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Home My WebLink AboutEcon Development - 2002-01-23 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES January 23, 2002 11:00 am- 1:00 pm Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall Attendance: Glenn Scheels Councillor, John Smola Jane Jantzi Lawrence Bingeman Peter Benninger Manfred Conrad Scott Baird Jeff Willmer Mike Sully Peter Cook Shawky Fahel Henrik Noesgaard Staff: George Borovilos Brock Stanley Sandy Curzon Kathy Bissell Sandy Little Rob Morgan Patricia Bacon Larry Masseo Shayne Vipond Cory Bluhm Janice Given Brandon Sloan Tina Malone-Wright Regrets: Councillor, Christina Weylie Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic Mayor, Carl Zehr Hans Pottkamper Ray Robinson 1. Review of Chair & Vice Chair Appointments Brock Stanley assumed the Chair to review the positions of Chair and Vice Chair. Glenn Scheels agreed to continue as Chair; Jane Jantzi agreed to continue as Vice Chair. It was noted that under the new Committee Structure as set out by Council, that a member of Council be appointed as Co-Chair in the absence of the Chair. It was determined that Council had appointed Councillor Christina Weylie to Co-Chair. Moved by Shawky Fahel Seconded by Mike Sully Carried 2. Approval of Minutes of December 19th , 2001 Minutes of December 19th, 2001 were approved as written. Moved by John Smola Seconded by Jane Jantzi Carried 3. Terms of Reference Committee reviewed the Terms of Reference - City of Kitchener Policy Number 1-75 as it relates to Purpose/Scope, Composition and Responsibilities. Purpose and Scope: Committee made no changes Committee Composition: Key change here was the addition of a member of Downtown Advisory Committee. Council has established this section and therefore not open to further amendment, however Committee did express their concern that a one- year term was not long enough Responsibilities: Committee made no changes 4. Kitchener Brownfield Community Improvement Plan Since 1996, Kitchener has been on the leading edge of recognizing and developing key sites throughout the City under the Adaptive Re-Use Program. Terry Boutilier, Sr. Planner came before Committee to ask for volunteers to work with staff to form a Working Group to jointly develop a Brownfield Community Improvement Plan. Mr. Boutilier emphasized that it would add credibility and prestige if leaders of our business community prepared the plan. He estimated that the Plan would take 7-9 months to prepare in order to have it before EDAC and Development & Technical Services Committee in September 2002. Background: Over the past four years, it has become clear that a major overhaul of Provincial and Federal Statutes is needed to make progress in the development of contaminated lands. In 1999 the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs jointly announced their intentions to prepare a new legislation dealing with issues of regulation, liability and financing. In 2000, staff participated with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) which influenced the development and content of Ontario's Bill 56: Brownfield Statute Law Amendment Act, which received Royal Assent November 2, 2001. EDAC Minutes January 23, 2002 November 2001, staff worked with local private planning and environmental consulting firms to host the "Manaqin.q Contaminated Lands and Brownfield Redevelopment Conference" with approximately 250 people in attendance. December 10, 2001 Hon. Paul Martin's Budget Speech included ".... The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy has agreed to develop a National Brownfield Strategy in order to ensure that Canada is a global leader in remediation". Similar to the Land Strategy Plan, the Brownfield Community Improvement Plan will identify sites; and provide financial incentives for owners to clean up sites. As it stands under CIP, the only way the City can provide financial incentives to landowners is by approval of Council and the Ministry of the Environment. Bill 56, once changed was to remove some barriers on liability. Bill 56 can freeze municipal, educational and regional taxes. TIF - Tax Incremental Finance was introduced in the US and is now being used in Hamilton. Mr. Boutilier gave Committee an example whereby you take a piece of contaminated land with a $0 value and turning it into a useable piece of land which results in employment and taxes. Take a 6 acre contaminated piece of downtown land which would cost $4 million of remediation and $1,000,000 in taxes; TIF would provide a tax break for 10 years of $400,000; once expired landowner would go back to paying the $1,000,000. There are three challenges: i. Develop an incentive package ii. Work with Ministry regulations and rules iii. Set criteria - who would qualify Jeff Willmer, Peter Benninger; Shawky Fahel and Manfred Conrad have volunteered, It was also noted that Neil Koebel and Berry Vrbanovic could be asked for their support. 5. Official Plan Review Larry Masseo, Manager of Planning; Shayne Vipond and Corey Bluhm, Planners presented a Draft Industrial Policy Structure to Committee for their comments. The plan is broken down into four areas: i. Business Enterprise District ii. Heavy Industrial Business District iii. Business Campus District iv. Potential Business Enterprise and Campus District Existing Policies Proposed Policies Heavy Industrial Heavy Industrial Business District Business Park Business Campus District General Industrial Business Enterprise District Secondary Industrial Policies Inner City Policy Area EDAC Minutes January 23, 2002 Committee provided staff with their comments to the following questions: i. Is there a need to develop industrial campuses in order to compete with those in Waterloo? Don't loose site of manufacturing Don't want to compete with Waterloo Need for pure office environment Need an area that has access to 401; bus service; servicing and amenities Try not to over specify size of facilities Lancaster Corporate Centre took 10 years to sell Extension of Downtown ii. Should manufacturing be permitted in campus districts? What forms would be compatible? Yes, light manufacturing Niche is already created because of cost of land and developers criteria (Urban Design Guidelines) Allow flexibility within policy iii. Should the Enterprise designation be wide-open in terms of permitted uses, or should we be restrictive? Some restrictions in place Core would be affected if left wide-open Spread tax base over different sector True enterprise centre iv. Inner City: Should we look for long-term retention, or look at transitions to alternative uses? Old industrial sites are no longer useable for today's manufacturing Transition needs to be set for these Incubator space for fledging businesses Will loose incubator space if look at transition alternatives Do not eliminate uses in Downtown 6. Other Business a) KPMG Report Workshops are currently being arranged for February 4thand 18th to obtain input and advise on the KPMG document b) KW Tourism Kitchener & Waterloo have hired a facilitator, Wayne Hussey to discuss the future of K-W Tourism with major stakeholders c) Victoria Street Widening Has yet to go to Regional Council on February 4th. Committee's has gone on record in support of four lanes EDAC Minutes 4- January 23, 2002 d) Land Task Force Chamber of Commerce found that CTT is moving aggressively with their findings in particularly on the Breslau lands e) Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT) Came before City Council on January 14th requesting additional funding for the next three years. On January 18th during Budget, Council agreed to continue funding CTT for one year at $120,000. Staff has been asked to review Council recommendation of September 28, 1998 in order to access the value the City has received for their money todate. Questions to consider: Are we getting value for our money ? How well is CTT performing? Are they integrating with local efforts? Is there duplication? Are local businesses benefiting? What (if any) companies have located in Kitchener since 19987 Action: Randy Ellis, CEO of Canada's Technology Triangle to be invited to a future meeting. Motion to Adjourn: Mike Sully Second: Lawrence Bingeman Carried Meeting adjourned at 1:15p.m. Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary Economic Development Advisory Committee Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 27t~', 2002 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Conestoga Room, 1St Floor, City Hall EDAC Minutes January 23, 2002