Barrie councillors will consider fast-tracking a huge residential development of the old fairgrounds property at the Nov. 29 general committee meeting.
The motion is to have city staff initiate a community infrastructure and housing accelerator (CIHA) application, which gives Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing the power to make orders to respond to municipal requests to speed approvals of zoning outside of the Greenbelt.
This CIHA would approve construction of 4,054 residential units, school blocks and parks for 175 and 199 Essa Rd. and 50 Wood St., near Highway 400. The rezoning would be from highway industrial to residential and open space.
But key to this project is the involvement of the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB), which have collectively requested approximately 12 acres of developable land for future school development.
Fairgrounds developer Greenworld Construction has identified six acres in its CHIA submission.
“As all who have followed this closely know, this is the first time a development proposal for this property has included area for a school,” said Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie.
“I believe that having a school included in this development will play a significant role in supporting a complete and well-designed community," he added.
The motion councillors will be considering also says that if neither school board exercises the option to build a school in this development, the property would be given to the city at no cost for parkland.
In Nov. 14 correspondence to the city, the SCDSB raised concerns about inadequate sizing, configuration and location of the school block to ensure that a school facility, recreational space and subsequent parking for these uses can be achieved. It also said the current site’s triangular configuration presents a number of logistical challenges to the board in developing the site and providing adequate space for a building footprint, setbacks and parking areas.
“Therefore, the SCDSB cannot support this application given the current proposed configuration of the school block,” said Benjamin Craig, planner with the board’s planning and enrolment department.
The SMCDSB also has concerns, as board staff have been reviewing school block options made available by Greenworld.
“The current application for a CIHA order represents a departure from the options under review and does not represent a cohesive effort to achieve a built form to support future residents,” Christine Hyde, the SMCDSB's manager of planning and properties, said in Nov. 8 correspondence with the city.
In addition to identifying a single school block, Hyde said the wording within the CHIA application speaks to the school block being designed with the "chosen school board." Projected enrolment has identified the need for a Catholic elementary school site within the application.
“As student yields for the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board are typically lower than the Simcoe County District School Board, the requirement for the school site may be realized at a later time frame,” Hyde said. “The application places the SMCDSB at an inherent disadvantage and does not provide adequate opportunity for provision of the required infrastructure to support the community.”
The Barrie Curling Club (BCC), located on the fairgrounds property, expressed concerns with the development process and asked that the BCC’s viability be considered when it addressed city councillors last April.
“We did not then, nor do we now, oppose this, or any development, per se, but continue to have concerns as to how this development, as presented, will impact the BCC and its ability to provide an ongoing service to the City of Barrie and its residents,” BCC director Norman Speake said in Nov. 14 correspondence to the city.
He noted the Barrie Curling Club has a long-term lease for the property on which it now sits, including the parking area, and that lease will need to be changed if this development is to proceed.
“The BCC asks only that this change not result in a significant degradation to its present position and that this committee, council and the City of Barrie consider the long-term viability of the BCC in its deliberations,” Speake said.
He said Greenworld committed to work with the Barrie Curling Club to come to an agreement to satisfy both parties, but no discernible progress has been made to reach a satisfactory agreement.
Greenworld, which owns these 55.4 acres at Highway 400 and Essa Road, asked the city to support the CIHA order and initiate a CIHA application.
The CIHA order would support the development of 4,054 total residential units - high-rises, mixed-use high-rises and townhouses, along with commercial uses and a school block. That breaks down to 13 residential towers of 15-40 storeys, 113 townhouses and 98, three storey townhouses.
Also proposed in the new development are 196 parking spaces for the townhouses and 3,260 spots for the highrises, including those in a five-storey parking podium. There could be a public/private park almost a half acre in size and walking trails.
Commercial uses would front Essa Road, and there would be no development on the Wood Street property, which includes Hotchkiss Creek. It would be for stormwater management and open space uses.
The development proposed includes two new city access points from Essa Road and Anne Street.
Last April, Greenworld’s plan for the old fairgrounds was 2,828 residential condos and townhouses in nine towers, with heights from 12 to 35 storeys, along with retail space. The property still needed to be rezoned and redesignated with an Official Plan change, and have its draft plan of subdivision approved.
Greenworld’s planning consultant has called the old fairgrounds property under-utilized, vacant land, at the prominent location of Highway 400 and Essa Road. The land provides an opportunity to substantially contribute to Barrie’s housing stock and provide for development to take place in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, in an area where intensification is encouraged, the consultant has said.
Barrie is designated by the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe as an area where the projected population and residential growth is to be accommodated through ambitious levels of development, with emphasis placed on the development of lands to support new housing options along intensification corridors and within designated strategic growth areas.
On Nov. 1 the city received correspondence from Greenworld requesting approval of the project be considered through CIHA as opposed to completing the Planning Act applications.
Should city council eventually support Greenworld’s request, staff would be directed to process this as a CIHA and report back in February. If council is satisfied, staff would be directed to submit council’s request for a CIHA to the minister of municipal affairs and housing.
Ontario’s More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, changes the Planning Act to create a minister’s order authority, known as the CIHA tool, giving the municipal affairs and housing minister the power to make orders to respond to municipal requests for expedited zoning, not counting the Greenbelt.
A CIHA can be used to regulate land use and the location, use, height, size, and spacing of buildings and structures to permit certain types of development. The requesting municipality is responsible for providing public notice and undertaking consultation and ensuring the order, once made, is made available to the public.
The minister can provide an exemption for other necessary planning-related approvals from provincial plans, the Provincial Policy Statement and municipal Official Plans, if specifically requested by the municipality, and impose conditions on the municipality and/or proponent.
The Wednesday, Nov. 29 general committee meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
