Last Wednesday, council approved a rezoning application that will allow a 33-unit retirement residence to be constructed on Douglas Drive.

Several residents from the neighbourhood attended the meeting and petitioned council to give them more time to look over the plans and spread information to those who may not have heard about the development. However, council said the timing was adequate and the planning was sound, and passed the rezoning unanimously.

Kim Horrigan, director of development services, explained the residence will be located on a 1.2-hectare property at 56 Douglas Drive. It will be two storeys in the front and one storey in the back.

The residence will employ local residents and help serve the needs of the elderly in the community, said Horrigan in endorsing the application.

The town’s economic development department also expressed support for the rezoning.

Cheryl Kelley, director of economic development, said she has been working with the owner for over a year to find a suitable spot to build the residence. They could not find an area already zoned for the project, she said, so they picked what they felt was the best possible spot.

Carlie Willford, a registered nurse, and her husband Todd plan to operate the residence.

She showed council an outline of the proposed development, and said she and her husband plan to live in the front section of the complex. She said the area is an ideal setting for such a home, and they will do their best to maintain as many trees as they can, and plant more if possible.

Several neighbours said that may well be the case, but they were not notified until the last minute and the entire process is being rushed through.

“I think it would be fair to defer it for a year . . . to allow us to go through the plans,” said adjacent property owner Brian Jones. “It seems a bit unfair to just go ahead and change the zoning now.”

Jones suggested the area already has significant problems with water levels due to the Mattamy subdivision being constructed nearby, but he was silenced by Mayor Don Coates who said he was not about to discuss issues related to the subdivision.

Coates also got involved in a fiery exchange with Greg Atkinson, who was formerly a part of the effort to keep Nipissing University out of Jubilee Park.

“This is a great idea but it’s in the wrong spot. You already gave away the park,” said Atkinson. “With Nipissing, you were always changing the rules. What we have there now is nothing like what it was originally supposed to be. Something needs to be written in stone.”

Coates said the present issue has nothing to do with Nipissing, and when Atkinson persisted, Coates cut him short.

“No more,” said Coates. “We’re not going to debate Nipissing University.”

Other neighbours complained the retirement home would lead to increased traffic and could lead to commercial development in the area, but the pros outweighed the cons for council.

“The population is getting older every day and this is something that Bracebridge needs,” said councillor Scott Young.

Councillors assured those in attendance that the site planning phase of the project will ensure concerns over height and stormwater will be properly dealt with.

“I heard the comments of the neighbours, but didn’t hear any that were earth-shattering,” said councillor Barry Young. “We have enough measures in place to mitigate any problems.”