Mayor Alex Nuttall will pitch his plan for Barrie industrial development in Oro-Medonte Township to its councillors Wednesday afternoon.
He has identified 2,183 acres of land (884 hectares), both public and private, located east of Penetanguishene Road and generally south of Highway 11 for the project.
But Nuttall doesn’t expect councillors to make a quick decision on his pitch.
“I don’t think so, I think it’s a ‘hey, this is what we’ve been discussing, what are your thoughts?’” he said of tomorrow's presentation. “We’ve gotten feedback from (Oro-Medonte councillors), but that’s not happened in public, to date.
“The feedback we’re getting in Barrie is that it’s needed and we need to do it now and there's lots of Oro-Medonte residents who work at Barrie employers that are also stating that they believe that this is necessary,” Nuttall added. “Everything we’ve got to date that’s been public has been positive.”
And Barrie’s not done.
Nuttall said land in Springwater Township could also be considered for industrial development by Barrie.
“There are conversations happening with Springwater as well,” he said.
In his presentation to Oro-Medonte, Nuttall will lay out the four key principles of the deal — environmental conservation, value to both municipalities, in addition to taxes from employment land and cost savings on infrastructure, employment opportunities for all residents and potential additional housing opportunities.
There is water and wastewater servicing present within the city limits on the west side of Penetanguishene Road. A service-sharing agreement with the Township of Oro-Medonte would also need to be established.
Of the 2,183 acres identified in the study area, the City of Barrie would agree to service 10 per cent of the developable land for Oro Medonte’s use, at the end of the city’s servicing window.
Oro-Medonte would pay all the infrastructure costs associated with its land, with no commitment on timing.
Approximately 10 per cent of tax revenue would flow back to Oro-Medonte, until such time as the township’s employment land was serviced and then it would end.
Or consideration would be given to a set contribution amount.
At a meeting in Barrie on Monday, Nuttall told the provincial standing committee on heritage, infrastructure and cultural policy, regional governance and Bill 234 of his plans.
Those plans are that Barrie could provide for 20,000 industrial, manufacturing and warehousing jobs during the next 20 years if it could work out a deal to use neighbouring land.
The plan includes a commitment to create a conservation area around Little Lake, including the Bear Creek Wetland and the Hewitt's Creek corridor, to ensure this land is preserved in perpetuity, Nuttall has said, and not developed bit by bit.
Nuttall has said that because there’s little or no city-owned industrial land available, Barrie is losing industry and jobs.
Last month, TNR Industrial Doors, part of Hörmann Group Canada and at its Fairview Road facility in Barrie since 2003, announced it was relocating to Oro-Medonte Township, along with its 86 employees.
Many of Barrie’s manufacturers belong to the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC), based in Owen Sound, which has more than 15,000 active members across Canada.
Scott McNeil-Smith, EMC’s vice-president of manufacturing sector performance, said he’s not heard directly from any of its members about the lack of industrial land in Barrie, but he did say that it could be a problem.
“Without enough designated industrial land, you’re not going to get new growth as far as the manufacturing sector goes,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of having a parcel of land, it’s also what’s happening with the adjacent properties, too.
"So what we see a lot with industrial, manufacturing operations if there’s any residential or even commercial or retail space nearby, just the potential noise from a manufacturing operation can result in complaints from neighbouring properties," McNeil-Smith added.
“Typically making sure that there’s land with the correct zoning designations, that’s absolutely important,” he said. “Any experienced manufacturer is likely going to shy away from property where there could be future interaction — not in a good way — with neighbours.”
McNeil-Smith has seen different parts of Ontario where industrial land has been there forever, but residential growth encroaches upon it.
“There’s an importance to having the right industrial space on which to build and certainly if you want to target growth, and Barrie is a high-growth area, you’re going to want to make sure you’ve got the land,” he said. “If you do have the land, there’s a good chance something will be done with it.
“If you do have new industrial development that occurs, it comes with a lot of jobs, a lot of secondary and tertiary economic impacts to the region.”
Wednesday's Oro-Medonte council meeting begins at 1:30 p.m., with Nuttall's presentation scheduled for 2:45 p.m.
