Innisfil public speaks out on Friday Harbour proposal

by Janis Ramsay Innisfil Journal

Innisfil town hall was packed with people for a meeting about Friday Harbour Resort April 11.

Two main issues were discussed with the first, a rezoning bylaw allowing swimming pool uses throughout the resort, being approved by council.

“It’s to permit pools in other places in the resort,” Innisfil manager of land use planning Tim Cane said.

The resort already has a pool at the Beach Club and hopes to add a second pool at the Lake Club.

The second issue had more debate and was a request to add 1,000 more units to the resort, which requires an official plan amendment at both the town and Simcoe County levels.

“I have full confidence in the developer of this project,” Friday Harbour resident Silvio Guglietti wrote to the town. “The proposal to increase the number of units will bring additional life and vitality to the community. It is appropriate to spread the costs over more units to maintain service levels.”

The official plan amendment request also proposes an outdoor amphitheatre with 300 seats and conference facility areas throughout the resort, which includes a hotel.

Some people were opposed to the increased traffic flow wandering through the resort.

“I purchased my condo at Friday Harbour with the knowledge this was to be a private residence community,” Therese Culnan wrote. “I am concerned with the traffic and the transient nature of the conference centre attendees.”

She was also concerned about noise, crowds and the impact on her security.

“People were concerned about the increased load on municipal services,” Cane said.

He added Friday Harbour isn’t planning to expand the footprint of its development with 1,000 extra units, but they want to put more units into the space on site.

No decisions were made about the official plan amendment, but Cane said staff is working on recommendations for a May meeting.

“We have experts reviewing those reports and considering the comments that came back from the public meeting,” he said.

Once the town makes a decision on the official plan amendment, it will be sent to Simcoe County, which can adopt the town’s decision or make an entirely different decision on the matter.