The proposed Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw changes for development within the Trout Lake watershed and rural areas of North Bay will likely be cited during municipal election discussions over the next 12 months.
The next public meeting is set for Oct. 27. Voting day will then be less than a year away on Oct. 26, 2026.
For the Trout Lake watershed, there may be arguments put forward to expand the potential lot development beyond the cautious, phased-in approach city staff are recommending.
Some rural property owners, meanwhile, are not happy with restrictions and set backs for subdivided lots they feel are overly burdensome, noting that the additional runoff mitigation far-away tributaries afford isn’t being considered enough.
Others, meanwhile, have already countered that Trout Lake’s water quality is too important to gamble with any development activity in either North Bay or East Ferris. They have raised questions about the science used for studies and the potential of climate change forces on phosphorous loading.
And depending on how North Bay City Council members react to the community consultation, those on either side of the equation might question this council’s credibility in making any landmark decisions.
The cloud of discontent looming over the elected officials and senior administrators is significant and growing by the month. Basic expense claim management issues, for example, involving Mayor Peter Chirico and Chief Administrative Officer John Severino, are part of an Integrity Commissioner investigation that has hobbled council business for almost four months. The North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority, a key player in lot development approvals in the watershed, is in near total disarray. And the governance issues involving Casselholme Home for the Aged and the Castle Arms senior complex – a festering struggle pitting elected officials against each other and other board appointees – have combined to erode public trust exponentially.
You can find information about the draft policies, community consultation and studies used to base the changes on the City of North Bay website. An important thing to remember is that a resident must contribute to the consultation process to have a right to make an appeal after a decision is made.
Those who want to be cautious and those who don’t want any more development close to the lake also have to deal with the urgency to create more building stock across the province and nation.
Both the federal and provincial governments are focussed on paving the way for unprecedented growth in housing construction to deal with runaway accommodation costs.
The Ontario Government in particular – whether smart or not – has shaped legislation to remove oversight hurdles to spur development activity. Conservation Authorities have had their mandates downsized and tribunals for those appealing municipal decisions are guided by the trimmed down laws that favour development. In addition, mayors of many communities, including North Bay, have been empowered to override council decisions restricting development.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the elected officials read the room and consider the governmental factors already on the horizon.
The ‘x’ factor on this whole equation will be market factors, such as building material costs, availability of skilled trades and the market for such housing. It doesn’t necessarily look great when you look into the 2026 crystal ball, with 60 percent of mortgage holders facing renewals at more than twice their previous interest rate.
There may not be a need to restrict the lot development opportunities. There may even need to be an increase in them to get enough people interested in taking a chance – so the city’s property tax base expands enough to cover increasing costs (as North Bay subsidizes the airport and ski hill budgets along with public services and capital investments).
Addendum: Widdifield resident Terry Finch made a presentation to city council about this topic tonight (Oct. 14). Below the photo is the city’s YouTube channel video for the meeting, cued to his presentation at 8:43.
Writer, photographer and proud father. My mom's family is from the Soo with its Algoma Highlands, dad hailed from Cobden in the Ottawa Valley and I spent my teen years in Capreol. Summers were at the beach on the Vermillion River and winters at 'The Rink.' Born in East York but Toronto never was my thing. Ever since a kid looking out the window on long trips, I imagined living on the highway in a little house with a big yard and trees growing all around me.
