Any deal has been delayed on a controversial, proposed residential development on Essa Road in south-end Barrie.
On Wednesday night, city councillors deferred a confidential litigation matter, regarding an Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) appeal, concerning a rezoning for a mixed-use condominium building at 405 Essa Rd., until a general committee meeting to be scheduled for May 3.
Coun. Nigussie Nigussie, who represents this part of Barrie, said more talks are required, although he didn’t elaborate on why, other than to say, “to allow for further discussion with the proponents on this matter."
Area resident Graeme Montgomery has said the process has not been transparent.
“We are not privy to the settlement. We have seen a revised plan, which is still quite invasive,” he said.
The latest information on the city’s website details a plan for the development of an eight-storey residential condominium building with 89 residential condominiums, five three-storey townhouses and ground-floor commercial, for a total of 95 units at 405 Essa, which is 0.67 acres.
“Needless to say, we were and are both perplexed as how this can happen, did happen, and what this means for this development and development applications as a whole,” Montgomery said. “A settlement without public consultation? Yes, a legal matter, but still, how did we get here?”
Last September, the outgoing council considered a motion to deny a rezoning application from Sean Mason Homes for this property. That motion was to be sent to the OLT, which has a zoning-bylaw amendment before it for a mixed-use condominium building.
Montgomery is a member of a residents group that has met consistently during the past six years concerning Sean Mason Homes and its developments in their community. A petition opposing this rezoning has been circulated and has gathered 557 signatures, both online and handwritten.
Residents have said the proposed development from Sean Mason Homes is not in character with other housing in the area, and have been opposed to its density and the project’s size.
Mason has said the opposition is NIMBY-ism, or not in my back yard.
The OLT decides land-planning matters when developers, residents and local councils cannot reach agreement. It is formerly known as the Ontario Municipal Board.
Sean Mason Homes' request is to rezone 405 Essa from residential multiple-dwelling second-density, with special provisions and a hold, to mixed-use corridor with special provisions.
But what’s been proposed on this property has changed with the years.
In December 2021, the proposed development was an eight-storey, mixed-use condominium building with 95 residences, six townhouses and ground-floor commercial space, along with a ground-floor parking garage and an amenity area on this vacant, rectangular property on the west side of Essa Road, north of the Ferndale Drive South-Veterans Drive intersection.
In June 2018, city council rezoned the property to multiple residential use from agricultural. The land is within the Essa Road secondary intensification corridor, in Ward 6, and is adjacent to mature residential development that has existed for more than 25 years.
At one point, Sean Mason Homes was proposing 115 residences, which included 103 condos, six townhouses, six mixed-use (live/work) units, and 15 per cent affordable housing.
The land is designated for residential use in Barrie’s Official Plan.
