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Environment Council for Clear, Ston(e)y and White Lakes

November 2025 Wrap-up

The Environment Council for Clear, Ston(e)y and White Lakes is a volunteer, member-based, non-profit group. Our goal is to preserve and enhance the sustainability of the local watershed environment for future generations of humans and wildlife.

The Environmental Council has prepared a summary of their activities for 2025 including Township Liaison; the Natural Edge program; and discussions on shoreline protection, septic re-inspection advocacy, water quality, and member association engagement. Read the wrap-up.

Pedestrian Safety

Nov 11, 2025 - For those of you who walk along Birchview Road or other rural roads without sidewalks, the Road Safety Committee would like to remind you of the following best practices:

• Walk facing traffic. This will allow you to see oncoming vehicles and react to any potential dangers.

• Walk in single file, off the pavement, and on the gravel shoulder portion of the roadway

• Keep your pets on leash and in your control at all times

• Stay alert. Keep an eye out for vehicles, cyclists, and other pedestrians. Avoid distractions (mobile devices, headphones, etc.) that could impair attention.

• Use reflective clothing and lighting: At night, wearing bright or reflective clothing and using LED lights or flashlights can increase visibility to drivers.

• Cross at intersections, where possible, and wait for a safe gap in traffic.

• Be aware of hidden intersections, driveways, and laneways that may not be highly visible from the road.

• For optimal safety, it’s best to avoid walking on rural roads in bad weather conditions as rain and snow can reduce visibility for drivers and create slick conditions. But if you must walk in these conditions, make sure you are wearing solid footwear with thick treads or ice picks to ensure you are steady on your feet and ready to react. Keep a careful eye on all oncoming cars for potential skids and use reflective clothing and lighting to stay visible.

Road Safety Committee Report - Nov 2025

Nov 11, 2025 - In Spring 2025, the Road Safety Committee approached the BPOA Board with a proposal for the purchase of a Radar Speed Sign. The Committee reminded the Board that the 2024 Membership Survey identified that the #1 issue for the membership is Road Safety and 70% of those surveyed in 2024 supported the BPOA purchase of a Radar Speed Sign. The Committee noted that the proposed Radar Speed Sign would cost approximately $6000 and would be capable of being moved around, operated by battery and solar power, and would not only be able to display vehicle speed but would also collect data on traffic volumes and vehicle speeds on a continual basis. The Board approved the Committee’s recommendation subject to the Committee seeking approval from the Township of Douro Dummer for installation of the Radar Speed Sign within the Township’s right-of-way.

On May 6 2025, members of the BPOA Board made a deputation to Douro Dummer Council, outlining their proposed approach which involved BPOA’s purchase and installation/maintenance of the Radar Speed Sign within Birchview Road. BPOA advised the Township that it was their desire to use the sign for data collection purposes for the first year or two, with the intent to find a permanent location once the data collection phase is completed. At the end of the data collection phase, BPOA anticipates that the data will assist to determine if there are specific areas along Birchview Road (from 3rd Line to McCracken’s Landing) where speeding is more prevalent. This would provide for more informed road safety discussions amongst BPOA, Douro Dummer, and OPP representatives.

BPOA’s deputation was met with strong support from the Mayor and Councilors

Following the Douro Dummer Council deputation, BPOA met with Township staff to discuss implementation details and responsibilities.

An agreement between BPOA and Douro Dummer was subsequently executed which granted BPOA the permission to install and maintain a Radar Speed Sign within Birchview Road. The agreement outlined conditions such as insurance coverage, safety measures to be taken, lines of communication with Township staff, etc.

In July, BPOA took possession of the purchased sign and its first installation was made at a location near 910 Birchview. Since that time, the sign has been moved every two weeks to various locations to cover vehicle movements in both the northbound and southbound directions.

So far the data results have varied, depending on the sign placement, with some areas showing greater concerns than other. The data collection period for 2025 is anticipated to wrap up in mid November, and the sign will be stored until spring 2026 when the data collection period will resume. BPOA anticipate sharing the data results from 2025 with Douro Dummer staff in late 2025 and BPOA membership in early 2026.

The Alliance - Report Nov 2025

Nov 11, 2025 - An alliance of cottager and road associations around Clear, Stoney, White and Lovesick Lakes was formed 10 years ago to share information and deal collectively with issues of common concern. The Alliance meets annually, usually in June, and communicates by email when required.

Some of the past issues they have dealt with include the Fraser Wetlands/Burleigh Bay Developments, the Lovesick Lake Campground expansion, short term rentals, etc..

Representatives of Councils have attended these meetings and it has been an effective communications medium. The BPOA is a member of the Alliance and attends the Alliance meetings.

Attached are the minutes (draft) and attendees contact information from the last meeting held on June 25, 2025. Discussions included a range of topics focusing on the environment (climate change impacts, invasive species and water quality), Short term rentals (STRs), road safety and improving communications and partnerships.  Read the Alliance Minutes… (coming soon),  

Marketing Committee Update - October 2025

1)  Hello BPOA members from your Marketing Committee members. Well Fall is quickly winding down, and the boats and docks are being put away for the pending winter. What a Fall it has been too! We have had great weather and spectacular colours despite the summer drought stressing out many of our trees. As you know we held our AGM and BBQ Social this year on July 26th. We hope you found the meeting informative, interesting and a great way of catching up with old friends and making new acquaintances. Since the AGM your board and committee members have been hard at work on things such as:

a.      Water quality testing and monitoring.

b.      We purchased and setup a portable speed warning sign which has been providing us with great data that will be shared with the township and police agencies.

c.      Marg McGregor has been doing a fabulous job of updating our road sign on a regular basis. The comments we have heard from our members have been fantastic! Thanks, Marg, for a great job.

d.      Prepared an updated members’ survey to determine what you our members think we should focus on next year. Look for this survey early Spring. We look forward to your valuable feedback.

e.      We have approached several service providers to obtain attractive pricing and/or discounts for you, our members. We are working on propane and tree services now and look forward to proving you with updates on our progress in the coming weeks/months.

f.        Reviewed and strengthened our governance as well as review our archives of meeting and AGM minutes as well as other documents in order to get them updated and converted to digital records that can be maintained and accessed easily.

These are just some of the things that your Board members have been up to. Your Board members meet every month and many of the committees do as well. All of this to provide you our members with valuable information and to improve our amazing community. We will provide you with further updates in the coming months and remember to look for the members’ survey early next Spring. As always we value your feedback and suggestions so please feel free to reach out to any of your Board members at any time.

2)  It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Pat Ruddy. Pat was a long term resident of Birchview Road and she will be sadly missed by her many friends and family. Visitation is Friday October 24th from 4-8. The funeral is on Saturday at 1:00pm at the Armstrong Funeral Home, 124 King Street East, Oshawa.  Obituary…
 

3)  BPOA Members are saddened by the news of the fire at the Home Hardware in Lakefield. A wonderful historic building was lost and a great business that has been a Lakefield staple has been devastated. Thank you to all the fire crews and first responders for their efforts to minimize the damage and the spread of the fire. We are also thankful there was no loss of life because of this tragedy. Thank you to the many BPOA members who have donated clothing, other necessities and money to help support those impacted by the fire and all of you who continue to support the local businesses of Lakefield during this difficult time.

BPOA AGM - July 26, 2025

Dear neighbours,  I am pleased to invite you to attend the Annual General Meeting of our association to take place at Camp Kawartha 1010 Birchview Road, starting at 9:30 AM on Saturday July 26th. The meeting will include guest speakers and reports from our Board members,  in addition to an updating on Camp Kawartha, discussions with the mayor and one or more members of Douro-Dummer Council.  We do require your attendance to help us make quorum and you can expect to enjoy the meeting and learn a few things there. This will be my last day as President, but I will continue on the Board as a Director and Past President. Some members’ terms are up and new directors may be nominated at the meeting.

The meeting will be very interesting and informative.  The meeting will end by about noon when there will be a Camp tour and our social time barbecue lunch. I look forward to seeing you there.

Update on Short Term Rentals - 2024

Here is an update on STRs for Selwyn and Douro. Essentially neither township is doing licensing but at least Selwyn has progressive fines. Neither has much teeth.

Douro:

According to their last meeting they have tightened up there noise and nuisance by-laws below:

Noise from Human By-Law 6.1. No Person shall cause or emit noise created by yelling, shouting, hooting or similar noises made by a human, that is clearly audible at a Point of Reception; 6.1.1. between the hours of 11:00 p.m. of one day to 7:00 a.m. of the next day

Unreasonable Noise 2.1. No Person shall make, cause or permit the creation of Unreasonable Noise, resulting from an act listed in Schedule "A" of this By-law that is clearly audible at a point of reception anywhere within the Municipality at any time

11. Administration and Enforcement 11.1. This By-law shall be enforced by an Officer or such Person or Persons as Council may appoint under Municipal By-law. 11.2. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit the ability of the Ontario Provincial Police to enforce this By-law at any time. 

12. Powers of Entry 12.1. An Officer may enter any Premises, other than a dwelling at any reasonable time for the purpose of carrying out an inspection to determine compliance with this By- law or any Order issued under this By-law. 12.2. No Person shall hinder or obstruct, or attempt to hinder or obstruct, an Officer or other duly appointed Person, in the execution of their duties under this By-law. 

13. Offence and Penalty Provision 13.1. Every person who contravenes any provision of this by-law is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine as provided for in the Provincial Offences Act R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 33, as amended. 13.2. Set fines for contravention of this By-law are set out in Schedule “C” of this By-law. Fines are $200 and are not progressive

Complaints

If you would like to make a by-law complaint, please complete the By-law Complaint Form and submit it to our By-law Enforcement Officer. All by-law complaints need to be made in writing. 

Please include the following details:

·         Address or location where the by-law infraction took place

·         Your contact information (name, address, phone number)

For more information regarding complaints, please see our Complaint Handling Policy. To learn more about the difference between an official by-law complaint and reporting a concern please email the Clerk's Department.

Noise complaints

To make a noise complaint during business hours please contact the By-law Enforcement Officer. For noise complaints outside of business hours, please contact the Ontario Provincial Police.

Selwyn:

 Short-Term Rental Information - Township of Selwyn (selwyntownship.ca)

What is a Short-Term Rental?

Short Term Rentals include renting a private room in a home, an entire home, a seasonal property like a cottage, or any other space when rented for 30 days or less. Short Term Rentals do not include established accommodations such as bed and breakfasts, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds.

By-law Inspection Fees

Short Term Rental property owners are encouraged to be active hosts in ensuring that their guests enjoy an excellent stay in the Township of Selwyn and that their neighbours maintain an excellent quality of life.

Please remember that Short Term Rental operators can be held accountable for the actions of their guests. If a Municipal By-law is broken, By-law fines can be charged to the individuals who violated the regulation, and inspection fees can be charged to the property owner when enforcement personnel attend the site to respond to ongoing matters.

Who do I call to make a complaint about a Short-Term Rental property:

·         Selwyn Township By-Law Enforcement: 705-292-9507 (Monday to Friday; 8:30AM to 4:30PM)

·         Selwyn Fire Department: 705-292-7282 (Monday to Friday; 8:30AM to 4:30PM)

·         O.P.P. (Smith & Ennismore Wards): 1-888-310-1122 (non-emergency 24/7)

·         Peterborough Police Service (Lakefield Ward): 705-876-1122 (non-emergency 24/7)

·         Peterborough Humane Society: 705-745-4722 ext. 202

o After hours emergencies: 705-745-7676 ext. 656

In addition to By-Law Enforcement, Police, and Security Services, the Township has implemented inspection fees. Fees are intended to be charged against a property owner when enforcement personnel attend the site to respond to ongoing matters.

If you are experiencing several By-Law violations, reporting to the appropriate authority is especially important. After the police attend, submit a complaint form to the township online or in person. An enforcement working group has been set up that consists of Public Health, Police Services, Fire Services, and Peterborough Humane Society staff where complaints received from our ratepayers are shared amongst the group, and if By-Law infractions can be confirmed we start the enforcement protocol. The first confirmed violation results in a letter of infraction being issued to the property owner outlining the enforcement protocol. Subsequently, verified infractions are accompanied by an inspection fee starting at $500.00 for the second confirmed violation within a year; and increasing by $500.00 for each confirmed violation thereafter.

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2023 Annual General Meeting & BBQ August 12, 2023

To our BPOA Membership.

You are hereby invited to our annual general meeting on Saturday August 12 at Camp Kawartha. The meeting will start at 9:30am. Following the AGM, you are all invited to a BBQ social event at the Camp complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and refreshments as well as raffles for door prizes.

Learn about how high phosphorous levels are promoting blue green algae blooms and hurting fishing in Stony and Clear. Also, Deputy Mayor Harold Nelson will speak and answer questions at BPOA Annual Meeting at Camp Kawartha on Saturday at 9:30. 

We look forward to seeing you all on August 12.

On behalf of your Board of Directors.

Murray Miskin, President

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BPOA Annual General Meeting - BBQ August 13, 2022

To our BPOA Membership.

You are hereby invited to our annual general meeting on Saturday August 13 at Camp Kawartha. The meeting will start at 9:30am and attached to this email you will find an agenda for the meeting. Following the AGM, you are all invited to a BBQ social event at the Camp complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and refreshments as well as raffles for door prizes.

This is a municipal election year (October 24, 2022) and you can meet the candidates and learn about voting methods at our AGM. We would like to encourage someone from Birchview Road area to put their name forward for election to Council. I am not sure when the last time we had representation on Council from Birchview Road. The road is scheduled for resurfacing in 2023 and that would be a good time to look at shoulder improvements and solutions to the problematic blind hills and corners along the road. We plan to have an open discussion on this subject at our AGM and we will have an opportunity to share our thoughts with Douro-Dummer Council and candidates for election.

We look forward to seeing you all on August 13 for an "in person" meeting and social gathering.

On behalf of your Board of Directors.

Jim Coyle, President