Oro-Medonte receives $10 million package for boundary adjustment

The Township of Oro Medonte has received $10 million of compensation after the province transferred hundreds of acres of land to the City of Barrie.

A long‑running dispute over Barrie’s boundary expansion is now officially settled.

The Township of Oro‑Medonte has received a multi‑million‑dollar compensation payment after the province transferred hundreds of acres of land to the City of Barrie.

Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw said the compensation is justified.

“It helps the regional marketing area be better prepared for employment opportunities in the future, as well as it compensates us fairly,” said Greenlaw.

Barrie will pay Oro-Medonte $15,000 per developable acre, totaling $10 million which was paid to the township as one lump sum received on March 13.

1,129 acres were removed from Oro-Medonte jurisdiction.

“We have to plan not just for today, but for the future and this helps us build our reserves back up to the level they should be,” said Greenlaw. “As the province has asked all municipalities through their asset management to build those reserves up.”

Residents in Oro-Medonte are glad the process is over, however, the result is bittersweet.

“I think that we saw the community come together and showed our spirit and how much we care about our land,” said Oro resident Jane Voorheis. “The bitter part, I think, is that we did not want this annexation process to go ahead, but we do feel that the compensation is good and that we will go forward and hope that the land remains residential and not industrial.

In late February, Barrie and Springwater Township signed their compensation agreement under Bill 76 which will see $22 million transfer over the next five years, going towards the township’s economic development.

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall was unavailable for comment but in an interview with CTV News on March 11, Nuttall said the two sides were working on a deal which would be resolved soon, with both parties looking to the government for assistance.

“The other side of this is $10 million,” said Nuttall. “It’s certainly a much smaller conversation to have but we’ll certainly continue to work with the province on that to deliver whatever they expect.”

Greenlaw said no one wants to give up land but was satisfied with the result.

“We did get something and we did everything within our possibility to ensure that this land is used for community development only as that reflects what the findings were in the Hampson Report,” said Greenlaw. “These lands were not suitable for industrial development, but they were suitable for community employment, development and residents.

Oro-Medonte council will officially recognize the boundary results and compensation at a council meeting on Wed., March 25.