City councillors will consider scheduling a public meeting to consider new policies on the design of tall buildings in the Urban Growth Centre

MARK WANZEL PHOTO

How high is high enough in Barrie’s core?

On Monday, city councillors will consider scheduling a public meeting to consider new policies on the design of tall buildings in the Urban Growth Centre, which takes in most of Ward 2.

Buildings as high as 15 storeys are allowed there now, but that might not be high enough.

Coun. Barry Ward says that limit, which dates back to 1989, might no longer reflect reality.

“I think there was some frustration among council that the current height bylaws are unrealistic, especially with Barrie’s city centre being designated an Urban Growth Centre by the province, meaning we will be trying to encourage more residential and office growth in the downtown,” he said.

Ward noted city staff indicate that virtually every major condominium project in the city centre has been granted an exception to the height bylaw: Grand Harbour, Waterview, Nautica, Watercrest, Bayshore Landing and Marina Bay I and II.

These buildings exceed the height bylaw, anywhere from five metres in Marina Bay’s case to 18 metres, or about six storeys, in Bayshore Landing’s case.

“I guess the question is, if we’re giving exemptions out all the time, why not just recognize the fact there is a demand for taller buildings and adjust the bylaw?” Ward asked.

He says part of city staff’s answer is that the current height bylaw gives council more control over the design of the buildings.

For example, the city got greater setbacks above the fifth floor for the new Watercrest building on Maple Avenue, resulting in a more attractive building and one which casts a smaller shadow.

“I’m not sure that is a good enough answer politically,” Ward said.

“Residents sometimes view the height restrictions as though they were brought down from the mountain by Moses.”

He said many of the residents in Bayshore Landing, which got an exemption from the height bylaw, told council they didn’t want the new building across from them to be any taller than the 10 storeys set out in the bylaw.

“They think they are hard and fast rules when, in reality, they are treated as guidelines,” Ward said. “You are restricted to a 10-storey building, but we’ll give you a 15-storey building if you make it look nice.

“If we’re going to stick to the current height bylaw, I think we need to be honest with our residents and tell them a 10-storey limit isn’t really a limit at all, so they aren’t surprised when a taller building goes up.”

Ward says the advantages of taller buildings include greater densities to support transit, protection of farmland and open space, and higher tax revenue to the city.

“But we must be careful to minimize the disadvantages, such as shadows, when permitting them,” he said.

Barrie began experiencing tremendous population growth pressures in the late 1980s; this included proposals for several high-rise developments, ranging from 10 to 19 storeys — which were well above the the downtown’s three-storey tradition.

At the time, no Official Plan policy or zoning bylaw standards regulated height within the waterfront areas of what’s now the Urban Growth Centre.

A height review study in 1989 helped establish height controls and building standards for development in this area.

Bob Bruton