5 days ago
Sheertex founder Katherine Homuth in dispute with Muskoka township over cottage venture
Prominent entrepreneur Katherine Homuth is dedicated to recreating a nostalgic cottage experience that brings community members together on a lake a couple of hours north of Toronto, but has found herself in a fight over her latest venture with the local township.
Ms. Homuth has had a portfolio of startups, most notably founding rip-resistant tights maker Sheertex, the brainchild she spent years raising before suddenly departing earlier this year. Those years were harsh, she said, but not regrettable. Her time at the company led her to develop the 'scar tissue' for future business bouts.
In her newest venture, Ms. Homuth and her husband, Zak Homuth, plan to host what they've titled 'Sunday House,' launching this Sunday at their principal residence near Port Carling, Ont. The service – priced at $750 a person over the age of 2 – will allow members to participate in a canoe and kayaking regatta and enjoy eight summer Sundays of food and activities at their home: a multimillion-dollar, nearly two-acre property on Lake Muskoka.
The Homuth property is a short boat ride from Port Carling, a town which resembles the summer resort community in the movie Jaws (minus the shark). The main street is bordered by Adirondack chairs on the sidewalks and an ice cream shop is just far enough from the docks for kids to finish their cone before buckling on a life jacket and squeezing into a motorboat.
But the Homuths' business proposal, launched with the hope of drawing together that community, was rejected by the Township of Muskoka Lakes for contravening local bylaws. They plan to operate Sunday House under two bylaws – as a home-based business and as a short-term rental (renting to Sunday House as a business). The Homuths expect it will meet the conditions of at least one of those rules.
However, in an e-mail that Ms. Homuth shared with The Globe, a township employee told her that neither of those approaches will comply with the bylaws, citing issues such as parking availability, the scale of the event and the size of the buildings used. But, she said she remains confident in her plan.
'They don't want there to be a way that it could exist, which is just super bizarre to me,' she said.
After striking out in negotiations with the township, Ms. Homuth posted an open letter online outlining how she believes the township has erred.
Township officials turned down a request for an interview, but township communication adviser Mia Palantzas said in an e-mailed statement that the community considers all proposals within applicable bylaws and legislation.
'As this matter involves ongoing discussions between the Township and a property owner regarding plans for their land, we're not in a position to provide further comment,' Ms. Palantzas said.
The Homuths said they are prepared to defend their business plan if the township penalizes them for being in contravention of bylaws, but they are hoping it does not come to that.
'Being told we can't use our property in a way that we believe we have a legal right, which we also believe has a noble cause to it, is definitely something I'm willing to fight for,' Ms. Homuth said.
The Homuths' vision is driven by Ms. Homuth's childhood memories of visiting her grandparents' cottage in Lake Manitou in Quebec, where life was intertwined with the local community. They want to create that same sense of community in Muskoka for their two-year-old son.
At her grandparents' cottage, an orange towel would be hung on the deck railing to signal to the grandkids outside that it was breakfast time.
Similarly, an orange towel will signal the opening of Sunday House at 8 a.m., launching a seven-hour day of water and beach activities and games alongside a small breakfast and a hefty lunch meal.
So far, about 30 people have signed up, including neighbours who are being given free memberships, Ms. Homuth said. Most are people in the area with their own cottages and are looking for access to the waterfront or for a deeper sense of community, she added.
She said that part of being part of a community is contributing – in this case, to the cost of operating Sunday House for the day, which will make the venture more sustainable long-term. The couple said they are expecting to lose money in the end, because the cost won't fully cover food and staffing, including lifeguards.
But she compares it to the energy of a church community or full-family, intergenerational hangouts.
'People don't have that, a lot of people, any more, but there was a lot of good in that ritual,' Ms. Homuth said.
While Ms. Homuth said she spent thousands of dollars to advertise Sunday House, some – including locals – milling about Port Carling on Thursday had never heard about it.
Tyler Puley, whose family has owned a cottage at Walkers Point on Lake Muskoka for nearly two decades, said the idea sounds interesting.
With his eyes trailing his bouncy three-year-old daughter outside a town shop, he said, 'the sense of community, especially among kids, it's a little harder to get here.'
