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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2014-06-16 SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 16, 2014 CITY OF KITCHENER A special meeting of City Council was held at 2:34 p.m. this date, chaired by Mayor C. Zehr with all members present except Councillor B. Vrbanovic. Notice of this meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code. 1.a. INS -14 -067 —SIDEWALK INFILL POLICY Council considered Infrastructure Services Department report INS -14 -067 (B. Cronkite), dated June 11, 2014, concerning the development of a Sidewalk Infill Policy and process to improve the sidewalk infill program. In addition, Council was in receipt this date of a revised presentation outlining suggestions under the process considerations and mitigation measures. Mr. Barry Cronkite, Transportation Planning Project Manager, presented the report, advising that a number of concerns have been identified with the Sidewalk Infill Program, including: the public engagement process; how and when infill projects require Council approval; and, who should be circulated on information regarding the upcoming projects and when should circulation take place. He indicated staff has developed draft priority ranking criteria, and noted staff will be bringing forward a report at a later date regarding the final sidewalk infill criteria ranking. Mr. Cronkite advised, at this time, staff is seeking direction on certain matters that will help focus the development of a Policy and process which should assist in improving the sidewalk infill program. He posed two questions, including: what process considerations should be investigated; and, what mitigation measures should be considered, to provide focus for the development of a policy for the Sidewalk infill program. Suggestions for potential process improvements were made as follows: • engage the residents on the affected street, as well as in the surrounding neighbourhood, similar to the circulations completed for the traffic calming process, preferably prior to the design stage; • examine multiple avenues for public engagement, including: online engagement; social media; public information sessions; and, individual meetings; • reconstruction projects that are identified for the Sidewalk Infill Program should be identified in the Capital Budget package; • consideration should be given to circulating the selected infill projects to respective Advisory Committees that may have interest in the program; • consideration should be given to investigate the overall use of the proposed sidewalk by completing pedestrian counts; and, • investigate whether the streets identified for sidewalk infill could be reported on annually similar to traffic calming locations. In response to questions, Mr. Cronkite advised there are currently 400kms of City -owned public rights -of -way that do not have sidewalks on both sides of the street. He indicated staff identify 1 km to 1.5km of infill sidewalk to be completed annually and further advised it would take the City approximately 150 years to complete the sidewalk infill program in its entirety. Suggestions for potential mitigation measures were made as follows: • update the website to include information on the Sidewalk Infill Program, as well as the Pedestrian Charter; • create an education pamphlet on the Sidewalk Infill Program; and, • publish the list on the City's website of public rights -of -way which currently do not have sidewalks on both sides of the street. Mr. Cronkite advised the next steps include completing a public engagement process to receive feedback on the proposed Sidewalk Infill Policy, which is anticipated to be completed in September 2014. He noted staff will compile all the feedback received and prepare a draft policy for circulation to the working group and any other interested parties. He further advised staff will endeavor to present the final policy on the Sidewalk Infill Program to Council in January 2015. 1.b. CAO -14 -028 — GUIDELINES FOR NEW LARGE -SCALE OUTDOOR EVENTS Council considered Chief Administrator's Office report CAO -14 -028 (J. Young), dated May 29, 2014, concerning the development of guidelines for new large -scale events at City -owned outdoor facilities. SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 16, 2014 -125- CITY OF KITCHENER Mr. Jeff Young, Manager of Special Events, presented the report, advising that Council passed a resolution on March 31, 2014 directing staff to report back on the development of guidelines for untested outdoor venues across the City. He further advised the purpose of the presentation is to provide draft guidelines for Council's review, noting the final document will be brought back for final approval at the June 30, 2014 Council meeting. In response to questions, Mr. Jeff Willmer, Chief Administrative Officer, advised the 90 -day public engagement session, as proposed within the guidelines, is consistent with the direction received from Council on March 31, 2014. He noted the public information session is intended to provide the residents with information about the upcoming event rather than a consultation session. Several members spoke in support of the proposed guidelines and proposed public engagement including pre and post- meeting debriefings. Iki 15Ne1kh1:11 Mill kh1:11AIIki [eleltIj1:IQ0r1fe1fIIQki Moved by Councillor K. Gal loway-Sea lock Seconded by Councillor D. Glenn- Graham "That an in- camera meeting of City Council be held this date to consider a matter under another Act and a matter subject to solicitor - client privilege." Carried. On motion the meeting adjourned at 4:22 p.m. MAYOR CLERK