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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-20ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 20. 2011 CITY OF KITCHENER The Environmental Committee met this date commencing at 4:05 p. m. Present: Mr. S. Grossman -Chair Councillors B. Vrbanovic, D. Glenn-Graham and Y. Fernandes, Ms. S. Danckert, and Messrs. M. EI-Hakim, D. Hoshowsky and G. Zador. Staff: G. Murphy, Director of Engineering N. Gollan, Manager, Stormwater Utility C. Musselman, Senior Environmental Planner D. Saunderson, Committee Administrator 1. STORMWATER CREDIT AND REBATE POLICY DEVELOPMENT The Committee was in receipt this date of information materials entitled, "Stormwater Credit and Rebate Policy Development", regarding the implementation of a stormwater management credit program and a stormwater management rebate program. Mr. N. Gollan gave a presentation on the status of the development of a stormwater management credit program and a stormwater management rebate program. He advised that in June 2010, both the City of Kitchener and the City of Waterloo approved a tiered flat fee stormwater structure based largely upon a property's impervious area. He noted that in partnership with Waterloo, staff have been exploring various options with regards to potential incentives for users who choose to utilize a method of reducing their stormwater run-off. He stated that the incentive options include: an ongoing monthly credit in a user's monthly stormwater rate; or, a stormwater rebate, being a single lump sum fee to users who implement a stormwater best management practice. He reviewed the various stormwater credit policy alternatives, being: do nothing; multi-residential and non-residential credits; residential credits; residential rebate program; and, a combination of alternatives. He noted that Public Information Centres (PIG) were held in both Cities to engage residents and receive initial feedback /suggestions on the proposed alternatives. He stated that, staff have initiated an impact analysis of all the options and are evaluating the credit alternatives. He added that the preferred alternative is anticipated to be presented at a PIC in November 2011, with the proposed policy going forward to Council in December 2011. Several members inquired into the kind of initiatives a residential homeowner would have to implement to be eligible for a stormwater credit. In addition, Ms. S. Dankert commented that purchasing a rain barrel would cost approximately $100. She added that if homeowners only received a $2 credit on their monthly stormwater bill, it may not be a large enough incentive to motivate a change in behaviour. Mr. G. Murphy advised that the approximate amount of impervious area in Kitchener is 60% commercial and 40% residential; as such, there will be a greater emphasis on commercial properties to adopt stormwater management initiatives. He indicated that the number of residential properties required to see significant impacts on the stormwater management infrastructure would be considerably greater than the number of commercial properties that would need to adopt the same initiatives. He further advised that of the approximate 65,000 residential homes, it is anticipated that 15,000 to 20,000 homeowners would participate in some kind of stormwater initiative. He noted that there may be a greater opportunity to educate homeowners who do not directly adopt an initiative to change their behaviours and reduce their impact on the stormwater infrastructure. Questions were raised about the requirements for stormwater management in the development of new subdivisions. Mr. Gollan stated that watershed studies are created for all new subdivisions and the stormwater management recommendations are required to be implemented as part of the approvals process. Councillor D. Glenn-Graham questioned what process has been established for implementation of the credit program and whether the City would have the necessary resources available to manage a program of this scale. Mr. Gollan advised that the execution of a complete credit /rebate program is anticipated to take a minimum of one year. He added that although the complete details for implementation still need to be finalized, it is staffs intention to make the program retro-active for property owners in the later part of the implementation phase. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 20. 2011 - 26 - CITY OF KITCHENER STORMWATER CREDIT AND REBATE POLICY DEVELOPMENT (CONT'D) Councillor B. Vrbanovic questioned whether consideration has been given to private partnerships to assist with the assessment evaluations in the initial implementation stage, similar to Residential Energy Efficiency Program CREEP) home energy audits. Mr. Murphy advised that different types of partnerships have been considered, suggesting that the City could potentially partner with the Region of Waterloo to promote stormwater management through the Regional rain barrel program. 2. APPOINTMENT OF NEW MEMBERS The Committee was in receipt this date of Finance and Corporate Services Department report FCS-11-195, dated October 14, 2011 recommending the appointment of two new Committee members. Ms. D. Saunderson advised that letters of resignation were received from Ms. S. Smith and Ms. B. Ciochon; thereby leaving two vacancies on the Committee for members having formal environmental training. Staff have been contact over this past year by five people who expressed interest in joining the Environmental Committee. Accordingly, those people were contacted and requested to complete an application, with a submission deadline of October 14, 2011. Ms. Saunderson stated that three applications were received and staff is putting forward a recommendation to appoint Ms. C. Huxted and Mr. P. Dowling, as they are the only applicants with expertise in an environmental discipline. Some members expressed concern regarding the Committee's potential endorsement of a recommendation to appoint new members, as this could give the appearance of impropriety. Ms. Saunderson indicated that in this instance, a greater number of applications were received than there were vacancies, and accordingly staff brought the item forward for the Committee's consideration. Mr. G. Zador stated that he did not want the Committee to be seen as having a potentially biased appointment process by favoring one applicant over another. The Committee agreed that they would refrain from commenting on this matter and request that Council recommend who should fill the two vacancies. Ms. Saunderson advised that this matter would be considered at Council's annual appointment meeting scheduled for November 14, 2011. She noted that pending Council's appointments, the new members could participate at the Committee's November 24, 2011 meeting. 3. MULTI-USE PATHWAY (COMMUNITY TRAIL) MASTER PLAN - SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT The Committee was in receipt of the Multi-use Pathway (Community Trail) Master Plan Sub- committee report, dated October 12, 2011 providing comments on the final version of the Multi-use Pathway (Community Trail) Master Plan. Mr. S. Grossman, reviewed the report, and noted that overall the Sub-Committee expressed support for the Master Plan. He indicated that the Sub-Committee has provided comments / suggestions corresponding with each section of the Master Plan. He suggested that the Cycling Master Plan be appended to the Master Plan for reference purposes. Regarding the implementation process, the monitoring referenced in Phase 4 requires more detail, defining who will be doing the monitoring and what is being monitored. For the Operation and Maintenance portion of the Plan, he recommended that an annual preventative maintenance routine inspection of the entire trail network be included to identify existing and possible future deficiencies related to surface erosion, failure and repairs. Mr. Grossman advised that for the financial portion of the Plan, staff may want to consider performing a sensitivity analysis giving the lower and upper boundaries of the estimated costs, as well as a potential cost benefit analysis regarding the various implementation requirements within the Plan. Finally, regarding the Recommendations and Next Steps, he noted that staff should consider requesting feedback from the Grand River Conservation Authority and Ministry of Environment for additional environmental consideration. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 20. 2011 - 27 - CITY OF KITCHENER 3. MULTI-USE PATHWAY (COMMUNITY TRAIL) MASTER PLAN - SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT (CONT'D) Mr. Grossman further advised that the idea of a Multi-use Pathways (Community Trail) Master Plan is a significant endeavour and on behalf of the Committee, he commended staff for undertaking such an initiative. 4. 2011 COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT (CEIG) PROGRAM APPLICATIONS The Committee was in receipt of six Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) applications from the following groups: Laurentian Hills Christian School; Mosaic Counselling and Family Services; Resurrection Catholic Secondary School; River Ridge Community Park Committee; Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association; and, Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW) Kids and Community Power Saving Project. In addition, the Committee was in receipt of correspondence from Mr. Steve Allen, Manager of Engineering Design & Approvals, dated, October 13, 2011, regarding the Cherry Park Spillway CEIG application. Ms. C. Musselman reviewed each application. In response to questions regarding the Cherry Park Spillway application, Ms. Musselman advised that the applicant is aware of the correspondence from Engineering staff, and acknowledges the application may have prematurely sought CEIG funding this year. Ms. Musselman commented that Committee members may need to take such factors as eligibility, into consideration when rating each application. Mr. G. Zador expressed concerns regarding the eligibility of the Cherry Park Spillway application and the River Ridge Community Park Development application. He questioned whether these applications should be removed from consideration as the grant eligibility criteria states "municipal capital projects are not eligible for funding". Councillor Y. Fernandes added that the request for grant funding in the River Ridge Community may also be premature, as it is a brand new neighbourhood still under development, and the City has yet to take over responsibility for regular maintenance. She added that the applicant, in addition to requesting CEIG funding, has also requested funding from the developer, who has yet to provide a response. In reference to CREW's Kids and Community Power Saving Project application, questions were raised as to whether the CEIG program was intended to provide one-time funding per group, or per project. It was noted that CREW has received CEIG funding in previous years. Ms. Musselman noted that the criteria is intended to be per project; however, if members felt that it should be per organization they can score that application accordingly. Ms. Musselman clarified that members are being asked to complete scoring sheets for each application, which will be used to develop an aggregate ranking of the 2011 CEIG applications based upon the results of the member's individual evaluations. She added that the CEIG Sub- committee would consider the average score a group received in the ranking as a percentage of its overall funding request to determine a baseline of funding that could be allocated to that group. Using this methodology, the Sub-Committee would deliberate as to whether the grant allocation for a particular group should be increased or decreased from its identified baseline. She noted that the Sub-Committee recommendations would be considered at the November 24, 2011 Environmental Committee meeting and members were reminded to have their completed scoring sheets to staff no later than October 27, 2011. Several members suggested that staff should follow-up with any of the CEIG applicants who were not awarded a grant. It was noted that the feedback may encourage those groups to revise their applications and re-apply for future CEIG funding. 5. 2012 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE SCHEDULE The Committee was in receipt this date of the 2012 Environment Committee meeting schedule. Ms. D. Saunderson requested that members place the calendar in their committee folder for reference for the upcoming year. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 20. 2011 - 28 - CITY OF KITCHENER ADJOURNMENT On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:40 p. m. D. Saunderson Committee Administrator