TL;DR – Clevelands House Public Meeting

The Township of Muskoka Lakes Planning Committee is holding a statutory public meeting on November 25 about OPA-64 and ZBA-22/23 for Phase 1 of the Clevelands House redevelopment in Minett. This meeting is for receiving public input; no decision is expected that day.

Key details

• Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

• Time: 9:00 a.m.

• Type of meeting: Planning Committee statutory public meeting (hybrid: in-person + Zoom)

• Agenda item: OPA-64 & ZBA-22/23 – Phase 1 of the Clevelands House / Minett redevelopment (owner: 2666940 Ontario Inc. & 2665556 Ontario Inc. – aka Mitch Goldhar, Penguin Group)

• How to watch/attend:

  • In person: Council Chambers, Municipal Office, 1 Bailey Street, Port Carling.

  • Online: Live via the Township’s YouTube channel; recording posted afterward if the stream fails.

  • To speak: You can speak at the public meeting (typically up to 5 minutes).

  • If you want to share slides/materials: Email them to planning@muskokalakes.ca in advance so staff can circulate them.

What’s being decided

This Clevelands House public meeting is a required step under the Planning Act before Council can make a decision on the applications. It’s meant to gather public and agency comments, and to put the proposal on the public record.

The two applications being discussed are:

OPA-64 (Official Plan Amendment):

A request to add site-specific policy exceptions for Phase 1, including allowing certain resort-commercial accommodations and recreation uses in areas identified as wetlands, and allowing some resort uses within the floodplain, subject to conditions.

ZBA-22/23 (Zoning By-law Amendment):

A request to rezone parts of the Phase 1 lands to new site-specific zones to permit the Phase 1 layout and uses.

Staff are not recommending approval or refusal at this meeting. Their current recommendation is to defer a decision until more public/agency input is received and several technical items are finalized (including wetland evaluation work, surface water impact work, and updated floodplain delineation).

A quick reminder on appeal rights, important : if Council later passes or refuses the OPA or ZBA, only people or groups who made written comments before the decision, or spoke at a public meeting, generally have a right to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Any appeal would happen after a decision, within the appeal window set out in the Township’s eventual Notice of Decision.

Why it matters for Minett / Lake Rosseau cottagers

Phase 1 is the first on-the-ground piece of the wider Minett resort redevelopment. The current Phase 1 concept includes a wellness centre, a marina with up to 215 slips, new outdoor sport courts, a tennis pavilion, a viewing tower, 48 cabins, multiple road access points, and beach areas.

For nearby cottagers and boaters on Lake Rosseau, this stage matters because it sets the tone for how the former resort lands will function day-to-day once redevelopment starts. Even at Phase 1 scale, changes could influence things like seasonal visitor levels, marina activity and boat traffic near Wallace Bay and Minett, shoreline use patterns, and the intensity of resort amenities on the water.

This meeting is also where public feedback becomes part of the official planning record that staff and Council must consider before moving to a decision report later on.

Where to learn more

• For the bigger picture — how this project got here and what’s proposed across all phases — see our longer explainer: Clevelands House redevelopment in Minett: full plain-language explainer.

• If you want context on the lake and area more generally, you can also read: Lake Rosseau guide for cottagers and buyers.