After a conversation with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, Collingwood councillors came back to meet on Thursday (Aug. 18) feeling more comfortable with providing an endorsement of a minister’s zoning order (MZO) for the Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village.
However, the endorsement is only "in-principle" and comes with some strings attached.
During Thursday’s meeting, Coun. Kathy Jeffery referenced a delegation that took place between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Town of Collingwood at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa last week, where the Poplar Village project was discussed.
“I can’t help but think how far we could have moved this along had our delegation actually been a meeting with the proponents, the ministry and the Town of Collingwood,” said Jeffery. “Given the information we received, we could have done wonders if all three had been at the table.”
“That has been our challenge,” she said.
As part of the endorsement passed on Thursday, developer Live Work Learn Play Inc. and Di Poce Development Ltd. must work with town staff, the mayor and deputy mayor and the ministry to prepare a final MZO for endorsement. The developer also must continue to bear all costs associated with the processing of the request.
“The minister of municipal affairs and housing did agree to make his staff available, and they called this afternoon,” said Deputy Mayor Mariane McLeod.
“I think we need to get moving out of the way of the hospital, out of the way of this developer and out of the way as much as we possibly can and signal that we are working on this,” she said.
The Poplar Village 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.
The developers intend to apply for an 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. In order to apply, the developer needs a resolution passed by Collingwood council in support of the zoning change.
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.
Some of the recent changes to the vision to incorporate feedback from public consultations include prohibiting uses on the site such as financial institutions, short-term accommodations, hotels, motels, and single detached dwellings. A maximum height of 30 metres, or six storeys, is now included for all mixed-use buildings.
According to the most recent iteration of the draft MZO, the lands to be developed must include a minimum of 10 per cent attainable/affordable housing and 60,000 square metres of employment in the form of office, institutional and light industrial uses.
Other new additions to the overall plan include a block plan and a phasing plan must be submitted prior to any building permits being granted for the project, and a five-kilometre, all-season, multi-modal trail system must also be constructed on the lands.
Earlier this month, there were seven options being considered by councillors in regards to the possible support of an MZO for the project.
The staff-recommended options that would have included assigning a “deferred development zone” category to the site were not considered during Thursday meeting.
Instead, the option approved was one initially put forward at the Aug. 11 strategic initiatives standing committee meeting by Jeffery, that included approving the revised MZO as-is while having meetings between the province, municipality and the developer as a condition of endorsement.
“This is an opportunity that is unique. It is broad in scope and it’s transformational,” said Mayor Keith Hull.
Coun. Deb Doherty shared her concerns about Jeffery’s motion during Thursday’s meeting.
“I have no argument with the vision or the benefits to the community, I feel that the wording of the original motion is problematic. There are issues relative to the ultimate delivery. There is nothing in this motion or the amendments that speaks to any protection of those 30 acres for the hospital,” said Doherty. “I don’t think this goes far enough to protect our community from the ways this development could go south.”
“An MZO is a sledgehammer. What we’re really looking for is a chisel,” she said. “I will not be able to support this resolution as stated.”
The in-principle endorsement passed by a vote of 6-1 with Coun. Deb Doherty opposed. Coun. Chris Carrier declared a conflict due to a personal relationship with the developer.
