The Ontario government introduced a bill at Queen's Park on Tuesday that would, if passed, transfer 1,673 hectares of land located in Springwater and Oro-Medonte Townships to the City of Barrie.
Barrie, Oro-Medonte and Springwater councils have approved the boundary adjustments.
There was more drama to the way things got done in Springwater earlier this month when Mayor Jennifer Coughlin used her strong mayor power to secure the township's approval of the boundary adjustment.
The province says the boundary adjustment would unlock up to 8,000 new homes, allow for major economic investments to continue and align with key transportation infrastructure projects, such as the Barrie GO line expansion and the Bradford Bypass.
Under the boundary proposal, 457 hectares of land in Oro-Medonte would be transferred to Barrie, and of that, 274 hectares are considered developable. Springwater would give up 1,126 hectares of land to Barrie, of which 596 hectares are considered developable.
The proposed restructuring would be for community lands in Oro-Medonte and a mix of community and employment lands in Springwater.
Barrie is offering compensation to Springwater and Oro-Medonte for the land totalling $39 million, to be paid by 2030. Springwater would get the bulk of the cash, $22 million, to be paid in installments, while Oro-Medonte would receive a lump sum payment of just over $10 million in 2026. The framework arrived at pays Springwater and Oro-Medonte $15,000 per developable acre. An additional $850,000 over five years would be given to Springwater related to economic development initiatives, and the County of Simcoe would receive $5 million related to economic development initiatives.
Among other things, Barrie has offered water and wastewater servicing to 453 acres of Springwater, 500 City of Barrie waterfront parking passes for five years and access to Barrie's recreational programs and facilities for five years.
"Our government is taking action to support the construction of new homes where it makes sense and is needed most," said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in a news release on Tuesday. "This boundary change will benefit the entire region by protecting jobs and accelerating economic growth in Simcoe County, while laying the groundwork for more people to live here.
The province says Barrie's population has grown by 13 per cent over the last years and the city has no developable lands within its municipal boundary to support future growth.
"Without expanding its boundaries, Barrie will run out of residential lands by the 2030s and employment lands by the 2040s. Given the time constraints related to planning and building, further delays in addressing this shortage will put future housing and employment needs at risk," the government said in a statement.
The province added that allowing home-building proposals to move forward would create homes for 23,000 more people.
Boundary proposal discussions with the three municipalities and the Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator began in May 2024.
The province says the boundary adjustment will come into effect on January 1, 2026, or Royal Assent, whichever is later.
The government notes the boundary adjustment would impact 2.3 per cent of land in Springwater and 0.8 per cent in Oro-Medonte.
If passed, the legislation would also allow the government to make regulations on transitional matters, such as phasing in property tax changes, financial and other forms of compensation, to support an orderly transition for impacted residents and businesses.
