Oro-Medonte Township council did not vote on Barrie's boundary proposal at its meeting on Wednesday.
A vote had been expected, but that changed after the mayors of Oro-Medonte and Springwater met with the provincial land development facilitator (PLDF) at the request of the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs on October 16.
At that meeting, according to a note to Oro-Medonte council from the township's Chief Administrative Officer and the Manager of Planning Special Projects, the PLDF requested that the municipalities defer bringing forward reports on the draft boundary adjustment agreements to their respective councils for consideration until the PLDF engaged the mayors in further discussions clarifying outstanding matters and work toward mutually acceptable agreements.
On October 15, Springwater Township council voted 4-3 to defer a decision on Barrie's proposed boundary adjustment.
Springwater council will hold a special meeting on Thursday afternoon in closed session to discuss legal advice regarding the possibility of initiating a judicial review of Barrie's proposed boundary adjustment.
Earlier this month, Barrie City Council gave its blessing to the annexation of 2,150 acres of land, most of it from Springwater.
Barrie has warned that if locally negotiated agreements with Springwater and Oro-Medonte are not achieved, the province could intervene, and financial compensation to the townships may not be available.
Barrie has proposed a cross-border servicing agreement with Springwater as part of the boundary proposal, which the city says would provide water and wastewater services for key developments at just over 450 acres, including housing types, mixed-use medical, commercial and retail, as well as dedicated seniors' housing, and a seniors-related medical campus.
Implementing the restructuring deal would cost the city $39 million. Breaking the math down, Barrie would pay Springwater and Oro-Medonte $15,000 per developable acre, with the bulk of the cash, approximately $22 million, going to Springwater by 2030, and a lump sum payment of just over $10 million to Oro-Medonte in 2026. The city would also provide $5 million to the County of Simcoe for economic development initiatives, and another $850,000 to Springwater, as part of economic development initiatives.
The County of Simcoe has said the proposed annexation and mapping has been rushed.
The proposed boundary changes require the approval of the City of Barrie, both townships and the province.
In 2023, Barrie identified a need for additional employment land, and subsequent studies have determined that additional community land (housing/institutional) was also required to accommodate provincially assigned population targets to 2051.
The proposed restructuring would be community lands in Oro-Medonte and a mix of community and employment lands in Springwater.
Barrie wants the restructuring in place by January 1, 2026.
