There was ‘vigorous debate,’ but at the end of the day Innisfil councillors unanimously approved the rezoning of the south side of Innisfil Beach Road between 25 Sideroad and Lakelands Avenue, to a new Mixed Use (MU3) zone.
The recorded vote put an end to uncertainty, lifting the Interim Control Bylaw that had frozen redevelopment of 30 addresses on Innisfil Beach Road, three homes on the west side of Lakeshore Ave., two on Sideroad 25, one each on Hastings and Emily’s Place, for the past 15 months.
The Our Place Official Plan adopted by council in November of 2018 had proposed the redesignation and rezoning of the lands, and of five waterfront properties on Lakelands at the end of Innisfil Beach Road – part of a plan to re-envision downtown Alcona as a destination.
The new designation would permit the redevelopment of lands across from Innisfil Beach Park as a mix of commercial and residential – with commercial/retail or institutional uses on the ground floor, and residential above, in two to four storey buildings, creating “a more desirable and vibrant neighbourhood.”
On May 8, 2019, council passed an Interim Control Bylaw (ICB), freezing development of the properties, to allow staff to work on the accompanying Zoning Bylaw.
The result was a storm of protest, especially from waterfront residents on Lakelands, who said they had been blindsided by the actions of the municipality, unaware until then that their properties were included in the proposed redevelopment.
The one-year Interim Control Bylaw would have expired in May 2020, if it hadn’t been for COVID-19. Due to the pandemic and provincial state of emergency, the ICB was extended to August, when council was asked to move forward.
On Aug. 12, council voted to exclude the five waterfront homes on Lakelands from redevelopment and rezoning, and to extend the ICB until May 8, 2021 – but on Wednesday night, just over three months later, staff brought forward a 74-page report recommending the town move ahead with the MU3 rezoning for the section of Innisfil Beach Road.
As the report noted, “The current low-density residential fabric is not consistent with Our Place placemaking strategies.”
The rezoning would permit replacement of the existing single-family detached homes with low-rise buildings, housing non-residential uses on the main floor, with residential units above.
Among the permitted uses are retail stores, restaurants, offices and institutional uses. If totally built out, the lands could support up to 42 small, ground floor businesses in 60,000 sq. ft. of space, with 150 to 250 residential units above.
The proposal that came to council on Wednesday included some changes. Some permitted uses, like a taxi stand, were deleted. And after consulting with the Barrie & District Association of Realtors, Barrie Construction Association and Simcoe Homebuilders Association, staff acknowledged that two-storey development was unlikely to be viable, and increased building height to three-four stories (7.5 to 16 metres).
The buildings would front directly on Innisfil Beach Road, with a rear yard setback of 10 metres, and a 3 m. landscape buffer where property abuts an existing Residential Zone.
Tate Economic Research was contacted to update its 2015 retail study, which had suggested Innisfil would have a shortfall of over 500,000 sq. ft. of retail space by 2021. The consultants acknowledged the original study had failed to take into consideration the growing trend towards e-commerce, but provided a positive outlook for the Innisfil Beach Road proposal.
The consultants noted that further justification could be provided by the planned Townwide Commercial Lands Needs Study and Policy Update, scheduled for 2022.
Council heard arguments both for and against the rezoning.
Resident Sally Stanleigh questioned whether, considering the number of Mixed Use vacant lots on Innisfil Beach Road, “it’s prudent to proceed to rezone any more land for commercial... because westill have a lot of undeveloped inventory available.”
She suggested it could take decades before developers embrace the vision of a vibrant mixed-use community, as shown in the artists’ renderings – and that the current homes could sit for “20, 30, 40 years… My marketing experience tells me this is an expensive and futile venture."
Council heard a different point of view from Tylor Martino. The young employee of Friday Harbour, currently studying for a real estate licence, urged council to move forward with the rezoning, to encourage new development that could include restaurants, cafés and galleries.
“There’s one glaring problem that Innisfil is finally looking to fix: there’s nothing to do,” Martino said, suggesting that the rezoning could bring new jobs, new businesses, new activity to Alcona.
“How could anybody not want that?” he demanded, calling on councillors to act. “The decisions made today will directly impact my generation.”
Gord Knox, retired urban planner, suggested that few developers could be found to develop the area of Innisfil Beach Road east of 25 Sideroad – essentially a dead end street with mostly seasonal traffic.
“Alcona is blessed with some fabulous lots for development,” Knox said. “No development is going to occur in this area. The residents are going to be locked into limbo.” He pointed to existing “derelict” houses on Innisfil Beach Road that have been awaiting redevelopment for years.
Knox suggested that the MU3 development would need at least 200 parking spaces, “and I don’t see that here.” Staff proposed the same parking requirements as are found in the MU1 and MU2 zones, further west on Innisfil Beach Road – areas far from the high-traffic park.
Like Stanleigh, Knox recommended continued residential use of the area.
Karen Forgrave also pointed to existing vacant commercial space on Innisfil Beach Road, and the difficulty of attracting development during a pandemic, when e-commerce is replacing bricks-and-mortar.
Forgrave wondered why the town wouldn’t wait for its own 2022 commercial space needs study. “Why are we considering rezoning this land now, when we can make an informed decision after this study takes place in 2022?” she asked, urging council to hold off “until we have more data.”
Michael Stanleigh noted that the existing Mixed-Use Zones had failed to generate the wanted combination of residential and commercial, or the ambiance and main street character envisioned.
“I’m not seeing any of that at all,” he said, asking council to “fix this” on the rest of Innisfil Beach Road, before extending the MU zone.
“Focus your efforts on the long-standing failure to achieve one downtown development in Alcona’s existing Commercial zone,” he said. “Why ruin the area because you have a dream?... Cancel this interim bylaw, and focus on more important Innisfil and resident concerns.”
Council also heard from enthusiastic local entrepreneurs Sergio Navarretta and Alessandra Piccione, who suggested that the rezoning could create new connectivity to the lake.
Piccione described herself as “passionate” about the project. “I want to live in this town, and I want to live and work in this town,” she said, noting that currently, the area of Innisfil Beach Road under consideration is “the exact opposite of what the town intends. “
Choked with traffic and day visitors, “it’s not sustainable.”
With mayhem in the summer months, and people hanging out in the park at night, “it’s not peaceful and it’s not even safe,” she said, noting that residents she had spoken to were in support of development. “Most people expressed a desire to have cafés and shops.”
She added, “This development has the potential to create employment for youth. The location is just such an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs to capitalize… We can make this a place that people can visit.”
Piccione accused those opposed to the project of being insensitive to the needs of families. “It’s not just a town of cottagers and retirees,” she said. The rezoning “is a signal of our future, and who we want to be.”
“It’s hard to articulate how passionate I am about this,” said Navarretta, urging council to approve the rezoning. “Leadership is about making decisions… We can’t allow an elitist point of view to dictate to our town.”
“Show the leadership,” agreed Coun. Rob Nicol, noting that the Mixed-Use zoning was first proposed nearly 15 years ago. “Deferring it for a few more weeks or months doesn’t seem necessary.”
Coun. Ken Fowler said that he could see the need for galleries, restaurants and boutiques in the downtown, but asked if there would be architectural control to help achieve the vision, “so we don’t have a laundromat beside a convenience store beside a T-shirt shop.”
He suggested waiting to approve the rezoning until further controls are in place. “I see the vision. I don’t see the implementation,” he said, suggesting that without Architectural Control, “It’s going to turn into the wild west.”
Manager of Land Use Planning Mary Nordstrom said proposals would be reviewed at the Site Plan approval stage, to ensure the ‘vision’ would be upheld.
“I have nothing against the development,” said Coun. Bill Van Berkel, adding that the changes are going to happen and are needed. “My problem here is, we looked at this three months ago, and we deferred it to next May. Why is this back?”
Director of Growth Tim Cane explained that council had approved a standard one-year extension, from the original expiry date – but there is nothing to stop council from revisiting the issue before then.
“If you can do that sooner, that’s the preference. You want to give people certainty, sooner than later,” Cane said.
Noting that a public survey on the Get Involved Innisfil website had just closed, Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson asked to see the results, suggesting that the economic impact of COVID-19 means it could be years before there is redevelopment. “I don’t think it’s a rush. We need to slow down, listen to the people first.”
Placemaker Gaelen Pierce said that the survey had received “120 responses from around Innisfil,” 61 percent within “walking distance” of Innisfil Beach Park, and a majority of respondents “definitely or partially agreed” with the redevelopment proposals.
Davidson called 118 responses a very small sample size.
“The survey is just one of many forms of engagement,” said Nordstrom. “While 118 may not seem like a statistically significant number, it is more than the amount of people you would get in an Open House.”
Counc. Kevin Eisses asked if the rezoning would impact the existing residents, or raise their property taxes.
Nordstrom replied that there would be no tax implications until redevelopment, and that residents would be ‘grandfathered’ and could continue to live in their homes. The report notes that new construction and additions would not be permitted.
Coun. Carolyn Payne was enthusiastic about the plans. “Build it and they will come,” she said. “I’m excited about this, to be honest. I think this will work. I think this is going to be a great thing, I really do.”
“We have a lot of people who are for this,” said Coun. Alex Waters, suggesting there will be enough pedestrian traffic in the area to support the businesses. “Having that economic zone along there would be an economic driver.”
Coun. Donna Orsatti, who championed the cause of the Lakelands Avenue residents opposed to the rezoning of their homes, said that she had had “a paradigm shift,” after a visit to historic Niagara-on-the-Lake. The community, with its boutiques, galleries and restaurants, showed what could be developed on Innisfil Beach Road, she said.
Orsatti noted that the Interim Control Bylaw was put in place 15 months ago. “That’s 15 months that residents have been held in a frozen state. It’s very unsettling to them,” she said. “I thought about those residents living on Innisfil Beach Road who want that lifted.”
Coun. Nicol compared the rezoning of Innisfil Beach Road to the same kind of decision-making that brought the town the Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre, the Innisfil Recreation Complex, and Uber transit-on-demand.
“See the vision. Begin that growth and that change,” Nicol said. It may take 15 years to develop, “but we need to start somewhere.”
In a recorded vote, support for the MU3 rezoning was unanimous.
“Sometimes we fear something, until it works – and then fear is gone,” said Coun. Orsatti. “I feel our residents deserve the opportunity to have this.”
