Barrie City Council Meeting Sparks Resident Outrage over Proposed 405 Essa Road Development

At the last week’s city council meeting held in Barrie City Hall, a range of motions were debated and approved. A significant highlight was the impressive turnout of local citizens voicing their concerns over a prospective development situated at 405 Essa Road.

Garnering more than 550 signatures in protest against the project, the residents made an appeal to the council to dismiss the new development proposal. They expressed unease over the project's augmented density and beseeched the officials to align themselves with the community's interests.

“So because of the possibility of future troubles like this, I think it's going to be much better if you can send a clear signal tonight on this dispute in support of your community,” said Barrie resident David MacKenzie. 

Councillor Nigussie, who is leading the negotiation between the developer Sean Mason Homes and residents, assured concerned citizens of the council's commitment to their concerns and the ongoing efforts to reach a compromise before the matter escalates to the Ontario Land Tribunal. 

While expressing optimism about the proposed settlement, he explained that the details remain confidential for now. “I'm not in a position to share any details publicly as a term are confidential until the minutes of settlement are finalized next week.”

In other council business, the city's wastewater initiatives were reported to have generated a revenue of $125,000 through the revival of a septage receiving program.

I don't see any reason why we can't keep doing this, uh cautiously optimistic, you know, forever. But you know, in terms of the actual dollar value, not quite sure if it's just a straight extrapolation yet, we'll we'll kind of see how this year goes. But I'm hopeful it's somewhere in the $200,000 a year range of revenue through receiving the septage.

Greg Jordan, manager of wastewater Operations Branch, told Council that he is hopeful to generate “somewhere in the $200,000 a year range of revenue” through this program. 

Mayor Nuttall also addressed the introduction of a lobbyist registry and the appointment of a lobbyist registrar. He underscored that the registry aims to document lobbying activities, not stifle communication between council members. He asserted, "The individuals that need to document and clarify this lobbying are those doing the lobbying, not the members of the council."

Finally, Craig Stevens of Downtown Barrie BIA made a presentation concerning the downtown's 350 local main street businesses. With a budget of $684,387, mirroring that of 2022, he emphasized the importance of making downtown Barrie more walkable and pedestrian-friendly. Such improvements, he affirmed, would ultimately support local businesses and make public spaces more inviting and friendly.

Use the timestamps provided in the description to navigate to the pertinent sections of the video.

0:00:00 Intro

0:02:00 Minutes

0:06:00 405 Essa Road Deputations and Update

0:43:00 Downtown Barrie BIA Update

01:40:00 Motions

01:47:00 Motion - Lobbyist Registry

01:52:00 Motion - Wastewater Initiative