• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Otter Lake Ratepayers' Association (OLRA)

OLRA

  • Information
    • Bulletins
    • Newsletters
    • Meeting Minutes
    • Financials
  • Our Association
    • Our Board
  • OLRA Membership
  • Galleries
  • Our Area
    • Lake History
    • Local Advertisers
  • Contact Us

Bulletins

OLRA Survey Results re: Short Term Cottage Rentals

January 31, 2018 by Kerry Mueller

The full OLRA survey results can be downloaded from the link below.

OLRA Survey – Nov 2017 on STCR

 

Seguin is inviting in put on this topic of the commercialization of residential cottage properties as rentals by Feb. 19th.  See our the Jan 31st post for details on how you can give your input to Seguin.

OLRA Survey Summary

Survey Response Rate: 56% – This high response rate (120 /216) of our the OLRA members who received the survey via email is indicative of the high level of interest our members have in this issue.

96% of respondents said they did not rent out their property (Q2)

96% said it would decrease their enjoyment of their property if a neighbouring property was turned into a commercial short-term rental property (like a mini motel). (Q7).  71% said it would decrease their enjoyment of their property a lot

72% said it would decrease their intentions to invest in their property if a neighbouring property was turned into a commercial short-term rental property (like a mini motel). (Q8).

Below is the percentage of respondents who cited the following impacts to life at the lake if the commercialization of cottages into short-term rentals was to increase on Otter lake and Little Otter Lake. (Q11)

92% – increased noise

91% – increased boat traffic

80% – increased stress on the ecology

78% – degradation of lake water quality

73% – increased garbage disposal issues

69% – increased trespass issues

68% – increased fire ban infractions

61% – decrease in Lake Trout population

 

84% of respondents said Seguin should enact a by-law to regulate or prohibit the commercialization of residential lakefront properties into short-term rentals. (Q12)

48 comments were also submitted as to “why or why not” (Q12)  A sample of the comments submitted are listed below.

please! reduce the rentals.  they don’t care at all about the lake and are very disruptive

We love the lake because we take good care of it and the environment surrounding it. I would like to enjoy many more years of this area and hope that my grandchildren and theirs will be able to as well.

 Regulations are required to ensure ecological levels and overall enjoyment to those who have invested to be on the lake.

 People should be able to rent their place to help offset costs of owning a cottage

I recently completed a major addition at a cost of over $200,000.00. I would not have considered the addition if any of my neighbors turned their cottage into rental cottage.

 We are planning to retire at the cottage and neighbouring commercial, short term rental business would have a significant impact. 

 Otter Lake is at it’s capacity and we have enough people on the lake who have no clue on how to boat.

 My experience with renters elsewhere has not been positive. They are generally rowdy fun loving guests who don’t respect others as they probably won’t be back

OLRA Conclusions:

84% of respondents said Seguin should enact a by-law to regulate or prohibit the commercialization of residential lakefront properties into short-term rentals.

Regulating  – It is expected that a rental licensing program for Seguin would not be “self funding”.  Some licensing fees would be collected, however they are expected to be insufficient to cover the additional costs to the Seguin tax payers of administering and enforcing such a program.

According to the OLRA survey  96% of respondents said they do not rent their cottage property.

OLRA will therefore NOT be supporting establishing such a rental licensing program which would potentially increase the tax burden for all to regulate the activity of only a few.  

Prohibiting: OLRA will be supporting the enforcement of the current Seguin by-laws and permitted land uses which currently do not allow for the commercialization of residential cottage properties as rentals.  Our membership is clearly very concerned about losing the enjoyment of their properties and the degradation of the lake ecology through the intensification of property use that such renting activity can bring.

Seguin – Public Input Requested re: Short Term Cottage Rentals (STCR) by Feb 19th

January 31, 2018 by Kerry Mueller

The Township of Seguin is requesting public input on Short Term Cottage Rentals (STCR) by Feb. 19, 2018.   Announcement of a Public Meeting will come later and OLRA will keep its members informed.

Sequin Township is reviewing the concern with the commercial rental of cottage and lake front houses and it’s impact to the neighbouring residents and lake.  Many Municipalities have or are in the process of addressing this burgeoning trend resulting from the advent of on-line services such as AirBnB

Your comments may be submitted:

  1. In written form by mail to 5 Humphrey Drive, Seguin, Ontario, P2A 2W8
  2. By e-mail to info@seguin.ca
  3. By fax to (705)-732-6347or;
  4. Hand delivered to the municipal office located at 5 Humphrey Drive, Seguin, Ontario, P2A 2W8

(download attached request for input here –  STR – March 5-18 request for input

Here is some additional information you may want to consider regarding STCR that OLRA has confirmed through communication with Seguin staff and members of council.

1) Legal Status of STCR in Seguin Now

Steve Stone, Director of Planning and Development for Seguin confirmed what is in the report DPS-PL-2017-138 on page 2:

“…rental of a cottage for short term overnight guest accommodation is not a permitted land use activity in any of the Zones detailed in Zoning By-law 2006-125… Prosecution remains an option accordingly to the Township’s solicitor. “

2) Expected Cost To Seguin Taxpayers to Create a Cottage Rental Licensing Program

It is expected that a rental licensing program for Seguin would not be “self funding”.  Some licensing fees would be collected, however they are expected to be insufficient to cover the additional costs to the Seguin tax payers of administering and enforcing such a program.

 

According to the OLRA survey in Nov. 2017, 96% of respondents said they do not rent their cottage.

OLRA will therefore NOT be supporting establishing such a rental licensing program which would potentially increase the tax burden for all to regulate the activity of only a few.  

 

3) Who should one call with By-law issues or land use issues such as a STCR?

Here is the link:

https://www.seguin.ca/en/explore-play/enforcement.aspx

After Hours By-law Enforcement:   A By-Law Officer(s) is on duty on weekends and after office hours so do call then too if you have an issue.

 

Please give your feedback to Seguin on this important issue by Feb. 19th.  The more voices the better.

Your OLRA Board thanks you for your support!

OLRA’s Lake Water Testing Project 2017

November 26, 2017 by Kerry Mueller

Bev Clark Report Photo – Lake Water Testing 2017

As per our fall newsletter,  the 2017 OLRA Lake Water Testing Project was conducted by Mr. Bev Clark.  Mr. Clark submitted his final report to OLRA of 17 pages which you can download below.

Otter Lake Water Testing FINAL report Nov 2017

It contained good news about our  high lake water quality. 🙂  OLRA’s top priority is to help educate lake property owners and visitors to make sure we keep our lake water this way!

Brad Chittick, OLRA‘s Lake Steward, has written the summary report below: 

OLRA 2017 Water Quality Report Summary
November 19, 2017
By: Brad Chittick, P.Eng.
Director of Lake Stewardship
Otter Lake Ratepayers’ Association
In May of 2017 your Otter Lake Ratepayers’ Association (OLRA) engaged a water quality expert, Mr. Bev Clark, to conduct an extensive study on the quality of our lakes’ water. Over the spring, summer and fall Mr. Clark conducted six monthly tests in seven locations (six bay locations on Big Otter and one mid-lake location on Little Otter) on the Otter Lakes. This is a summary of Mr. Clarks findings, conclusions and recommendations. The full report is available to members who request it and will be posted on the new OLRA website coming by February of 2018.
Overall results of these tests indicate that the water quality in the Otter Lakes is excellent and has not changed dramatically over the past 24 years. At each sampling location, multiple water quality parameters were tested; Water Clarity, Temperature, Total Phosphorus, Oxygen, Acidity (pH), and Conductivity. This was a thorough examination of lake water quality. Although there was some variation in sample results, none of the measured parameters exceeded any environmental limits.
Water Clarity ranged from a depth of 3 – 6 meters in the spring and averaged 3 – 3.5 meters in July and August. Clarity increased in late October to an average of 5 metres. This is typical of lake water as algae grows and depletes during the open water season.
Total Phosphorus is an important parameter to measure, as it can indicate the potential development of algae blooms. It is generally accepted that measurements of below 20 g/L in water will avoid the development of nuisance algae blooms. All the testing this year showed below this level with most of the results less than 10 g/L throughout the year. Typically, concentrations ranged from 4 – 7 g/L. These are similar to historical levels measured through the Lake Partnership Program.
Temperature and Oxygen levels were measured at the surface to look for significant swings in levels. In all cases there was little variation in temperature and oxygen levels, specific to each location. A more detailed test was conducted on August 30th to determine the oxygen levels at the lake bed of each location. Oxygen and temperature measurements were taken at one (1) metre increments up to one (1) metre off the bottom. This was to determine if the lower depths, at a stratification level, were experiencing ‘Anoxia’, low oxygen levels, which can allow phosphorus from sediments to enter the water and potentially increase phosphorus levels. In three cases Anoxia was discovered that impacted the phosphorus levels at the lake bottom, however in only one case did it influence the phosphorus levels at the higher, mixed, depths and in no case, did the phosphorus in the higher depths exceed 20 g/L.
Acidity or alkalinity is measured on a pH scale. A pH of 7 is considered neutral, and measurements below indicate acidity while measurements above indicate alkalinity. The measured pH in this year’s sampling generally ranged from 5.0 to 7.6 with an average of 6.4 in both Big and Little Otter Lakes.
Conductivity is the measurement of water’s ability to conduct an electric current. It is a useful measurement to determine the ‘mineralization’ or degree of dissolved solids of the water. The results for Otter Lake were very low, ranging between 20 and 25 S/cm. This low reading indicates very dilute water. This is typical for lakes on the Canadian Shield. The narrow range of the measurements from all the sampling sites indicate that the water flow into the lake comes from lakes with similar watershed characteristics. Although the measurements on Little Otter lake was about twice those in Big Otter it is still considered low and the range was also narrow. The higher results on Little Otter are likely due to the relative shallow depth of the lake or perhaps due to the inflow from Rankin Lake.
The conclusion of Mr. Clark’s report notes that the water quality of both Otter Lakes is excellent, with low phosphorus concentrations, low conductivity, and water clarity levels that are similar to previous years. Mr. Clark goes on to recommend that the OLRA and the residents of the Otter Lakes continue following best practices to reduce the movement of phosphorus into the lakes and continue a volunteer based testing program to monitor the quality of our Otter Lakes’ water.
As the Director of Lake Stewardship, I will be further reviewing Mr. Clark’s conclusions and recommendations with the intent to develop a 2018 program. The draft program will be reviewed by the Board of Directors in February and the recommended 2018 Water Quality program will be presented to the OLRA membership at the Annual General Meeting in May

 

 

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 9
  • Go to page 10
  • Go to page 11

Footer

Looking for something?

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Newsletter – Fall 2022
  • Winners of our 2022 OLRA Photo Contest have been decided!

© 2023 · Otter Lake Ratepayers' Association (OLRA) · Built by Linkhouse Media

  • Bulletins
  • Our Association
  • OLRA Membership
  • Galleries
  • Our Area
  • Contact Us