On June 4, the Province gave first reading to legislation to settle, at least for this decade, the boundary battle between Barrie and Innisfil. The actual map can be obtained on any of the websites of Innisfil, Barrie or the County. Generally, Barrie obtains the lands that were set aside, in 1981, as the “moratorium lands” and were supposed to be untouched by Barrie until 2012. Innisfil gets to keep its valuable Innisfil Heights industrial lands at the 400 Hwy and Innisfil Beach Road. The question of how these industrial lands will be serviced is still up in the air.
Perhaps more interesting than the drawing of the line which everyone except a few unlucky speculators had guessed, was what the settlement means to growth management generally in the Simcoe area. In the document “Simcoe Area: A Strategic Vision for Growth” (available on the Ontario Government Website), also released on June 4th, the Province has indicated its intentions to concentrate growth in certain specific centres in the Simcoe Area.
Previously, the County had undertaken a detailed growth management exercise. Barrie and Orillia were invited to attend. Orillia attended but Barrie declined. The working group set about determining how much of the provincially mandated growth (approximately 237,000 persons to the year 2031) would be allocated to each of the 18 municipalities. In the face of a lack of co-operation by Barrie, the working group, which had set aside a 40,000 person buffer to discuss with Barrie, decided to simply divide that number between the other 17 municipalities.
In the “vision paper”, the Province has now stepped in and determined how that 40,000 population number will be split. Barrie will be given 13,000 for a projected 2031 population of 227,000 people. The remainder of the 40,000 will be divided between Orillia, Bradford West Gwillimbury (largely to be added to the “Bradford Urban Area”), New Tecumseth (largely to be added to the “Alliston Urban Area”), and Collingwood.
The Province is promising that the Fall will bring third reading to the Barrie/Innisfil Boundary Act, as well as the implementation of policies that will entrench the population figures set out in the Vision paper and new strengthened policies to protect and promote the strong recreational, natural heritage and agriculture framework of the County. Stay tuned.
For information or advice on municipal matters, contact
Marshall Green at 705-737-1811 ext. 224 or
