Decision comes amid uncertainty over Lower Beverley Lake Park compliance
RIDEAU LAKES — Rideau Lakes council has voted to defer final approval of a new tourist campground licensing bylaw after staff confirmed the township’s own Lower Beverley Lake Park in Delta would not be eligible for a licence under the proposed rules, and wouldn’t be opening this summer.
The motion to defer was brought forward by Coun. Paula Banks, and passed following a lengthy discussion Tuesday, Feb. 17 during a committee of the whole meeting that centred on unresolved environmental compliance issues and the risk of shutting down the municipally owned campground for the upcoming season.
The draft licensing bylaw is intended to regulate tourist campgrounds across the township through annual licensing, inspections, and compliance with zoning, septic, and site plan requirements. It is one of several bylaw changes flowing from the Tourist Campground Land Use Study completed in 2022.
However, staff confirmed that if council proceeded with third reading as written, Lower Beverley Lake Park itself would not qualify for a licence.
“If council goes ahead with the third reading of this bylaw, based on staff’s interpretation, we would not be able to provide a licence to Lower Beverley Lake Park,” CAO Shellee Fournier told council. “And it would not be able to open.”
The issue stems from long-standing infrastructure and approval gaps at the park, including outdated sewage systems, the absence of a comprehensive, up-to-date site plan, and the need for a site-wide Environmental Compliance Approval from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
An engineering assessment has identified multiple septic systems requiring upgrades or replacement, and MECP is awaiting direction from the township and the Lower Beverley Lake Park board on how council intends to proceed before determining whether it will accept a remediation plan.
Coun. Linda Carr said that clarification made the implications of passing the bylaw clear.
“That answers my question, and I think it answers a lot of questions out there,” Carr said. “So if we pass it, we don’t open.”
Banks said she could not support adopting a licensing framework that would immediately put the township in violation of its own rules.
“We need to defer this until we hear from MECP that they have accepted our plan,” she said. “We do not know what MECP is going to say.”
The deferral motion pauses final approval while staff and the park board work to clarify regulatory requirements and determine what upgrades or approvals are needed for Lower Beverley Lake Park to meet the same standards that would apply to private campground operators.
The licensing bylaw was designed to give the township stronger enforcement tools, including the ability to deny or revoke licences where campgrounds fail to comply with zoning, site plan approvals, septic and water requirements, or other municipal bylaws.
Under the draft framework, campgrounds would be required to submit accurate site plans, full inventories of campsites and buildings, confirmation of zoning compliance, and declarations that there are no outstanding septic or water orders.
Internal comparisons presented to council show that Lower Beverley Lake Park currently does not meet several of those thresholds, largely due to historic development that occurred without comprehensive planning approvals.
Fournier said staff will continue working with the Lower Beverley Lake Park board and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to clarify compliance requirements and determine whether a remediation plan will be accepted. She noted that while a report has already been submitted, MECP is waiting on direction from the township and the board before responding.
The motion to defer was passed, six votes to two, with Councillors Linda Carr and Marcia Maxwell against it. Mayor Arie Hoogenboom was absent from the meeting with Deputy Mayor Sue Dunfield acting as chair.
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