Barrie’s new Official Plan has been approved by City Council.
The new Official Plan will be sent to the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval.
The Official Plan guides how Barrie, as per provincial direction, will grow to accommodate 298,000 residents and 150,000 jobs by 2051. The document provides objectives and policies for protecting the environment, natural spaces like the waterfront, areas for employment and jobs, and historic neighbourhoods; while also building up the downtown and other growth areas to create more homes and more walkable, cycle-friendly and transit-oriented communities.
Consultation on the Plan began in 2018, and occurred and evolved over three key phases:
- Phase 1 introduced the project to stakeholders and sought their vision regarding priorities and the overall approach for Barrie’s new Official Plan
- Phase 2 built off initial findings once key themes were established to provide policy direction
- During Phase 3, City staff worked with the internal and external stakeholders to refine the policy document and maps
“The new Official Plan is a guide for smart growth and for building a complete community. It provides a level of policy direction that ensures residents, businesses, investors and the City share an aligned vision for Barrie’s future,” says Mayor Jeff Lehman. “Thank you to everyone who provided input throughout the Official Plan engagement process. This Plan will ensure we remain a vibrant, connected, diverse, green and resilient community as Barrie grows at a measured and reasonable pace.”
Barrie’s New Official Plan creates a unified city focusing on the following key themes:
- Urban & Complete City
- Attractive City
- Connected & Mobile City
- Waterfront & Green City
- Resilient City
- Prosperous City
- Cultural City
To learn more about the Official Plan and to view the document in its entirety, visit buildingbarrie.ca/OfficialPlan.
Next steps
City staff are continuing to develop the draft new Comprehensive Zoning By-law and the City-Wide Urban Design Guidelines, which will both align closely with the new Official Plan. During 2022, there will be public consultation opportunities on each. Members of the public can register on buildingbarrie.ca to stay informed.
#Barrie’s new Official Plan (OP) was adopted at last night's #BarrieCouncil meeting. The OP guides how Barrie, as per @ONgov direction, will grow: https://t.co/605AvdOlhg #BuildingBarrie #BarriePlanning pic.twitter.com/GMXEKLjDTd
— The City of Barrie (@cityofbarrie) February 15, 2022