Three Dwelling Limit Coming For Lots in North Frontenac

Jeff Green | Aug 14, 2025

Two public meetings were held before the regular meeting of North Frontenac Council on August 7. This first meeting related to an initiative the township is itself sponsoring. A proposed amendment to the township’s official plan will permit three dwelling units to be built on a single lot of record within the township, on the condition that the lot is capable of providing enough water and has enough capacity in its septic system for residents of all three dwelling units. There also needs to be no impact on neighbouring property owners from the increased water use and septic load.

The proposal, which is being promoted by the township as part of an initiative designed to promote more affordable housing opportunities to existing North Frontenac residents, is also to make the township a more desirable location for permanent residents to move into. The proposed Additional Residential Unit (ARU) amendment will apply within the township’s hamlets and on properties that are zoned as “Rural”. It excludes properties zoned as “Waterfront”.
Dmitry Kurylovich, a senior planner with Frontenac County, which provides planning services for North Frontenac Township under a service contract, presented the proposal to Council and members of the public.

He said that the proposed amendment is consistent with the most recent iteration of the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement, which is the backbone of all planning policies in Ontario municipalities.
To a question about whether the ARU amendment will restrict the use of new housing units for short term rentals. Kurylovich said that Official Plan and Zoning are silent on the end use of residential properties, and that short term rentals can only be dealt with through licensing bylaws. At this time, there is no short-term licensing bylaw in North Frontenac, or any other Frontenac municipality.

There was a comment from Kashwakamak Lake Association regarding the setback provisions from North Frontenac Lakes, but Kurylovich pointed out again that the ARU amendment will not apply to waterfront properties.
He said he will be advised by any comments that were made at the meeting or arrive over the next couple of weeks through other means, and will bring the ARU amendment back to Council later this year for approval.

Closed Meetings
After receiving a minor update to the amended procedural policy bylaw to deal with the new strong mayor powers that were imposed on the township by the Province of Ontario, Mayor Lichty proposed that as part of the new policy, the rules be changed regarding in camera meetings. Partly as a consequence of the COVID pandemic, councillors are now allowed to use Zoom to attend meetings virtually. In past meetings Lichty has indicated he finds it difficult, at times, to fully include councillors attending on Zoom into the flow of the meetings.

He requested that Zoom not be available to council members to attend in camera meetings, and a motion to that effect was proposed by Councillor Fred Fowler. Chief Administrator Cory Klatt asked that experts, such as lawyers and engineers, that provide advice to Council at those meetings, be exempt from the new rules.

The amendment also included a reference to electronic devices. It reads as follows: “That Council instructs the clerk to include a provision limiting the electronic participation of council members l in closed sessions of council and committee and prohibiting the use of electronic devices in closed sessions”. The amendment was approved by Council.

OPP Detachment Board Appointee

Councillor Fowler was appointed as the township representative to the OPP Frontenac detachment board. Fowler is a retired police officer.
Extended 50km zone on Ardoch Road: In response to a request from a resident, with support from the public works manager, the 50km zone on Ardoch Road will be extended 700 metres to the south, and will now begin about 1km before River Road, when travelling from Road 509 at Clarendon, towards Road 506 at Ardoch.

Feed in Tariff 

A proposal to replace broken components in the feed in tariff solar array, on the roof of the township office, at a cost of $12,000, in order to maximise profit through a contract with Hydro One that extends to 2033 (see article from last week for details) was approved in a split vote. Councillor Good, Deputy Mayor Inglis and Mayor Lichty voted in favour, and Councillors Fowler and Hermer voted against. (Councillors Huetl and Regent were not at the meeting.)
Trailers at Boat Launches – At the request of the Shabomeka Lake Property Owners Association, Staff presented a report regarding the possibility of providing licensed parking spots for trailers, in parking areas at township boat launches.
Currently trailers are not allowed to remain parked, without being connected to a vehicle, for more than 72 hours.
The Shabomeka Lake Association is promoting this change because of a number of property owners on the lake that have no other option than to park trailers at the boat launch for the summer season, but CAO Cory Klatt is reluctant to make any changes to the bylaw because of the implications across the township, which could be significant.
After a protracted discussion, Council approved a pilot project to apply only to Shabomeka Lake water -access property owners, for 2026, and Staff will report back regarding the details.

More money for Summerfest?

The Economic Development Task Force (EDTF) is requesting that the township contribution towards Summerfest be increased from $10,000 in 2025, to $15,000 in 2026. The EDTF reports that attendance was high at Summerfest, attracting 1,000 people this year, including volunteers and vendors.

The request was included in the minutes of the most recent EDTF meeting, and will be considered as part of the 2026 township budget. Mayor Lichty, who will present that budget to Council in accordance with the new strong mayor powers, said that he will be looking for a business case to support the request, as well as other spending by the EDTF on Winterfest, and the township's Community Improvement Plan.

Deputy Mayor Inglis said that the EDTF will provide a detailed request, with information about the potential impact of the added dollars, to Council and the mayor, in support of the request.
“That will essentially be a business plan,” said Inglis
At least one member of council is not likely to support any further spending by the EDTF. Councillor Good said that $15,000 is way too much for Summerfest.
“This is not play money,” he said. “These are real dollars, taxpayer money.”
Good voted against receiving the EDTF minutes, in a motion that passed by 4 votes to 1.