That sound coming from Barrie’s old fairgrounds is wheels spinning.
While city council approved a process Wednesday night which could fast-track the massive residential development proposed at the Essa Road/Highway 400 property, the Barrie Curling Club — which has a long-term lease on the property — still wants to control its fate with developer/landowner Greenworld Construction.
Norman Speake, of the Barrie Curling Club, told council that lease would have to be significantly altered for this development to go through — specifically because of an access road from Essa Road which could go through the portion of the property which the curling club leases.
“Housing shortage, affordable housing, fast tracking, we get all that. We understand that. We support that,” he said. “But what we don’t get, won’t get, is that the Barrie Curling Club has to be a casualty, sacrificed on the altar of one of the above.”
What council did Wednesday was approve a motion to have city staff initiate a community infrastructure and housing accelerator (CIHA) application for more than 4,000 proposed residential units on these 55.4 acres.
The CIHA gives Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing the power to make orders to respond to municipal requests to speed approvals of rezoning, in this case from highway industrial to residential and open space at 175 and 199 Essa Rd., as well as 50 Wood St.
“So the CIHA is a provincial tool that has been specifically designed by the province to expedite approvals for key housing projects. I think this is a key housing project for the city of Barrie in many ways as it introduces a built-form that I think the city really really wants to see happen, a greater amount of higher density condominium apartment style units,” said Darren Vella of Innovative Planning Solutions, speaking for Greenworld.
“A lot of the curling club concern is the unknown,” said Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie. “I know it’s early … this (CIHA) is about making the process go forward.”
Speakes said the Barrie Curling Club would consider relocating, although specific locations were not discussed.
“We’re not wedded to that building,” he said. “I would dearly love to have a discussion and talk the developer into building us a new shack. Maybe something a little better than the cow barn we’ve got now.”
Speakes said there is a meeting Dec. 11 involving the Barrie Curling Club and Greenworld, which Harris said he would attend, too.
It’s Greenworld which asked council to support the CIHA order and initiate a CIHA application.
That order would support the development of 4,054 total residential units — highrises, mixed-use highrises and townhouses, along with commercial uses and a school block. That breaks down to 13 residential towers of 15 to 40 storeys, 113 townhouses and 98 three-storey townhouses.
Also proposed in the new development are 196 parking spaces for the townhouses and 3,260 spots for the highrises, including those in a five-storey parking podium. There could be a public/private park almost a half acre in size and walking trails. Commercial uses would front Essa Road, and there would be no development on the Wood Street property, which includes Hotchkiss Creek. It would be for stormwater management and open-space uses.
The development proposed includes two new city access points from Essa Road and Anne Street, the former being the Barrie Curling Club's concern.
But while area residents have said they don’t oppose development on the fairgrounds, one on this scale remains a concern for many people.
“We need to be respectful of the existing community and surrounding neighbourhood,” said Allandale resident Cathy Colebatch. “We keep referring to this area as the gateway to the city. But who actually thinks a wall of tall towers is welcoming?
“This property has sat vacant for years, not because residents oppose it (development) outright or processes of planning are not doing their job, but because applicants continue to speculate and flip properties," she added. “By approving this (CIHA) process, (council is) bypassing years of planning staff and community engagement.”
Arnie Ivsins, who has lived in the area for 37 years, said development there should be a local decision.
“Is this really what you want? To wash your hands and pass the buck and say we didn’t have anything to do with it?” he asked. “To not have a seat at the table and let the province decide the future of this site is a colossal mistake.”
Mayor Alex Nuttall has noted that with Ontario’s Transportation Ministry (MTO), the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Education and both area school boards involved, this should be a provincial decision, at least the CIHA portion.
The Simcoe County District School Board and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board have collectively requested approximately 12 acres of developable land for future school development there. Greenworld has identified six acres in its CIHA submission.
The motion council approved also says that if neither school board exercises the option to build a school in this development, the property would be given to the city at no cost for parkland.
The public school board has raised concerns about inadequate sizing, configuration and location of the school block on the fairgrounds property, and the board said it could not support this CIHA application, given the current proposed configuration of the school block.
The Catholic board, meanwhile, has reviewed school block options made available by Greenworld and has said the current application does not represent a cohesive effort to achieve a built form to support future residents.
Coun. Gary Harvey asked if the purpose of the CIHA is to resolve the issues around the schools or is there some piece of this also tied to BCC.
“None of this is tied to the curling club,” Vella said. “This is really to deal with the school property and there’s two schools (boards) fighting for one site and trying to sort out who’s going to (build there) and how all that’s going to work so that is one of the main reasons why we pursued the CIHA process, because we really don’t want to be stuck in the middle of two school boards fighting over this property and we don’t want this to delay the development of this piece.
“So we have seen in the past in Barrie fights with school boards taking a very, very long time to resolve. We don’t think that is the right direction for the City of Barrie to take or for this property," he added.
Coun. Sergio Morales said there simply needs to be development on the old fairgrounds.
“It’s entering generational periods of stagnation,” he said of the largely vacant land. “I’m happy that it went from mostly office and retail space to housing. We need to house people whether it be affordable or not affordable, we just need housing of all types period.”
But Craig Busch, of Vision Barrie, said it needs to be the right type of development.
“I’m not here to speak for or against this,” he said. “I’m very concerned if we build this as shown we’re going to end up with Park Place, but worse. This is going to be a traffic issue, close to 10,000 people, driving to work, driving home every single day and the best we’re going to do is mitigate this.”
Busch instead wants a proper urban village, where people can work, live, eat, drink, socialize, shop, see a doctor, a dentist and have daycare, so they don’t have to drive.
The motion council passed Wednesday night starts the process for a CIHA. There will be online public consultation, its feedback will be presented to council by report, then council will decide to tell staff to prepare a CIHA order for the housing minister, or do not prepare one, in the first quarter of 2024.
