January 18, 2018

To: SLCO Members

Re:  Status Update #2 – Proposed Lippa Pit and Quarry

With 2018 underway, I wanted to send you an update on the actions the SLCO Board and our lawyer, David Donnelly, have taken with respect to opposing the proposed Lippa pit and quarry.

We have retained a number of experts to help us prepare our case for the OMB hearing.  We have already received a preliminary report from a traffic safety expert, who has identified a number of issues that would arise on Aspdin Road as a result of the heavy truck traffic that would be generated by the quarry operations.

We are also meeting this week with David Pink, Director of Planning for the Township of Muskoka Lakes.  As you know, Township Council unanimously rejected Lippa’s re-zoning application for the quarry, and we are working with David to co-ordinate our opposition.  

A reminder that a pre-hearing conference will be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2018.  The purpose of this conference is to determine the issues, parties, and participants prior to the actual Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing, which is expected to take place later this year or early 2019.  As David has advised, a strong turnout from residents and cottagers who are opposed to the proposed pit and quarry is important at the pre-hearing conference.  Thus, please mark Wednesday, February 21, at 10:00 am at the Township of Muskoka Lakes Council Chambers in Port Carling on your calendar, and plan to attend if possible. 

In the interim, we encourage all members to go to the SMP website (stopmuskokapit.ca) and sign the petition opposing the Lippa quarry.  The petition represents the voice of many in the community.  There are now almost 2,000 signatures on it!

As communicated last month, SLCO has sufficient funds to meet both the legal and expert costs it is currently incurring, up until the pre-hearing conference.  However, substantial additional monies will be required if we are to succeed at the subsequent OMB hearing.  Our intention is to launch a fundraising effort over the next few months. 

We will continue to keep you informed on this important issue.  We appreciate your ongoing support as we work hard to keep Skeleton Lake the special place we all enjoy.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Scott May, President

Skeleton Lake Cottagers Organization

e:   scott@skeletonlake.ca

c:   416 559 2839

December 17, 2017

To:  SLCO Members

Re:  Status Update of Proposed Lippa Pit and Quarry

A brief note to keep you informed on the status of the proposed Lippa pit and quarry:

As many of you are aware, SLCO and the “Stop Muskoka Pit” group have been working together to oppose a 200,000 tonne/year pit and quarry that Frank Lippa is proposing to develop at a site 1.7 km from Skeleton Lake.  In June of this year, the Township of Muskoka Lakes Council voted unanimously to deny Mr. Lippa’s rezoning application, in response to concerns raised about the impaired water quality, noise, and traffic that would result from such an operation.  Mr. Lippa subsequently filed an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).  In response, SLCO has retained external counsel (David Donnelly) and various experts to assist us in opposing Mr. Lippa’s appeal.

Last week, we received some new information about the OMB Lippa appeal hearing.  Specifically, a pre-hearing conference will be held on Wednesday, February 21.  The purpose of this conference is to determine the issues, parties, and participants prior to the actual OMB hearing, which is expected to take place next summer.  As David advises, a strong turnout from residents and cottagers who are opposed to the proposed quarry will be important at the pre-hearing conference.  Thus, please mark Wednesday, February 21, 10:00 am at the Township of Muskoka Lakes Council Chambers in Port Carling on your calendar, and plan to attend if possible. 

Fortunately, SLCO has sufficient funds on hand to meet the legal and expert costs it is incurring, up until the pre-hearing conference.  However, substantial additional monies will be needed if we are to mount a successful opposition at the subsequent OMB hearing.  Our intention is to launch a significant fundraising effort in the New Year. 

We will continue to keep you informed on this matter, and are confident of your ongoing support as we fight to maintain the pristine water, along with the peace and quiet, that are so central to our enjoyment of Skeleton Lake.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Scott May, President

Skeleton Lake Cottagers Organization

e:   scott@skeletonlake.ca

c:   416 559 2839

Following is a letter from the directors of the Rosseau Farmers’ Market. It was sent to all vendors (about 150) and this letter has been forwarded to the mayor and council.

On June 16th at Port Carling, Mr. Frank Lippa, is going to apply to the council of the Township of Muskoka Lakes for permission to open a rock/gravel quarry and pit on Butler Mill Road. This operation would take 200,000 tonnes of material out of the pit annually. If this application is approved by the council of the Township of Muskoka Lakes, it would mean more than 100 heavy gravel trucks a day on Aspdin Road, (one every 4 1/2 minutes). Some of them would be going east to Huntsville, some would be going west to Rosseau.

One major concern is for the safety of vehicles, pedestrian and bicyclers on the roads. Heavy gravel trucks are not able to stop on a dime. School buses that are stopped on the road would not have a chance if a gravel truck came around a corner and was not able to stop. There are already too many heavy trucks using this road on a daily basis, such as logging trucks, Muskoka Containerized Services trucks, Panolam trucks, Hutcheson Sand and and Gravel pit trucks, to name a few that use this road. Aspdin Road is not a provincial road and was not built for such heavy traffic, and extra 100 trucks a day would wreak havoc with the road, with visitors, with residents and with the wild life.

Residents, through their taxes, would have to foot the bill for repairs to the road and would have to live with the dangers of living on a road with such heavy truck traffic. Not acceptable.

Another major concern is that this pit will be operating below the water table. The water and the pollution from that operation will flow into Skeleton Lake and then on to Lakes Rosseau, Muskoka and Joe. This is simply not acceptable.

It is the belief of the directors of the Rosseau Farmers’ Market that this amount of heavy truck traffic will pose a serious risk to pedestrians in the village of Rosseau. The major economic engine in Muskoka is tourism. Rosseau Farmers’ Market draws an average of 3000 visitors on market days. The market is located on highway 141, which is the road that those huge gravel trucks would use. As it is, Rosseau has very heavy traffic congestion on market days. It is our belief that additional heavy truck traffic would result in accidents and deaths. We very strongly urge the Township of Muskoka lakes to deny this application.

The directors of the Rosseau Farmers’ Market.

May 17, 2017

Mr. Donald Furniss
Mayor, Township of Muskoka Lakes
1208 Beaumaris Road
Beaumaris, ON
P1L 1 W8

Re: Proposed Official Plan Amendment No. 46
Zoning By-Law Amendment 2017-51, ZBA 13/12
Proposed Lippa Pit and Quarry

Dear Mayor Furniss:

I am writing regarding the proposal to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law related to the Lippa Pit and Quarry application to rezone from Rural to Rural Industrial that will be considered by Council at its June 16, 2017 meeting. This letter is to express my strong opposition to that rezoning application.

Personal Impact
In 1974 I purchased the Burwash Schoolhouse built by Arthur Middlebrook Senior in 1896. At 1002 Tribble Road, it sits on almost an acre of Lot 6 Concession 4 (See attached map). As you can see from the attached map, my property is at the corner of the Aspdin Road and Tribble Road, just kitty corner from where Butler Mill Road meets the Aspdin Road. Not surprisingly, my quality of life, health and the peaceful enjoyment of my property in the beautiful Muskoka woods would be devastatingly affected were the pit and quarry proposed by Mr. Lippa allowed to operate out of 1089 Butler Mill Road, north-east of Aspdin Road.

Over the years I have worked hard to maintain and improve the building and property, such that it has been recognized as one of the few remaining log schoolhouses in Muskoka still intact and in pristine condition, as recognized in the book Schoolhouses in Muskoka. While I live in Toronto, I currently spend long periods of time each season in my Muskoka home. Should this proposed pit and quarry be approved, I would not only suffer a reduction in the value of my property but I would no longer be able to spend time here.

Noise and Air Quality
As a senior I am very concerned about the negative impact on air quality from the dust pollution that is integrally connected with this type of industry. The quality and purity of the air in Muskoka has always been a key factor in my love of the area and the reason so many tourists want to visit it. As well, the noise and vibration from heavy truck traffic potentially carrying the annual extraction of 200,000 tonnes of sand, gravel and bedrock, on average 150 trucks per day at capacity, 7 days a week from early in the morning till 9:00 at night, as well as the additional noise from blasting, would make life there impossible. With 80% of the annual tonnage shipped from June 1st to November 30th the tranquillity and beauty of the lovely summer and fall months would be destroyed, not just for me, but for all the residents and tourists who come to this part of Muskoka, particularly during these months. As well, this dramatic increase in traffic from the number of haulage trucks will seriously degrade both roads, and as Muskoka taxpayers we will all have to pay more for their upkeep.

Health and Safety
Safety is also a key consideration for me, in my opposition to the proposed pit and quarry. Like my neighbours (there are 20 homes within 1 kilometre), I go for regular walks on both the Aspdin and Butler Mill Roads. If, as estimated, one truck will leave the quarry every 4.4 minutes, it will no longer be safe to walk on the roads closest to my property. The Aspdin Road is a very scenic route used by cyclists, school buses, mail deliverers and pedestrians. It has many hills, curves, blind corners and hidden driveways that can make it a challenge to navigate at the best of times. This much additional truck traffic will pose a real danger to public safety and a deterrent to tourism in this area. Additionally, the increase in pollution from haulage trucks and from particulate matter from resource extraction will be a major environmental and health risk to those of us (humans and animals) having to breathe these toxic fumes on a daily basis.

Water
Like other residents of this area, I get my water from a well, and am thus very concerned about the potential danger of contamination of ground and surface water caused by blasting, hauling and other operations. As well, the land for the proposed quarry sits within the watershed of Skeleton Lake, a lake known for recreation and tourism. Streams that originate in ponds on the property of this proposed pit and quarry will ultimately end in Skeleton Lake, seriously threaten the health of the lake and destroy wildlife habitat.

Wildlife
It is not just humans who would be adversely affected if this proposal is approved. The proposed quarry would sit on land that is habitat for a wide variety of wildlife whose lives would be greatly disturbed by such an invasion. Over the many years that I have walked down Butler Mill Road and to the old mill which is on the site of the proposed quarry, I have seen moose, deer, bears, foxes, mink, beaver, and porcupines. The land of the proposed quarry is also home to many species of birds, including some of special concern such as the Eastern Wood Pewee and the Wood Thrush, and is the wintering grounds for the Snapping Turtle, a species to which the provincial government recently extended additional protection by banning hunting of the species.

Conclusion
Short term economic gains from resource extraction should not be allowed to cause permanent harm to residents, wildlife and the local tourism industry which employs many people in Muskoka directly and indirectly. In the past Council served notice to the public, the District of Muskoka and the Province of Ontario that it would consider “the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment of the Township in matters which come before it”. Today’s Council has committed to creating “a diverse community, where generations interact with nature, recreation, history and tourism: to respect, maintain and enhance OUR MUSKOKA.”

Please uphold this vision and commitment and help us keep the Aspdin area and Skeleton Lake home to a safe, healthy and diverse ecosystem by denying this application. Please don’t make a decision that will adversely affect the beautiful natural tourist attraction that this area of our Muskoka is.

Regards,

Maureen Edgar