Day 2 of an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) appeal regarding a proposed apartment building in the east end heard testimony from a City of Barrie witness on Tuesday.
The OMB hearing is taking place this week at Barrie City Hall after Starlight Investments, which owns the contentious property at 37 Johnson St., appealed a decision from Sept. 18, 2017 by city council to reject its proposal for an apartment building to be constructed in the area of Johnson and Blake streets.
The heart of the issue is a proposed 11-storey apartment building with 222 units. The 1.42-hectare parcel of land is a brief walk from Johnson’s Beach and is also next to an existing 11-storey building consisting of 196 units.
Michael Wynia, a partner and senior land-use planner with Skelton Brumwell, provided his testimony Tuesday saying that the proposal is too big for the neighbourhood.
“It does appear that the city has done extensive research on intensification, and while it’s my understanding Barrie is committed to adding livable units, this area doesn’t fit the criteria for such a development,” Wynia said. “If you look around at the current landscape, you’ll see it is more familiarized by units of a three- to four-storey nature.”
Monday’s witness for Starlight, Eldon Theodore, pointed out the proposed project does fit the area. Nearby transit access and viable shopping area were brought up by Theodore, but those points were rebuked by Wynia on Tuesday.
“There is a bus stop, but it is just one and not directly across from where the building location is being proposed, so I wouldn’t argue it is great transit access for a development of this size,” Wynia said. “Also, the shopping area is a small strip plaza that will not realistically create work for anyone moving into the area.”
While representatives from Starlight and their counsel, Jane Pepino, did not want to comment at the end of the day's proceedings, the city’s legal representative, Peter Krysiak, tells BarrieToday that he's addressing all the logistical issues and doesn't believe this is a case that has residents crying the old adage of ‘not in my backyard.’
“I don’t think that is the case, because the hearing will come down to the Barrie Official Plan policy, which we say does not allow that large of a development on that particular site,” Krysiak said. “The fact that residents don’t want it there is a side issue, but certainly not the primary issue, because that is not the way the tribunal decides these things.
"The tribunal looks at all the policy and how it applies to what is on the ground," Krysiak added, "so our case is that we looked at all the policy and all the features and characteristics of this building and they suggest it does not belong on that site because it is just too much.”
The hearing continues Wednesday at 10 a.m., wrapping up cross-examination of Wynia, hearing from participants from the community and closing arguments.
Editor's note: The Ontario Municipal Board was replaced by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal in April 2018, but cases filed before that date still fall under previous OMB rules.
