The final Innisfil council meeting before the Oct. 24 municipal election focused almost entirely on Friday Harbour, with council approving an application to build a new resort retirement development on its property.
Members of the public and council got their first looks at the official plan amendment and zoning bylaw amendment requested during a special meeting of council in August. Seasons at Friday Harbour would be a resort retirement home with a maximum of 155 rental suite units. The monthly rental suites would range from bachelor to two bedroom, some with a kitchenette, others with a full kitchen.
The four-storey development will be situated at the north end of the property along Big Bay Point Road, and will have underground parking. Approximately 40 to 50 staff would be required to handle the on-site amenities, which include a dining room, fitness centre and hair salon and spa.
The approval was not granted without some roadblocks, as two members of the public spoke in opposition during open forum and were joined by another who gave a delegation. There was also an effort to delay the decision on the development to the next council and the resort rental management program that is in place.
Councillor Ken Fowler stressed he had no issue with the resort retirement proposal, as such housing stock would be good for the town. However, his concern was with the way proposals from Friday Harbour continued to change, with Innisfil – and unit owners at Friday Harbour — left waiting for items it had been promised, while the resort continued to get exactly what it sought.
“We’re giving you a rental agreement and we’re waiting; we’re asking for a hotel and we’re waiting. It’s a constant wait-wait-wait while (they) build-build-build,” Fowler said. “I’m asking for some reassurance for the people who have invested in Friday Harbour, the ones who live there currently,”
Fowler is one of the members of council seeking re-election Oct. 24. Two of his colleagues who are not running in the next election came out strong in opposition to the deferral.
Councillor Bill Van Berkel stressed the councillors currently around the table were the best ones to make the decision, given the experience they had with the Friday Harbour file in the past four years.
“Five of this council is going to go; there’s only going to be three here that know really what’s going on,” Van Berkel said. “Five new members – think about this – who know nothing about Friday Harbour are going to make a decision as to whether this is going to happen or not? I feel this is truly unfair to Friday Harbour.”
Councillor Donna Orsatti spoke first to the long-delayed hotel in her comments, which has been part of nearly every discussion on Friday Harbour regarding the deviations or additions to the initial plans for the resort. But with the repercussions of the pandemic still being felt in the tourism and service industries, she agrees with the analysis that building a hotel in today’s economy is not viable.
“Everybody wants Friday Harbour to be at full capacity; they want to be a success (and) we want it to be a success for all the residents there as well,” she said. “I’m hearing that the hotel and conference centre is needed to create the viability and success of the boardwalk tenants – there may be a bit of truth to that – but if you put something in at the wrong time, you can’t succeed.”
The proposal as presented to council had the support from staff, who Orsatti said she and her colleagues had to trust, as they’re the ones that do the homework for councillors and give them the best guidance. While Fowler suggested his deferral request would push the project back approximately 90 days, Innisfil director of growth Leo DeLoyde said a deferral could actually delay construction into 2024.
And with the type of housing being proposed, that didn’t sit well with the rest of council.
“We have an opportunity – a window – to put in a seniors residence and Innisfil needs every opportunity for residences for seniors, at every level,” Orsatti said.
Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson noted the proposal for a resort retirement complex at Friday Harbour had actually softened the opposition from many residents who had previously decried the development at Big Bay Point, as now they could potentially sell their larger cottage properties and still stay in the area for six months of the year while wintering in warmer locales.
While some in the community may find benefits to Friday Harbour they didn’t previously see, Mayor Lynn Dollin did not see a significant change in the discussion around this project.
“Every other time Friday Harbour has come and asked for an amendment to this council, residents of Friday Harbour have been there to support it,” she said. “This is the first time that something has come before us, that Friday Harbour has brought an amendment to us, and all the residents are not on side…. I would suggest to Friday Harbour that there is some disconnect there, and you need to sit down with your owners and make sure you listen to them and make sure you hear what they’re wanting because the last thing you want is your own residents coming out opposing the vision you want to put forward.”
There was also an advantage to the project that went beyond the snowbirds, Davdison said.
“It’s creating jobs,” he said. “We’re going into a recession, so I see jobs for people in Innisfil as being a priority.”
The deferral motion was defeated, with only Fowler in opposition. He was also the lone dissenter when the vote to approve the development was cast.
As part of the discussion, it was revealed that the long-awaited rental agreement for short-term accommodations at Friday Harbour will be in place effective Jan. 1, 2023.
