Committee Recommendations Approved at Oct. 19 Burlington Council Meeting
At the Oct. 19 Burlington Council meeting, numerous recommendations were approved from the October 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 Oct. 6 Special Council meeting: Post-Meeting Minutes - Special Meeting of Council_Oct06_2021; and the Oct. 19 Regular Council meeting: Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Oct19_2021.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.HIGHLIGHTS:URGENT BUSINESS ITEM AT COUNCIL (Oct. 19)We had a motion come to the Oct. 19 Regular Council Meeting with the staff recommendation to extend the temporary use bylaw for outdoor patios in Burlington.Motion:Approve By-law 2020.434, to extend the period of time for which the Temporary Use By-law 2020.427 is authorized, as Appendix A to community planning department report PL-55-21; andWaive the fees and requirements for site plan approval and zoning clearance certificate for temporary outdoor patios and temporary tents (structures) on private property until April 14, 2022; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility, to approve the extension of temporary outdoor patios on private property to April 14, 2022 subject to such criteria and conditions as staff deem appropriate; andAuthorize the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility to grant or revoke such approvals, consents, agreements or other authorizations and take such other steps as may be required to give effect to the recommendations herein.Carried unanimously by Council.
- Community Planning Department Staff Report: PL-55-21 Extension to Temporary Use By-law for Outdoor Patios
- Appendix: PL-55-21 Appendix A - Temporary Bylaw
MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:We have to do everything in our power, when the clock on the Provincial mandate rolls from Dec. 1 to 2, to ensure we’re not asking anyone to take down their patio tents -- we’ve seen that financial recovery from the pandemic won’t be instantaneous. We have to leave no stone unturned to ensure our businesses have some consistency, certainty and a planning horizon -- no matter what the Province decides -- leading us into April 14 because we don’t know what will happen in December and over the winter. We have to make sure we’re not lifting something only to have to put it back into place. We can have a separate conversation leading up to April 14 as to what happens after that concerning the temporary patio extensions. CPRM COMMITTEE (Oct. 5)
• REVENUE FUNDED POSITIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES — Community Planning Department report.Motion:
Carried unanimously by Council.
MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:This has been growing as an issue in our community for almost 10 years. We need to get this done. I’m grateful to staff that when they see these needs like this 'in-year' to not wait until the next budget cycle and bring it to our attention as soon as the need is identified. Fully supportive of staff's recommendation here. We need to help resource our staff well to ensure the services being provided to our community are done so in a timely manner. CSSRA COMMITTEE (Oct. 6)
• LOBBYIST REGISTRY IMPLEMENTATION — Office of the City Clerk report.Recommendation:
Carried unanimously by Council.
- Staff report: CL-28-21 Lobbyist Registry Implementation
- Appendices:
MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I appreciate the work that has been done on this and appreciated the comment we heard during committee that lobbying is an important part of democracy, but there needs to be transparency and accountability in who is lobbying -- it's important information for the public to have and they have a right to know it. This will set us up for transparency and accountability. Thank you to our Clerks Department staff for their excellent work on this. EICS COMMITTEE (Oct. 7)
• SUPPORT FOR JOSEPH BRANT HOSPITAL'S MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTIONS REDVELOPMENT PROJECT — Memo from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.Recommendation:Direct the Mayor to send a letter to the Premier and local MPPs, Prime Minister, MPs and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on behalf of Burlington City Council in support of Joseph Brant Hospital’s request of the provincial government to provide funding for their Mental Health and Addictions Redevelopment Project (SD-30-21).Carried by unanimously by Council.
- Mayor's Memo: Motion Memo JBH Funding Oct 2021
- Appendix: Appendix A - Advancing and expanding access to mental health and addictions services in Burlington
MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:Grateful to have our local hospital as key partners with our City, the COVID-19 pandemic and on the Task Force, as well as participants in every COVID-19 Telephone Town Hall we've held. We have a mental health pandemic that’s run parallel to the COVID-19 pandemic -- the former has existed long before the latter and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated it. I thank hospital staff for their continued service to our community. This is an incredibly important need and it will only become more pressing. RELATED LINKS:
- Post-Meeting Minutes - CPRM Committee_Oct05_2021
- Post-Meeting Minutes - CSSRA Committee_Oct06_2021
- Post-Meeting Minutes - Special Meeting of Council_Oct06_2021
- Post-Meeting Minutes - EICS Committee_Oct07_2021
- Post-Meeting Minutes - CPRM Committee-Statutory Public Meeting_Oct12_2021
- Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Oct19_2021
—*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist