Affordable Housing Not Discussed during Public Meeting about Hundreds of Proposed Condos

Two proposals were discussed during this week’s planning committee meeting. 

Condos on Yonge Street - 

227 condos are proposed on a 1.35 acre lot on Yonge Street near Barrie South Go station. Tran Group is requesting the rezoning of the site from residential single detached dwelling to mixed use. 

“Three of the special provisions that we're requesting are related to bringing the building closer to the intersection and increasing separation for the low density residential uses and behind the site,” Karla Tamayo of Innovative Planning Solutions Inc. detailed the five special provisions requested by Tran Group. 

The new building will replace four single detached dwellings located on 667, 669, 673 and 675 Yonge Street. It will have eight floors including ground floor for commercial usage. It will also have two stories of underground parking. 

Councillor Sergio Morales asked about the need for a total 311 parking lots for 227 units for a development near a Go station. 

“227 (parking lots) are required for residential parking and then 32 are required for commercial parking. So that leaves an additional 52 parking spaces” Tomayo said some of them will be used as electric vehicle charging stations.  

Twenty eight members of the public attended the neighborhood meeting held earlier this year. During the meeting the public raised concerns regarding the loss of privacy due to the height of the development, increase in traffic and overflow of parking on the adjacent local streets. 

However, the public turned their back on the public meeting. 

Planning staff is expected to present the report for planning committee’s consideration by late 2022 or early 2023. 

Storage Unit on Tiffin Street - 

Pioneer Family Pools, which installs above ground and below ground pools as well as spas in Barrie, is in expansion mode.

It is proposing to build indoor and outdoor storage facilities on 1.2 acres land on 518 to 524 Tiffin Street. Pioneer is seeking to designate the currently designated environmental protection area into a general industrial defined area.

Brandy Clemente, planner at Jones Consulting Group who represents the applicant, said that after two years of field investigation no natural heritage resources have been found.