It's time to get growing already

It may be time for a higher body to step into the Barrie and Innisfil land negotiations.

For the past few months, the two sides have been stuck in a stalemate. However, it now seems like one large factor may either push the two sides into an agreement, or force either the County of Simcoe or provincial government to find a solution. At last week's Innisfil council meeting, the town heard, apparently not for the first time, that other county municipalities were becoming upset with the apparent stall in land negotiations.

The county, its 16 member municipalities and the City of Orillia are all actively attempting to create a long-term growth plan for the region. Barrie has chosen to act as an observer, abstaining from becoming a voting member on any of the county's growth committees. It's sad, especially since the province has specifically requested municipalities in the region work together, to find out where populations will be allowed to grow, and how those people will be provided with social services.

Cooperation problems have also plagued land negotiations, at a detriment to every county municipality. At the heart of the issue are population distribution numbers, and servicing concerns.

The county's population is expected to rise by almost 230,000 over the next 25 years, reaching a total of 667,000 residents by 2031. Barrie's population is expected to climb by more than 41,000 residents, while Innisfil will grow by over 15,000.

To accommodate the growth, over 100,000 residential units will be required across the county, as will thousands of new jobs.

But Barrie will run out of residential development lands within the next few years, unless the city can expand its borders. Innisfil also needs to start capitalizing on potential industrial growth areas within its boundaries, to meet the needs of the entire county.

Over the last few weeks, town council has heard several presentations on proposed large scale developments.

However, most of those projects can be closely examined until the county's growth plan has been passed, and each of the participating municipalities conform. That's still about a year and a half away.

There are still serious concerns from some municipalities that failure to find a negotiated settlement to the land negotiations will ultimately stall the growth plan.

Growth is coming to this region, whether current residents like it or not, the province has already dictated that. The key will be finding a solution that best services the existing and future residents, with the least impact on social services, the environment and the overall population. The province has trusted our municipal politicians to find feasible answers to these problems.

But neither Barrie or Innisfil seems willing to budge on their positions, with reason. Both have genuine concerns over expanding their tax bases, while ensuring servicing costs stay sensible. Perhaps that's why it's time for the province to step in and set more stringent guidelines on the negotiations. They could act as an arbitrator, rather than a mediator.

Sometimes, when two sides cannot reach an agreement, it's healthiest to have a larger hand broker an agreement. It happens in civil court and work related arbitration cases all the time.

The town has already asked the county to step in to resolve population distribution issues between the sides, but any decision by the county would likely have legal ramifications. Barrie would no doubt question the legitimacy of the county's decision.

But a decision by an objective provincial arbitrator would take the bitterness and pressure off each of the municipalities to decide their own fate.

It could bode well for future negotiations, and give the province a solution to one of its most pressing concerns.

The county needs some progress and solutions. You cannot plan the fate of an entire region without everybody on board.