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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 1999-11-24Economic Development Advisory Committee Wednesday, November 24, 1999 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Caucus Room, 2na Floor, City Hall MINUTES Attendance: Glenn Scheels, Vice-Chair George Borovilos Peter Benninger Terry Flynn Lawrence Bingeman Scott Baird Brock Stanley Paul Britton Mike Sully David Corks Ray Robinson Jane Jantzi Recording Secretary: Linda Thompson Regrets: Mayor Zehr Councillor Tom Galloway Manfred Conrad Henrik Noesgaard Councillor Christina Weylie Hans Pottkamper Shawky Fahel The Vice-Chair mentioned that Hans Pottkamper had been called to Toronto and therefore he would be filling in for H. Pottkamper to Chair the meeting. 1. Approval of Minutes of October 27, 1999 Minutes of October 27,1999 were approved as written save and except an amendment on Page 3, paragraph 6 "The general feeling was that everyone preferred that specific items of interest or items needing EDAC's input be brought forth at EDAC meetings rather than a report each month. "should read "The general consensus was to report issue driven items by Committee and/or Staff." o Moved by Mike Sully, Seconded by Scott Baird. Carried Update on Staff Report to Planning and Economic Development Committee G. Scheels advised that Hans had attended at the Planning and Economic Development Committee and made a presentation on behalf ofEDAC. G. Scheels further advised that H. Pottkamper's notes were attached for everyone's information. G. Scheels further advised that Committee voted in favour of the recommendation (all except Councillor Haalboom) and one week later at Council it was presented and passed (copy of Inter- Departmental Correspondence from Clerk' s Department attached). It was also noted that Council will forward this resolution on to the Region, all Municipalities and the Regional Economic Development Committee. o Economic Issues - Prioritizing/Staff Involvement? G. Scheels advised that a while back at the June 25 EDAC meeting a number of issues were identified by this Committee as "priority" issues. These issues were: Roads (i.e. Hwy. 7, Telecommunications, Sewer & Water, Utilities, Airport, Downtown (Retail, Boundaries, etc.), Transportation (ie. Via rail, bus system), Tourism, Government, Quality of Life (i.e. Health care, education, recreation), Industrial/Commercial Land Strategy (non-residential), Planning Policies and Business Expansion/Retention. G. Scheels asked the group to review this list and provide some input as to which items they felt were highest on the priority list. G. Borovilos advised that at present Terry Boutilier (Sr. Planner, Special Projects) of his Division is working on the Industrial Land Strategy Report and suggested that Terry will have this report (draft form) ready to present to this Committee in January. R. Robinson commented that we must ensure to advise Council of the urgency of filling our City's needs to acquire industrial land. We must ensure to stress the importance of the contribution of industrial taxes to the City and if we do not have industrial land for sale and only residential, realty taxes will go up (i.e. $2.00/1,000 sq. ft. = $200,000 per year as opposed to avg. residential $3,000 per year). For this reason and others, someone should know and be able to sell to Council the tax dollars we are talking about by having industrial lands available. P. Britton also commented that we should be looking at the fundamental issues for short- term land. G.Borovilos advised that these items have been noted and would be included in the report being prepared by Terry Boutilier. S. Baird asked if we knew what the split of residential vs. industrial/commercial compare to that of Cambridge & Waterloo. It was thought that this information as well be included in the Industrial Land Study. G. Borovilos also brought up the issue regarding Drive-Thru establishments and advised that this issue is presently underway by staff. B. Stanley advised that many more businesses are turning to Drive-Thrus and the issue of noise problems/concerns has been brought up from it. Therefore, Planning Department is relooking at the policies for Drive-Thrus. As the process moves along, this Committee will be kept informed of its progress. P. Britton asked that Promotion/Business Retention be added to priority list. R. Robinson further commented that we are 1/3 of this Region's population therefore we should be getting 1/3 of the business. M. Sully questioned if the lands by Chicopee had been approved for residential development as he noticed signage posted. B. Stanley confirmed that Council had approved this development and it will proceed with residential development in this area. The decision on this development will be clarified by March, 2000. All applications on the East side of the City were referred to OMB and will be ultimately given final approval or not by OMB. G. Borovilos also welcomed to EDAC, Mr. David Corks, the newly appointed Manager of Downtown and Market Research. G. Borovilos also advised that CTT had submitted a proposal to Smart Communities for a share of a $13.6 million dollar contribution being awarded to one City per Province. There were 24 submissions and CTT is 1 of 5 finalists. G. Borovilos will keep us posted on the outcome. G. Borovilos advised that he felt the priorities for EDAC to be Downtown, Promotion and Business Retention, Airport and Planning Policies. G. Scheels advised that this Committee will react to the "Airport" issue as it unfolds. P. Britton mentioned that there are issues i.e. Hwy. 7 that need attention due to timing of where matters are at. P. Britton understands that Province will be brining it back to the forefront. B. Stanley advised that Minister has developed alternatives and are retaining consultant assessment to bring forward in consultation process early in the New Year. Council has asked that they be brought up to date as soon as possible. B. Stanley further advised that the Department of Business and Planning Services had three (3) major initiatives for the Year 2000 and they were the Commercial Policy Review, Official Plan review and Drive-Thrus. R. Robinson advised that Hwy. 7 By-pass will be very important for commuters from Guelph to Kitchener/Waterloo and vice-versa. G. Scheels advised that maybe we make the top four (4) issues identified priorities and include them on our Agendas over the next few months. There was a consensus from the Committee that the Industrial/Commercial Land Strategy issue would remain on the list as a top priority. General consensus was to have downtown, promotion & business retention, airport and planning policies as EDAC's first list of priorities. G. Borovilos to put framework for these 4 priorities together as well as identify staff designates and at next meeting this Committee can decide who would like to volunteer for any of these issues. P. Britton suggested that the Economic Vision Committee become a Standing Committee and add bodies on as need basis. D. Corks advised that there has been some concern about the amount/health of retail in the downtown. A Committee is being formed to review this matter. He would like to see some external people on this downtown committee. T. Flynn commented that there must be a view in the context of business retention and business expansion. Break for Lunch at 12:05 p.m. Reconvened at 12:25p. m. Building Permit Process This issue was raised as an Agenda item requested by Manfred Conrad However, Manfred was unavailable at this meeting and the item was still discussed in his absence. The major concern for most people is that this process is still very timely. Ray Robinson questioned whether there is a timeline for various processes so EDAC could get a better understanding of what we are facing when looking to get a building permit. Brock Stanley advised that he did not think there was anything in writing in regards to various processes, however, he mentioned that it is very important to understand all components of the process and understand which component is the critical one. J. Jantzi advised that she felt that timelines are not the issue and more communication must exist between various divisions/staff. S. Baird advised that his company had had great service through the building permit process over the last 3 years. Scott mentioned that his own company is quite stringent and strict when it comes to dealing with their own tenants/customers and they know up front what is required so when it comes time to deal with the City things are in good shape. P. Britton commented that he felt the Building Permit Process had definitely improved between 98 & 99. He also advised that communication is a two-way street - applicants should know what they are expected to do. R. Robinson advised that for some people who do not build/develop on a regular basis, they need more attention and communication between our building division and them. R. Robinson also felt that there should be something in writing which specifically sets out what is expected, etc. 4b. o General consensus of the Committee was to improve on communication between staff and clients. This item was referred back to staff for their input/comments. The next meeting on December 22, 1999, Brock will suggest where we go on this matter. Government Facilities Downtown Due to M. Conrad's' absence from this meeting (and this being his item), this item was deferred until next EDAC meeting of December 22, 1999. Economic Development Division Director's Update G. Borovilos advised that the City now has a 3.5 acre site in the Lancaster Business Centre for sale and will be advertising this at the Real Estate Show next week in Toronto. G. Borovilos further advised that his division has now moved to the 6th floor (from the 2nd floor) and he would be providing the Committee with an organizational chart at the next EDAC meeting. D. Corks commented that under the Adaptive Reuse properties, there is only one building left - the Forsythe Building and one way or another, something will happen to this building in the near future. Year 2000 EDAC Schedule of Meeting Dates Members reviewed the list of EDAC meeting dates for each month in Year 2000 and all were confirmed to be suitable (list attached). 7. New Business Replacement for Gord Huntington J. Jantzi and S. Fahel will be reporting back to the Committee at the next EDAC meeting re: replacement for Gord Huntington (Manufacturing Sector). Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Moved by M. Sully, Seconded by Terry Flynn. Carried Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 22, 1999 (Christmas Luncheon) at 11:00 a.m., Caucus Room, 2na Floor, City Hall. cc: Members of Council Management Committee