A new resort proposal for West Lake has residents worried about future development activities in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the County.

West Lake Lodge is proposing a new resort called Dunes Lookout at the former Sandbanks Beach Resort property. Owner Sean McKinney is applying to rezone the site from “Rural 1” to “Tourist Commercial.” 

The Dunes Lookout Resort will provide year-round tourist accommodations. The plan includes 20 two-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow, called “villas.” 

The resort would sport a dock for guests, a reception office, and a bike cafe open to the public. 

The property is 3.92 hectares (9.5 acres), with 157 metres of water frontage on West Lake. 

 Planning consultant Ruth Ferguson Aulthouse noted that concerns brought forward at a Public Information Centre in April 2024 have been addressed. In response to worries over boat traffic and shoreline development, West Lake Lodge made a commitment not to build a marina and to leave the shoreland undeveloped, keeping a minimum setback of 24 metres from West Lake. 

Several of the residents’ concerns were not with the proposed plans, though, but revolved around the possibilities opened up from rezoning the property to “tourist commercial” from “rural residential.”

“Tourist Commercial has an extensive list of what can and can’t be done. Some of these things are possibly not what Council or the planner have intended,” said Sylvia Kovacs.

She implored Council to enforce limitations on the zoning granted. 

Don Mayne commented that “if you were to grant unrestricted commercial zoning and an owner today or in the future chooses to launch expanded activities, such as a floating restaurant or a floating beach, the County would have no control, unless you put in a condition on this application that the zoning is for the proposed activities only.”

Cathie Coultis, Chair of the West Lake Community Association, noted that the anticipated increase in traffic ties into existing safety concerns. 

“The community of West Lake has over the last few years been reaching out to the municipality for traffic calming measures for West Lake Road,” she said.

If the Council decided to place limits on tourist activity and accommodation on the property, they would need to do so through an amendment to the zoning.

Ms. Ferguson Aulthouse noted that the property is outside a natural core area, and a peer-reviewed environmental impact study identified no species at risk. She also noted that 75% of the property would remain open space. The traffic study did not identify any issues, but paved shoulders could be considered to protect cyclists. Fencing and landscaping plans will promote privacy for surrounding residents. 

Following the new two-step planning process, this application will come back to the planning committee for a decision at a later meeting.