A grocery store could be part of what’s growing on the southwest corner of Mapleview Drive East and Yonge Street.
City council approved a motion Wednesday night to rezone these 8.7 acres from agricultural to general commercial, with site-specific provisions.
The proposed development would provide approximately 82,193 square feet of commercial floor area in six buildings, a mix of retail and local services, including a food store and a restaurant.
The rezoning application comes from Sobeys Developments Limited Partnership.
Coun. Sergio Morales, who represents this part of the city, asked for a recorded vote on the rezoning and it passed 11-0.
“I wanted to send a message that Barrie values smart planning principles of new urbanism and people-focused design, as opposed to car-centric design that prioritizes speeding cars,” he said later of the recorded vote. “My goal is that owners of similar properties take notice that this is the new standard for how major anchor developments are to be designed.
“The rezoning of this corner of the Yonge and Mapleview intersections will prove to be significant and define the vision of how this area of Ward 9 and 10 evolves," the councillor added.
Morales has said this is the last area in Barrie that has only one grocery store, which would be the Zehrs Markets at 620 Yonge St., at the corner of Yonge and Big Bay Point Road.
There has also been a lot of talk in the last few years about bringing a grocery store to the city's downtown.
The site-specific provisions in the rezoning would permit reductions in the front-yard setback, an increase in building height to 14 metres and an awning/canopy encroachment for the development of six commercial buildings at 651, 659, 665, 669 and 673 Mapleview Dr. E.
Michelle Banfield, Barrie’s director of development services, has said site-plan approval is still required following the rezoning, which comes with a concept plan that will give more detail on access points and building locations.
South of this property is agricultural land owned by Rainsong Land Development and Crown (Barrie) Development. The draft plan-approved portion of the Rainsong land could be the future home of a recreation centre, library and elementary school, in addition to single and semi-detached and townhouse residential uses. The Crown Development land is proposed for multi-unit residential uses and mixed uses. These plans remain preliminary, however.
A public meeting on the Sobeys rezoning application was held June 7, 2022 and no public submissions were received at the meeting.
The land was the subject of an appeal to the former Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), resulting in a settlement between the City of Barrie and Sobeys Capital Inc., in May 2016.
Sobeys has an existing grocery story in south-end Barrie at 37 Mapleview Dr. W., near Highway 400.
