A minister’s zoning order was approved by the province for the Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village on the same day as the new Collingwood council voted in a special meeting to ask the minister to press pause on a decision on the project.
In the first decision of the term, the new Collingwood council voted to press pause on the endorsement of a minister’s zoning order (MZO) for the Poplar Regional Health and Wellness Village project at their Nov. 16 special council meeting, marking the first major decision of their term. Also dated Nov. 16, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing posted an order on the Ontario.ca website on Nov. 17 approving the change in zoning for the land.
“On behalf of Di Poce Management Limited and Live Work Learn Play, we are thrilled that our...project has received the necessary approval from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to allow the transformation of underutilized land into a thriving district with an enduring, fully-integrated mix of uses,” said Max Reim, chief executive officer of Live Work Learn Play Inc. in a news release. “We are incredibly grateful to the visionary leadership of former Mayor Keith Hull, Deputy Mayor Mariane McLeod, Coun. Kathy Jeffery and other leaders for their unwavering support and wisdom, and to Minister Steve Clark, the entire Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and MPP Brian Saunderson for their tremendous leadership and vision.”
“We are now able to move forward and continue working closely with Collingwood town council and the community on delivering Mr. John Di Poce’s legacy of providing state-of-the-art health and wellness and many other exciting benefits to residents of the region,” he 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.
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 developers intended to seek 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.
During a special council meeting on Wednesday night (Nov. 16) before the announcement was made, the new Collingwood council voted to revert back to an “in-principle” endorsement of an MZO for the Poplar project until the town and the developer have a signed agreement in place to ensure that what the developer is promising is what will be built on the lands at Poplar and Raglan Streets.
The decision reverses a Nov. 10 decision of the previous council to provide a final MZO endorsement on the project to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
During opening remarks by Mayor Yvonne Hamlin, she noted there was an urgency to dealing with the issue, which is why she asked for a special council meeting on the matter one day after the new council was inaugurated.
“An MZO is a trump card that lets the province immediately authorize development and bypass local planning rules to expedite a project,” said Hamlin. “I support, in principle, the vision that the developer brought forward. It would be a fantastic addition to our town, but there must be limits and legal guarantees that what they’re going to build matches their promises.”
The motion considered by councillors on Wednesday was to amend the Nov. 10 resolution to approve “in principle” the concept of a revised draft MZO and request the minister pause a decision on the MZO until the town advises that a development agreement has been approved and signed by council and the developers.
As part of the motion, the mayor and deputy mayor would continue negotiations with staff on the file, and council wished to reserve the right to request that the ministry revoke the MZO should the owner fail the develop the project in accordance with the vision endorsed by council.
During the public portion of Wednesday’s meeting, Coun. Kathy Jeffery expressed dismay that some of the mayor’s comments on social media ahead of the meeting and during the meeting required “fact-checking.”
Jeffery said the previous council had worked on the file for months ahead of their Nov. 10 decision and the developer paid for the town’s costs all along, such as the hiring of a consultant to look over their proposal and hold public consultation on the files. She estimated the costs borne by the developer so far approach “several hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“The most recent motion to endorse the MZO was based on solid work, good information and understanding of the ongoing negotiations with the proponent,” said Jeffery.
Jeffery also said that a draft agreement was presented in-camera at that meeting, but had to remain confidential as it directly impacted the town’s position in negotiations with the developer.
“Although we are within our ability to do this, do we really want to be the council that spends its first 24 hours undoing extensive work of the previous council?” asked Jeffery. “There’s been no significant change in the file that would warrant this kind of action and watch a lot of work vaporize.”
“This is a serious departure from the leadership I was hoping for this term,” said Jeffery.
Coun. Christopher Baines and Coun. Chris Potts both said they felt the Nov. 10 motion didn’t provide the municipality with the assurance it needed to proceed with such a substantial project.
“The concept of both parties having a signed agreement for what this will bring to the town is absolutely critical,” said Baines.
“Without an actual agreement in place... it’s extremely important,” said Potts.
Coun. Deb Doherty said she had not been in support of an MZO for the project from the outset.
“However, I will support this motion, because we are asking for a pause,” she said. “I look forward to looking at what comes back in terms of an agreement.”
Council voted 7-1 in favour of Wednesday’s motion, with Jeffery opposed. Coun. Brandon Houston was absent from the meeting.
More to come.
