BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about the former Barrie fairgrounds, published Feb. 29.
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current trajectory of development in the City of Barrie and to advocate for a more balanced approach that takes into account both residential and non-residential growth.
In recent years, Barrie has witnessed a concerning trend of prioritizing housing development at the expense of fostering employment opportunities and industrial growth. This shortsighted approach has left the city vulnerable and has impeded its economic prosperity.
A prime example of this imbalance is the neglect of annexed employment and industrial lands in the southern region of Barrie over a decade ago. This oversight has severely limited the city’s capacity to attract industries and create job opportunities for its residents.
Moreover, the swift conversion of vital employment and agricultural lands into residential spaces has only exacerbated the issue. The recent proposal to re-purpose industrial highway land in Essa/400 for residential use is a glaring illustration of this misguided strategy.
Regrettably, the City of Barrie has failed to prioritize the simultaneous development of employment opportunities alongside residential growth, a strategy essential for ensuring the long-term stability and prosperity of the city.
The ill-conceived idea of annexing prime agricultural land from Oro-Medonte to establish an industrial park further exacerbates the problem. Provincial policy emphasizes the protection of employment areas and aims to minimize their fragmentation. Annexing Oro-Medonte farmland adjacent to an established residential community in the north end of Barrie would undoubtedly fragment employment lands. Instead, Barrie should focus on developing its existing employment lands along the southern Highway 400 corridor to minimize fragmentation and ensure sustainable growth.
The residents of Oro-Medonte rightly oppose this annexation, recognizing its potential to jeopardize their agricultural heritage and environmental resources. Such a move would destabilize their rich tradition of farming and threaten the environmentally sensitive watershed of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority area that feeds into our vital Lake Simcoe.
Fortunately, there is a viable alternative. I propose that the County of Simcoe, which includes the townships of Oro-Medonte and the towns of Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury, collaborate to address Barrie’s employment land shortage. While Barrie works to rectify its imbalance of residential and employment lands and addresses its vacant industrial parcels in the south corridor, the County of Simcoe boasts approximately 1,900 acres of available employment lands along highway corridors that it can develop on its own.
The County of Simcoe is willing and available to invite lots of industries and businesses to its vacant land. This solution would benefit Barrie residents by offering jobs close to home, which Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall clearly states he needs for all the housing that has been developed. This would also stop any need to annex land in Oro-Medonte and Springwater and preserve a strong urban-rural border.
In conclusion, I implore policymakers and stakeholders, including Paul Calandra, minister of municipal affairs and housing, and Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey, to stop the annexation of Oro-Medonte and consider a more balanced and sustainable strategy like the one suggested above.
As Peter Lavoie, deputy mayor of Oro-Medonte, aptly stated about annexation, Oro-Medonte cannot be expected to subsidize another municipality’s lack of foresight. Instead, collaboration between Barrie and the County of Simcoe is essential to ensuring the region remains vibrant and prosperous for generations to come. Like a good neighbour, the County of Simcoe is here to help and give Barrie time to balance its approach to land development.
Jane Voorheis
Oro-Medonte
