Lake access has been secured, Callander.
Municipal council has decided to designate all municipal lake accesses as parkland within the town’s Official Plan.
Councillor Jordy Carr was elated by the decision, telling council, “I’ve waited a long time for this, and I’m very happy that it’s coming to fruition. This is a win for the municipality and for the future residents to have that land accessible to all.”
Last November, council adopted a vacant land inventory, detailing the complete roster of vacant land owned by the municipality. Several lake accesses were identified, which spurred council to consider the best course to deal with these small parcels of land.
By designating these lands as parkland within the Official Plan, the lands will be protected and ensure residents have access to the lake. The designation does not mean the town will turn these lots into manicured parks like you have with Centennial Park. Most will be kept as what the municipal refers to “passive park space,” which is the piece of land as is.
However, as parkland, council can always discuss adding improvements to these lots as time marches on.
Mayor Robb Noon noted that maintaining public access, “Was something that we all talked about when we ran for council. We were all for lake access, so I think this is a valuable thing for our municipality to protect.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.