Simcoe County wants the little guys – that’s you and me – to think big, about how to handle growth as 228,000 more people settle in the area over the next 25 years.
Starting Tuesday, the county is hosting a series of public forums. Running through to Oct. 27, some are aimed at the general public, while others are aimed at developers and special interest groups, such as environmental groups.
“We need people to share their thoughts, so we can ascertain trends and theories (about how the communities are already shaping up),” said Mark Aitken, Simcoe County’s CAO.
“After the information is gathered, we’ll work with the consultant to ascertain certain themes, certain wants and certain needs (to create a long-term plan).
“Our area-wide growth plan will be part of the (county)’s Official Plan, which will lay out growth patterns. It’ll tie into all kinds of things, such as how do we deliver services. If we define where residential, industrial and employment lands will, be, it will influence how our municipalities look.”
As part of the plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGHS), Ontario has forecast population targets for municipalities and designated growth centres, which will be the economic hubs in regions, which will keep the GGHS’s and Ontario’s economy humming. Places to Grow has designated Barrie as the urban growth centre and set a target of 150 people and jobs per hectare, which is about triple what the city’s core is now.
Now at a population of 438,700, the Simcoe County area is to grow to 667,400.
A county consultant is disaggregating those numbers and projecting Barrie to grow to 175,000, Orillia to 41,100 and Innisfil to 47,900. There is also an unallocated 76,900 for Barrie-South Simcoe.
As part of the growth strategy, the county has also set up a series of subcommittees to examine an array of issues – including one on refining those how to foster a health and lifestyle, seasonal/adult recreational communities, employment and economic development, municipal finance, and community structure.
That committee will be charged with disaggregating the province’s population projections among area municipalities.
“This truly is the time to think what is best for this region. It’s not just maintaining what we have; it’s planning for what we need. Roads, for instance, are a huge issue. Highway 400 is packed. We have all kinds of traffic issues.
“If we’re going to add hundreds of thousands of people, we have to plan. We have to determine what we will protect (for) corridors for infrastructure and where, when and how we will expand those corridors,” said Aitken.
“This is not a one-municipality issue. It’s a 19-municipality issue. Residents need to be considered in the discussion. This is a big-picture plan. Anyone who fails to participate in this is only hurting himself in the long run.”
The public forums take place from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and will feature a presentation at 7 p.m.
The series starts at the Elmvale Community Centre on Oct. 16, moves to the Thornton Arena on Oct. 18, to the Barrie County Club on Oct. 22 and finally the Highwayman Inn in Orillia on Oct. 23.
A full day, Oct. 25, has been set aside for developers, to meet at the county’s administration building in Midhurst, and the morning of Oct. 26 has been set aside for overflow.
Agencies and special interest groups will have a special session Oct. 27, a Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
“There’s a lot of interest in Simcoe County from a development perspective. We need a growth plan, to get it in place,” added Aitken.
“It’s fair to the people and fair to the development community, so they will know what the rules are.”
