:: "Park Place" Lands to be Re-Zoned Commercial ::

Barrie, ON--After weeks of waiting for the Ontario Municipal Board's (OMB) decision, the verdict is in. A portion of North American lands will be re-designated and re-zoned commercial, contradictory to what was previously outlined in the City's official plan. "The City is disappointed that the OMB has gone against Council's decision on this significant application. This issue went before the OMB because we as the city felt that the proposed amendment to the Official Plan and rezoning was not in the best interest of the community, and we are disappointed with the final outcome," comments Mayor Hamilton. "We will be reviewing our options on how best to proceed, and will work with the developer to ensure we get the best development we can for the City."

The original application for an Official Plan Amendment and re-zoning to construct a "Lifestyle Centre" including approximately 930,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 400,000 square feet of office space on 190 acres of land at the north-east corner of Mapleview Drive East and Highway 400 was submitted in August 2002. Additional proposed uses included an industrial building, hotels, a cinema and restaurants. To implement this "Lifestyle Centre" proposal, the applicant requested the re-designation and re-zoning of almost 120 acres of the City's prime industrial lands to commercial. Prior to considering this very significant application Council requested a full financial impact analysis, a retail market and impact analysis, traffic studies and comments from the Ministry of Transportation.

In August 2004 the applicant revised their proposal and the amount of land being re-designated for purely commercial uses was reduced to approximately 94 acres leaving the 38 acres of land east of Bayview Drive in a General Industrial designation. The lands North of the open space area, consisting of 41 acres are being re-designated from general industrial to Business Park. On the 94 acres 1.1 million square feet of retail, restaurant, office, entertainment and hotel uses were proposed. The City has negotiated a settlement with regards to transportation issues in the South end of Barrie and contributions will be required by the developer to assist in minimizing traffic congestion in the area; these improvements will be required prior to development

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