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Council wants to control Napier development

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In Barrie
Nov 27th, 2010
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By Erika Engel Barrie Advance Nov 23, 2010
At their final meeting, the outgoing council left a recommendation for the new council to look at controlling development on a block of land in Thornbury, part of which is currently of interest to Telfer Homes.
The lands bound by Napier, Bruce, Duncan and Victoria Street are, for now, relatively undeveloped. Telfer came forward to the town with a proposal for a 97-unit townhouse style block for a portion of this land.
Since the statutory public meeting held in September, residents have remained opposed to the Telfer development as it was proposed. In fact, the local neighbourhood banded together to form the Napier Victoria Resident’s Group and have been meeting regularly.
The group showed up at the council meeting on November 22, and councillor Michael Martin introduced a motion to allow the groups’ representative to speak to council as a delegation. All agreed, and Brian Nelson gave the presentation.
Nelson said the neighbours understood that block of land would be developed, but said there should be careful planning for the land so that new development would still fit with what has historically been built in the area – single family, detached dwellings with lots of buffering and green space in the street scape.
Nelson acknowledged that Apple Jack condos are in the area, but that significant buffering between the buildings and the street makes the condos fit nicely into the neighbourhood.
Nelson pointed out what he thought were deficiencies in the Official Plan, and asked what kind density the town could handle in that spot.
He asked council to enact an interim control bylaw to freeze development on the block for one year.
He said that time would be useful for land-use planning, and mapping out how the area should look when it’s developed, including a proposed street map.
“We could put in place a framework where we could all work toward a solution in a manner where all the residents aren’t nervous about what’s going to happen next,” said Nelson.
Councillor Martin moved that council recommend that the incoming council look at an interim control bylaw and/or other mechanism for controlling development on the block until a clear plan can be developed for the block.
Martin said that the town is always on the defensive when it comes to receiving a development application, because the land is sitting empty, zoned for development, so naturally, a developer brings forward a plan for homes on the land.
“If we have a plan in place, [developers] bring us what we want,” said Martin, eliciting cheers from the large crowd. “We have the controls, our residents have the worries, I think it’s partly our job to take away the worries.”
All of council commended the group on their presentation and the effort they put into constructive participation in the planning process.
Director of Building and Planning, David Finbow, said he would report back to council on options for controlling development on that specific block.
He said that the block is zoned development and designated residential, and typically, a control bylaw is used to prohibit land uses that are already permitted according to zoning.
He said staff would be reporting on the status of the Telfer project no earlier than January.
Council passed the resolution to leave word for the next council to come up with a plan for the block. 
Deputy Mayor Duncan McKinlay and David Finbow reminded the large crowd that the town would be embarking on its Official Plan review over the next year and was aware of deficiencies in design policies.

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