Committee Recommendations Approved at April 20 Burlington Council Meeting

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At the April 20 Burlington Council meeting, numerous recommendations were approved from the March cycle of committee meetings. Below are some of the highlights split up by committee.Click this link to go through the full post-meeting minutes for all recommendations that were approved at the April 20 Regular Council meeting: Post-Meeting Minutes – Regular Meeting of Council_April20_2021. Click these links for the minutes from the: April 8 Special Meeting of Council and April 17 Special Meeting of Council.Minutes from the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability (CSSRA) Committee, Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services (EICS) Committee, and Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility (CPRM) Committee meetings can be found under the “Related Links” header at the end of this post.We called an Emergency Special Council Meeting on Saturday, April 17 in response to the late afternoon announcement by the Province the day before of additional restrictions for the stay-at-home order. Click the link below for more on why we called and held that meeting:

HIGHLIGHTS:CPRM COMMITTEE (April 6)

• COMMENTS TO NIAGARA ESCARPMENT COMMISSION (NEC) & ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY OF ONTARIO (ERO) FOR THE BURLINGTON NELSON QUARRY EXTENSION — Community Planning Department report.Recommendation:

Endorse Director of Community Planning comments, as contained within Appendix ‘A’ of community planning department report PL-22-21 (‘City of Burlington – Correspondence re: Burlington Nelson Quarry Extension’); andDirect the Director of Community Planning to forward ‘City of Burlington – Correspondence re: Burlington Nelson Quarry Extension’ by courier and email to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) prior to the comment deadline; andDirect the Director of Community Planning to submit ‘City of Burlington – Correspondence re: Burlington Nelson Quarry Extension’ to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) in response to ERO No. 019-3215 prior to the comment deadline; andDirect the City Clerk to forward Council’s Resolution, subject to the endorsement of community planning report PL-22-21, to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC); andDirect the City Clerk to forward community planning department report PL-22-21 to the Joint Agency Review Team.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:There has been misinformation out there about plans for a park on this site long after the quarry operations are done and the minerals being extracted are depleted. To be clear, the application we have before us is for the expansion of this quarry not a park installation -- so let's judge this as such. If the owners of the site wish to change their application to a park installation on the site, we would certainly welcome that. • CITY OF BURLINGTON HOUSING STRATEGY - DRAFT ENGAGEMENT PLAN — Community Planning Department report.Recommendation:

Direct the Director of Community Planning to work with the project Steering Committee and Working Group to finalize the draft Engagement Plan attached as Appendix A to community planning report PL-16-21; andAppoint the following three members of Council to sit on the Housing Strategy Working Group:
  • Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
  • Councillor Shawna Stolte
  • Councillor Paul Sharman

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I'm glad we are continuing to move forward on this very important piece of our City's strategies and there is a plan in place to meaningfully engage the public and stakeholders to ensure we have the best Housing Strategy in place to ensure those residents (either downsizing or looking for their first home) who want to stay in Burlington can and those looking to move to our amazing city are able to -- ensuring a diverse supply of housing is key to that. CSSRA COMMITTEE (April 7)

• 2020 ANNUAL STATUS UPDATE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT — Corporate Communications and Engagement report.Recommendation:

Receive and file corporate communications and engagement department report CC-01-21 providing a status update on community and staff engagement.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:Last year, our staff pivoted a lot of programs virtually and we won some awards for that -- including for our Santa parade and virtual Canada Day celebrations. We've heard that some people have found it easier to connect virtually. We’re doing a much better job of alerting the public in advance of the City and Council making a decision. The list of 43 items, and I’m sure there are more, that the community had an impact in directly changing or influencing a decision at City Hall, I invite everyone to take a look at that list in the report appendix -- if they ever doubt how much their voice can affect change in their City, here's evidence to the contrary. Our City has grown for the better over 11 years and I want to thank our staff for their work in that. • NAMING OF CORPORATE ASSETS POLICY — Corporate Communications and Engagement report.Recommendation:

Approve the amended Naming of Corporate Assets Policy as provided in Appendix A of corporate communications and engagement department report CC-02-21.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I want to thank our City of Burlington staff working on this and bringing forward the diversity and inclusion lens. It’s an important lens to have in our naming policy and a great step forward. • PROCEDURE BYLAW AMENDMENTS IN RESPONSE TO SD-30-20 AND STAFF DIRECTIONS REPORTING — Office of the City Clerk report.Recommendation:

Enact a Procedure By-law for the City of Burlington, in accordance with section 238 (2) of the Municipal Act, and as attached as Appendix A to office of the city clerk report CL-05-21, as amended; andDirect the City Clerk to bring a report to the Audit Committee regarding their terms of reference, with respect to risk in relation to the scope of risk under the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee; andDirect the City Clerk to amend section 26.2 b) of the proposed Procedure By-law to add the words "Vice Chair".

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I want to give an enormous thank you to our City Clerk and the whole Clerks Department team for bringing this report forward. I see these changes as setting up this Council and future councils for success; allowing us to have the proper tools at the proper time to bring forward issues that matter a lot to our community and City. EICS COMMITTEE (April 8)

• COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE VERBAL UPDATE — City of Burlington staff presentation

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:We are not going to enforce our way solely out of this pandemic, not with a 207% increase in bylaw enforcement calls. We need clarity for what the rules provide and how our residents can be safe, and we need residents to follow them. The challenge for our staff and public is we continually get conflicting regulations. Any actions taken and anything we do has to be guided by recommendations from the science, medical and health tables. This latest closure has put our bylaw officers, the community and public in an impossible situation. Like everything in this pandemic, things can change in a matter of hours. We need the help of the community to be patient, to work with us and continue that message of kindness. Get advice on vaccinations from your doctor and make your best decision. Do get outside safely for a physical and mental health break. By doing all this, that's how we get out of this pandemic. • BEACHWAY AND LOWVILLE PARKS UPDATE — Recreation Services Department reportRecommendation:

Direct the Director of Transportation to implement Option 1 for parking management at Beachway Park effective May 2021 as outlined in Transportation Services report TS-04-21; and
Direct the Director of Transportation to implement Option 1 for parking management at Lowville Park as outlined in Transportation Services report TS-04-21; andAmend the Parking and Idling by-law 39-2016 to include a daily rate of $20 and hourly rate of $2.50 parking fee, including an increased penalty amount of $50 at Beachway Park; andAuthorize 10 days of free parking for Halton residents at Beachway Park once an online permit exemption form is developed and implemented on July 3rd, 2021 and direct the Director of Information Technology to report back on the revenue impacts after the end of the season in Q4 2021; andRefer the discussion of treatment options to protect the pipeline to the May 6, 2021 meeting of Environment, Infrastructure Committee Services Committee with staff providing options discussed that include costing; andDirect the Director Transportation to explore funding to provide pipeline protection treatments from Halton Region and the gas line owners and report back by Q3 2021; andAmend transportation report  Beachway and Lowville Park Update (TS-04-21) (SD-09-21) recommendation by replacing the first sentence in the fourth paragraph with the following:
  • Authorize 10 days of free parking, for Halton residents at Beachway Park once an online permit exemption form is developed and implemented on July 3rd, 2021.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:Beachway Park has always been a favourite destination for families, and over the past year it has become increasingly popular due to travel restrictions and the COVID-19 situation. The beach is one of the largest in the area, and while Burlington is always happy to welcome residents from our neighboring regions, the influx of visitors is placing a strain on the park and specifically the parking lot.Here are some very important details about the paid parking at Beachway:

  • Paid parking would only be implemented from May to September, and only on weekends;
  • There is free parking in the downtown area on weekends, and the City has provided a pick up and drop off area at the park. This will allow residents who do not want to pay to drop off their family, park free downtown, and walk to the beach;
  • In respect of the fact that residents contribute to the upkeep of the beach through their taxes, we will offer Halton residents 10 free full day passes. That equates to five free weekends, or just over a full month of free weekend access for all families; and
  • The parking will help recoup costs and upkeep of the beach which has increased by over $150,000 per year due to all the visitors (including many from out of town who do not contribute to the park through their taxes). This will help keep these additional costs off the residential tax base for our residents.

Our City is always striving to improve our service to the community and placing the needs of Burlington residents first.RELATED LINKS:

—*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist

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