jeff Banks added.
Coun. Debbie Hutchings repeatedly returned the discussion to environmental protection.
“We’ve got to look at the lake,” she said, expressing concern about septic systems and the long-term health of Rideau Lakes’ waterways.
Coun. Marcia Maxwell questioned whether the proposed licensing bylaw had grown beyond its original intent.
“I think it’s really going over the top of what we initially started out to get,” she said, suggesting council explore less burdensome ways of documenting existing campground conditions.
Coun. Dustin Bulloch focused on process, questioning whether council should commit to a timeline for adopting the bylaw before committee of the whole completed its review. He also asked staff to prepare a comparison between the October 2024 draft bylaw and the revised version, along with the rationale for the changes.
The campground licensing issue has been before Rideau Lakes council since 2021, when the township imposed an interim control bylaw on campground expansion while undertaking a comprehensive review of its planning policies. Since then, the township has completed a land-use study, adopted official plan and zoning bylaw amendments, and implemented site plan control measures to regulate future campground development.
Council unanimously agreed to refer the revised licensing bylaw to committee of the whole and directed staff to prepare a comparison of the October 2024 draft bylaw and the revised version, including the rationale for the changes. Staff are expected to bring the report forward in August.
The report will include comments from campground owners, lake associations and others who have provided input, along with implementation options and alternative compliance measures. Following further consultation, the bylaw is expected to return to council for third reading at its September meeting.
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