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THE ERA The Era Newmarket- Aurora Wed September The Second Section Sports News District News Entertainment Lake Simcoes future a tangled web Everyone in this crazy country in North America feels that development any development is great But its mixed blessing Conroy York County Planner Mossington Woods is revolutionary an intelligent marriage of recreational and rural communities If the local people cant make a buck out of it then there is something wrong with them Charles Lloyd planner for a multimillion dollar summer residence development on Lake Simcoe North Gwillimbury must protect its own people We cannot let developers carve up the lake just to make a buck for themselves North Reeve Joseph Dales Lake Simcoe should be Georgina Reeve E J Norris Lake Ins changed he yond recognition since the restful days when it was a wilderness to he reached by electric trolley from Toronto Masses of people came with the roads Summer cottages sprang up often haphazardly Some year round homes The thousands of Toronlonians who journey tip to the lake now for a day a weekend or a week likely dont give much thought to whats in store for the area Hut the reeves of the townships on the water the specu lators with elaborate subdivision plans the official planners who arc trying to give direction to future development arc concerned about what happens next Money is the crux of the prob- reeves arc concerned about their own areas residents In the past they favored expensive sub divisions which could carry their own tax burden They frowned on low assessment building because permanent residents ended up pay ing more than their share of the playground lax burden the advent of regional government and a larger tax base this will change Now that the cost of education for ex ample is charged against the total taxable assessment of a township councils can he less selective about the type of subdivisions they allow The developers and specu lators own 22 per cent of the land in the county need money to finance their plans There is no shortage of projects but most never get past the blueprint stage for want of financing Planners in spile of accusa tions that the thought of money never enters their ivory tower minds are concerned with draw ing up balanced orderly growth projections on a reasonable bud get Its little use to plan the ideal community if the cost is too ex orbitant to put the plan into effect The end result is lliat everyone talks about Lake develop ment but little has been done yet North township council has approved only one sub development since 1900 and that UUfttlil County planner may think cottages of date for Lake but vacationers are still using mar shelters like this one The cottages may disappear though mil by rising land prices and stricter building laws still lias kinks in it Woods a 111 home development outside Jacksons is the first large scale sum mer residence project ever advanc ed for the lake The developers estimate that work will start next year but municipal and township approval has not been received More hotels and recreational faci lities is a favorite suggestion of reeves and planners Hut lakcshoro property is expensive and so far people have been reluctant to risk their money for a year round tour ist industry that is still in its In- Not only is land expensive Its scarce One real estate agency After the land is acquired the problem of building a cottage arises Current prices for the aver age winterized cottage not on the water range from 1115000 Hut one sold recently for There is even less public laud available Planner says there are only four beaches about 1500 feet that can be public The North lown park has about two acres the township park has five acres Provincial Park has acres and a small Jack sons PL beach has about 1000 feel of space The large popular Willow By Suzanne Zwarun Era staff reporter Lake slill has land for sale hut realtors Hay property on the lakefront Is becoming steadily scarcer and more expensive Photos says there is hardly any laud avail able with beach frontage and if any can bo found a wouldbe cot tage owner would be lucky to buy a lot for The realtor estimates that land with a reasonably good beach not swampy and accessible by bout would sell for a foot Laud further hack from beach Is cheaper a 50foot Jot 15000 square feet across a road from a bench will start at 3500 and go up from there The realtor says laud in the Lake area Is double or triple the cost of land in the Muskoku area another haven for Metro resi dents is semi private 1 ho beach free but car own have to for parking York County Planner is one of Ihe men vitally concerned about Lake lteeve J of and Joseph Dales of North Gwillimbury also have opinions on what lake should he although hey ami heir councils arc re luctant to diHclose them publicly Starling this week with Mr son The will present a three part series on the Lake Simcoe COTTAGES OUT OF DATE Land development not all good planners Mr looks with a jnundic- eye at the North Americnn en thusiasm for development of any kind He says cautiously that land development can be a mixed bless ing If the planner can be compared to a cautious mother hen shepherd ing her brood around the deve lopers absentee landlords own 22 per cent of the countys square miles can be compared to chickens flapping wildly with their heads cut off Mr sees all the deve lopers plans he knows the en thusiasm with which they pro- mole their latest brainstorm And hes not always impressed by plans that he terms impossibly gran diose Its his job to sober deve lopers up The developers are concerned only with their chunk of property while Mr has a county- wide outlook Tilings have changed says Mr This isnt the old pre war OUTDATED COTTAGES liecausc of the changes In the country the old ideas about sum mer cottages are no longer valid Mr In fact hell go so far as say cottages are out of date for By cottages he means the old concept of a summer home a shack in the woods with an on I house behind This type of cottage used to be welcomed by a township because it has a high assessment but re quired no services from the town- arrival of the current hous ing shortage torpedoed that idea the cottages began lo be convert ed into permanent homes need ing it complete range of services including schools Mr la not in favor of letting cottages become permanent homes by this indirect route The now prompted by the housing shortage is to build permanent homes In Georgina for example all cot tages have to meet permanent hous ing standards now he says The only exception is insulation but if you have to build your to permanent housing standards you might as well add insulation the cost isnt that much more ho says Mr considers cottages out of date not only because theyre vulnerable to becoming homes but because the lake is with in the day zone of Metro Toronto The day zone aspect people can drive to the lake play and return home in a day is the most im portant factor in the reorganiza tion of land use in the area he says As more and more people are able to spend 30000 on a theyll bypass already- jammed Lake Simcoe for which Is out of the day zone which has cheaper land and which allows them to have a patch of water front to themselves Because of the day zone Metro residents make up SO per cent of the people the countys reactional facilities For example 14000 Metro people go to Sibbald Point Provincial Park during a weekend per cent of the total number of people using the park In addition it makes commut ing to the city possible Mr considers it an arduous journey But if townships insist that cottages be built to housing standards and if the housing short age In Metro continues more people will be commuting Commuters at present may make up as much as per cent of the labor force in the Lake coe area an estimate based on the number of commuters from Newmarket 10 to per cent of the labor force here Mr would like to see Simcoes day zone advantage used more effectively by commercial developments that have so far been choked off the lake by cottages Ho wants recreational areas developed ho wants hotels the kind of development that would turn the area into a grouud although not necessarily for just the wealthy He points to the Sands as the type of modern hotel needed at Lake The Sands can probably be accurately describ ed as a money for the car riage trade with its dancing din ing swimming pool Indoor and outdoor recreational facilities That kind of hotel with extras like health spas and indoor pools is what Mr wants for Luke And he wants it at a the joe can afford Ontario is a wealthy province such a dream Is not Impossible says Mr Dowson Rut first a good close look must bo taken at the slapdash cottages the summer homes that became year- round houses the developers who may or may not go ahead with their schemes