The Interim Control By-law, temporarily freezing development on Innisfil Beach Road east of 25 Sideroad, and five properties on the east side of Lakelands Avenue, is set to expire on Aug. 13.
The by-law was originally passed on May 8, 2019, to take effect for one year – giving the Town of Innisfil time to consider the rezoning of the properties from Low-density Residential (R1), to Mixed Use, combining commercial and residential uses.
The Interim Control By-law was extended past the original one year deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic and provincial emergency order, but now is set to lapse – which is why Innisfil Council will be meeting on Aug. 12, to consider passing the Zoning By-law Amendments for both Innisfil Beach Road and Lakelands.
The rezoning has not been without controversy. Residents with waterfront properties on Lakelands in particular have opposed the change, which they say was pushed through without proper notification.
Although the five Lakelands properties were redesignated in the Town’s Official Plan, adopted in 2018, they were not identified by address, but only through mapping.
The response of town staff: “Planning Act requirements had been met or exceeded,” through the Official Planning process and subsequent online postings.
The Aug. 12 meeting will be held to consider the final report from planning staff, recommending the rezoning of approximately 30 properties on Innisfil Beach Road east of 25 SR, two properties on 25 SR, one property on Emily’s Place, one property on Hastings, and three properties on the west side of Lakelands to MU3 Mixed Use, in three Exception Zones, setting maximum building heights at two to four storeys.
The five homes on the lake side of Lakelands would be removed from the Our Shores By-law, and zoned MU3-4 – another Mixed-Use Exception zoning that would limit building height to two storeys, and apply strict shoreline and environmental controls.
That represents “Option 1.” Council will also be presented with two other options – to limit the rezoning of Lakelands Ave. properties to the first three properties nearest Innisfil Beach Park (Option 2), or to limit the rezoning to the block of properties east of 25SR and west of Lakelands and leave the waterfront properties zoned Residential (Option 3).
Both Options 2 and 3 would create a “mismatch” between the Official Plan designation and the Zoning – something that would require an Official Plan Amendment, as a matter of housekeeping.
Staff are recommending Option 1.
“It is the opinion of staff that the current use of properties on Lakelands Avenue and Innisfil Beach Road east of 25 Sideroad constitutes a significant underutilization of primary settlement area land,” the report states, indicating that low-density private homes and dwellings “are not consistent with Our Place placemaking strategies.”
The report goes on to describe the subject lands as “envisioned as an important gathering place where improvements should be made,” that ties in with redevelopment of Innisfil Beach Park and a new vision for downtown Alcona.
The report also includes a matrix of public comments and concerns regarding the proposed rezoning – including the amount of vacant and undeveloped land already zoned Mixed-Use along Innisfil Beach Road, the impact of development on flooding and Lake Simcoe water quality; and traffic - with responses from staff.
While acknowledging the potential for issues of flooding and erosion, staff suggest that those should be addressed at the time of development, through the Site Plan process and permitting from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.
As for traffic concerns, the report notes that in addition to introducing shared rear lane access and parking for properties on Innisfil Beach Road, “the proposed amendments will be connected to existing local roadways, Innisfil Beach Road and Lakelands Avenue” and developed “concurrently with roadways redesign guidelines as part of the Innisfil Beach Park Vision."
The report makes reference to Appendix B of the Innisfil Beach Park Master Plan in relation to traffic concerns; however, the Appendix deals largely with parking in the downtown. Besides recommending urbanization of side streets, and recognizing intersection queuing and closures of Innisfil Beach Road when parking within Innisfil Beach Park approaches 80 percent capacity, it does not address traffic concerns.
The Aug. 12 Council meeting will take place virtually on ZOOM, and stream live on the Town’s YouTube channel starting at 7 p.m. Anyone wishing to comment in Open Forum is asked to register before Aug. 10 at 4:30, submitting a request on Innisfil’s CivicWeb portal.
For more information, and to view the agenda, click here.
