October 22, 2016 by admin
SUBJECT: IMPORTANT – New Issue of Potential Significance to Oakwood Park Property Owners
Hello – this is the first of a few messages in the coming weeks regarding an environmental issue of potential significance to our Park. This message is to make you aware of the issue. The next message will provide you with information about what you can do to address the issue, as needed.
A consultant hired by The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), whose jurisdiction includes the shoreline and inland properties, extends from Port Franks to north of Bayfield (which includes Oakwood Park), has produced a draft report of a proposed Shoreline Management Protection Plan (SMPP). If adopted in its present state, it would have have significant impacts for certain lakeshore properties in Oakwood, and could potentially impact all landowners in Oakwood.
The Report was released on September 1, 2016 for 90 days of public review and written comments. The OPAI board and OPEC are monitoring the situation closely, assessing the situation and possible impacts, and will be providing some information and options for responses for Oakwood Park members.
We encourage you to become familiar with the full report which can be downloaded here.
The Hazard Area Map Appendix has 31 pages – the one pertaining to Oakwood is on p. 25. A screenshot has been included below. You will notice two dotted lines along the shoreline that depict the designated areas of concern – Area 1 (closest to the lake) and Area 2 just inland from it. While a few properties are impacted by the designated areas with the harshest proposed restrictions, there could be additional impacts on the broader community and we are examining and assessing those now.
There have been a few developments this past week that are encouraging and we will keep you informed in the coming weeks.
- A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Shoreline Management Plan (which includes OPAi owner Marissa Vaughan) on Tuesday was attended by more than 150 people expressing grave concern, and the Committee recommended that the plan as proposed be shelved.
- The ABCA Board of Directors met on Thursday and voted not to accept the recommendations of its steering committee (largely due to procedural reasons including the fact that the Report was not on the agenda and many of the Board members had not yet read the Report), thereby leaving the proposed plan and the process of its adoption active for public input.
The ABCA Board next meets on November 24th. Please stand by for more information regarding how our Association and individual members can get involved in a constructive manner.
OPAi Board and OPEC
