It may be a long time before he gets his answer, but Rick Ward said he’s willing to wait, and fight.

Ward was one of the appellants who attended an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing earlier this month to oppose a new zoning designation for Little Europe resort on the Muskoka River. That hearing lasted only a few hours before Little Europe owner Rolef Bakema decided he would rather pursue his right to legal non-conforming status in provincial court.

The resort continues to be the only property in Bracebridge not subject to the town’s comprehensive zoning bylaw, which was passed in 2006.

If Bakema fails in his attempt to gain legal non-conforming status, the matter will go back to the OMB, which likely would not be until fall of 2008.

Ward said the process has left him frustrated but determined.

“We jumped through hoop after hoop to get here . . . and it turned out to be a waste of time,” said Ward. “We’re not going to give this up. This will just make us fight harder.”

Ward contends that the resort, which is located on Ashley Lane, is too large and too dense. The new zoning would open the door for massive expansion of the 73-lot resort, he said, harm the local environment and pose a risk to safety through increased traffic.

Ward said the Town of Bracebridge should have checked up on the property over the years, and done more to contain its growth.

Ward said his biggest concern is the resort’s septic system.

He ran through a Ministry of the Environment (MOE) sewage disposal site inspection report, which the appellants obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and planned to use during the OMB hearing.

The report states Little Europe has grown significantly during recent years, but the sewage system has not.

“The sewage from the additional trailer units has been directed into previously existing sub-surface sewage disposal systems and these systems were not designed to accept this additional sewage loading,” the report reads. “As several of the leaching beds are located on or near the flood plain of the Muskoka River, there is potential for inadequately treated effluent to enter the Muskoka River.”

The MOE subsequently issued a list of work orders that included hiring an engineering firm to create a report on the suitability of the current situation and, if necessary, creating a preliminary design for a new system.

Bakema said a firm has been hired and a report submitted to the MOE.

“They will go over it and see if they agree to the recommendations,” said Bakema. “We always have been complying with the rules, but things changed . . . we became slowly busier. I was already planning to change a couple of systems . . . some of the tanks were outdated and I wanted to change them.”

Bakema said there is no threat to the surrounding environment and the argument is baseless.

“I know all of their stories. I could write them down in the middle of the night,” said Bakema. “If people have no proper arguments, then they grab the environment and make it an issue. You get a following if you use it.”

If the hearing goes in his favour, Bakema said he has no concrete plans for expansion.

“I just want to continue the way we have been operating. Since 1960, we’ve put in 30 trailers. I want slow growth so we can control it and preserve the environment,” he said. “These people were told we would put 1,000 trailers here at the start, and then they watered it down to 500. I don’t where they get their figures from. We never ever had any intention of doing that.”