Marshall Green has given city council a way out of Barrie’s sports field fiasco.
A report authored by Green, a retired lawyer with a specialty in municipal law and land use planning, says east of Military Heritage Park is the wrong place for the council-approved, synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds, in a 120 metres by 78 metres space, close to Lakeshore Drive — agreeing with a significant number of Barrie residents who oppose the field’s location.
“I recommend they (council) not approve the multi-use sports field at this site,” said Green to the over-flow, cheering audience in the Barrie City Hall Rotunda on Wednesday evening, where he presented his report. “I don’t think what they are looking for is a multi-sport park at all.”
“I think myself and many others are very happy about what we saw tonight, but I wasn’t surprised,” said Cathy Colebatch of the Friends of Allandale Station Park, which opposed the sports field location.
Green’s report also included information on seven unused soccer fields and eight unused baseball diamonds in Barrie that may help fill the need for more sports spaces.
The waterfront sports field in question would be for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse, and marching for the Sea Cadets/Navy League, and there could be amenities such as lighting, benches and site furnishings, along with a paved asphalt 35-stall parking.
It has council support from May 15, but a permit is still required from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, because its regulated area crosses the sports field’s top portion, and an archaeological assessment is also needed.
Green’s report concludes that while there is a need by several, if not all, sports groups for additional field capacity, he is concerned about whether they can work together.
“I am convinced that there is a need for additional space for amateur sports, but until and unless these groups come together, this will be difficult to co-ordinate,” Green said in his report.
His report had seven recommendations, among them making sure the sports field site is a passive park, with a trail system and zoned environmental protection.
Green’s recommendations also included locating the Sea Cadets/Navy League parade grounds on the west side of Southshore Centre (now named the General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre), the old Sea Cadets site being the location of Barrie’s new performing arts centre, the Barrie Baycats moving to Queens Park and a soccer stadium considered for city-owned land on the former Barrie Central Collegiate site on Dunlop Street West.
Colebatch said she was surprised at the scope of Green’s report.
“We thought the only thing Marshall was looking at was the multi-use sports field,” she said.
Reconsidering the sports field motion was not on city council’s agenda Wednesday, but it was expected to be received by council later that evening. When council receives a report, it usually means no action will be taken on the matter at that time.
Council is next scheduled to meet Oct. 2.
A simple majority of council is required to revisit, or reconsider, a motion within six months of its approval, or defeat, according to Barrie’s procedural bylaw. Approval of the sports field passed by a 9-2 vote in May. Only Couns. Jim Harris and Amy Courser voted against its approval.
Despite council essentially approving the field last May 15, opposition by Barrie residents to its location in a naturalized area near the waterfront — with trees, grass and walking trails — has persisted and no doubt led, in part, to Green’s involvement.
He met with stakeholder groups and to summarize their position in a report to council — to help guide its path forward, as Mayor Alex Nuttall said.
Sports groups which had input to Green’s report include Barrie Rugby Club, Barrie Soccer Club, Barrie Minor Lacrosse, Huronia Stallions Football Club and Barrie Minor Baseball.
“Of all the groups that I met and talked with, only one indicated that they would prefer the lakeshore location as something that would increase the ‘profile’ of their organization and their sport,” Green said in his report.
Opposition has centred on the location of the sports field and parade grounds, that it is still too close to the waterfront, despite being moved closer to Lakeshore Drive, and its new size, despite being smaller than the original design. And that the field would intrude on a naturalized area near the waterfront — with trees, grass and walking trails.
The project is estimated to cost $4.6 million which would come from three city reserves — development charges, tax capital and cash-in-lieu-of parkland. Washrooms/change rooms are not part of the plans, although the May 8 staff report says the cost would be $650,000 to $1 million.
The Sea Cadets, long located near the Spirit Catcher, would move to a new addition to the General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre, a northerly extension to the basement of the existing building. It comes with a $4.55-million price tag. At this point $300,000 has been committed for the addition’s plan and design. City staff were to report back to councillors for future construction funding approval, once costing is refined through the design process. No funding source for the Southshore’s Sea Cadets addition has been identified by the city.
This sports field plan arguably goes back to last fall.
The May 8, 2024 staff report states that on Oct. 4, 2023, city council approved a motion ‘That staff in the corporate facilities department be directed to develop a plan, in consultation with the Sea Cadets and the Navy League of Canada, to relocate the Navy cadets to a new building east of Military Heritage Park, including a parade ground and multi-use outdoor space, and report back’.
Staff were directed to explore the potential to locate a multi-use sports field in Allandale Station Park, the staff report says, with the capacity to host a parade ground.
A zoning review shows that the development of a multi-use sports field in Allandale Station Park is permitted. The park is designated in the Official Plan as open space (OS), which permits the development of playing (sports) fields. Accessory uses permitted in OS zoning include bleachers, a club house, concession stand, refreshment pavilion or booth.
