Province rejects City’s request to expedite major Fairgrounds development

A rendering for a proposed development at the old Essa Road fairgrounds in Barrie, Ont. (Courtesy: City of Barrie)

It appears that developing the long-vacant property known as the old Barrie Fairgrounds won’t be starting anytime soon.

The City of Barrie has had its request for provincial intervention to expedite some of the planning process denied.

In March 2023, city council voted to submit a Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA) application to the province. That was a tool meant to expedite the approval process for certain developments as the province works towards building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

However, in a letter dated Jan. 10 posted to the City’s website, the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra says that the CIHA tool was removed as an option shortly after the city’s submission.

Calandra says work then began to determine if the application should be considered as an Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) request, which gives the minister the power to regulate the use of land. The Minister wrote that Barrie did not respond to that consultation request.

“It remains unclear why this proposal requires Ministerial zoning relief and could not be advanced through the municipal planning process,” Calandra writes in his letter.

The request by council was made after months of back and forth over a proposal to revamp the lands along Essa Road near Hwy. 400 that have sat largely vacant for about 20 years. Currently the Barrie Curling Club is the only major tenant on the property.

The proposal from Greenworld Development has multiple high-rise towers and several townhomes, collectively bringing more than 4,000 units to Barrie. It also has about six acres set aside for a new school. However, with multiple school boards interested and nearby traffic implications, city council voted to submit a CIHA application to help get multiple ministries on board.

In his written response to the Calandra, Mayor Nuttall specified that council had hoped the province would step in to establish the “land use planning principles” on the site and provide clarity on a planned school for the area.

Currently, plans have one plot of land for one school on the development. However there are multiple local school boards interested in acquiring that land, something Nuttall says is out of the City’s control.

The mayor has also requested further clarity on environmental and archaeological issues highlighted by Calandra in his letter.

Nuttall has also reached out to Minister of Education and Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop. Nuttall says that the proposal has one 6 acre school block that could be used for one site or a joint school block.

“The issue of which school board will develop on this site however is outside of our local control and we continue to seek assistance to resolve this matter,” Nuttall wrote to Dunlop.

While the property has remained largely vacant for roughly two decades, the Barrie Curling Club (BCC) remains the only existing tenant, with a lease extending well into the next century.

There have been concerns that the current plans will encroach on the club’s footprint.

To alleviate those concerns, councillors submitted the CIHA with an amendment that it is not transferrable, meaning whatever zoning decisions are made through the application will not stand if the ownership of the property ever changes to a new developer.

According to the mayor’s letters, city planning staff are working with the developers to address outstanding issues.