HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 2004-03-11March 11, 2004
DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
City of Kitchener
The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m.,
chaired by Councillor John Smola, with the following members present: Doug Hoch, Anita
Petsche-Good, Marty Schreiter, Glen Woolner, Nathan Hallman, Denis Pellerin, Markus
Stranz.
City staff present included Glen Richardson and Sandy Curzon
1. Approval of Minutes
On motion by M. Schreiter
It was resolved:
That the minutes of February 12, 2004, as received by the members, be accepted.
2. Business Arisinq from Minutes
G. Richardson acknowledge that various subgroups have begun meeting. D. Hoch asked
that a subgroup for Safety Audit of Downtown Kitchener be added to the other five
subgroups identified February 12th. Mr. Hoch explained to Committee that there will be a
comprehensive safety audit of downtown business which will include a questionnaire about
safety issues in the downtown. DAC members will be engaged to do a walk about in the
downtown to ensure the audit is as complete as possible.
Action: Anyone interested in assisting with the Safety Audit subgroup are asked to
advise D. Hoch.
3. Employment Lands Debate
G. Richardson thanked DAC members for their recent involvement in the city's investment
package process, specifically as it dealt with employment lands.
Councillor Smola expressed his appreciation to Committee members for the different points
of view received during the debate process. Committee then discussed the allocation of
money for the projects within the investment package.
After further discussion, Committee members decided to put forth a recommendation to
Finance & Corporate Services Committee to ask Council to investigate the possibility of
having a library on the Centre Block and to allocate $32.5 million, as identified in the
downtown investment package.
Action: Ms. Petsche-Good to draft up the recommendation to Finance & Corporate
Services Committee, on behalf of DAC, and circulate to Committee members for
approval.
DAC Minutes Page 1 of 2
March 11, 2004
4. Report Updates
Written reports and verbal updates were provided to Committee members for the following:
a) Arts & Culture
b) Safe & Healthy Community
c) EDAC
d) Community Collaborative
5. New Business
a)
Affordable Choices Today (ACT) Forum - G. Woolner gave Committee members an
overview of the work that ACT is doing to bring housing to the downtown core. Fifty-
five people attended a Forum at City Hall th · ·
on March 4 which ~ncluded guest speakers
from Ottawa and Winnipeg and where they discussed:
· How to deal with cash strapped owners
· Example projects in Canada which have shown innovative practices in creating new
housing
· Vacant downtown space for suitable housing
· Market niche that upper floor condos would attract
· Tax breaks if any
· Planning and building regulations
b)
An invitation to the Mayor's 2004 State of the City Address and Charity Breakfast
were distributed to members. Invitations will be mailed to those members not in
attendance at today's meeting.
On motion, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m
Next Meeting - Thursday, April 8, 2004
4pm-6:00pm, Kitchener City Hall, Schmalz Room, 2nd Floor
DAC Minutes
March 11, 2004
Page 2 of 2