Potential changes to Cranberry Golf Course have some neighbouring condominium owners united in opposition and worried about existing wildlife, greenspace and home values.
Cranberry Golf Course, owned by local businessman Larry Law, has been upfront over the past few years about a decline in membership. Law's agent, Colin Travis, says the decline necessitates a paring down of the course. In 2021, Travis wrote two letters to council as part of their Official Plan review process stating that 22 hectares of the 79-hectare course had been deemed as surplus and called on council to rezone the surplus land so it could be used for other purposes.
And now, following a private meeting in May for golf club members outlining future changes to the course, adjacent property owners caught wind of the changes and are left wondering how this will impact them, and what they can do to stop it.
Dave Dickson and his wife Pam Dickson moved into their Blue Fairway home in Aug. 2017, which backs onto the pond on the third hole of the course.
“We moved to Collingwood because of the trees. It’s not like Toronto’s concrete city,” Pam told CollingwoodToday. “We thought Collingwood was going to be more green and conducive to a less stressful life.”
Dave’s main concerns about changes to the course at this point are environmental.
“We see a number of different critters in there, like muskrats and snapping turtles,” said Dave.
“They’re going to have to remove trees and there’s wetland in there,” he said. “The whole golf course as zoned as [recreational]. (I worry) they’ll apply to have it changed ... to allow for development.”
Dave decided about two weeks ago to start a Facebook for people to share information on changes to the course and adjacent developments, called STOP Cranberry Golf Development. As of now, the page’s membership sits at 156 followers.
“We wanted to get the word out there, because a lot of people didn’t know about this,” said Dave. “We get people (joining) who live in the area, but we’re also getting people who don’t, but golf the course.”
When reached for comment this week, Summer Valentine, director of planning, building and economic development with the town, confirmed that Law had applied for a pre-consultation for potential redevelopment of the property.
Pre-consultation is a town process where property owners and their agents can get early feedback and advice from internal and external agencies on potential future applications.
“Pre-consultation is a confidential process and does not have a public component, though town staff consistently recommend that developers voluntarily consult or engage with the community as early as possible in the development process,” said Valentine, noting that pre-consultation proposals often change over time and may not ever result in a formal application.
Once a formal application is received by the town, the public-facing process begins, which can include public consultation at the Official Plan/zoning amendment step.
Travis, of Travis and Associates, confirmed to CollingwoodToday that he is in talks with the town as part of the pre-consultation process, with a tentative plan to make a formal application and release the plans to the public in the fall.
“So when the actual proposal is made to the town, the town planners have the same information that the public has,” said Travis. “We will engage with the broader community once we have detailed plans and proposals with the town.”
The existing Official Plan designates the golf course lands as recreation, and permitted uses are limited to public and private recreational uses. The existing Cranberry Golf Course was designed and built in the mid-1980s. Since then, the golf course has undergone several minor changes reflecting adjustments to layout and play.
“The question is, what do we do with these remnant parcels?” Travis said this week.
As part of the letters at that time, Travis noted the surplus land would be best suited to a mix of uses which could include residential, recreational and commercial.
According to Valentine, the town decided back in 2021 to not consider major site-specific amendment requests as part of the Official Plan review process, and proponents would instead need to undertake separate amendment applications, which will apply to the Cranberry Golf Course file.
“(Law) wants to keep the 18-hole golf course (in a way) that’s going to be financially sustainable. It’s an attraction,” said Travis. “In order to be more sustainable...there is a need for a shorter course.”
Travis confirmed Law held a meeting for golf course members in May to present plans to adjust the design of the course. While he says the meeting was intended to be private and to inform club members of the plans to help them to decide if they wanted to renew their yearly memberships, some photos of the plans were leaked following that meeting and were shared with residents of neighbouring communities.
Travis says there are plans in the works to have more focused meetings with all the surrounding condominium corporations once the development plans are more set. Currently, he says they are in the process of completing studies at the advice of the town, such as environmental impact, engineering and traffic studies, which will inform exactly what the plans will be.
“It’s a field in motion. I know people are concerned already,” he said. “It’s best to wait until we have something more concrete. We want to make sure we have all our ducks in order.”
“We want to be very comfortable and sure of what the ask is... and then hold the public engagement sessions,” said Travis.
In a statement sent to media on Monday, Mayor Yvonne Hamlin said multiple members of council had received correspondence regarding the issue.
“I encourage interested residents to subscribe to receive council and committee meeting agendas so you can stay informed of when council will be reviewing this and other matters,” wrote Hamlin in her statement.
“I also want to assure residents that all planning applications are reviewed under a transparent, multi-stage process including evaluation using best planning practices, making sure municipal and other legislative requirements are met and in the best interests of current and future residents,” she wrote.
