Barrie councillors will find out if three times is indeed a charm Wednesday night.
Affordability committee, followed by city council and then general committee will meet Dec. 4.
Two public meetings will be held at affordability committee, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
First is a rezoning application for 282 King St., which would add "automotive sales and leasing establishment" as a permitted use there.
Rosewood Auto Plus is proposing to convert one of the units within the existing multi-unit building on the property to an automotive sales establishment. There are no changes proposed to the site or building to accommodate the proposed rezoning.
The second public meeting is to rezone 127 and 131 Ardagh Rd., to allow the development of 19 three-storey townhouses on an internal private roadway. This land is located on the south side of Ardagh Road, west of Patterson Road, and each lot is occupied by a single-detached home.
City council is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and will hear comments from outgoing student mayor Mateo Gordon of Trillium Woods Elementary School.
Codrington Public School's Nyla Francis will then be sworn in as Barrie’s next student mayor.
This will be followed by recognition of the 2024 Mayor’s Christmas Card Contest winner.
Council will then consider final approval of a rezoning at 196 and 202 Dunlop St. W., needed to develop a four-storey, mixed-use residential building with 33 rental apartments and ground floor commercial space there, between Eccles and Francis streets.
Final council approval will also be considered on 2026 plans for Lakehead University’s STEM Hub to operate on the ground floor of 24 Maple Ave., the Barrie Transit Terminal, which would also cancel the permanent market proposed for this downtown space.
The STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Hub would offer undergraduate and graduate programming across the engineering and computer science disciplines, including mechatronics and electrical and software engineering. During the initial five-year period, Lakehead expects enrolment to reach 700 students.
This approval would include a motion that commits council to $9.9 million for construction and operational expenses associated with Lakehead’s satellite campus during the next five years.
Last but not least, at 8 p.m. or immediately following the council meeting, general committee will consider the city’s portion of the 2025 operating and capital budgets, which set property taxes and service levels.
Barrie’s 2025 tax-supported base operating budget for city operations and the infrastructure investment fund, for roads, buildings, pipes, etc., has gross expenditures of $342.6 million and a net property tax levy requirement of $197.8 million.
This represents no tax rate increase for city operations and a two per cent increase for the infrastructure investment funding.
This does not include any property tax increase associated with the city’s service partners — including city police and the County of Simcoe, which provides and charges the city its share for paramedics, social housing, Ontario Works, long-term care, etc.
Barrie’s entire 2025 operating and capital budgets are scheduled to be approved by council early next year.
Wednesday’s meetings are scheduled to be held at Barrie City Hall, 70 Collier St., in the Council Chambers.
They are both open to the public, and available online.
