South Bruce Peninsula council has approved a recommendation to take a developer’s plan for a luxury hotel in Sauble Beach to the next steps.
During a meeting on Dec. 7, a report was brought forward by Manager of Land Use Planning Jack Van Dorp. It recommended council direct staff to include a by-law on an upcoming council agenda to approve a zoning adjustment to the proposed four-storey, 21 room hotel, which will feature a ground-floor restaurant at 119 Lakeshore Boulevard.
The by-law coming back to council on Dec. 21 will permit Maison Canada Design and Build to set up a sewage treatment system and parking area, next to the proposed project on the lot at 122 Second. Avenue North.
The report says the final parking design can be addressed through its site plan control.
In addition, the report says the proposed wastewater treatment system will feature a series of traffic-rated tanks and chambers situated under the parking area. The system would make sure the wastewater is as clean as possible before it’s released into the environment. The final product would be released into a leaching bed.
Mayor Janice Jackson explains council was not looking at approving the hotel, as it was already approved under the zoning of the property that was purchased and they are within their right to construct it.
“What council had to decide on, was the property that they purchased to the east on Second Avenue. That property was purchased for the purpose of putting in a tertiary, highly-efficient, environmentally sound septic system. If we had denied the application to put in a high-end environmentally sensitive septic system, they would just be putting in a run of the mill standard system,” says Jackson.
Jackson says this tertiary septic system is able to purify more efficiently compared to a standard system, and is far more beneficial to a community.
South Bruce Peninsula Manager of Economic Development Danielle Edwards says since June, the estimated cost for the hotel project has increased to about $8.4 million.
“It’s going to have an upscale restaurant, which will be a nice addition to Sauble beach. It will just be interesting to see how it all unfolds, Sauble is becoming more popular every summer and I am not at all surprised a developer has purchased this land with the objective of building a boutique hotel right on Lakeshore Boulevard,” says Jackson.
*Editor’s note: This story was updated from a previous version to correct information provided about the date when the bylaw will come back to South Bruce Peninsula council.
