Committee Recommendations Approved at Dec. 14 Burlington Council Meeting

Committee & Council Meetings
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At the Dec. 14 Burlington Council meeting, numerous recommendations were approved from the December 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:

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.There were also separate posts for City Council approving:

HIGHLIGHTS:CSSRA COMMITTEE (Dec. 6)

• STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS & VICE-CHAIRS FOR 2022 — Mayor's Office report.Motion:

The Clerk conducted an election of the standing committee Chairs and Vice Chairs using Mayor Meed Ward's nominations as a starting point. No further nominations were put forward and the nominations noted below were approved as presented.Approve the standing committee Chair and Vice-Chair appointments for 2022, and the appointments to the Licensing Committee, as follows:
  • EICS: Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee
    • Chair:  Councillor Kelvin Galbraith
    • Vice Chair: Councillor Shawna Stolte
  • CPRM: Community Planning, Regulation & Mobility Committee
    • Chair: Councillor Shawna Stolte
    • Vice Chair: Councillor Rory Nisan
  • CSSRA: Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee
    • Chair: Councillor Rory Nisan
    • Vice Chair: Councillor Paul Sharman
  • Council Workshop
    • Chair: Councillor Angelo Bentivegna (remains the same)
    • Vice-Chair: Councillor Lisa Kearns
  • Budget
    • Chair: Councillor Lisa Kearns (Moves from Vice Chair to Chair)
    • Vice-Chair: Kelvin Galbraith
  • License and Appeals Committee (NEW)
    • Chair: Paul Sharman
    • Council Representatives (2 required):
    • Councillor Kelvin Galbraith
    • Councillor Lisa Kearns.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I consulted with each member of Council on this in advance and thank them all for providing their feedback. We did our best to acquiesce their requests. The important piece here is equity and that each individual councillor, in a 2-year period, should have the opportunity to serve as chair or vice-chair of a committee. I know it’s important to this council that we are equitable. • CONFIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MATTER - ROBERT BATEMAN HIGH SCHOOL — Confidential report L-32-21.Motion:

Submit a formal offer to purchase the Robert Bateman High School site as outlined in confidential legal department report L-32-21.

Carried by 5-2 majority vote by Council at Dec. 6 special meeting.MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:This is an exciting moment in the life of our city. We received a briefing in November to sketch out the vision for what this will be. This step is to initiate the process to purchase. The preliminary vision of this facility is to retain the pool, feature a triple gym, an opportunity for Appleby Library branch to expand and operate, TechPlace to come in, an opportunity for the HDSB to retain an educational component on site, and a Brock University campus. This will be the largest community centre for our whole city — even after we accommodate all the planned uses for the site, we will still have space leftover to accommodate a number of users. This is an investment not only in our future, but today, because we know there is a significant demand for services and community groups looking for space to operate. The response from the community on the preliminary vision has been overwhelming positive. We still have some milestones to go and we will keep the public updated as we reach them. I want to thank Ward 5 Counc. Paul Sharman for his strong advocacy on this site.

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CPRM COMMITTEE (Dec. 7)

• CITY OF BURLINGTON HOUSING STRATEGY, HOUSING NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES REPORT — Community Planning Department report.Motion:

Receive and file community planning department report PL-48-21 regarding the City of Burlington Housing Strategy, Housing Needs and Opportunities report, attached as Appendix A.

Carried unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I want to thank Ward 4 Counc. Shawna Stolte for championing this and being a representative for a community voice. I think we’re at a critical moment in our nation where affordable housing is the No. 1 issue. The Ontario's Big City Mayors caucus will be messaging that we, all levels of government, need to work together on this issue. We will provide evidence that approved supply has not been built and it’s not just processing issues at the municipality level. This is a multi-faceted issue. Burlington is right at the top with processing applications quickly among other municipalities. I love the co-op model outlined in the report. Rentals in Burlington were built with government incentives and when those incentives went away, so did rental properties. With redevelopment, we have to ensure that we don’t lose meaningful rental housing units above businesses and that those folks do not get displaced. We need to protect and provide meaningful rental units. I look forward to continuing our work locally, recognizing it’s part of a larger conversation being had across Canada.

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EICS COMMITTEE (Dec. 9)

• DELEGATION ON HAMILTON 2030 COMMONWEALTH GAMES BID — City Manager’s Office report.MOTION:Receive and file city manager’s office report CM-27-21, inclusive of the presentation, entitled The Hamilton 2030 Commonwealth Games, From ‘Event’ to ‘Movement’; andDirect the City Manager and staff to work with the Hamilton 2030 organizing group to investigate and report back in Q1 2022 on City of Burlington’s potential participation in the games bid based on the requirement of zero net tax-supported cost to the city and including but not limited to the following key elements:

  • opportunities for new sport competition venues and/or confirmation of use of existing city venues (e.g. lawn bowling); and
  • private/public partnership opportunities, including but not limited to lands associated with 1200 King Road, to achieve City of Burlington strategic plan; and
  • alignment and integration of any site-specific land opportunities with the Council approved strategic priorities and due diligence framework of the Burlington Lands Partnership; and

Direct the Director of Community Planning to report back concurrently in Q1 2022 with an update on the land use planning context related to the lands associated with 1200 King Road.Carried by unanimously by Council.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I do appreciate the net-zero piece from the municipality in this proposal -- this is a new model of doing a sporting event. I think it’s important that for any event to be successfully, there has to be private-sector investment. I do appreciate the forward look from the delegation. We know there’s some excitement from the city on this and I thank the bid committee for all their work -- they’ve done an excellent job to explain their vision to municipalities.

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SPECIAL CPRM COMMITTEE (Dec. 13)

• INTEGRATED MOBILITY PLAN - PRESENTATION OF THE PREFERRED NETWORK SOLUTION — Transportation Services Department report.Recommendation:Endorse the recommended concept (also referred to as the preferred network solution) as discussed in report TS-16-21; and

Direct the Director of Transportation Services to authorize the initiation of the final phase of the Integrated Mobility Plan including preparation of the implementation, financing and monitoring plans.

Carried by unanimously by Committee.

MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:I’d like to thank staff and all teams on their work on this. The maps and different ways the different modes of transportation were laid out, made it easy to digest complex information. I appreciate the truck route information because we receive complaints of trucks sometimes being where they shouldn’t be. The sidewalks piece in our rural areas marking where they’re needed is an important piece. The prioritization of a grid system is great. As we start to build out the vision for our GO station areas, the new neighbourhoods that we’ll get there will give everyone in the vicinity the ability to do more walking, take short bike rides and/or use transit more. This is a 50-year plan, just as it should be, and the next phase of our community building.

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RELATED LINKS:

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

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