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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Minutes - 2023-04-17 SSpecial Council Meeting Minutes April 17, 2023,3:00 p.m. HR Learning Room - Second Floor City Hall City of Kitchener 200 King Street W, Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7 Present: Mayor B. Vrbanovic Councillor S. Davey Councillor D. Schnider Councillor J. Deneault Councillor C. Michaud Councillor A. Owodunni Councillor P. Singh Councillor B. loannidis Councillor M. Johnston Councillor D. Chapman Councillor A. Clancy Staff: D. Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer M. May, General Manager, Community Services and Deputy Chief Administrator V. Raab, General Manager, Corporate Services J. Readman, General Manager, Development Services J. Lautenbach, Chief Financial Officer, Financial Services D. McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services C. Bluhm, Executive Director, Economic Development L. MacDonald, City Solicitor B. Rowland, Director, Corporate Communications and Marketing D. Becks, Manager, Downtown Development & Innovation N. Goss, Manager, Policy & Research D. Saunderson, Deputy Clerk R. Kelly-Ruetz, Senior Planner A. Clark, Senior Urban Designer J. Zunic, Planner (Policy) M. Blake, Committee Administrator 1 M. Mills, Committee Administrator 1. Commencement A meeting of City Council was held at 2:29 p.m. this date, chaired by Mayor B. Vrbanovic, with all members present except Councillor P. Singh. Notice of this meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code. The meeting began with a Land Acknowledgement given by the Mayor. 2. Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof 1►•CM 3. In -camera Meeting Authorization Moved by Councillor M. Johnston Seconded by Councillor J. Deneault "That an in -camera meeting of City Council be held immediately following the special council meeting this date to consider a land acquisition or disposition matter as authorized by Sections 239 (c) of the Municipal Act, 2001, respectively." Carried 4. Recess and Reconvene The Special Council meeting recessed at 2:32 p.m. and reconvened at 2:47 p.m., chaired by Mayor B. Vrbanovic with all members present except for Councillor P. Singh. The Special Council meeting reconvened in the HR Learning room at Kitchener City Hall to allow members of Council to participate in an interactive presentation for the Downtown Kitchener (DTK) Vision and Gowning together matter listed as item 5.1 on the agenda this date. 5. Strategic Session Reports 5.1 Downtown Kitchener (DTK) Vision and Growing Together Workshop, DSD - 2023 -197 Council considered Development Services Department report DSD -2023-197, dated April 13, 2023, related to receiving feedback from Council on the E development of a new vision for downtown Kitchener (DTK); as well as considerations and priorities for future growth within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs). Natalie Goss, Manager, Policy and Research, provided opening remarks, noting staff are in attendance this date to engage Council on the future downtown Kitchener vision and growth considerations for the MTSA's. N. Goss stated the purpose of the Strategy Session is to obtain input from members of Council on two separate but related topics: (1) preliminary findings from community engagement on the Downtown Kitchener Vision project, and (2) the distribution of growth within the City's Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) through an interactive workshop. The workshop will be conducted in two parts with the first focused on the DTK Vision and the second portion providing an opportunity to explore the anticipated population growth in the following 7 of Kitchener's 10 MTSAs. Council Strategy Session Part 1 — Downtown Kitchener Vision N. Goss stated in January 2022, City Council endorsed a community -led process to develop a new vision for downtown Kitchener (DTK), noting over the last several months the Downtown Community Working Group has worked together with city staff through several themed workshop discussions to set the stage for the development of a new vision and series of principles to guide the future of DTK. A broad community engagement outreach commenced at the end of February 2023 that included several pop-up events at the Kitchener Market and Carl Zehr Square as well as a variety of online engagement approaches. N. Goss introduced James Knott, LURA Consulting, who led Council through a Mentimeter exercise to receive feedback from Council on specifically on the following question: 1. What are three words would you like to use to describe your ideal downtown Kitchener? James reviewed the words provided by Council and shared the top 10 words currently received through the public engagement process. Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services, reported staff would be taking the input shared at the session this date, together with the information shared by the community through recent DTK Vision events and online, and the Downtown Community Working Group will use the information to draft a new vision and principles for DTK. J. Readman noted it was anticipated that a draft vision and principles will be shared with the community starting in June. Council will have an opportunity to provide input on the draft vision and principles at a subsequent Council Strategy Session in August. 3 Mayor B. Vrbanovic noted staff may want to consider hosting engagement sessions for groups outside if the downtown core to ensure they also have the opportunity to engage in the process, noting although they may not have direct interaction with the downtown core, many who live within the City feel like they have a sense of connection to the downtown as a Kitchener resident, not just those who reside in the downtown. Further discussion occurred related to creating a downtown vision that has long- term goals and speaks to the downtown being an attraction area/destination. Growing Together Workshop - Part 2 Adam Clark, Senior Urban Designer, provided a brief presentation advising the City has launched the Growing Together project to implement these policies by updating the City's Official Plan and Zoning By-law. A. Clark stated the Growing Together project builds upon the previous work done with the community while responding to new direction from the province, implementing the updated Regional Official Plan, and addressing new and emerging City priorities, which create a planning framework for Kitchener's MTSAs by enabling and encouraging responsible growth for many years. A. Clark further advised the City is engaging on the Growing Together project throughout 2023, starting with an interactive workshop using a 3D -printed model of the central MTSA's. Staff have already hosted multiple public workshops, noting the purpose of the session this was to run the workshop with members of Council and to receive feedback on the following questions: 1. What are Council's priorities about directing where low, medium, and high-density growth occurs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? 2. What other considerations does Council have when accommodating new housing and jobs within the Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs)? Councillor P. Singh entered the meeting at this time. Susan Hall, LURA Consulting helped to lead members of Council through an interactive workshop, which included: • identifying their favourite items within the MTSAs, items could include buildings, public spaces, places to visit, places to shop; • identifying a preferred place to live within an MTSA; • placing approximately two -hundred 3D -printed building pieces on the model, representing 18,000 new housing units in a mix of low, medium, and high-rise housing forms. M The workshop led further discussions around the identified growth locations, greenspace, density, transitions between housing forms and supporting transit objectives. In response to questions, A. Clark indicated the feedback related to the workshop has been well received by the public as it has allowed for residents to be to participate in a tangible exercise. A. Clark advised staff will take the input shared at the session, and those of earlier public workshops, and translate the results into a smart digital model. The smart model can analyze patterns pertaining to growth, density, housing, and more. This process lets staff align the feedback provided with various technical considerations to create complementary community informed and data driven outcomes. J. Readman advised staff anticipated reporting back to Council in June with a summary of what was heard through engagement efforts. A preliminary approach to growth in the 7 central MTSAs is also anticipated to be released in June, including the general locations that will be the focus of low, medium, and high-rise forms of development. Community engagement on this work will continue throughout the summer 2023. J. Readman further advised staff expect to have an updated land use, zoning, and built form framework for Growing Together to Council for a decision towards the end of 2023. 6. Adjournment On motion the meeting adjourned at 4:43 p.m. Ey Clerk Z