On December 20, 2018, the township of Wentworth issued a press release indicating the interest of Australian investors to purchase and develop an important tract of land bordering Lake Louisa to the north for recreational tourism purposes.
Spanning over 1500 acres, a two billion dollar, five village, five hotel, spa, golf course and retirement complex has been proposed to be built over 20 years by the newly created Wentworth Integrated Tourism Resort Inc.
Of utmost importance to the citizens of Wentworth is the preservation of the health of Lake Louisa and the potential disruption to the fragile balance of nature that allows both our lake and the surrounding environment to thrive.
Key Information
WITRD Presentation (Bilingual) Donate NowThe LLPOA in Action
The LLPOA has been actively involved with gathering information, reviewing current municipal and provincial by-laws and meeting with environmental, municipal and provincial authorities to gain insight and share our enormous concerns about the WITR $2B mega project.
We have, and will continue to communicate, inform and meet with our members to ensure complete comprehension of the situation as it unfolds.
The following is a timeline of events that have and will occur:
July 7, 2019
LLPOA Annual General Meeting (AGM) LLSC clubhouse 10 a.m. Hugely important meeting. Members are strongly encouraged to attend
June 8th, 2019
2:00 PM Public Hearing Session on the WITR Concept at the Wentworth Community Centre at 86 Louisa Rd.
We encourage residents to participate.
June 3rd, 2019
7:00 PM Regular Wentworth Council Meeting at 86 Louisa Rd.
We encourage residents to bring their questions.
May 30th, 2019
Speaker Registration for June 8th Public Hearing
Deadline to register as a speaker at the public hearing about the WITR development proposal scheduled for June 8th at 2:00 pm. For more details, please consult the Wentworth Township website. The directors of the LLPOA have already requested time and been confirmed as speakers. We encourage all residents to participate.
May 21st, 2019
Meeting with the Director General of Wentworth
Susan Hawker, LLPOA Member-at-Large, Karl Wockner and Mary-Anne Armstrong met with Natalie Black, the Director General of Wentworth to discuss the registration procedures surrounding referendums
May 18th, 2019 – 11:00 AM
LLPOA Information Meeting on the Development, Wentworth Community Centre
New Power Point Presentation, Petition Signing Opportunity
May 15th, 2019
Lawyer’s Meeting
All LLPOA Board members were present at a two hour In-Camera meeting with our attorney.
May 6th, 2019
5:00 Regular Public Council Meeting
6:00 Promoters Agreement Discussion and Questions
6:45 Evaluation Process for Meeting
We encourage residents to attend this meeting if at all possible.
May 4th, 2019
Start of canvassing door to door with petition
Red Lawn Sign Painting Session at the LLSC Social Club Saturday at 10:00.
May 3rd, 2019
Power Point Presentation to MRC Argenteuil
Lachute
April 24th, 2019
3rd Letter sent by the lawyer for the LLPOA to the Wentworth Mayor and Council.
April 20th, 2019
First LLPOA Information Meeting
105 people attended
95 or so signed the initial petition
Donation Campaign began
WITRD Presentation (Bilingual) Petition Information Donate NowApril 18th, 2019
Wentworth North Council Meeting
Two LLPOA directors attended. They learned of the WWN Mayor (and Council)’s opposition to the WITRI project. They discussed a petition sent to the residents of Wentworth North signed by the Mayor and a councilor of Wentworth North opposing the development.
April 11th, 2019
2nd Letter sent by the lawyer for the LLPOA sent to Wentworth Mayor and Council requesting information.
1st letter sent by the lawyer for the LLPOA sent to Wentworth North Mayor and Council requesting information.
April 8th, 2019
Wentworth Open Council Meeting
Council passed a motion to engage a communications company, Ryan Affaires Publique, to manage discussion about the development between the Council and the residents, among other things.
April 4th, 2019
LLPOA power point presentation given to the Council and Mayor in closed session. First letter by the lawyer for the LLPOA sent to Wentworth Mayor and Council requesting information.
March 20th, 2019
The LLPOA sent a response letter to the City of Wentworth, expressing our concerns:
March 20, 2019
To the Wentworth Mayor and Council Members,
On behalf of the Lake Louisa Property Owners Association, I am writing to express our alarm about the presentation at the Wentworth Community Centre on February 24th.
We recognize the potential economic benefit for the area if the Wentworth Integrated Tourism Resort Inc. (WITRI) proposal goes ahead, however we fear the probability of irreversible environmental damage to our lake.
There are 816 residential properties in Wentworth now, over 450 of those are around Lake Louisa. They have a reasonable expectation that their municipal government will represent their best interests and will do everything within its power to protect the reason they are here. That reason is Lake Louisa itself.
Our residents have worked hard to protect our lake. They are proud of how clean it is. They make use of the information on ecological practices provided to them by the LLPOA, and abide by the protective bylaws put in place by the municipality. They understand the delicate balance between human activity and the health of the lake must be maintained, which would be impossible with a development of the size proposed.We appreciate that some modifications have been made to the plan to make it more agreeable to the community, such as forgoing the use of the Lake Louisa North Road and any direct access to the lake which may be available to the WITRI, however, these changes would not alleviate the threat to the lake water itself.
By their own admission, the WITRI and its affiliated group will be testing a concept created for use in other environments and climates. As was discussed in the presentation, their project in our municipality would be the first of other developments they hope to build in North America. We are not at all convinced that the construction of a 5 village development and a golf course in a prohibitive terrain could be realized without significant environmental damage. Moreover, it is common knowledge that the negative environmental impact of a golf course is enormous, especially since its placement is directly within our watershed. This is of great concern to our residents, judging from the pulse of the attendees, LLPOA members and residents on the lake.
On behalf of our members, we urge you to use all mechanisms at your disposal, to either block this plan in its present form, or to shape it into a project that will not threaten the health of Lake Louisa. We would be happy to work with you to develop strategies that will minimize any impact on the health of the lake, our flora and our fauna.Mary-Anne Armstrong
President Lake Louisa Property Owners Association
March 4th, 2019
Wentworth Open Council Meeting. Many questions were asked and concerns raised by residents about the development.
March 2nd, 2019
LLPOA held a meeting of residents (who had contacted us) to share concerns about the development, and consider actions to protect the lake.
Post Feb 24th to Present
Response letters and questions about the development sent by many residents to FAQ@ wentworth.ca including LLPOA. Most of which, to date have received no reply other than the automatic form acknowledging receipt.
Feb. 24, 2019
Wentworth Power Point Presentation about WITRI to citizen, Community Centre
December 20, 2018
The township of Wentworth issues a press release indicating the interest of Australian investors to purchase and develop an important tract of land bordering Lake Louisa to the north for recreational tourism purposes.