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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-03-15 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 15, 2012 CITY OF KITCHENER The Environmental Committee met this date commencing at 4:03 p.m. Present: Mr. S. Crossman - Chair Councillors Y. Fernandes and D. Glenn-Graham, Ms. S. Danckert, Ms. C. Huxted and Messrs. M. El-Hakim, J. Henhoeffer, G. Zador and R. Younis. Staff: G. Murphy, Director of Engineering Services N. Gollan, Manager, Stormwater Utility M. Ryan, Design & Construction Project Manager J. Joseph, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator C. Musselman, Senior Environmental Planner D. Saunderson, Committee Administrator PRESENTATION - TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES 1. The Committee considered background information entitled “Transportation Demand Strategy”, regarding a summary of the City’s Transportation Demand management initiatives and how policy changes, physical improvements, programs, and operational changes that reduce the proportion of single-occupant trips will affect how residents will travel in the future. Mr. J. Joseph gave a presentation on Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and the City’s Transportation Demand Management Strategy. He advised that TDM is a wide range of policies, programs, services and products that influence how, why, when and where people travel. He stated that the goal is to change people’s travel behaviours so they are more sustainable. He outlined a number of TDM initiatives including current and future trends that are likely to help in changing people’s behaviour. Mr. Joseph further advised that as part of Kitchener’s TDM Plan there are a number of initiatives that have been targeted as priority items, including the following: reducing the demand for parking in the downtown; reducing single occupancy vehicle travel; increasing walking, cycling, carpooling, and transit modal splits; encouraging local businesses to develop TDM programs; support sustainable modes of transportation with associated infrastructure; and, policies, programs, services, and products to be phased in over 5 years. Mr. Joseph stated that currently one of his major focuses is on City Hall and the employees working out of this facility. He advised that a number of initiatives are being promoted to City employee’s to reduce their impacts on downtown parking, which include; carpool matching, discounted transit passes, emergency ride home; and, Grand River Carshare. Ms. C. Huxted requested clarification on the discounted transit passes and whether the program was being offered to City employees through a Regional incentive. Mr. Joseph advised that the City has become a member of Travelwise, which allows City employees to take advantage of discounted transit passes. Mr. G. Zador suggested for a future TDM initiative, that the City should consider the use of electric cars and potential charging stations at City facilities. Councillor Y. Fernandes encouraged staff to further investigate the implementation of a Bike Share program. Mr. Joseph advised that the KW Working Centre through a LEAF grant is implementing Community Access Bicycles (CAB). He noted that members of CAB can obtain a bicycle at one location and return it to another location within the Downtown core. He stated that the annual membership fee is $15, and advised that additional information can be obtained from their website at http://www.theworkingcentre.org/ct/cab/cab.html. Mr. Joseph added that there are two upcoming national campaigns encouraging the use of TDM initiatives that the City will be participating in: Bike to Work week which will be held May thrdth 28 to June 3, 2012 and the Commuter Challenge which will be held June 3 to June 9, 2012. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 15, 2012 - 13 - CITY OF KITCHENER PRESENTATION - 2011 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AUDIT 2. The Committee was in receipt of information material entitled “2011 Stormwater Management Audit”, dated February 29, 2012, regarding the annual stormwater management audit and the 2011 results. Ms. M. Ryan gave an overview on the Stormwater Management Policy and the 2011 Stormwater Management audit. She stated that in addition to the stormwater management measures audits as part of the annual review, water quality testing is also being undertaken in 7 various creek locations to determine the chemical and biological characteristics of the watercourses and whether any trends can be identified.She advised that as part of the water testing a consultant has been retained to take grab samples, 5 “wet” and 5 “dry”, which are tested for a range of chemical parameters. She provided a review of the results and noted that 2011 was the first year that the consultant took a winter “melt event” sample rather than the standard “wet” sample. She indicated that staff plan on adding a “melt” sample to the water quality testing for 2012 as well. Ms. Ryan reviewed the following key findings from the 2011 stormwater audit, including: stormwater improvements are still required; there have been a number of visible improvements seen in Wards/Brigadoon Ponds; winter “melt” event samples will provide additional insight into stormwater quality; and, staff continues to see value in a centralized data base of information to identify trends. Ms. S. Dankert requested clarification on the use of the water testing data. Ms. Ryan advised that data is meant to provide some direction to staff on the effectiveness of the cash-in-lieu program and how the funding is being spent. Mr. N. Gollan further advised that the data is a method of identifying stormwater priorities within the City. Ms. Ryan advised that the Grand River Conservation Authority has indicated Kitchener is the only municipality doing stormwater testing of any kind to try and improve the overall quality of the stormwater system. Mr. M. El-Kahim questioned whether the water quality results measuring higher than average trigger an alert requiring immediate action. Ms. Ryan advised that the data collected is compared against the Canadian Water Quality baseline results, of which the City strives to achieve better results than what is recommended. She noted that currently there is no enforcement mechanism demanding any kind of immediate action based on the stormwater testing; however, staff uses them to achieve improvements in future years. She stated that noticeable improvements may take some time to achieve. In response to further questions, Ms. Ryan advised that the grab samples are collected from all 7 creek locations on the same day and there are specific requirements on when the samples can be taken. Regarding “wet” samples one of the required criteria is that there must be minimum 10mm of rain fall before a sample can be taken. Mr. Gollan responded further that developers are responsible for their own stormwater management practises for a minimum of two years following construction. Following the initial two year period the developer must prove that their stormwater management practises are in good working order prior to the City taking over ownership and maintenance responsibilities. Councillor Y. Fernandes questioned whether the chloride results were connected to high salt use in the winter and whether the City’s salt standards should be reviewed to help address their impacts on the stormwater system. Mr. Gollan advised that the Region establishes winter salt standards; and, the City is currently working to reduce the amount of road salt through the use of a brine solution rather than salt. Ms. Ryan added that it is anticipated that snow melt samples will become a more regular water quality test in the future to provide greater insight on winter stormwater trends. She noted that one time grab samples are informative; they do not provided definitive results. Councillor Y. Fernandes questioned whether the Committee would be able to review the 2011 stormwater audit results and provide additional feedback on what was reported in the previous year. Mr. G. Murphy advised that the project team is made up of a number of technically skilled professionals who compile the information to produce a complete technical audit report. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 15, 2012 - 14 - CITY OF KITCHENER PRESENTATION - 2011 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AUDIT (CONT’D) 2. He indicated that there are some deficiencies in the reporting structure as grab samples do not provide definitive results when reviewed independently. He stated that from this audit report a general report card is created outlining how the City is maintaining the stormwater management system. He further advised that the report itself is strictly for information and, if members wish to review the document in its entirety, staff can make it available to them; however, no endorsement/feedback is required at this time. COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT SUB-COMMITTEE 3. PROGRAM REVIEW The Committee considered Community Services Department report CSD-12-041, dated February 28, 2012, concerning amendments to Council Policy I-590 (Grant Program – Community Environmental Improvement Grant). Ms. C. Musselman reviewed the report and requested feedback from the members on the proposed revisions to Council Policy I-590. She commented that there was a printing error in the agenda and clarified the incomplete item in the Council Policy for the members. Mr. G. Zador noted a grammatical error and requested that under Section 3 – Criteria, item a.iv. be revised to reflect “proposed projects” rather than “deliver projects.” Members expressed support for the proposed policy including the amendments. Ms. Musselman advised that any recommendation arising from this Committee would be considered at the March 26, 2012 Council meeting; to accommodate the distribution of the CEIG application in time for the Committee’s Earth Day Environmental Forum being held on April 19, 2012. On motion by Mr. G. Zador - it was resolved: “That Council Policy I-590 (Grant Program – Community Environmental Improvement) be repealed and replaced with the proposed Council Policy I-590 (Grant Program – Community Environmental Improvement Grant) dated March 15, 2012 attached to Community Services Report CSD-12-041, as amended.” DISCUSSION - EARTH DAY ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM 4. The Committee was in receipt of two Environmental Showcase invitations, one being designed for anyone interested in attending the event, and the other for anyone interested in being a showcase participant. Ms. C. Musselman advised that there has been a positive initial response regarding the Committee’s Earth Day Environmental Forum and reviewed the proposed invitations. She indicated that time has been set aside at this meeting to allow the Committee an opportunity to brainstorm potential ideas for the Event and assign tasks to individual members. She then opened the floor to volunteers for: assisting with room set-up, creating a Committee display to highlight the City’s achievements; and, a point person to meet and greet both participants and event attendees. She advised that the Conestoga Room has been booked for the Forum and will be available for general set-up 30 minutes prior to the start of the event at 4:00 p.m. The members participated in a general discussion on the format of the event Ms. Musselman further encouraged members to recruit additional event participants and put forward additional event suggestions between now and the April 19, 2012 Earth Day Forum, via email to carrie.musselman@kitchener.ca. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE LIAISONS: 5. - OFFICIAL PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE - STRASBURG ROAD ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SUB-COMMITTEE The Committee was in receipt this date of a newsletter entitled “Official Plan Review, Update # 5” regarding the progress of the Official Plan Review to date. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 15, 2012 - 15 - CITY OF KITCHENER APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE LIAISONS: 5. - OFFICIAL PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE - STRASBURG ROAD ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SUB-COMMITTEE (CONT’D) Mr. S. Crossman requested clarification as to whether members were still interested in creating sub-committees to further review the City’s draft Official Plan and the complete Environmental Study Report (ESR) for the Strasburg Road Environmental Assessment (EA). Councillor Y. Fernandes expressed support for the Committee undertaking a final review of both documents. She commented that Council values citizen feedback these matters, as they are long term visionary documents that will define the City’s growth. Ms. C. Musselman advised that the Committee has completed an initial review of the Official Plan and a second draft is anticipated to be released mid-2012. She indicated that members may wish to reserve their secondary review for the next version of the Plan. She commented that members can sign up to be on the Official Plan distribution list to stay informed as the process moves forward. If members wished to form a sub-committee to do an additional review of the document, she encouraged them to focus solely on the environmental components. Several members spoke in support of reviewing the next version of the draft Official Plan. Mr. Crossman opened the floor to nominations and it was agreed that the following members would be appointed as Official Plan Sub-Committee: Ms. S. Dankert and Messrs. R. Younis, M. El-Hakim and D. Hoshowsky. Mr. Crossman questioned whether members still wished to review the ESR for the Strasburg Road EA and whether the existing sub-committee members were interested in conducting a second review. Ms. Musselman reminded members that staff anticipate presenting the draft ESR to Council in May 2012 to request that the document be released to the public for a two month public review period. Following the public review period she indicated that staff can facilitate with the Project Team to receive additional feedback. Mr. Crossman opened the floor to nominations and it was agreed that the previous Strasburg Road Sub-Committee members would be re-appointed to review the ESR in its entirety: Councillor Y. Fernandes and Messrs R. Younis and M. Peterson. AIR QUALITY IN KITCHENER – 2012 BEST BETS SELECTION CRITERIA 6. The Committee was in receipt of correspondence from Ms. C. Musselman, dated March 15, 2012, outlining the process for selecting this year’s 5 Best Bets for Air Quality. Ms. Musselman indicated that the Air Quality in Kitchener Plan 2010, found within the Environmental Committee reference manual, contains at least 50 action items to improve Kitchener’s air quality with both short and long-term goals. She requested that members review the Air Quality in Kitchener Plan 2010 and select their top four or five action items for each of the seven functional areas. She stated that the deadline for submissions is April 30, 2012 and asked members to forward all selections via e-mail to carrie.musselman@kitchener.ca. COMPASS KITCHENER ALL ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORKSHOP 7. The Committee was in receipt this date of correspondence from Compass Kitchener inviting all members of the City’s advisory committees to participate in the annual All Advisory Committee Gathering on March 31, 2012 from 9:30-11:30 a.m., at Wilfrid Laurier’s Faculty of Social Work. Mr. S. Crossman noted that anyone wishing to attend needs to RSVP by March 28, 2012. ADJOURNMENT 8. On motion, this meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m. D. Saunderson Committee Administrator