Good news: Council has deferred the McPhail Cove project

Good news: Council has deferred the McPhail Cove project

Thank you to everyone who signed and shared this petition. On November 2, Council decided to defer the proposed McPhail Cove boat launch project until it hears from residents through a community engagement survey. The survey will go to all District of Lakeland residents in spring 2027.

A correction: this petition originally said the project would “fill in part of the water.” That was wrong. The work plan places fill on the public reserve beside the lake, not in the water. We have corrected the text and apologize for the error.

Deferred is not cancelled. Council will revisit this proposal after the spring survey. Our concerns about the plan as a whole remain. A 14-stall parking lot would bring more boats onto an already struggling lake and more traffic through a quiet residential neighbourhood, and the plan would remove 5 to 10 feet of trees along Alleyne Avenue. No study has shown the parking is needed.

We have asked Council to:

Include direct questions about the parking lot and tree removal in the survey
Give written notice to all affected property owners if the project comes forward again

What’s next:

• Watch for the survey in spring 2027 and make sure your voice is heard.
• Seasonal owners: check that the District has your current mailing address.
• We will keep this petition open and post an update if the project returns.

Thank you for caring about Emma Lake.