Barrie zoning decision sparks debate
Barrie city councillors took a step forward in helping local businesses create new opportunities south of the border at Wednesday's meeting. But before that, they faced some pushback for a vote from last week.
The empty piece of land along Harvie Road will no longer be zoned for agricultural purposes despite a last-minute push by its owners, SmartCentres Real Estate Company.
"I don't support giving SmartCentres a upwards of $150,000 tax cut at the expense of residents in our community," said Mayor Alex Nuttall.
Last week, in a near-unanimous vote, councillors decided to end temporarily zoning the land for agriculture until it is ready for development, concluding that in the previous seven years, zoning has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential tax revenue.
On Wednesday, the SmartCentres pushed back.
"In our view, the requested interim use represents good planning for the property while we continue to work on the development of the property," said Mark Resnick with SmartCentres.
That development, which has only approved its draft plan, includes an elementary school, 155 semi-detached and townhouse units, two blocks slated for apartment buildings, and a public park. The owners are arguing that temporary zoning until studies are done is beneficial.
"Farming reduces nuisance and dumping on the property while supporting a local farmer as we advance the approvals," said Resnick.
However, the mayor and council didn't budge.
"We are a business-friendly environment, but that is not going to include giving a random tax break," continued Resnick.
Councillors moved forward with work on Wednesday to establish a new sister city relationship with Saginaw, Michigan. The city wants to expand its economic development and business opportunities with other partnerships.
"This relationship with Saginaw, Michigan, came around quite quickly, and we're very excited to add the first North American international relations between the City to our complement of twin cities," said city councillor Jim Harris.
Pointing to the auto sector first, the mayor says the relationship could be much broader.
"When you look at where there is growth, it's in high-tech manufacturing, it's in digital jobs, and so we really want to look at everything," concluded Nuttall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.