120-unit, seven-storey senior citizens home and a 125-unit, three-storey retirement home on 6.8 acres of land at 10 and 20 Little Lake Dr.
'The Landing on Little Lake' has come down hard.
Residents gave plans for senior citizens and retirement homes on Cedar Park Campgrounds a rough ride at Monday's public meeting.
It was for an application for approvals needed to build a 120-unit, seven-storey senior citizens home and a 125-unit, three-storey retirement home on 6.8 acres of land at 10 and 20 Little Lake Dr.
"I want to know how you are protecting the residents who are already there," said Little Lake Drive resident Lorraine Cowan. "Does anyone here (city council) ever come down to Little Lake?"
Lucie Fournier, another Little Lake resident, says people who live in the area aren't being considered when development is being planned.
"At the end of the day there are people who live there," she said. "A little respect would go a long way."
Mark Oschefski, 27, says he was born in Barrie and can't believe how residents near Little Lake are being treated.
"There is no communication between the city and the community and the development that is happening," he said. "That is a big fear for the residents.
"I'm thinking of moving out of Barrie," said Oschefski, also a Little Lake Drive resident, "and I have lived here my whole life."
Residents were not only expressing concerns about 'The Landing on Little Lake' on Monday, but how construction of a nearby seniors' development was impacting their lives. This is a project of 510 seniors condo and retirement home units, as well as an office building geared to seniors, being built on nearly 11 acres of land south of Little Lake Drive, east of Duckworth Street and north of Highway 400.
Coun. Doug Shipley, who represents this part of Barrie, disputed any lack of communication between the city and its residents, either at the proposed seniors' development or the one already being built.
"As far as I am concerned, no one is being ignored," he said. "Have there been issues? Absolutely."
The developer, through planner Ray Duhamel of the Jones Consulting Group, has held two open houses about 'The Landing on Little Lake' – the first in April of 2010, the second in December of 2011. The second meeting offered three different alternatives for the property, with architect sketches. There was an informal vote on the plan and support was equal among the three choices.
City staff said residents within 400 metres of 10 and 20 Little Lake Dr. were notified of Monday's public meeting, but since most tenants of Cedar Park Campgrounds are renters, they were not notified.
But Cowan said the problem is not that residents had no information or input about the projects; the problem is that the developer isn't listening she said.
Oschefski said only a small number of Little Lake Drive residents attended the open house meetings, and the rest were seniors looking into the project itself.
Shipley disputes this.
"I was at those meetings," he said. "Most were residents."
The senior citizens home would have self-contained, small condo units and shared parking and dining with the retirement home. The latter would have no self-contained units but common areas for dining, medical and personal services. There would be a public walking trail and shoreline restoration.
"We're not providing a nursing home or a home for the aged," Duhamel said. ""It's not a facility that requires 100% care, full-time."
Fournier asked about who would live there, whether it would be seniors or seniors buying the units and renting them to others.
"We have enough students hanging out at Little Lake," she said. "How are you going to govern that?"
"You can't say you have to be 65 years old to live in those units," Duhamel said, "but it will be marketed that way."
"The city has no ability to control the income level of anyone who lives anywhere," said Mayor Jeff Lehman. "Nor should we."
Major roadwork is also scheduled for this area, beginning this summer.
A July construction start is likely for Barrie's Duckworth Street, Cundles Road and Highway 400 area.
The $42-million project will reconstruct Cundles Road East from Livingstone Street to Duckworth, reconstruct Duckworth from Cundles Road to Bernick Drive -- including a new Highway 400 bridge structure and inter-change -- and realign Little Lake Drive from Duckworth to Cundles.
New storm sewers, water-mains, sanitary sewers, traffic signals, sidewalks, street lights and storm management ponds are also included.
Shipley expects the tender to be awarded in June.
The federal government will pay as much as $14 million of the cost, Ontario's Transportation Ministry a maximum of $19 million and the city's tab is $9 million, plus any cost over-runs.
Monday's public meeting concerned applications to amend this property's Official Plan designation and zoning to general commercial, and to have a senior citizen home and retirement home as permitted uses under this designation and zoning.
A public meeting is one of the first stages in Barrie's planning process. These applications will now go to city planning staff for a report to city councillors. Bob Bruton - Examiner
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