Burlington City Council Passes Recommendations from Oct. 8 Planning and Development Committee Meeting

If you missed our Burlington City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 28, here are some of the highlights of what we did — for a full recap of all the recommendations carried by Council from the Oct. 8 Planning and Development Committee (P&D) meeting, please click the links: Post-Meeting Minutes - Planning and Development Committee_Oct08_2019 / Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Oct28_2019.• SHORT-TERM ACCOMMODATIONS — Staff report, moved by Councillor Shawna Stolte at committeeReceive and file department of city building report PB-71-19 regarding short-term accommodations; andDirect the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility to report back in May 2020 with a short-term accommodation licensing bylaw.Council voted unanimously to receive and file the report, and on the staff direction. Report: PB-71-19 Short Term Accommodations.MY TAKE:I have no issues with Airbnbs that operate as they are intended — they are not intended to replace conference centres or event venues. The problem lies with Airbnbs that masquerade as an event venue or large party. The locations are not set up for that, or the resulting noise, fire and safety hazards. This ends up being an abuse of what Airbnbs are intended for. • RED TAPE RED CARPET / BEDC UPDATE — City Manager's report presented by Burlington Economic Development Corporation, moved by me at committeeReceive and file city manager’s office report CM-24-19 regarding Red Tape Red Carpet update. Report: CM-24-19 Red Tape Red Carpet Update; Appendices: CM-24-19 Appendix A & CM-24-19 - Appendix B; BEDC Presentation: CM-24-19 RTRC BEDC Update Presentation.MY TAKE:I want to thank BEDC, Tim and my staff for participating in the RTRC. All 22 recommendations are well on their way to being implemented. I’m thrilled the City and staff have embraced this. Having these briefings from BEDC hasn’t happened in 8 years, other than a small checklist of how many events were held. This Council and BEDC, itself, have higher expectations — the exchange around incentives from BEDC's presentation is exactly our wheelhouse. So, we can have thoughtful discussions around what we can do in terms of attraction. A huge thank you to Mike Greenlee and the he's work done already in terms with customer service, working with our community, staff and Council. This is a huge achievement for our City. • STAFF DIRECTION REGARDING 2019 PLANNING PROCESS REVIEW — Memo from Councillor Shawna Stolte, moved by Councillor Stolte at committeeDirect the Director of Community Planning to ensure that broad stakeholder perspectives are included in the 2019 Planning Process Review, including residents who reside in proximity to infilldevelopment applications; andDirect the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to prepare an appendix to the Construction and Mobility Management Policy with a focus on Low Density Residential and infill development applications, to establish additional guidelines for established neighbourhood development. The guidelines will ensure that land development does not unduly impact public health, safety, traffic, privacy or environment including flood mitigation in the surrounding area. Staff shall report back to Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee in February 2020 with a recommendation; andDirect the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services to review the city’s policies regarding residential infill development, including design approvals, management of grading and drainage during construction and final certification. Also, research policies that other municipalities have adopted in these matters. Staff shall report back to Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services Committee in February 2020 with this additional information and a recommendation for amendments to the Grading and Drainage Certification By-law 52-2018.Council voted to carry the staff direction unanimously. Original Memo: PD-09-19 - 2019 Planning Process Review.MY TAKE:When we eliminated the site plan process it was to provide more efficiency for single-family-home development, and we were advised that what happened in the site plan process could be captured through individual processes, such as zoning and other avenues. However, we’ve since learned there are still gaps in oversight, particularly with grading, drainage and an overall impact of large homes beside smaller homes — we need to once again review things further.— Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist