Innisfil mayor happy to see Barrie looking elsewhere for industrial land

For the first time in decades, when Barrie looks around for more land it doesn't appear to be peering toward its southern neighbour. 

Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, who sat on town council when the Barrie-Innisfil Boundary Adjustment Act handed over 5,600 acres of Innisfil land to Barrie, taking effect on Jan. 1, 2010, says she's pleased with the city's collaborative tone this time around. 

"As long as we have land available that is serviced and housing that is affordable, we'll all be helping each other," she said. "When you're in Newmarket and driving north up Yonge Street and you get to Costco, you've crossed a municipal boundary, but you wouldn't know it. Nothing stops. There's still job opportunities.

"What happened in Innisfil in 2009 was unfortunate because there was no compensation for any of the land given to Barrie," Dollin added. "Any of the assets in that land were transferred to Barrie. That was the end of it."

Earlier on Monday, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall told the provincial standing committee on heritage, infrastructure and cultural policy, regional governance and Bill 234 that the city is looking to its neighbours for land that could provide 20,000 industrial manufacturing jobs during the next two decades.

Nuttall didn't say where that land could be, noting there have been discussions "behind closed doors," but did say it could be "anywhere from the east to the west boundary and to the northern part of the city where the city services are in place."

And what that could look like also remains to be seen. 

Nuttall’s presentation says of land identified as part of any boundary expansion, Barrie is prepared to service 10 per cent of the conveyed land back to the host municipality for its own use as a serviced employment hub.

Municipalities would pay the infrastructure costs associated with their land, with no commitment on timing.

And consideration would be given for a percentage of tax revenue to flow back to the municipalities until such time as employment land was serviced, and then it would end.

“We need to make sure there is value for all municipalities involved,” Nuttall said.

Dollin says she will be making a lengthy written submission to the committee by Monday evening.

Simcoe is the only county under review by the committee — all other areas in the province considered for reform have adopted a regional government structure —  which makes some infrastructure issues more complex, she said. 

"We're the only jurisdiction that water and wastewater services isn't in the upper tier," Dollin said. "We'll put in our two cents and we're focused on growth management and having a beautiful, complete community."

Bradford and Innisfil provide a good model for lower-tier and separated city partnerships, she added, given they already share services such as policing, fire, water and wastewater. 

"It takes the politics out of the pipes," Dollin said. "Just put them where they're more effective and efficient and the best return on investment. We're always happy to look into sharing services with other municipalities."