Title
JOINT LAND NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Moved by: Deputy Mayor, R. Thomson
Seconded by: Councillor, G. Harvey
WHEREAS The City of Barrie, is forecast to experience significant population and employment growth to 2051;
AND WHEREAS to address this growth, Hemson Consulting was jointly retained to evaluate the need for additional employment and residential lands at the boundaries of City of Barrie/Town of Springwater and City of Barrie/Township of Oro-Medonte;
AND WHEREAS the findings of Joint Needs Analysis and Study Stage 1 and 2 completed by Hemson Consulting determined that the there is a need for an additional 930 hectares (2298 acres) of land for comprehensive community/employment area uses and residential development in the City of Barrie which could be addressed through a boundary adjustment;
AND WHEREAS the study findings, of the vacant lands within the City of Barrie were identified, the natural heritage areas that exist within these vacant lands, with several of the parcels of land being vacant within Barrie’s existing boundary as a result of them being undevelopable was not addressed as part of this Study;
AND WHEREAS upon review of the 2009 Barrie Innisfil annexation, Bill 196 adjusted the City of Barrie’s Boundary to include 2,293 hectares of land, with 61% of it being deemed developable and the remaining being natural heritage/environmentally protected;
AND WHEREAS upon review of the previous data and in consideration of lands within the City of Barrie, it would be reasonable to consider that approximately 60% of lands within a new expanded area would be developable;
AND WHEREAS the City of Barrie owns most vacant parcels of land surrounding Little Lake;
AND WHEREAS the City of Barrie will be working with the Province of Ontario to establish a Protection Plan for the lands surrounding Little Lake;
AND WHEREAS for the City to achieve the 2300 acres of developable land as identified within the Hemson Study, the City of Barrie would require approximately 4000 acres of gross land, a much larger number than initially proposed by the City of Barrie to the Townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte;
AND WHEREAS it is understood by all parties that there will be no servicing provided to the subject neighbouring municipalities without a boundary adjustment; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that given the information contained within the Joint Needs Analysis and Study Stage 1 and 2 completed by Hemson Consulting, the City of Barrie’s experience with developable lands within the City’s boundary and historical experience with the 2009 annexation, the initial land request proposals to the Townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte be reassessed to better respect and identify the City’s demonstrated need for vacant land required for comprehensive community employment lands and residential housing, in order to meet Provincial targets; and
THAT an updated request to include the Little Lake Area Lands in addition to the 4000 acres of gross land, be forwarded to the Province of Ontario and Provincial Land Facilitator with a request for this matter to be dealt with in an expeditious manner; and
THAT the Mayor and CAO continue with the meeting identified by the Provincial Land Facilitator to negotiate an update to the City of Barrie’s border with neighbouring municipalities and staff report back on January 8, 2025 with the scope of work to proceed with Stage 3 to identify Barrie’s border with neighbouring municipalities.
CARRIED
AMENDMENT #1
Moved by: Councillor, B. Hamilton
Moved by Councillor, S. Morales
That the Direct Motion concerning the Joint Land Needs Assessment be amended to include the following in the last paragraph:
That as part of the report back, staff verify the developable industrial land needs identified by Hemson.
CARRIED
Upon question of the original motion moved by Deputy Mayor, R. Thomson and seconded by Councillor, G. Harvey the matter was CARRIED AS AMENDED BY AMENDMENT #1.