With a snowstorm pommelling Southern Ontario, and a completely empty council chamber, Innisfil Council heard a presentation of the proposed Master Plan for a revamped Innisfil Beach Park.
The Master Plan calls for more trees and fewer parking lots, but also for more built infrastructure, floating docks, restaurants, skatepark and BMX track, leash-free dog park and commercial development within the approximately 70 acre park on Lake Simcoe.
Residents have been asked to provide their input in the next two to three weeks, even though the final document isn't expected back before council until the end of April.
“I would urge people to go through it. It’s going to be the document that’s going to guide us for many years,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin, addressing the empty chamber. “Tell us what you don’t like, but tell us what you do like.”
The meeting was being streamed live on YouTube. Monitoring showed that 17 people were watching the proceedings as they aired.
Ward Councillor Donna Orsatti, who chairs the Innisfil Beach Park Ad Hoc Committee, expressed concern with the document.
“Looking at this report, a lot went through my mind,” said the councillor. While she acknowledged the amount of work that has gone into the report, Orsatti suggested that the comments she had heard from constituents, residents and the public, at open houses and meetings, “got lost in translation,” and were ignored.
“Our residents have told us consistently that they want this park to be for residents,” Orsatti said. While she supported the proposal to plant more trees, create new natural buffers, gardens and seating, Orsatti called the vision as presented “an Innisfil theme park.”
The report, prepared by 'Vision Maker' and Policy Planner Gaelen Pierce, seeks to present “a bold, long-term vision for the revitalization of Innisfil’s largest urban park,” addressing congestion, over-crowding, and the “underutilization of large swaths of land,” to create a more accessible and pedestrian-oriented space.
The report talks of creating “a mixture of naturalized and urbanized open space landscapes,” of planting up to 1,000 new trees over the next 20 years, and introducing public art in open spaces.
The Master Plan also proposes dividing Innisfil Beach Park into five distinct areas:
. Beaches Place. This is defined as the lakeshore, north of Bonsecours Creek, where the majority of the park’s popular beaches are located. The plan proposes a new plaza area, with seating and food options, including food trucks and kiosks, and an enlarged and accessible washroom with change rooms and rinsing showers. The report also calls for extension of the beaches by an additional 15 to 30 metres, building the beaches back into the park - and requiring the current walkway to be relocated. A large floating pier is proposed at one end of the new plaza.
. Youth Place. The existing Operations Centre would be transformed into an indoor youth centre, for youth-oriented programs. A skatepark and BMX pumptrack are also proposed, within 200 metres of existing homes. The plan calls for a new Operations Centre to be built adjacent to the water treatment plant, requiring new internal road connections. A road exiting onto 25 Sideroad, just north of the treatment plant, is also proposed.
. Neighbourhood Place. Currently the interior of the park, where soccer pitches and tennis courts are located, the area is far from the waterfront. Proposals include a pavilion for special events and weddings, a landscaped area with seating, firepits and outdoor gathering space. The area is described as providing amenities “particularly for residents of Innisfil.” A fenced off-leash dog area is also proposed, along with a community garden, and an outdoor kitchen.
. Gateway Place and Gateway Hills Place - the southern portion of the park, south of Bonsecours Creek and west of the entrance. The eastern half, Gateway Hills, would be developed as a family area, with artificial toboggan hills, splash pad and picnic areas – and a central plaza, where food trucks and kiosks would be located. Gateway Place, at the corner of Innisfil Beach Road and 25 Sideroad would be the site of two to six storey low-rise mixed-use Residential/Institutional and possible commercial use.
. Event Place, also called “The Port of Innisfil.” Plans for the area, in the vicinity of the current boat launch, include a large open square for cultural events, concerts and festivals, and a floating dock to accommodate 100 slips. Plans have been scaled back from the huge dock area originally proposed, that would have blocked off the beaches; instead the slips are located entirely on the south side of the point – close to the intake for the Lakeshore Water Treatment Plant.
A long-term plan calls for decommissioning of the boat launch at Innisfil Beach Park, once a suitable alternate location has been found. The Port of Innisfil would also include at least two permanent restaurants “double fronted to take advantage of the shoreline views”, a marketplace and water-based equipment rentals – providing new “revenue streams” for the town.
The existing concrete pier would be removed, and replaced with a “colorful, wide floating dock structure.”
The report also calls for the creation of “an iconic structure” equivalent to the grain terminals of the Collingwood shoreline – proposing a lookout tower or replica lighthouse, that would “help define Innisfil as a destination.”
“I’m just gobsmacked,” said Orsatti of the Master Plan.
“I have many concerns, on the commercial, the amenities – quite a few concerns,” she said, noting that the draft report was only posted as part of the agenda for Feb. 26, and not on the “Get Involved Innisfil” website that most residents were told to check.
She also expressed concern that residents have only two weeks to respond – and wanted to know when Councillors could express their own concerns, prior to a final draft being submitted.
“Reach out to me, and we can set up a meeting to go into those concerns,” said Pierce. “I can accommodate that in the next two weeks.”
Mayor Dollin suggested that the public engagement on the issue has been “unprecedented,” with three public meetings and open houses, an online survey, and other opportunities to comment. “What we saw here was vastly different from what we saw back in July (of 2019) at the beach,” she said of the proposal.
Orsatti continued to question the need for built structures and retail opportunities within the park, and the potential costs. No estimates of the cost of the components of the design were provided.
“I’m just gobsmacked, with the details and the impact it’s going to have on the residents,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson called the plan a “Taj Mahal,” and opposed pouring millions of dollars into a single park. “We have other parks that need to be worked on,” Davidson said. “Why are we building a Taj Mahal and focussing all on one area?”
He noted that the town has purchased land at the 10th Line for a new waterfront park, and has plans for a multi-million dollar town square adjacent to the Lakeshore Library. He suggested proceeding with those projects “before we spend tens of millions of dollars” on Innisfil Beach Park.
“We’re reaching for the moon – or we’ve shot past the moon,” Davidson said.
“This plan is a long-term plan,” responded Mayor Lynn Dollin, suggesting that the funding for the projects won’t be in next year’s budget.
Although price tags were not provided for individual components of the master plan, the draft report did give some financial information: In 2019, the Town of Innisfil budgeted $318,000 for a docking system at the park; in 2020, the budget included $1.09 million for a docking system and $536,800 for trails and fitness equipment; and in 2021, the multi-year budget proposed another $1.13 for docks, $610,000 for a pavilion, and an additional $2.48 million for a skating rink or path.
Dollin defended the focus on Innisfil Beach Park, calling it “our signature park.”
Davidson pointed out that a number of projects are described as “high priority” in the plan, and suggested that they will undoubtedly be brought forward in future budgets. He also noted that despite the 20-year plan to plant ‘1,000 trees,’ the proposal will actually result in the loss of mature trees.
“When you keep putting buildings in a park, you’re knocking down trees,” the Deputy Mayor said, mentioning the health benefits of green space. “What we’re doing is turning this into a theme park.”
Davidson urged council to listen to the concerns of residents.
Chief Administrative Officer Jason Reynar reiterated that the Master Plan is “a vision plan… If you wait until you had all the details, you would spend years.”
Reynar pointed out that the Town’s Master Trails Plan includes $30 million in proposed trail connections – money that will likely never be found, “but that doesn’t stop us from having a vision.”
He spoke of the need to bring the community “to a point where everybody could buy into the vision. We want to make sure there’s an alignment around that vision,” before coming back with an implementation plan, and a dollar amount.
“It’s a long-term vision. That doesn’t mean it’s all going to happen today,” said Coun. Bill Van Berkel. “We’re trying to come up with a plan that’s going to serve us over the long term.”
“The ‘vision’ includes everything in one space. It’s too much in one park,” retorted Orsatti, pointing to the proposed 100-slip docking system, 6-storey buildings, indoor spaces and BMX track. “It’s a lot in that space, when it’s green space.”
Mayor Dollin noted that all Councillors had heard from residents, during the municipal election, that Innisfil Beach Park “isn’t working” – that there are problems with over-crowding, charcoal dumped from barbecues, bad bathrooms.
“Nothing’s going to change unless we do something,” Dollin said, claiming, “People are saying, ‘We don’t like it the way it is but we don’t want it to change.’ I’m struggling with that. There are people who say, put a Trump wall around it.”
She noted that the park is the only water access for many residents of Innisfil. “If we don’t want to change it, I don’t know where we go.”
Dollin said that most of the negative comments have come from residents who live next to the park “and just don’t want anyone else to use it,” suggesting that those residents have been “over-represented” in the surveys and input received.
Pierce called the Master Plan a large and detailed vision with “very high aspirations,” but suggested that the immediate short-term focus would be on improving washrooms and parking, “because we know it’s not cutting it.”
“I agree residents will be happy to see improved washrooms,” said Orsatti, but she questioned how the plan will reduce overcrowding, since the proposal calls for amenities to be added within the next 3 to 5 years.
“We’ve heard residents can’t use their own park. The more we build it, the more amenities… the more pressure of people coming to the park,” she said.
Council voted to receive the draft report, and welcome input from residents. The Draft Master Plan has now been posted at www.GetInvolvedInnisfil.ca.
“It’s generated a lot of conversation, and that’s a good thing,” said Dollin.
Contacted after the meeting, Pierce explained the short time frame for further input from residents. "Town has an updated staff report review process that requires drafts much farther in advance of Council consideration than you might thnk," he said. "In this case not only am I finishing a report, but I'm also reviewing, analyzng and incorporating comments, which takes time."
He also acknowledged that the water intake for the Lakeshore water treatment plant and the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Water Protection plan may impact the design of the new docking area and 'Port of Innisfil.'
"What this means is the specific alignment of docks shown on some of the diagrams in the plan are for illustrative purposes only," Pierce said. "The size, arrangement, proximity to the intake, etc. would be scoped at a later time once funding of the project is known and specific design criteria are clarified."
As for the controversial mixed-used low-rise buildings proposed for the southwest corner of the park, he said, "The important thing to remember is, just because it's in the plan doesn't mean it would be built."
He suggested that the benefits of the buildings would include new civic spaces on the ground floor, lease revenues for the town, and especially more people and more eyes on the park.
"We want lots of people to use the facilities in the park, when we make those big investments," said Pierce, pointing out that the proposal would required an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and more public scrutiny to move forward.
