HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2000-03-22EDA\2000-03-22
Economic Development Advisory Committee
March 22, 2000
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Council Caucus Room, 2na Floor, City Hall
Attendance:
Staff.'
Delegation:
Regrets:
Glenn Scheels - Acting Chair
Councillor Tom Galloway
Mayor Carl Zehr
Henrik Noesgaard
Scott Baird
Manfred Conrad
Peter Benninger
Mike Sully
Shawky Fahel
George Borovilos
Carla Ladd
Terry Boutilier
Patricia Bacon
Recording Secretary: Sandy Curzon
Brock Stanley
Jeff Willmer
Marie Morrison
Victor Labreche. Planning & Engineering Initiatives
Barney Strassburger, Jr., Twincorp Inc.
Patti Jameson, TDL Group Ltd.
Tom Richardson, Sullivan Mahoney
Hans Pottkamper, Chair
Paul Britton
Terry Flynn
Councillor Christina Weylie
Jane Jantzi
Ray Robinson
Lawrence Bingeman
1. Approval of Minutes of January 26, 2000
Minutes of January 26, 2000 were approved as written.
Moved by Tom Galloway, Carried.
2. Compass Kitchener Presentation - Marie Morrison
Marie Morrison provided an overview of Compass Kitchener and the results of Round I. She
indicated that Round II has commenced and feedback is required on the Draft Vision and
Directions. The deadline for the questionnaire is set for April 20, 2000. In addition, Round III,
which is the Community Roundtable, is targeted for May 27, 2000.
Action: Committee members were asked to complete the questionnaire and fax/mail it back to
Sandy Curzon before April 20th.
3. Industrial Land Strategy Study Update- Terry Boutilier
Terry Boutilier indicated since the presentation of the draft report on January 26th, several
meetings have been held by the Vision Committee to examine how to bring the identified sites to
a developable state.
Three phases have been identified:
Phase I
This phase would satisfy the immediate land needs up to three years depending on the level of
demand. Two sites have been identified: the Huron Woods/Activa Holdings parcel (52 acres)
and the Maple Leaf Food property (46 acres). George Borovilos indicated that Council
approved the acquisition of approximately 20 acres of the Huron Woods/Activa Holdings site in
order to kick-start the development of the 52 acres.
Phase II
After a full review of several sites, it was concluded that the next large tract of potentially
developable land is the land along Victoria Street up to the Grand River. These lands are
currently privately owned, and are already designated and zoned for industrial use. It was
pointed out that these lands are three to five years from being developed due to infrastructure
issues related to servicing, capacity, road extensions eg., Shirley Ave. and Lackner, and the
environmental assessment process.
Phase III
This phase was identified as long term. This involved lands around the airport and brought out
the historical issue of the Grand River Trunk line to service the area.
The Committee expressed the need to have the options ready for Council's approval. The
challenge identified and discussed by the committee was the need to have Phase I! lands on-
stream prior to Phase ! being sold out.
Action: The Vision Committee will re-convene prior to the April 26th meeting
4. Highway #7 Extension- Brock Stanley
On March 20th, the consulting firm McCormick Rankin presented their report on Highway #7
extension to the Environmental Committee. Mr. Stanley outlined a number of options and
requested a recommendation to take to Council for April 10th. The Committee agreed to support
the new alignment option.
Action: Brock Stanley to prepare a recommendation for Committee's approval.
5. Drive Thru - JeffWillmer
Jeff Wilmer of the Planning Division provided an overview of the issue through a PowerPoint
presentation. He indicated that Staff are preparing an urban design brief to clearly state the
City's expectation of the industry in the submission of applications for drive-thru facilities. This
brief will review site plan issues related to:
· Industry trends
· Stacking
· Ingress/egress to the site
· Multiple drive-thrus on one site
· Pedestrian movement
· Signage
· Lighting
· Noise
From a downtown perspective, Staff felt that the built form is not suitable for drive-thrus. It does
not encourage pedestrian movement. Therefore, Staff are proposing the prohibition of drive-
thrus downtown. However, after consultation with the industry they are examining reducing the
floor space ratio requirement with development that occurs away from the core area.
A discussion ensued focussing on prohibition vs. regulation. It was suggested that if a drive-thru
proposal met the regulations and design considerations, why not permit the use. Other factors
discussed included: landscaping requirements, parking, stacking, signage, lighting, noise, etc
Victor Labreche was asked to address the Committee on behalf of a number of Franchise owners
present in the delegations. He expressed the industry concerns:
What basis have restaurants been made an issue, and not banks and dry cleaners?
Why prohibit as opposed to regulating thru site plan and design considerations?
Action: Planning Division staff asked to provide their report prior to the next meeting of April
26th.
6. Director's Report
Due to the length of the meeting, George Borovilos advised Committee that he has hired Kathy
Bissell as the Manager of Business Facilitation effective April 3rd.
7. Other Business
None to report
Meeting adjourned at 1:12 p.m.
Moved by Peter Benninger. Carried
Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 26th, 2000
11:00 a.m. - l:OO p. m
Caucus Room, 2'a Floor, City Hall