The Official Plan Supporting an Urban & Complete City

Explore how the new Official Plan's policy directions support the sub themes of an Urban & Complete City. You can provide your feedback on this theme by using the online comment sheet or by visiting the project page to learn about more feedback options.

Healthy Neighbourhoods

Do we have the correct urban structure in place to accommodate growth at both the citywide and neighbourhood scales?

What you said: Discussion revolved around the strategic accommodation of Provincial growth targets for people and jobs, adding to the range of affordable housing options, and supporting transit. Most of the public understands that major growth is coming and beneficial for Barrie, however, they want it to be introduced in a way that still fits into the local context and Barrie’s character as a mid-sized City. The hierarchy of the Strategic Growth Areas (SGA's) will help to achieve this by ensuring that each defined area has its own level of control, to ensure that it is compatible with its unique context and prevent development and re-development from negatively impacting established neighbourhood areas.

Policy Direction: Barrie will establish a clear hierarchy of Strategic Growth Areas in the Official Plan to facilitate the city’s rapid urbanization and transformation into a more Complete City. The new Official Plan will also recognize ‘established neighbourhoods’ and their ability to continue their own processes of maturation and revitalization.

How can social and commercial hubs be reinforced and better connected to neighbourhoods?

What you said: Participants wanted to see more complete communities where services and uses are mixed and clustered closer together.  Social and commercial hubs help to achieve this type of development by creating destinations that contribute to more walkable communities.

Policy Direction: Barrie will foster the development of a network of social and commercial hubs that are well connected and planned to meet the needs of the neighbourhoods and communities they serve.

What are the first principles for complete communities?

What you said: Discussion revolved around the need for Barrie to take a neighbourhood focus so that the needs of residents are well-served; the overall layout based on concession road surveys can help give shape to planning areas and help understand if neighbourhood goals are being met. There was overwhelming support from the engagement activities for creating more complete communities in Barrie. The public has a preference for development that is mixed-use and contributes to more walkable communities – where housing is located close to transit, retail, and services.

Policy Direction: Barrie will improve existing and new neighbourhoods by creating spaces which provide opportunities for Barrie residents and employees to live, work, learn, and connect. At a macro level these complete and healthy neighbourhoods will provide for a range of services and amenities to meet the needs of daily life.

How can Barrie’s urban structure facilitate and promote walking, cycling and transit use while accommodating private vehicles?

What you said: Major themes that emerged from community engagement included more walkability, compact development, connectivity, and safe active transportation. The public expects design standards to target and address these areas.

Policy Direction: Barrie will be strategically designed to integrate and connect a mix of land uses. Movement throughout the city will be facilitated through a hierarchy-based mobility network which prioritizes active transportation. Barrie will also implement a set of design standards for enhancing mobility to support development of a viable transportation system that supports the establishment of a more complete city at all scales.

Community Sensitive Intensification

Where are the best locations for high density housing, and how can it be integrated into existing and new communities?

What you said: This discussion revolved around the potential for Barrie to achieve transit-oriented higher density development downtown and along major arterial roads with connectivity to open spaces and parks. It was also explored how Barrie could encourage appropriate infill, leverage high density housing to offer residents the option of close proximity to urban workspaces, the benefits of mixed-use development, and how high density housing might contribute to sustainable active transportation. Feedback reflected wanting to see density in strategic areas that were well-connected, and that continued to support stable neighbourhoods.

Policy Direction: Barrie will direct highest densities and tallest buildings to the Urban Growth Centre and Strategic Growth areas in both established and new communities. Barrie will ensure that high density housing is integrated into new and existing communities in a sensitive manner through prescriptive urban design standards.

Public Consultation Quotes

"Reconsider the Nodes and Corridors approach as this only further divides the community. Promote intensification in each ward, use the new buildings to provide features the neighbourhoods currently lack." - Survey respondent 

 "An area of the city needs to be a major draw to new residents, including millennials. Perhaps focusing on "cool" condominiums, venues, and activities should be a priority."- Feedback from OP Project Workshop

View more public engagement comments