The City of Barrie is creating a new Community Planning Permit System for the Allandale Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) and Urban Growth Centre (downtown).

The Allandale MTSA will be created first. The downtown (Urban Growth Centre) and Bradford Street corridor will be studied in a future phase.

Current Status (Updated May 7, 2026):

• The Staff Report and CPPS materials for the Allandale MTSA Community Planning Permit By-law will be presented to General Committee on June 3, 2026 (these items were deferred from the May 6, 2026 General Committee Meeting).
• The draft CPPS by-law included revised mapping provided below.

Schedules A, B, E, & D (updated mapping), to the Allandale MTSA Community Planning Permit By-law:

• Community Planning Permit System Area and Allandale Major Transit Station Area Boundaries
• Heritage Properties
• Community Planning Permit Districts
• Transportation Network

Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) Explained

A Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) is a tool that municipalities, like Barrie, can use to streamline and improve the development approval process. It combines zoning, site plan, and minor variances under a single application and efficient approval process. This reduces the review and approval timelines to 45 days. Once a permit is issued, landowners can proceed directly to a building permit application, bypassing the traditional multi-step process.

A CPPS is implemented through a Community Planning Permit By-law, which sets out the development standards, or "rules" for an area (similar to a zoning bylaw). This includes:

• Boundaries of the area covered by the CPPS
  • Permitted uses and standards – what kinds of buildings and activities (land uses) are allowed on a property. It includes conditions for approval, how tall buildings can be, how far they must be from the street (setback), and how dense the development can be.
  • Community benefits – for example, taller buildings and greater density could be allowed when they deliver benefits like affordable housing, public art, or open spaces.
• A CPPS also includes extra features: Conditional uses: Some activities or buildings are allowed only if specific conditions are met.
  • Exemptions: Some classes of development or activities don’t need a development permit but still need a building permit.

A CPPS also allows for flexibility in the rules. The City can approve changes to some requirements. This includes adjusting a setback or height, as long as it stays within the limits in the CPPS

The CPPS project is a key initiative under the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Action Plan.

Once approved, the Allandale Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) CPPS will apply only to the Allandale MTSA; replacing the Zoning By-law and Site Plan Control By-law in these areas. The rest of the city will continue to follow Zoning By-law 2009-141 (this will stay in place until a new comprehensive zoning by-law takes over).

This is a city-led project, and includes the expertise of Hertel Planning, who have engaged the following topic-specific consultants:

• Agent Urban – Heritage & Community Design
• Perkins&Will – Community Design
• LURA – Communications & Public Engagement
• NBLC – Housing Market Analysis

CLOSED: Responses to this survey were accepted until January 19, 2026.

Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) Survey: Downtown & Allandale Major Transit Station Area

Thank you for taking part in this survey.

The City of Barrie is exploring the use of a community planning permit system (CPPS) for Downtown and the Allandale Major Transit Station Area. Please review the information on the project page at BuildingBarrie.ca/CPPS before taking the survey.

Your input will help shape the development of the CPPS, including community priorities and the process itself. The survey will inform a draft CPPS By-law, which will be shared with the community for further consultation in 2026.

Responses will be accepted until January 19, 2026.

This survey will take 8–10 minutes to complete.

Project update as of February 9, 2026:

Based on the survey findings and early project feedback, the City is adjusting the study area for the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) project. At this time the downtown (Urban Growth Centre), including the Bradford Street corridor, requires closer analysis. Survey responses highlighted challenges in this area related to safety, social disorder, and economic uncertainty. These are not challenges that a CPPS can directly address in the short term.

In contrast, the Allandale Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) includes an established residential community, and feedback indicates that the primary concerns relate to built-form, tree preservation, and development impacts on existing homes. A CPPS is well-suited to address these items.

To ensure the project remains responsive to community needs, the CPPS will move forward using a phased approach. This phased implementation still fulfills our commitment to complete the full CPPS study area in accordance with the Housing Accelerator Fund obligations, while allowing us to begin where the tool is most effective and where it can immediately address identified matters. The Allandale MTSA will be studied first, and the downtown (Urban Growth Centre) and Bradford Street corridor will be examined in a future phase.