Four becomes 28, or does it?
That is what’s being proposed on Duckworth Street properties in Barrie, to turn four single-family homes into 28 townhouses.
Cygnus Development wants to rezone 0.76 acres at 189, 191, 195 and 197 Duckworth St., from residential to mixed use with special provisions for two back-to-back townhouse blocks, each with 14 units.
A public meeting will be held Tuesday evening on Cygnus’ rezoning application at the intersection of Duckworth Street and Mountbatten Road.
But residents are already weighing in on the development. The city has received many pages of correspondence on the proposed development.
Allison Moore says she strongly objects to the proposal in the neighbourhood where she has lived for eight years.
“I feel that the size and scope of this project is not in keeping with the nature of the east end of Barrie and feel that the number of units being proposed is far too extensive for the size of the property in question,” she wrote. “I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to development on this property and look forward to having a say in helping the developer and city create a more suitable design than what is being proposed.”
Cheryl Lawson also disagrees with the proposal.
“I do not agree with this level of intensification and this proposed rezoning,” she wrote. “I would also like to mention I live close enough to be concerned of the negative impact it will have. Privacy issues, shadows, less green space, the transition between this development and single story homes, traffic and noise will all contribute negatively to the neighbourhood.
"There is a school nearby on an already busy street. Mountbatten will become a very busy corridor," Lawson added.
Carl and Suzanne Tomlins want the status quo.
“The proposed rezoning subject lands are within the East End Historic Neighbourhood, as per the draft Official Plan,” their letter stated. “We paid good money to move into this neighbourhood for that reason, to enjoy quiet space with traditional single-family homes. We would like to keep the neighbourhood exactly as it is, no increased population and traffic, and the social problems that come with this sort of development.”
Cate Tilden has concerns about more vehicles on the roads from this project.
“The increased traffic created by this development would pose a safety hazard to the students at the nearby Codrington Street Elementary School,” she wrote. “Many children are dropped off and picked up by parents; there is already some congestion in the area at the beginning and end of the school day. There is also a church nearby which has large numbers of cars coming and going at various times. Adding 50 or more cars to the local traffic in the immediate area would create a traffic bottleneck.”
But Heather Morgan, who lives just around the corner from where the townhouses could be built, supports the development.
“I look forward to seeing more low-rise, mixed-use changes to the zoning of this neighbourhood, and feel that they are strongly in keeping with the heritage of this neighbourhood that already includes a number of low-rise apartment buildings,” she wrote. “This is a very healthy strategy of growth for this wonderful area of town.”
John Batstone has lived in what he calls a stable and established neighbourhood for 40 years and doesn’t want that altered.
“A development that fits into the neighbourhood is all that we want,” he wrote. “We realize change will happen but we want that change to be reasonable and not a developer trying to maximize their return on investment.”
Kevin and Susan Mckendry had similar thoughts.
“The proposed development does not fit the landscape of this neighbourhood and we hope you can see that as well,” their letter to the city stated. “The east end of Barrie is unique and has a long history as a safe, quiet and well-connected community. We are not opposed to reasonable development and change, but we do not consider this proposal reasonable in any way.”
Peter Koetsier has lived two blocks away from the proposed site for 28 years.
“Very simply, the proposed development is not compatible with the existing neighbourhood and represents an inappropriate over-development of this parcel of land,” he wrote.
A change.org petition opposing the rezoning of 189-197 Duckworth St., to mixed-use corridor had more than 540 signatures on Feb. 6.
The townhouses in this development are proposed at 3.5 storeys, with 64 parking spaces — 56 in an underground parking garage, including 16 in tandem, with eight spaces above-ground.
Tuesday’s public meeting on this rezoning application is part of the planning committee meeting, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Once a public meeting is held, the application goes to planning staff for a report to Barrie councillors, who will make a decision on the rezoning.
