Several councillors, the District of Muskoka, a neighbouring property owner and another developer all said they have serious concerns with the proposal, which would rezone a portion of land that fronts on Manitoba Street and Clearbrook Trail.

Formerly a heavily treed residential lot, the 7.1-hectare property sparked a storm of controversy in June when it was rapidly clear-cut.

The plans submitted during last week’s meeting are for a 1,432-square-metre building with 10 commercial units and two drive-thru locations. The strip mall would occupy 0.98 of a hectare in the southeast corner of the property. No plans were submitted for the remainder of the lot.

Representing the property owner Marty Levinson, planner Greg Boyd said the plaza will be designed to meet the needs of the adjacent Mattamy Homes subdivision, which is currently under development. He said the plaza could include anything from hairdressers to restaurants and convenience stores.

“It will be a place where people can pop in and not drive all the way downtown,” he said.

Part of the problem with developing a comprehensive plan, he said, is that the property was virtually unusable until the subdivision was developed.

Nonetheless, the lack of a comprehensive plan, and the current state of the property, proved to be a major stumbling block for the applicant.

“That property has to be treated as a whole because it’s been wholly destroyed. It’s an unsightly mess,” said councillor Scott Young. “We’re a long way from this being developed.”

Councillor Graydon Smith agreed the application should be deferred, citing similar strip malls in other towns as eyesores that detract from the neighbourhood.

‘Eyesores’, says Smith

Representing Mattamy Homes, Greg Corbett said the subdivision developers have no problem with the neighbouring property being developed, but they are concerned with several of their homes having backyards that face the rear section of a strip mall where loading docks and garbage facilities will be located.

With so much unused property available for development, Corbett suggested the plaza be moved away from the border of the subdivision.

Robert Foster, who lives next to the property, also attended the meeting to express his concern over the fate of the remaining clear-cut property.

The committee members agreed they will need to see plans for the entire property before they consider approval.

After the meeting, Mayor Don Coates said he has no problem with developing the area, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect the rest of the neighbourhood.

“If you or I had purchased a home on the edge of the subdivision and all of a sudden you find out there might be a strip mall beside you, we would have the same concerns,” he said. “If there’s going to be development like that, we want it to be unobtrusive.”

Coates said if development on the property is eventually approved, he would like to see buffers, site plans and the possible inclusion of a Muskoka facade.

“It’s fine to do some development, but in an area like that . . . there are ways to do it so you literally don’t know it’s there,” he said.