SF Council follows planners lead; rejects Skycroft expansion plans

Jeff Green | Oct 18, 2023

The headline on the “Small Change Fund” web platform was not subtle: “Canada’s Richest Biodiversity Reserve Under Threat in South Frontenac” it said.

A quick read revealed that the article, which was written by David Donnelly for Project Lake Opinicon, a group that was formed to oppose expansion plans by Skycroft Campgroud owner David Hillhorst to add 150 campsites to his resort, which is located in the north east corner of the township on Lake Opinicon.

The article states that South Frontenac is included in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, considered by Unesco as “the most biodiverse region in Canada”. There are other sources that don't agree with that definition, and there are real questions as to how much of a threat the new campsites would be to biodiversity in the Frontenac Arch, but it is certainly clear that Project Lake Opinicon is opposed to the proposed project and they think it is a threat to the health of the lake.

Fortunately for David Hillhorst, South Frontenac Senior Planner Christine Woods did not base much of her detailed report on the proposal on the arguments made by Project Lake Opinicon, although she referred to their concerns in one section of the 18 page document.

The report did talk about the environmental impact study (EIS) commissioned by Skycroft that supported the scope of the latest version of the project ,which would expand the campground from 84 tent/trailer sites and 1 cabin, to 199 tent/trailer sites and 33 cabins, an increase of 147.

The EIS was reviewed by the Rideau Waterway Development Review Team, which includes staff from both Parks Canada and the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority. Woods report points out that because of changes made by the Ford government to impacts that Conservation Authorities are allowed to consider, the scope of that review was narrowed to natural heritage features.

Nonetheless, Wood's Planning report said that “Cataraqui Conservation staff were satisfied with the responses provided related to their natural hazard comments, noting that related detailed design matters would need to be addressed at the site plan control stage, should the application be approved by council.”

This was a marked improvement from what Cataraqui Conservation said last year about the environmental impact study, which was that there were “several discrepancies and deficiencies that needed to be addressed.”

Unfortunately for Skycroft, the planning report details a number of other concerns that township have with the proposal, which are mainly focused on density.

Although the project would make Skycfroft only the 12th most densely population trailer park in the township, all of the others were approved when the rules were not nearly as strict.

The South Frontenac Official Plan states that the target for maximum density of commercial structures on a lot is 25%, and the proposal would result in 28% density of structures and cam sites, which is higher than the target, but not by that much. However, the planning report points out that when other infrastructure is taken into account, including “roads, parking and amenity areas” the density runs up to 60% of the lot size, way above target.

Also, while the proposal does not include increases in recreational amenities even though the expansion would lead to a tripling of the number of people using the facilities.

The report concludes by saying that Planning Staff do not recommend that council grant the Official Plan amendment that Sky Croft is asking for, noting that “the scale of the proposed expansion is significantly larger than contemplated [by the 25% density] policy, and does not appear to preserve, as much as possible, the site’s physical attributes.”

The report also said that “the intensification of human activity ... could compromise the ecological integrity of the area’s natural heritage.”

The report also indicates that these concerns were raised with the applicant before the final report was prepared, but the proposal was not significantly altered to address them.

If Council follows the staff recommendation and turns down the proposal, Skycroft may well launch an appeal, and all communications between township staff and consultants working for Skycroft will likely be relevant to that appeal.