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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2001-09-26 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 26, 2001 11:00 am- 1:00 pm Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall Attendance: Glenn Scheels Councillor, Christina Weylie Jane Jantzi Lawrence Bingeman Ray Robinson Peter Benninger Staff: George Borovilos Sandy Curzon Regrets: Mayor, Carl Zehr Councillor, John Smola Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic Hans Pottkamper Scott Baird Mike Sully Henrik Noesgaard Peter Cook Jeff Willmer Manfred Conrad Shawky Fahel 1. Approval of Minutes of June 27th , 2001 Minutes of June 27t', 2001 were deferred to next meeting for approval. 2. Committee Restructuring George Borovilos, in Brock Stanley's absence, gave Committee an overview of the Committee Restructuring Report dated August 14, 2001. The number of standing committees have been reduced from 4 to 3. The three new committees are: Finance & Corporate Services Committee; Community Services Committee; and Development & Technical Services Committee. The Development & Technical Services Committee, formerly Planning & Economic Development Committee will commence at 7pm on Committee day to accommodate the public during the public meeting portion of the Committee. Given the city-wide departmental reorganization, Council also felt that a review of standing and advisory committees was also needed. A working group of Council/Staff was then formed to review the current structure of these committees. The following in a summary of the results: Standing Committees of Council reduced from 4 to 3 Advisory Committees reduced from 9 to 6 1 Councillor and not more than 2 involved on any advisory committee Mayor is an ex-officio member on all committees Terms of Reference will not change 3. Future Agenda Items Downtown Strategic WorkPlan - draft presentation for October meeting Business Enterprise Centre Funding Proposal - report for October meeting Benchmarking - staff are finding it difficult to find comparative indicators. Mike Sully, in his absence provided Committee with a potential list of indicators. Direction from Committee was to keep it simple using measurements such as tax assessment; jobs; and landsales. Compare Kitchener with municipalities of the same size such as Waterloo, Barrie and Oakville. To be tabled at November's meeting Official Plan Review - table for December to obtain feedback on industrial section. 4. Huron Business Park- Economic Impact Analysis George Borovilos felt there was merit in doing an Economic Impact Analysis study of Huron Business Park. This analysis would include three areas: revenue/expenditure statement, tax assessment, and a multiplier effect. The results of the study could then be used to satisfy the City's role in maintaining its involvement in industrial land development. 5. Inward Investment Analysis George Borovilos explained that the Corporate Visitation Program, assists staff to understand why businesses are here and determine their potential future land needs. An impact analysis will also allow us to understand why some sectors are growing faster than others, and what sectors require new programming needs. After some discussion (no quorum), It was felt that staff, through the Visitation Program could gain greater exposure to business needs if this investment analysis was done in-house. 6. Updates CTT Land Task Force - final draft will be available for review by EDAC Committee for November meeting GEG/90 Woodside - by-law has been amended restricting specific uses for 3 years with a 20 day appeal period. Currently waiting for a decision on whether or not to appeal. Water Resource Protection Strategy - Province of Ontario has permitted the use of a Development Permit System (DPS) in five pilot areas including the Waterloo Region. ADPS effectively replaces zoning, site plan control and committee of adjustment applications for minor variances. It also allows a municipality to establish conditions of approval over and above those normally required for such applications. EDAC Minutes September 26, 2001 7. New Business George Borovilos indicated that he is a member of the Tourism Committee which currently operates through the Chamber of Commerce. A potential new tourism structure is expected to be formulated by spring of 2002 for January 2003 implementation. He has been asked to keep Committee updated. Meeting adjourned at 1:10p.m. Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary Economic Development Advisory Committee Department of Business & Planning Services Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, October 24th, 2001 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Conestoga Room, 1St Floor, City Hall EDAC Minutes September 26, 2001