unimaginative2
Senior Member
It's patently obvious that regional government is the solution.
Simcoe's struggle with urban upheaval
The county may need stronger government to manage its rapid growth and meet Queen's Park directives
JAMES RUSK
July 3, 2007
When Torontonians make the trek north to cottage country every weekend, the signs of development pressure following them up Highway 400 into Simcoe County are visible all along the way.
Whether the marker of change is a crane in Barrie or a billboard for a new subdivision in Innisfil Township, there is no doubt that the kind of urban upheaval that transformed sleepy market towns like Markham and Newmarket into the Toronto exurbs has leapfrogged the Holland March.
And the pressure is not likely to let up.
Under the province's plan for population growth in Central Ontario, Simcoe County and the two cities inside it - Barrie and Orillia - are slated to grow by another 240,000 people by 2031.
For the past three years, the county has been wrestling with how to manage rapid growth while meeting provincial directives that urban development be transit friendly, provide jobs close to where people live and minimize the impact on the environment.
Growth has also put another, less-obvious strain on Simcoe County. Its current weak system of county governance may have to change if it is to adequately manage growth - and that is an issue that many of its local politicians don't want to talk about much.
The province's fastest-growing county is governed by a council made up of councillors representing lower-tier municipalities and headed by a warden whose function is more honorary than powerful.
Since the creation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954, the province has responded to municipal weakness by forcing amalgamations and restructuring on local government, including the creation of strong regional governments, like those in Peel, Halton, York and Durham, which have done much of the heavy lifting as the province urbanized.
In the case of Simcoe, the provincial government has so far taken a different tack, perhaps because the current government came to office with Dalton McGuinty promising not to force municipal restructuring.
In August, 2004, the province started discussions with municipalities in south Simcoe and Barrie, where the growth pressures are the greatest, and in early 2005, agreed to finance a series of studies that would set a baseline for the development of a growth strategy and new official plan.
At the same time, the province passed two other laws that will shape development in Simcoe - the creation of a greenbelt around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which shifts growth pressure into Simcoe, and Places to Grow, a law that imposes population growth targets on the county, Barrie and Orillia.
Provincial ministers have made it clear in meetings with the county that Queen's Park expects the county to prepare a new growth-management plan that will shape an official plan that conforms with Places to Grow.
"This is the right place to see a plan led," Simcoe Warden Tony Guergis said in an interview.
Mr. Guergis, who has to strike a balance among 16 municipalities with widely varying degrees of development pressure, talked only of "baby steps" when asked whether the massive change that development is bringing to Simcoe means restructuring county government.
But Doug White, the mayor of Bradford-East Gwillumbury, described the way the county is governed as "the gorilla in the room" that no one wants to talk about but, when one considers the future of the county, "a serious look at governance is crucial."
The consultant's report on how to implement its proposed growth management plan for Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia suggests that the county take on powers and responsibilities similar to a regional government, such as approving city and municipal plans and being responsible for services like water and wastewater.
One consultant who has been following the issues in Simcoe said the province is hoping the county and the two cities can reach an incremental solution to the problems posed by the growth pressures.
A solution would be an agreement between Barrie and Innisfil on a modest expansion of Barrie in return for Innisfil's access to Barrie water and sewage treatment, and an agreement among south Simcoe municipalities for joint servicing of new growth.
That is essentially a local solution, and it could be acceptable in the county as it would allow it to support northern municipalities from the taxes generated by southern growth, said the consultant who asked not be named as he has provided advice both locally and to the province.
But he said there are two major political obstacles in the way of a local response - historical animosity between the county and Barrie, which has in the past responded to growth pressure by annexing adjacent land, and the current weakness of Barrie's council under a mayor who is facing a police investigation.
If a local solution is not found, the province may be forced to act, he said.
If it restructures local government, Queen's Park would have a range of options before it, including the creation of a regional government, or an even more extreme solution, such as splitting the county by creating a new single-tier municipality out of the southern municipalities that are under growth pressure.
However, he said, Simcoe, Barrie and Orillia have until at least the end of the year to show that they can come together to manage growth, as the province would not propose any change in governance until after the fall Ontario election.
*****
The issues
Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia are grappling with four critical growth and development issues. The solution may require changing how the region is governed.
1. Where to grow
The province's Places to Grow legislation anticipates that 240,000 new residents will be added as the area's population grows to 677,000 by 2031. However, the growth has not yet been allocated among the three.
Until it is, Simcoe County and its constituent municipalities cannot prepare official plans in line with the law.
2. The Barrie-Innisfil border
Barrie is close to building out all its developable land, but has a surplus sewer and water treatment capacity. Neighbouring Innisfil Township needs sewer and water services for land it wants for employment lands south of Barrie.
The two have been trying to negotiate a deal with the assistance of a provincial facilitator.
3. Who calls the shots
There is no clear mechanism by which the county and the two cities, which are independent of the county, can co-ordinate growth and development. This leaves the province as the final arbiter on issues such as urban boundary expansion or population targets.
While the province expects the county to take the lead in creating a growth management plan and co-ordinating development in its 16 constituent municipalities, it actually plays a minor role, apart from maintaining regional roads, in the provision of the infrastructure that shapes development.
4. Who pays
While studies indicate that development charges could pay most of the tab - $650-million is needed for sewer and water alone in the next two and half decades - Simcoe and its member municipalities need a clear financial plan for the future capital needs.
Queen's Park has indicated that it will not provide any help if the county does not get its growth management plans to conform with provincial policy.
James Rusk
*****
What's putting the heat on Simcoe?
Two provincially-funded studies have come up with an imposing list of the critical factors shaping growth and development in Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia. Here are some key ones:
The pressure for expanding urban boundaries and building new subdivisions is concentrated in the south end of the county.
At least 15 per cent of added population will be located within the built-up areas of Barrie, Orillia and the county.
The existing supply of land approved for urban development would more than meet the county's needs for the next 25 years, but is not always located in the most appropriate places. Much of it is in municipalities that have little development pressure on them, while others, such as Barrie, do not have enough to meet demand.
It will cost $650-million to expand water and wastewater treatment to accommodate growth.
More than 99 per cent of the trips in the area are by private car and the volume of traffic is expected to double over the next 20 to 30 years.
Barrie and Bradford have the most well-developed local and inter-regional transit.
The key areas for employment growth are the Barrie area, New Tecumseh and Bradford West Gwillumbury.
The two main watersheds in the area - Lake Simcoe and the Nottawasaga River - are already being negatively affected by development.
The only way to have growth and stay within discharge targets for pollutants is to aggressively adopt best management practices for agriculture and water treatment.
James Rusk
Simcoe's struggle with urban upheaval
The county may need stronger government to manage its rapid growth and meet Queen's Park directives
JAMES RUSK
July 3, 2007
When Torontonians make the trek north to cottage country every weekend, the signs of development pressure following them up Highway 400 into Simcoe County are visible all along the way.
Whether the marker of change is a crane in Barrie or a billboard for a new subdivision in Innisfil Township, there is no doubt that the kind of urban upheaval that transformed sleepy market towns like Markham and Newmarket into the Toronto exurbs has leapfrogged the Holland March.
And the pressure is not likely to let up.
Under the province's plan for population growth in Central Ontario, Simcoe County and the two cities inside it - Barrie and Orillia - are slated to grow by another 240,000 people by 2031.
For the past three years, the county has been wrestling with how to manage rapid growth while meeting provincial directives that urban development be transit friendly, provide jobs close to where people live and minimize the impact on the environment.
Growth has also put another, less-obvious strain on Simcoe County. Its current weak system of county governance may have to change if it is to adequately manage growth - and that is an issue that many of its local politicians don't want to talk about much.
The province's fastest-growing county is governed by a council made up of councillors representing lower-tier municipalities and headed by a warden whose function is more honorary than powerful.
Since the creation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954, the province has responded to municipal weakness by forcing amalgamations and restructuring on local government, including the creation of strong regional governments, like those in Peel, Halton, York and Durham, which have done much of the heavy lifting as the province urbanized.
In the case of Simcoe, the provincial government has so far taken a different tack, perhaps because the current government came to office with Dalton McGuinty promising not to force municipal restructuring.
In August, 2004, the province started discussions with municipalities in south Simcoe and Barrie, where the growth pressures are the greatest, and in early 2005, agreed to finance a series of studies that would set a baseline for the development of a growth strategy and new official plan.
At the same time, the province passed two other laws that will shape development in Simcoe - the creation of a greenbelt around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which shifts growth pressure into Simcoe, and Places to Grow, a law that imposes population growth targets on the county, Barrie and Orillia.
Provincial ministers have made it clear in meetings with the county that Queen's Park expects the county to prepare a new growth-management plan that will shape an official plan that conforms with Places to Grow.
"This is the right place to see a plan led," Simcoe Warden Tony Guergis said in an interview.
Mr. Guergis, who has to strike a balance among 16 municipalities with widely varying degrees of development pressure, talked only of "baby steps" when asked whether the massive change that development is bringing to Simcoe means restructuring county government.
But Doug White, the mayor of Bradford-East Gwillumbury, described the way the county is governed as "the gorilla in the room" that no one wants to talk about but, when one considers the future of the county, "a serious look at governance is crucial."
The consultant's report on how to implement its proposed growth management plan for Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia suggests that the county take on powers and responsibilities similar to a regional government, such as approving city and municipal plans and being responsible for services like water and wastewater.
One consultant who has been following the issues in Simcoe said the province is hoping the county and the two cities can reach an incremental solution to the problems posed by the growth pressures.
A solution would be an agreement between Barrie and Innisfil on a modest expansion of Barrie in return for Innisfil's access to Barrie water and sewage treatment, and an agreement among south Simcoe municipalities for joint servicing of new growth.
That is essentially a local solution, and it could be acceptable in the county as it would allow it to support northern municipalities from the taxes generated by southern growth, said the consultant who asked not be named as he has provided advice both locally and to the province.
But he said there are two major political obstacles in the way of a local response - historical animosity between the county and Barrie, which has in the past responded to growth pressure by annexing adjacent land, and the current weakness of Barrie's council under a mayor who is facing a police investigation.
If a local solution is not found, the province may be forced to act, he said.
If it restructures local government, Queen's Park would have a range of options before it, including the creation of a regional government, or an even more extreme solution, such as splitting the county by creating a new single-tier municipality out of the southern municipalities that are under growth pressure.
However, he said, Simcoe, Barrie and Orillia have until at least the end of the year to show that they can come together to manage growth, as the province would not propose any change in governance until after the fall Ontario election.
*****
The issues
Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia are grappling with four critical growth and development issues. The solution may require changing how the region is governed.
1. Where to grow
The province's Places to Grow legislation anticipates that 240,000 new residents will be added as the area's population grows to 677,000 by 2031. However, the growth has not yet been allocated among the three.
Until it is, Simcoe County and its constituent municipalities cannot prepare official plans in line with the law.
2. The Barrie-Innisfil border
Barrie is close to building out all its developable land, but has a surplus sewer and water treatment capacity. Neighbouring Innisfil Township needs sewer and water services for land it wants for employment lands south of Barrie.
The two have been trying to negotiate a deal with the assistance of a provincial facilitator.
3. Who calls the shots
There is no clear mechanism by which the county and the two cities, which are independent of the county, can co-ordinate growth and development. This leaves the province as the final arbiter on issues such as urban boundary expansion or population targets.
While the province expects the county to take the lead in creating a growth management plan and co-ordinating development in its 16 constituent municipalities, it actually plays a minor role, apart from maintaining regional roads, in the provision of the infrastructure that shapes development.
4. Who pays
While studies indicate that development charges could pay most of the tab - $650-million is needed for sewer and water alone in the next two and half decades - Simcoe and its member municipalities need a clear financial plan for the future capital needs.
Queen's Park has indicated that it will not provide any help if the county does not get its growth management plans to conform with provincial policy.
James Rusk
*****
What's putting the heat on Simcoe?
Two provincially-funded studies have come up with an imposing list of the critical factors shaping growth and development in Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia. Here are some key ones:
The pressure for expanding urban boundaries and building new subdivisions is concentrated in the south end of the county.
At least 15 per cent of added population will be located within the built-up areas of Barrie, Orillia and the county.
The existing supply of land approved for urban development would more than meet the county's needs for the next 25 years, but is not always located in the most appropriate places. Much of it is in municipalities that have little development pressure on them, while others, such as Barrie, do not have enough to meet demand.
It will cost $650-million to expand water and wastewater treatment to accommodate growth.
More than 99 per cent of the trips in the area are by private car and the volume of traffic is expected to double over the next 20 to 30 years.
Barrie and Bradford have the most well-developed local and inter-regional transit.
The key areas for employment growth are the Barrie area, New Tecumseh and Bradford West Gwillumbury.
The two main watersheds in the area - Lake Simcoe and the Nottawasaga River - are already being negatively affected by development.
The only way to have growth and stay within discharge targets for pollutants is to aggressively adopt best management practices for agriculture and water treatment.
James Rusk
