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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Dev Adv 2010-03-24 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES March 24, 2010 City of Kitchener The Economic Development Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Jeremy Auger; the following members were in attendance: Councillor Christina Weylie, Steven Voll, Bob Denton, Mark Bingeman, Len Carter, Rebecca Short, Peter Benninger, Brain Bennett, Bernie Nimer The following people sent their regrets: Ian Cook, Dan Piedra, Alan Anderson The following people were absent: Howie Budd Staff in attendance: Silvia Di Donato, Terry Boutilier, Tracey DeVille, Janette MacDonald, Cory Bluhm, Rod Regier, Ingrid Pregel Approval of minutes - On motion, by Steven Voll Seconded by Peter Benninger The minutes of February 2010 were approved. New Business: 2.1 New Ontario Brownfield Regulations Terry Boutilier provided the Committee with an overview of the Brownfield presentation that they received at the February meeting and asked that the Committee members provide input on the next steps; namely: 1) Do nothing approach 2) Formulate a resolution to the Ministry of the Environment 3) Formulate a resolution to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 4) Have a discussion with the Region of Waterloo Mr. Boutilier provided an outline of the pros and cons of each, provided clarification and asked for feedback. On motion by Len Carter Seconded by Rebecca Short “Whereas the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment has recently revised Ontario Brownfield Regulation 153/04 through the enactment of Regulation 511/09; and, Whereas, the effect of the recent revision is that site remediation is going to be more expensive in the Region of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener; and, Whereas, Ontario municipalities fund private sector site remediation efforts through their respective Community Improvement Plans, under Section 28 of the Planning Act; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED That the Province of Ontario be requested to review and revise the Ontario Brownfield Tax Incentive Program (BFTIP) to allow for easier integration with municipal Community Improvement Plans under Section 28 of the Planning Act, and to make BFTIP more useable for Brownfield projects in Ontario, and That this Resolution be forwarded to all Ontario municipalities through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and to all local MPPs.” The Committee also advised that they would like staff and a member of the Committee to enter into discussions with the Region to further discuss alternatives. 2.2 Arts & Culture Workshop On motion by Brian Bennett the regular meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Committee was adjourned and the committee proceeded with a workshop on Arts & Culture with members of the Downtown Advisory Committee and the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee The meeting was adjourned at 11:35 am.