Barrie planning how to handle Springwater’s growth

The Ontario Municipal Board has given the green light to a series of Midhurst subdivisions, which could mean road upgrades for major arteries linking to Barrie.

In a Oct. 29 decision, hearing chairperson M.C. Denhez approved plans for 4,861 combined units, which would be built in 11 phases over 12 to 20 years and add 15,000 people to Midhurst.

He noted the projects — which went to the OMB as a result of Springwater Township’s refusal to make a decision — are in the area regulated by the Midhurst Secondary Plan (MSP), “which is in full force and effect.”

Barrie is keeping an eye on Midhurst.

Policy planning manager Merwan Kalyaniwalla said the city took an interest in the OMB hearing on the Midhurst plan because of its size.

“The Midhurst Secondary Plan proposes to add enough population on our northern boundary that’s the equivalent of the City of Orillia. There’ll be an impact on Barrie, as people utilize Barrie’s roads and services,” Kalyaniwalla said.

“In general, our concerns boiled down to the impact on the road infrastructure. Some of the roads leading out to Springwater — Bayfield Street, St. Vincent Street, Ferndale Drive — people will be using those roads to come into Barrie.”

The city will continue to monitor the growth in Midhurst during the next few years and it will be a consideration when the city next updates its transportation master plan, engineering director Jacqueline Weston said.

Barrie’s plan, at this point, doesn’t call for widening to Barrie’s boundaries, although Bayfield and St. Vincent are to be widened in higher-traffic areas south of Livingstone Street.

Midhurst has been designated as a settlement area since 1982, said the OMB’s Denhez. In 2008, Springwater adopted the MSP and Simcoe County approved that plan in 2011.

He added the proposals, which have been revised over the course of months, include more single-detached homes and fewer townhouses, more open space and are consistent with Ontario’s growth plan, which requires new communities to include a broader range of housing types as well as jobs and community and recreational facilities.

The six subdivision plans he approved also proposed the sites for water treatment and wastewater treatment plants that will serve the entire first phase, which could begin in 2015 or 2016. Pending the completion of environmental assessments, those would be located in the industrial area near Snow Valley Road and Wilson Drive.

Midhurst Landowners’ Group spokesman Cheryl Shindruk noted that both facilities would be expanded over time, as they would grow along with the community as development proceeds.

“These (subdivision) approvals bring us another step closer to realizing development in Midhurst, generating needed jobs and beneficial economic activity, while delivering much-needed ground-related housing, a form of housing that has been severely constrained over the last several years,” said Shindruk, adding there are more than 140 conditions on each subdivision.

“There are your standard conditions, plus we’re ensuring the development will be done in an environmentally responsible way. The bar has been raised.

“We understand we have lands we have to have regard for and protect. It’s our intention, through the development process, not to impact the Minesing Wetland. It’s a very important natural resource in the region.”

Denhez had no issue with testimony and an array of reports that supported the landowners’ views.