While the details are being kept quiet for now, council voted this week to allow town staff to execute a development agreement with the proponents behind the Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village.
And while councillors couldn’t get into specifics of the agreement following an in-camera discussion on the matter on July 17, some didn’t keep quiet when it came time to vote on the matter in public at their July 24 meeting.
Coun. Deb Doherty reminded councillors that she has consistently voted against matters relating to the Poplar Village proposal, and the development agreement would be no exception.
“This is not the means by which we should be planning the last of our commercial and industrial lands in this town. We are significantly giving away our control,” said Doherty.
Coun. Kathy Jeffery said the proposal was an “excellent opportunity for the community.”
“I think the negotiations that have gone on for the development agreement will provide us with those things Coun. Doherty is uneasy about. I think the developer’s vision has been very clear. I’m in support of this,” said Jeffery.
Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer alluded to the difficulty of negotiations.
“I’m not going to convey that this was easy,” he said. “I’m going to leave it at that.”
The Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village proposal for 130 acres on the southeast corner of Poplar Sideroad and Raglan St. was first brought forward to Collingwood council in March 2022 by proponents Live Work Learn Play Inc. and Di Poce Management Ltd.
According to the initial vision for the project presented to council, there will be seven key areas incorporated into the design of the village including a regional health and wellness campus, a market district, long-term care/assisted living facilities, bio-science and medical research facilities, an eco-wellness centre, a regional transit hub, student and workforce housing and sports medicine clinics.
The proponents intended to seek a minister’s zoning order (MZO) — a controversial provincial tool to fast-track a change of zoning on a piece of land with provincial authority bypassing the municipal zoning process — to change the zoning of the property from industrial to mixed-use to allow for the community-hub-style development.
On Nov. 10, Collingwood council voted to officially endorse an MZO for the project.
The decision didn’t come without controversy, with then new Mayor Yvonne Hamlin quickly calling a meeting of the newly inaugurated council on Nov. 16 to revert back to an “in-principle” endorsement of an MZO for the Poplar project until the town and the developer had a signed agreement in place to ensure that what the developer was promising is what will be built on the lands at Poplar and Raglan Streets.
However, the day after the meeting occurred and the new council voted to press pause, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced they had approved the MZO application on Nov. 16.
Following that announcement, Hamlin said work would continue with the developer to come up with a final development agreement for the project.
“This has been a long-time negotiation in response to the minister’s zoning order that was approved in November,” said Summer Valentine, director of planning, building and economic development with the town, during Monday’s meeting.
Valentine noted that senior staff, the town solicitor, the mayor and deputy mayor had been working with the proponent since November to ensure the companion agreement addressed two primary objectives: to ensure a land-use planning process was outlined in the agreement to ensure what is built is as close as possible to what was presented; and to secure commitments for community benefits.
“This is a very positive step,” said Valentine.
Mayor Yvonne Hamlin said she appreciated the work of staff and the town’s chief administrative officer Sonya Skinner on the file.
“It’s been a journey. I am looking forward to this agreement being finalized and the process being able to move on to the securing of businesses and affordable housing,” said Hamlin.
As part of the motion voted on by councillors on Monday, the execution of the development agreement will be contingent on the proponent paying outstanding invoices from the town for costs.
In an interview following the meeting, Valentine told CollingwoodToday that the development agreement is not planned to become public as of now, but that negotiations with the proponent are still ongoing.
“Typically, whether an agreement is made public or not is determined between the two parties,” she said.
On July 24, council voted 7-1 in favour of allowing staff to execute the development agreement with the proponents for Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village, with Coun. Deb Doherty opposed. Coun. Christopher Baines was absent from the meeting.
