Encore Group got an earful from neighbours Tuesday evening for its townhouse condo plans along Mapleview Drive West in south-Barrie.
“This project is completely unnecessary,” said Jeoffrey McCleary, who lives on Dyer Boulevard. “It’s only to make money for the developer and the builder. It’s simply terrible. We’re going to end up with an urban desert.
“We have a functioning neighbourhood,” McCleary told Barrie councillors. “Protect it.”
A public meeting was held on an application to rezone 407, 411, 413, 417 and 419 Mapleview Dr. W., needed to develop four back-to-back townhouse buildings with 72 residential condos. There would be two 20-unit buildings fronting the south side of Mapleview Drive, west of Essa Road and east of Redfern Avenue, and two 16-unit buildings in the rear. Developer Encore’s project would have 140 parking spaces.
There would also be increased rear-yard setbacks, with private rear yards of 9.4 metres when the bylaw requires seven metres, all rear-yard trees would be retained, with enhanced landscaping along rear and side yards to increase privacy. These five residential lots each contain single-family homes, which would be demolished to make way for this development on almost 1.6 acres of land.
But area residents said this neighbourhood is all residential homes, one or two storeys high, with large yards, mature trees, the type of neighbourhood people want to move to in Barrie.
Chris Clarke, a resident of nearby Redfern Avenue, said more than 700 people have signed a petition opposing the development, which will range from 3.5 to 4.5 storeys in height.
“Does this fit the neighbourhood?” Clarke asked. “You simply cannot drop a 15-metre condo in the middle of a residential area. It’s very clear that this level of intensification does not fit the character of this neighbourhood.”
“Do not let the need for intensification to be a licence for developers to own this city,” said Robert Tigwell, another Redfern resident.
“The height and density of this project need to be reconsidered,” said Andrew Zvanitajs, also of Redfern Avenue, who has multiple safety concerns about the proposed development.
Janet Foster, a professional planner retained by the neighbours, called the project “an abrupt built form” on the landscape.
Rick Tomkinson, in a message to the city, said it would make a busy area even busier.
“This area will be nothing more than traffic gridlock, which is a nightmare already,” he said. “It is apparent to me that the City of Barrie is not concerned about how this community will look when you consider all the development that has already been allowed; there is a huge amount of unsightly buildings being built in and around this end of the city.
“It will be too late if something is not done at this time to control the building styles of these money-hungry developers that only care about profit versus the appearance of the future city," Tomkinson added.
Dave Robinson, also of Redfern, has concerns that Mapleview Drive West could not handle the traffic in the area with this development.
A virtual neighbourhood meeting held last September had 73 residents attend.
Their concerns included the proposed density increase and changes to the established single-detached residential neighbourhood, more traffic as a result of the proposed development, construction impacts on existing residential properties in the area, the effect upon existing mature vegetation on the site, the local parkland capacity of the area, including Redfern Park, and the proposed site design including reduced privacy for neighbouring residents.
A public meeting is one of the first steps in the city’s planning process. This application now goes to planning staff for a report and recommendation. It’s expected later this year.
