HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-2025-466 - K-W Joint Service Innitiatives Committee - 2025 UpdateStaff Report
J
IKgc.;i' r� R
Chief Administrator's Office www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO
DATE OF MEETING:
Committee of the Whole
December 15, 2025
SUBMITTED BY: Margaret Love, Director, Strategy and Corporate Performance, 519-783-
8951
PREPARED BY: Margaret Love, Director, Strategy and Corporate Performance, 519-783-
8951
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward(s)
DATE OF REPORT: November 28, 2025
REPORT NO.: CAO -2025-466
SUBJECT: K -W Joint Service Initiatives Committee - 2025 Update
RECOMMENDATION:
For Information.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
• The report provides Council an update on joint service initiatives between Kitchener and
Waterloo.
• All four joint initiatives will carry over into 2026 and four new initiatives have been added and
will commence in 2026.
• There are no financial implications associated with this report.
• The community was informed by posting of the report to the City's website with the agenda
in advance of the Council meeting, and current information on the joint services page of the
City's website.
• This report supports the delivery of core services.
BACKGROUND:
This report provides Council an update on Joint Service Initiatives between Kitchener and
Waterloo. The two Cities have an established history of collaboration, and a formalized approach
through the Kitchener -Waterloo Joint Service Initiatives Committee (JSIC) for over 17 years. The
JSIC seeks to maximize effectiveness and efficiency of resources and service delivery,
collaborate on strategic initiatives, and build capacity from best practices — all to benefit residents
in both cities. Over 80 joint service initiatives have been undertaken, with some formally
completed and others continuing as part of ongoing operations and service delivery. Staff track
progress of the initiatives including service improvements, efficiencies and cost savings
achieved, which are reported to Council annually.
REPORT:
Annual joint service initiatives are identified in the fall for the upcoming year by the JSIC (the
CAOs and senior leadership teams of each municipality) by selecting several initiatives which:
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
Page 44 of 48
• Enhance the ability of either city to deliver or develop a service or program outside of its
resources;
• Create service -level improvements, while maintaining costs or producing future savings;
• Provide operational and/or capital opportunities; and/or
• Feature best practices of one or both organizations.
2025 Joint Services Initiative Accomplishments
All four 2025 initiatives will continue in 2026. Key accomplishments and progress updates for
each initiative are highlighted below.
Fleet Innovation: Continuing into 2026
• Staff from Kitchener and Waterloo continue to assess autonomous mower
implementation, including electrical infrastructure needs at key sports fields.
• Waterloo is exploring Kitchener's telematics system to track and audit Hours of Service
based on regulations from the Ministry of Transportation.
• While no savings have been realized to date, early estimates suggest autonomous
mowers may reduce maintenance costs by up to 70%, with potential annual fuel savings
of $900 and 1.5 metric tons of CO2 per unit.
Inclusionary Zoning — Affordable Housing: Continuing into 2026
• This multi-year initiative is assessing, through a coordinated approach, the impact and
opportunity of Inclusionary Zoning within Protected Major Transit Station Areas.
• On June 23, Waterloo Council passed a resolution that the implementation timing of IZ
remain as "an undetermined date in the future" and directed staff to undertake an
additional market evaluation in association with the City of Kitchener, the City of
Cambridge, and the Region of Waterloo. Staff plan to bring a report to council with
recommendations for the timing of IZ implementation in early 2026.
• Kitchener retained NBLC to update its market assessment. Kitchener's presentation of
NBLC's findings and IZ framework recommendations were received at Standing
Committee on December 1, 2025.
• A decision was made by the Minister on October 27, 2025 to approve the City of Kitchener
Official Plan amendment, which modified the implementation date for Inclusionary Zoning
policies within Protected Major Transit Station Areas, changing it from January 1, 2025 to
January 1, 2026.
• Through coordinated consultant work and shared engagement efforts, each municipality
has realized estimated savings of $130,000+.
Official Plan Comprehensive Reviews: Continuing into 2026
• The Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo are both undertaking comprehensive reviews and
updates to their respective Official Plans. These key enabling land use planning strategies
will guide future growth and development across the communities and it is important to
pursue them in a coordinated manner and toward consistent frameworks and outputs.
• Planning staff from Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and the Region continue to meet bi-
monthly to align on Official Plan policies and share learnings across jurisdictions.
• Waterloo awaits Ministry approval on Phase 1 (OPA 58) and has initiated Phase 2 work,
while Kitchener has completed all supporting studies and has drafted its new Official Plan,
with public engagement planned for late 2025 and adoption targeted for early 2026.
Page 45 of 48
• Joint efforts on integrating the Regional Official Plan policies - particularly around source
water protection and natural heritage - have led to preliminary staff resource savings
through shared approaches and reduced duplication.
Sport and Recreation Joint Services Committee: Continuing into 2026
• Kitchener and Waterloo both liaise with a variety of community, sport and recreation
groups and organizations to deliver programming and services to residents. The purpose
of this initiative is to bring consistency to the approach of sport and recreation service
delivery through information sharing, understanding best practices, joint training and
development, and maximizing resources with the potential for the initiative to expand
beyond the two Cities to include other local municipalities.
• Municipal staff across Waterloo Region have initiated planning for the 2026 Ontario
Summer Games and continue to collaborate on affiliate education sessions and special
events like the Presidents Dinner.
• Ongoing inter -municipal dialogue is helping clarify alignment opportunities and rationale
across key areas including sport affiliation, space allocation, Indigenous rentals, and
resident priority policies.
• Cricket strategy work is complete, with action items advancing to respective Councils.
• Phase 3 of the Sports Hall of Fame is underway, focusing on digitization and restarting
the induction process with a READI lens.
New Joint Service Initiatives to Begin in 2026
In addition to the four continuing initiatives, the JSIC added four new initiatives to the formal
program; updates will provided in the next annual report.
The cities of Waterloo and Kitchener will collaborate in the following areas:
(1) Zoning By -Law Review
The joint review of zoning by-laws between Kitchener and Waterloo aims to explore
opportunities for greater alignment where feasible, with the goal of providing a more
consistent regulatory framework across both cities. This includes potential consistency in
areas such as setbacks; enabling zoning that permits CMHC housing design catalogue
designs as of right; built form regulations (e.g., density and height), and streamlined
zoning categories/regulations. While recognizing that each municipality has unique
planning contexts that may not always allow for full alignment, both cities are committed
to identifying and advancing areas of shared interest.
(2) Excess Soils Feasibility Study
Kitchener and Waterloo are jointly exploring more sustainable and cost-effective
approaches to managing excess soils generated through municipal projects. Kitchener is
initiating a study focused on reusing soils on city -owned lands to reduce the need for
offsite disposal. Both cities are interested in identifying alternatives to traditional gravel pit
disposal, including the potential use of vacant municipal lands or strategic land acquisition
for beneficial reuse and future redevelopment. This collaboration offers an opportunity to
align strategies and share insights on excess soil management across both cities.
(3) Streaming Services in City Sport and Recreation Facilities
Page 46 of 48
The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo are collaborating on a clear and consistent policy
framework for live streaming services in recreation facilities. This would include
establishing shared guidelines on when and how streaming is activated, ownership and
maintenance of camera equipment, and key privacy considerations.
(4) OneWater Initiative
Kitchener and Waterloo are jointly exploring the feasibility of transitioning from
conventional water and wastewater systems toward a more circular model that
prioritizes reuse before discharge into the environment. The initiative seeks to identify
scalable, locally grounded pilot projects that could engage large water users - such as
industry and post -secondary institutions - and leverage municipal assets like stormwater
infrastructure. The overarching goal is to extend water system capacity and defer costly
investments in new supply infrastructure.
Broader Collaboration
Outside of the formal JSIC program, both municipalities collaborate informally with one another
and with other area municipalities and the Region of Waterloo as project partners. Recent
examples of local municipal collaboration outside the formal annual JSIC program include:
• Information -sharing on area municipal Strategic Plan progress and implementation
including sharing knowledge on approaches to tracking and key indicators as well as
looking for collaborative opportunities for the next iteration of the plan.
• Participation in the Reconciliation Action Partnership, a collaborative group of
municipal representatives working to coordinate efforts to support Indigenous -centred
initiatives across Waterloo Region.
• Consistent public safety communication content and timing to local residents for, e.g.,
severe weather event declarations and emergency preparedness week.
• Government relations and advocacy on a number of projects including delegation
meetings at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference and continued
advocacy to the Province on legislative priorities.
• Area municipal CAOs identify broader collaboration opportunities to improve service
effectiveness and efficiency for citizens, with an emphasis on enhanced collaboration
between the Region and local municipalities.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports the delivery of core services.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The ongoing collaboration creates operational and capital costs savings, which vary in amount
from year to year. Estimated savings are included under each initiative, where available.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting. Both Cities maintain current information about active joint service
initiatives and upcoming projects at: www.kitchener.ca/mointservices and
www.waterloo.ca/mointservices.
Page 47 of 48
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
There are no previous reports/authorities related to this matter.
APPROVED BY: Dan Chapman, Chief Administrative Officer
Page 48 of 48