HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-24 EDAC minutes
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 24, 2018 City of Kitchener
The Economic Development Advisory Committee met on this date, commencing at 11:07 a.m.
Members: Andrew Head, Anthony Zammit, Barclay Whittaker, Councillor Bil Ioannidis,
Jeremy Auger (Chair), Johanna Classon-Romero, Margaret Johnston, Mark
Bingeman, Councillor Paul Singh, Sandra O’Hagan, Councillor Scott Davey
Staff in attendance: Brian Bennett, Chloe Howell, Cory Bluhm, Lauren Nelson, Thom Ryan, Valerie
Bradford
Delegations: Dayna Edwards;
Senior Planner (Urban Design), Development Services, City of Kitchener
Adam Clark;
Urban Designer, Development Services, City of Kitchener
Business Items
1. Update: Urban Design Manual
Dayna Edwards and Adam Clark gave a project overview on the Urban Design Manual update.
See attachment 1 for presentation.
The manual we have now was created in 1999, so there is a significant need for it to be updated,
therefore bringing the manual into today’s context. The intentions for the updated Urban Design
Manual include setting a direction for the future and outline best practices. Part A of the manual
deals with “Land Use & Built Form Guidelines” and is broken up into 13 sections. The section
dealing with ‘Design for Tall Buildings’ is already approved and in effect.
Project timeline
September 2018 Consultation with Committees of Council & Citizen Boards
September 15, 2018 Public engagement at Doors Open Waterloo
October 2018 and onward Prepare final draft
Spring 2019 Stakeholder & Internal staff engagement
Fall 2019 Council for final approval
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 24, 2018 City of Kitchener
The intention of the new manual is to be flexible and scalable; accommodating development but still
achieving good design. We want to make sure developments are contextually appropriate for their
area, and that every building is the best it can be in that particular location.
The draft of the proposed zoning by-law allows for density bonusing incentives. Three pillars of
what the manual embodies:
Economic development
City building
Sustainability
If the Urban Design guidelines are not “future-proof” they will go out of style and not get
implemented. We want to make sure that ten years from now, it still works because flexibility is built
into the plan. A well-designed city will have developments of mixed sizes and affordability levels to
ensure talent attraction and retention.
Comprehensive review of the zoning by-law (CRoZBy) will complement the Urban Design Manual
updates, especially when it comes to understanding the balance between protecting natural areas
and encouraging development.
EDAC members feel it is important to have clearer guidelines to encourage small-medium
developments. Smaller developers do not usually have the capital to help them get through a
complicated and expensive system, thus creating a big gap in the make-up of our city.
A big advantage of the new manual is that it is divided into sections, making the process more
streamlined and less vague. Instead of reviewing the current 300+ page document, people can just
look at the section(s) that apply. The updated Urban Design Manual is intended to be a living
document, one that stays current and relevant throughout the coming years. Because the new
manual is in sections, updates can be made to specific sections as needed.
Action: send link to the updated urban design manual to the group for review.
Dayna and Adam will be working on the final draft through the winter, and encourage EDAC
members to reach out and provide feedback.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 24, 2018 City of Kitchener
2. EDAC moving forward
List of topics to help shape the direction of EDAC for the upcoming year:
Topics Already Planned for the EDAC Agenda
The following are major initiatives already planned to form part of EDAC’s 2019 Agenda:
Make It Kitchener Refresh (stakeholder consultation anticipated for the Fall of 2019, strategy
refresh approved in 2020)
Comprehensive Review of the City’s Development Services (engagement expected in Q1 or
Q2 of 2019)
Make It Kitchener Action Items
The following are the major initiatives from Make It Kitchener that are in progress which could
warrant discussion in the next 12-24 months:
Food Incubator (stakeholder consultation happening this fall, business case to be developed
in 2019)
Manufacturing Incubator (business case to be developed in 2019)
Creative Hub (Council approved, fully operational in Winter 2019)
Film, Music & Interactive Media Office (brainstorming session late 2018 or in 2019 once the
Development Officer is hired)
Downtown City-Owned Land Strategy (discussion possible for Spring 2019)
Special Events Strategy (discussion possible for Spring 2019)
Two-Way All Day GO (business case refresh, planned for completion in 2019)
Digital Main Street (currently underway, could be an info sharing/discussion topic at any
time)
Other Economic Development Topics / Challenges
The following are major conversation points in the community, topics raised in the past by EDAC
Members, or works expected over the next 12 months that may be of interest to EDAC:
Regional Ec Dev Strategy Refresh (Winter 2019)
Growth in the Health Industry / MedTech
Brownfield Program (to be reviewed in the Winter 2019)
CRoZBy (Comprehensive Review of the Zoning By-law)
Development Charges Bylaw - Industrial DC Exemptions (by-law currently under review)
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 24, 2018 City of Kitchener
Housing affordability and availability, intensification, gentrification (continuation of
September discussion)
Employment Opportunities / Labour Shortages in Trades, Advanced Manufacturing, Skilled
Labour
Global Shift in Retail
Sports Tourism
Talent Attraction / Retention
Other
Facility Tours (e.g. Google, Catalyst 137)
Based on feedback, there are 11 topics selected from the above lists as being the most relevant
and interesting to the group:
1. Retail Shift (including implications for home businesses, strip plazas, mixed use development,
mall redevelopment, main street retail, trends)
2. IoT, Data, Fibre network (leveraging our mesh network, open data, Sidewalk Labs experience)
3. CRoZBy (Zoning By-law Review)
4. Tourism at a macro level (new tourism opportunities, sport tourism, hospitality services, arts,
culture, events)
5. University, College and Municipal Partnerships (how might our organizations advance even
greater collaboration, engage Office of Research)
6. City-owned Land Strategy (including current terminal lands)
7. Housing affordability (including housing innovation, such as Tiny Homes)
8. 10th Floor of Kitchener City Hall
9. Federal Level challenges: talent, capital and customers
10. Collaboration between Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge
11. ION business support
Action: staff will email EDAC members a survey to complete, indicating how interested they are in
each of these 11 topics, ranging from ‘not very interested’ to ‘significant body of work / working
committee’
Based on the survey results, staff will sit down with the Chairs to draft next year’s agenda.
Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
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