Protecting Natural Heritage on Langmaid’s Island

Langmaid’s Island is the second largest island on Lake of Bays and is protected from development by the Township’s Official Plan which designates the island as a Muskoka Heritage Area. 

It’s a large property (147 acres and 6 kilometres of shoreline) and was purchased by the Adamson family in 1936. They established one main dwelling, a cookhouse with a dining room, two sleeping cabins (one destroyed by fire in 2012), a boathouse and a power generator shed that, together, occupy about 4.9 acres within the central part of the island. The remainder of the island is in a natural state and is comprised of a mix of lowland and upland deciduous and coniferous forests. Henry Adamson, an avid supporter of natural heritage, was a founding director of our Foundation

Langmaid’s Island Corporation, a development company, purchased the island from Henry Adamson’s estate and in January 2018 submitted an application to the Township to develop the island into 36 lots and to construct two parking and water access points on South Portage Road. The parking areas would accommodate 120 cars. 

The planning staff for both the Township of Lake of Bays and the Town of Huntsville recommend that the application be denied as it is not good land use planning. In November 2018, prior to the Councillors reviewing the staff recommendation, Langmaid's Island Corp. filed appeals to the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal. We began working closely with our sister organization the Lake of Bays Association (LOBA) and hired a municipal law lawyer, a municipal planner and an environmental planner. 

LOBA and the Foundation have ‘party status’ at the Appeals Tribunal. It’s a complex application and a lengthy appeal is anticipated which will require increased funding for professional services. The Langmaid’s Protection Fund is seeking donations. Please donate here. Donors will receive a tax receipt. Our thanks to everyone who has already contributed. Your support makes this important work possible. 

All documents relating to the application to develop the island are on the Township of Lake of Bays website (under Completed Applications). Hearing and decision information can be followed on the Tribunals Ontario website, case number PL180898 or under L for Lake of Bays.