Approvals & Next Steps
Town of Bracebridge Council initially deferred a decision on the applications pending their request for a peer review of the Environmental Impact Study. A peer review was completed, culminating with the peer reviewer signing off on that report and its addendums.
A second public meeting was held by Council on October 27, 2020 to provide an opportunity for more input from the community. After collating and commenting on the additional public input that was received, Town planning staff prepared a staff report indicating that the project met all provincial and local planning policy requirements and recommending its approval. Town Council voted unanimously to approve the project, passing the zoning bylaw amendment and adopting the official plan amendment on January 20,2021. The official plan amendment has been forwarded to the District of Muskoka for approval, which is expected by early spring of 2021.
The project team will then be working through the Site Plan Control process with Town of Bracebridge staff. It is presently anticipated that construction of the first phase of the school will commence in 2022, with subsequent phases to be spread over a number of years. Management is committed to working with local trades and businesses in the tendering of that work, and in providing long-term employment opportunities for the local community (the project is anticipated to generate the equivalent of 200 full-time construction jobs over a five-year period, and between 200 and 250 full-time jobs on complete build-out).
Note that members of the public who are in opposition to the project have the right to appeal the Town of Bracebridge’s and District’s planning approvals to the Local Planning Appeals tribunal, a process which could potentially delay the start of construction until 2023.