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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Minutes - 1996-08-06 SCOUNCIL\1996-08-06-SPE AUGUST 6, 1996 SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER A special meeting of City Council was held at 12:50 p.m. this date, Chaired by Mayor R. Christy, with all members present. Notice of this special meeting had previously been given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 25 of the Municipal Code. Moved by Councillor John Smola Seconded by Councillor C. Weylie "That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement dated July 23, 1996, with Dianne Roedding and Shirley Harrop, to temporarily permit a Garden Suite at 47 Ellis Avenue, Kitchener." Carried. Moved by Councillor J. Ziegler Seconded by Councillor M. Yantzi "That Kitchener City Council has no objection to the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario issuing a permit to the Victoria Park 100th Anniversary Committee to allow for the licenced sale of alcoholic beverages on Roos Island in Victoria Park during the Anniversary Festival, August 24 and 25, 1996, and further, That this event be designated as a Community Festival." Carried. Moved by Councillor J. Ziegler Seconded by Councillor B. Vrbanovic "That the City of Kitchener has no objection to a Provincial licence being issued to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Waterloo Regional Branch, to conduct a Monte Carlo event at the Turf Club, 4278 King Street East, Kitchener, on September 6-8, 1996, inclusive." Carried. Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised of an additional item for the in-camera meeting of Council planned for this date involving the security of City property. Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic Seconded by Councillor J. Ziegler "That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held immediately following this special meeting to consider a personal matter, a labour relations matter, a land acquisition matter, a potential litigation matter, 3 matters involving solicitor-client privilege, and a matter involving the security of City property." - and - "That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 7, 1996, to consider a personal matter." Carried. Moved by Councillor K. Redman Seconded by Councillor M. Yantzi "That leave be given the Mover and Seconder to introduce the following by-laws, namely: (a) Being a by-law to amend By-law 85-1 - D. Roedding and S. Harrop - Ellis Avenue SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 - 304- CITY OF KITCI:IENER (b) (c) To confirm all actions and proceedings of the Council and that the same be taken as read a first, second and third times, numbered serially by the Clerk." (By-law No. 96-105) (By-law No. 96-106) Being a by-law to approve a Capital Expenditure for the undertaking of various construction or renovation projects and the purchase of urban buses and fire vehicles, at a total estimated cost of $2,887,000 and the borrowing of money therefor (By-law No. 96-107) be finally passed and On motion, the meeting adjourned. Carried. MAYOR CLERK SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 CITY OF KITCHENER A special meeting of City Council was held at 7:00 p.m. this date, Chaired by Mayor R. Christy, with all members present. Notice of this special meeting had previously been given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code. Mayor R. Christy advised those in attendance that the purpose of the meeting was to consider realignment of ward boundaries and naming of new wards for purposes of the 1997 Municipal Election. Council was in receipt of a submission dated August 1, 1996 from Mr. R.W. Pritchard, City Clerk, prepared in response to the direction given by City Council at its meeting held June 17, 1996. Ms. Mary Ann Wasilka, President of the Central Frederick Neighbourhood Association appeared as a delegation in support of her July 29, 1996 correspondence relative to issues pertaining to change in ward boundaries which was distributed to Council with Mr. Pritchard's submission. Ms. Wasilka objected to the short time frame pertaining to consideration and decision making on this issue and advised that it was impossible to consult with community residents particularly over the summer months. Ms. Wasilka then reviewed the pros and cons of the proposed configuration of their ward. She listed the cons as follows: · one Councillor must share residential concerns with retail concerns · less political power within City Council · the Ward Councillor must represent several conflicting communities of interest covering: retail, residential/retail, inner city residential and suburban residential views · the Ward is split by physical barriers, ie. King Street and the Conestoga Parkway · residents in proposed Ward 6 & 8 with a lesser number of eligible electors will have more political influence than the electors of other Wards · the proposed Ward realignment results in the loss of an inner city Councillor which could lead to a lower priority for inner city issues The only pro of the ward realignment in Ms. Wasilka's view was that the core would not be split in the middle and this will be of benefit to residents living in the core. Ms. Wasilka stressed that she would very much like to consult with community residents but there was insufficient time. In response to Councillor M. Wagner, Ms. Wasilka advised that she was concerned about the question of retail voice competing with the concerns of residents of the ward. Councillor Wagner advised that as a ward representative he has found that dealing with both competing retail and residential interests was not a concern. Councillor K. Redman commented that it was not unusual to deal with both retail and residential concerns over an issue. Ms. Wasilka commented that rural areas have a higher political representation than urban areas at the Region of Waterloo and suggested that the same logic also be applied to downtown wards of the City. Finally, Ms. Wasilka asked that the ward boundary changes not be rushed and that the next time such change was proposed that the Council leave adequate time for community consultation. On the matter of the number of Ward Councillors with a direct connection to King Street in the downtown, Councillor Jake Smola advised that currently the boundaries of four wards touch onto King Street within the downtown and that under the recommended realignment of ward boundaries this does not change. Mr. Martin de Groot, President of the Civic Centre Neighbourhood Association, appeared as a delegation as a private citizen to support the views on the recommended realignment of ward boundaries contained in his correspondence distributed with the submission of Mr. R.W. Pritchard. Mr. de Groot commented that City staff had done an excellent job on the realignment of the ward boundaries given the criteria Council assigned in this regard. However, he suggested the criteria should be reconsidered particularly the requirement that projected democratic and economic development trends and population density be taken into account. He expressed serious concern over the projected density and suggested that granting electoral franchise based on something that might happen was inappropriate. The outcome of this was that new Ward 6 & 8 would have twice the weighting of new Wards 2 & 9 in the next election. He stressed that even the most carefully considered estimate can turn out to be quite wrong. Mr. de Groot also suggested that the assumption of no growth in the downtown wards was inaccurate given known projects that are under consideration. As well, he pointed out that there were numerous parcels of land awaiting development. Accordingly, he requested that the ward boundaries be established according to current population. Mr. de Groot also suggested that expansion of the number of City Councillors should not have been so quickly rejected by Council. It was his view that increasing the number of Ward Councillors as the City grows would preserve effective representation for residents. In addition, it was his view that City Councillors were overworked and that they should serve no more than 15,000 constituents. Further, he commented that in consideration of the remuneration Councillors receive they were one of the greatest human resource bargains available to the City and that this should not be lost sight of. SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 - 306- CITY OF KITCHENER Finally, Mr. de Groot itemized the eight suggestions for the realignment of ward boundaries as outlined in his correspondence. Councillor M. Wagner commented that the population projections in respect to downtown wards were probably inaccurate as a result of several on going projects. He questioned if Mr. de Groot could estimate projected growth in downtown wards. Mr. de Groot noted that factors to consider were the lack of good apartments in the downtown area and the life cycle of neighbourhoods and it was his view that downtown wards could have 20% more residents by the year 2005. Councillor M. Wagner questioned if it was unrealistic to ask for an extension from the Ontario Municipal Board in regard to the realignment of ward boundaries. Mr. R.W. Pritchard referred Council to Schedule '1' of his submission being a letter dated May 31, 1996 from the Ontario Municipal Board that clearly sets out the requirements contained in the Municipal Act for issuance of a Board Order before January 1, 1997. He noted that the reason behind this requirement is that the Municipal Election Act permits registration for electoral office as of January 1, 1997 for the November 1997 municipal election and prospective candidates must identify the office for which they propose to run for election. On the matter of population estimates, Councillor M. Yantzi pointed out that population shifts take place and that even with a number of apartment projects generating increased residency there is also a cycle of population decrease which tends to balance out the increases. Accordingly, he did not think the population increase within the downtown wards could be as large as was being suggested. Mr. de Groot asked that Council consider some realigning based on known population factors, not informed guesses with respect to population trends. Councillor K. Redman referred to the comments that Mr. de Groot made respecting elimination of the ward system. Mr. de Groot stated that all Councillors should act in the interests of all residents and it was his view that when wards become too large, the purpose of the ward system is negated. Councillor M. Yantzi commented that the Kitchener Downtown Business Association had expressed concern regarding use of Charles Street as a ward boundary rather than King Street and questioned the impact of a change. Dr. R. Williams commented that shifting the Charles Street boundary to King Street would increase the population of Ward 2 residents over the limit established in the criteria but he stressed that population numbers should not be the only driving force in consideration of any adjustments to the proposed boundary lines. It was agreed the following shifts in ward boundary lines would be considered: shifting of the Wards 1 & 2 boundary line from Charles Street to King Street, as well as a similar shift between Wards 2 & 5 and a slight revision of the southerly corner of the boundary between Wards 4 & 5 so as to extend the boundary from Old Chicopee Drive directly to the Grand River. Councillor M. Wagner requested that he be put on record as being of the opinion that the population projection figures for the inner city wards were incorrect noting that acceptance of the projected population figures means that every adaptive reuse project and all other projects would fail. Dr. R. Williams pointed out that even with the boundary line shift between Wards 1 & 2 from Charles Street to King Street the projected population would still be within the accepted minimum-maximum range for ward population. He also pointed out that it has been recommended that boundaries be revisited after three elections or more often if required. Moved by Councillor K. Redman Seconded by Councillor J. Ziegler "That we give final approval to the Ten Ward Configuration based on Scenario #2 agreed to by City Council at its meeting held June 17, 1996 subject to: - King Street, rather than Charles Street, being the boundary line between Wards 1 & 2 and between Wards 2 & 5 - the southerly boundary line between Wards 4 & 5 being shifted slightly so as to extend easterly from Old Chicopee Drive/Morrison Road to the Grand River." Carried. Council then considered and discussed issues relating to naming of the ten wards, as well as the ward numbers designated under the approved ten ward configuration. In this regard, the ward names suggested in correspondence from Messrs. Bill Corbett and Conrad Lindner were considered. SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 - 307- CITY OF KITCI:IENER Moved by Councillor J. Ziegler Seconded by Councillor G. Lorentz "That the following wards having little or no boundary realignment retain their existing names, being: - Ward 3 be named Bridgeport-North Ward - Ward 7 be named Fairview Ward - Ward 9 be named Forest Ward - Ward 10 be named West Ward" Carried. In response to a question, Mr. R.W. Pritchard advised that if Council does not submit ward names with its application to the Ontario Municipal Board, the Board would approve only numbered wards for electoral purposes. Councillor M. Yantzi commented that he would like to see more consultation with the community on the naming of the new wards. Councillor M. Wagner suggested that Ward 2 be named either Victoria-Rockway Ward or Rockway- Victoria Ward to reflect the amalgamation of the current Victoria Park Ward and Rockway-St. Mary's Ward. Moved by Councillor J. Ziegler Seconded by Councillor M. Yantzi "That Ward 2 be named Rockway-Victoria Ward." Carried. Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic Seconded by Councillor M. Wagner "That Ward 5 be named Chicopee Ward." Before consideration of Councillor B. Vrbanovic's motion, Councillor Jake Smola raised the issue of reference within the community to the Stanley Park area which is totally within Chicopee Ward and suggested Stanley Park might be a more accurate name for Ward 5. Regardless of the name chosen for Ward 5, Councillor Jake Smola advised that he would be proposing that Ward 4, which is comprised of a large portion of existing Stanley Park Ward but not the Stanley Park area, be named Grand River Ward. Councillor B. Vrbanovic commented that while the actual area of Stanley Park is located south of Ottawa Street, the perception within the community is that the Stanley Park area is located on both sides of Ottawa Street extending easterly from the Conestoga Parkway. The motion of Councillor B. Vrbanovic respecting the naming of Ward 5 as Chicopee Ward was then put to a vote and Carried. Moved by Councillor T. Galloway Seconded by Councillor M. Wagner "That Ward 6 be named Doon-Pioneer Ward." Carried. Moved by Councillor T. Galloway Seconded by Councillor M. Wagner "That Ward 8 be named South Ward." Carried. Moved by Councillor K. Redman Seconded by Councillor J. Ziegler "That Ward 1 be named Centre Ward." SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 - 308- CITY OF KITCI:IENER Carried. Moved by Councillor Jake Smola Seconded by Councillor M. Wagner "That Ward 4 be named Grand River Ward." Carried. Moved by Councillor J. Ziegler Seconded by Councillor Jake Smola "That the ward numbers on the map dated June 17, 1996 outlining recommended realignment of ward boundaries be accepted as presented." Carried. Council then considered the issue of an effective date for the re-division of City wards and application required to legalize the new 10 ward system. Councillor J. Ziegler recommended the City proceed to seek the necessary approval and avoid the possibility of implementation of the new ward boundaries through amendment to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Act. Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic Seconded by Councillor J. Ziegler "That for purposes of the 1997 Municipal Election process, December 31, 1996 shall be the date on which the re-division of electoral wards shall take effect." Carried. Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic Seconded by Councillor J. Ziegler "That staff be instructed to prepare a by-law authorizing the City Clerk to make application to the Ontario Municipal Board to implement the new ten ward system and realigned ward boundaries and that such by-law be presented to City Council at its regular meeting on August 12, 1996 for three readings." Carried. On motion, the meeting adjourned. MAYOR CLERK