A gas station, a car wash, a convenience store and a drive-through restaurant. That is what’s being proposed at 571 Huronia Rd.
A public meeting was held Tuesday night on a rezoning application for this property, located at the intersection of Mapleview Drive East and Huronia Road in the city's south end.
“The gas station use is seen as complementary to the other permitted uses in the light industrial zone,” said Kyle Galvin of Innovative Planning Solutions, speaking for the developer. “It helps to promote the success of the convenience store, drive-through restaurant and car wash uses.
“In this way, they have a symbiotic relationship and rely on one-another for success,” he added.
There would be two buildings — a multi-tenanted commercial building with the gas station, convenience store, and drive-through restaurant, and a separate building that includes a car wash. Also included would be 36 parking spaces.
The entire vacant property is 9.61 acres in size, but only 1.73 acres at that corner is being developed.
The property is designated general industrial in Barrie’s Official Plan, which assigns land use, and zoned light industrial.
The applicant, a numbered Ontario company, wants to amend the light industrial zoning to include special provisions to permit a gas station — which is not permitted in light industrial zones without a variance. The developer also wants a restaurant that exceeds 25 per cent of the gross floor area (54 per cent is requested) as part of a multi-tenanted building, and a reduced three metre rear-yard setback, when the standard is seven metres.
No residents spoke at Tuesday night’s public meeting on this rezoning application.
But Steve Pogue was at the neighbourhood meeting Dec. 9, 2020, for this rezoning application and has some questions — mostly about traffic.
“Is the proposed entrance at Huronia Road going to be a right-in, right-out?” he asked in a letter to the city. “If not, is there a traffic study done or proposed to justify left turning in or out at this entrance?
“I believe that the distance of the entrance from Mapleview is too short and is normally stacked with cars trying to get across Mapleview,” Pogue said. “A left turn-in at this location would require a left turn lane which currently does not exist on Huronia. Is the developer going to pay for the road improvements?"
Coun. Sergio Morales, who represents this part of Barrie, had questions about what wasn’t being built on this property.
“Is there any functional reason or technical reason why your client is seeking rezoning of only a portion of the parcel and leaving the remaining parcel as is for now instead of doing a comprehensive ask (application) and then maybe altering it later or maybe coming back at a future time?” the Ward 9 councillor asked.
“This corner (being developed) doesn’t have a couple of limitations the rest of the site has,” Galvin said. “There’s some environmental studies that need to be done on the larger piece as well as some technical issues related to the geo-tech, so my client is still looking at exactly what can go there, what would be appropriate and wanted to proceed with this on the corner.”
Morales next had a question about height and density.
“Is there a specific reason why the applicant is not proposing a five- to six-storey building at this corner?” he asked. “It just seems a little under-utilized. I see that as a bit of a lost opportunity on a corner like this, just because… the site seems big enough to maybe accommodate a (larger) building.”
Galvin had an answer for this question, too.
“There is a technical limitation based on the soils. We’re finding it a little bit difficult to get your (five- to six-storey) buildings, based on the soil without having to rip all of them out,” he said. “But the other issue is the permitted uses in light industrial. So without having to go through an OPA (Official Plan application) process, if you wanted to do a big commercial development, it would be a longer process. Residential would also need to go through that OPA process.
"The current and draft Official Plan is still contemplating their designation as industrial," he added.
City planning staff have targeted the second quarter of 2022 for a staff report to planning committee to consider this rezoning application.
