Government

Lake Kasshabog Residents' Association

A major function of the LKRA is representing cottagers to various government bodies.   There are certain members of the executive that typically contact the areas of government that affect the lake.

Havelock Belmont Methuen

The local municipal government of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen is the closest government. It controls development through the Official Plan and Zoning ByLaws. The Association created the position of Executive Liason to communicate with the municipality.

For more information on this level of government and the key contacts there, visit their web site: http://www.havelockbelmontmethuen.on.ca/

The Township Of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen's Planning Advisory Committee

A Planning Advisory Committee is generally made up of a small group of people including residents and Councilors. Their job is to make recommendations to Council related to certain areas of the Official Plan.

In our case, approximately 15 years ago, our Council (at that time named Belmont & Methuen) decided to put in place a new Official Plan that would provide guidelines for the development of the area. Public input was invited and lake dwellers realized that the plan would affect lake environments in many ways.

Representatives from the lakes in the area formed the Belmont-Methuen Conference (BMC). This organization made sure that the Official Plan protected lake properties from such things as backlotting and the over-development of the shoreline. At this time we also increased our communication with Council in many ways. This included hosting All Candidate Meetings at which we asked potential Councilors questions specifically related to lake concerns.

One of these questions was .... " if you are elected would you be willing to establish a Planning Advisory Committee with lake residents represented? " As a result in 1992 the first Planning Advisory Committee was formed by the Council and included representatives of the Council, the lakes and the community in general.

It was determined that the purpose of the committee would be to study variances and severance's in considerable detail. The committee would then report to Council with their recommendations.

Applications for variances and severance's are available at the Township Offices and are filled out and returned to the Building Inspector (Bylaw Enforcement Officer). This information is forwarded to all people and agencies required by the Planning Act as well as to the Planning Advisory Committee. Properties are visited and the applications are discussed in detail at a meeting held once a month. Recommendations are forwarded to Council (Committee of Adjustment) whose responsibility it is to rule on each one.

Special Note:

For more than ten years this Committee has been in a position to help the residents of the community develop their properties in a manner that follows the general direction of the Official Plan and at the same time addresses economic and environmental concerns both on the lakes and throughout the township.

With a Municipal election approaching this fall it will be important to encourage Council to keep this committee in place and to ensure that there is lake and community representation on such a committee.

Les Morris
Executive Liaison LKRA
Chairman (11 years)
H-B-M Planning Advisory Committee

Crowe Valley Conservation Authority

The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA) is a provincially mandated body which looks after the Crowe Valley watershed. Their duties include managing and maintaining fifteen dams including the one on Kasshabog.

See our CVCA articles on the Environment Page.

Your Local O.P.P.

Whenever possible the local O.P.P. provides a report for our Fall and Spring newsletters. Watch for upcoming articles.

Contact your Local Government Lake Kasshabog Residents make up a sizable portion of the tax base for our local governments.  Residents should freely contact their local representatives with any government issues they have.