Farming a south-Barrie property appears to have hit a dry spell.
Sitting in general committee, city councillors took no action and just received a Nov. 29 motion to extend a temporary-use bylaw to permit agricultural use on 15 Harvie Rd., near Highway 400, for another three years.
Mayor Alex Nuttall said the bylaw had to be renewed by Oct. 31 or it was null and void.
But he said there was another reason this motion was on the agenda the same night councillors discussed the 2024 operating and capital budgets.
“Obviously, we’re living in times where it’s tough to make ends meet,” he said, “and if we’re going to be asking the residents of Barrie to pay more (taxes), we shouldn’t be giving corporate tax breaks out to massive real estate corporations.”
The application to extend the temporary-use bylaw was submitted by SmartCentres REIT, on behalf of Barrie-Bryne Developments.
Property taxes on this land are $8,250 this year, when it’s zoned agricultural. If the extension isn’t granted, the land would be reassessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) as zoned for light industrial, general commercial and environmental protection use.
Craig Millar, the city’s chief financial officer and treasurer, has estimated the difference in taxes with a zoning change is a range of anywhere from $50,000 to $175,000 or more.
“To me, it’s not about whether they’re farming on the site for six or eight more months,” Nuttall said. “It’s about whether there’s a $150,000 subsidization by this city of the developer (because of different zoning).”
Coun. Gary Harvey, who represents the area, has said he has great difficulty giving a multimillion-dollar developer a break on taxes when Barrie residents don’t get one.
Nuttall said making decisions like this during budget talks, which don’t conclude until Jan. 31, illustrates they have an impact on the city’s bottom line.
“(No councillors) moved any motion to try to provide the tax break anymore,” he said.
City council will consider final approval to receive this motion at its Dec. 6 meeting.
City council rezoned this land Aug. 16, 2023 to permit commercial and light industrial uses along Highway 400 to the east of the Bryne Drive extension, and 155 residential units in the form of semi-detached dwellings and townhouses, as well as two blocks for mid-rise apartment buildings, a school block and a public park, to the west of the Bryne Drive extension.
Mark Resnick from SmartCentres REIT has said it would be a phased development, subject to market conditions, and there is a requirement for consultation with First Nations representatives for a portion of this property.
The land, which is 82 acres in total, will be divided by the future Bryne Drive South extension.
It’s from Harvie Road to Caplan Avenue and work is well underway, with underground infrastructure construction the main area of focus.
Bryne Drive’s south extension will be a new five-lane road with four travelling lanes and a centre paved median. There will be water mains along with sanitary and storm sewers constructed. This project also includes on-road, buffered bike lanes, sidewalks on both sides of Bryne, a realigned old and new Bryne Drive intersection, along with improved drainage and stormwater management.
The project’s estimated completion date is December 2024.
