County pleased input on growth plan heeded

but outgoing Springwater mayor not so positive
By Laurie Watt Barrie Advance Dec 01, 2010
SIMCOE COUNTY – Ontario believes in its vision for a vibrant Barrie supported by a network of smaller urban centres and three highway employment nodes, says Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli.
In an interview, Chiarelli explained how Amendment 1 to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe – which adds three highway employment zones and a northern urban node in Midland/Penetanguishene – would protect the environment, stop sprawl and encourage economic development.
“There is very significant consensus on the numbers for projected growth,” he said. “The draft amendment is very reasonable, very realistic.
“Barrie’s already the largest city in the Simcoe area, and it will become home to nearly one-third of the population over the planning period to 2031. That represents a very healthy growth rate of 1.3 per cent.”
Blending land-use planning and economics, Places to Grow is designed to create regional economic engines that work together to make the province globally competitive.
But Simcoe County has been the missing piece.
In June 2009, the province released population and employment targets that contradicted Simcoe County’s growth plan, which spread growth throughout the area.
In the interim, there’s been a development freeze as Ontario Municipal Board challenges are set for Barrie and Simcoe County’s official plans.
Now in a consultation period, the amendment fine-tunes the province’s Simcoe Area Vision. It proposes slight modifications and sets the stage for the county to get to work on its 16 member municipalities’ official plans, its transportation and water and wastewater servicing plans, said Simcoe County Warden Cal Patterson.
“We’ve been sitting waiting for two years, and now we have the tools. That’s what we’ve all been waiting for. It’s nice to see the province did listen to us,” Patterson said. “Certainly, Midland/Penetanguishene being recognized as an urban node is positive.”
To create that urban node, however, Ontario took some population away from Innisfil, New Tecumseth (with Alliston as an urban node) and Bradford/West Gwillimbury. Barrie’s 210,000 population target remains unchanged.
“From the original Places to Grow, there is a five-year review. The adjustments satisfy the needs of most municipalities, except for (Innisfil, New Tecumseth and Bradford/West Gwillimbury),” Patterson said.
Outgoing Springwater Mayor Tony Guergis – who served as warden for the three years during which the county worked on its growth plan – isn’t so positive.
“You have a pail, and five sharks trying to fit in it,” he said, referring to Barrie, Collingwood, Orillia, Alliston and Bradford. “We need a pool…. This is actually a step backwards.”
Guergis added the county had worked to create consensus with its own growth plan – which spread population and employment throughout the region. The province disregarded that.
Nevertheless, Patterson said some of the county’s work is making a difference. In addition to the employment nodes and Midland/Penetanguishene growing in the north, Ontario has been supporting projects the county’s 2008 transportation master plan suggested – like GO train service to downtown Barrie and a Wasaga Beach bypass to help traffic move east-west.
Chiarelli said Ontario listened to suggestions – but ultimately had to support Barrie as the only urban growth centre in the region.
“Amendment 1 will break the growth planning logjam in the Simcoe area, and set Barrie and our neighbours on the road for the future, providing economic employment opportunities, curbing sprawl and protecting the environment,” said Barrie infrastructure and development manager Richard Forward.
“(It) confirms Barrie’s future role as the anchor node for the Simcoe area, providing certainty for the city, its residents, businesses and the development community.”
Still, as Guergis looks back and looks ahead, he’s not quite so upbeat.
“It’s historic. We had all 18 mayors together with the ministers,” said Guergis. “How does it end up? A bureaucrat and a local MPP announced something without inviting the neighbours. To me, that was the epitome of failure of the province to keep its word on recognizing the hard work of people trying to come up with a plan.”
The public can comment on the proposed amendment until Jan. 31, 2011, although Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop has urged Chiarelli to give newly elected councils more time.
“After 18 months of inaction, suddenly the Liberals announce amendments during a lame-duck period. New municipal council members have yet to be sworn in, let alone have time to get up to speed on issues,” said Dunlop.
“The members in Simcoe County should be given plenty of opportunity to review the Simcoe County growth plan document and consult their councils and residents before any final decisions are made – keeping in mind there is a 50 per cent change in the makeup of municipal councils in Simcoe.”
To get a copy, call the Ministry of Infrastructure at 1-866-479-9781. Feedback can be submitted to placestogrow@ontario.ca. More information can also be found online at www.placestogrow.ca.