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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2009-01-26 SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2009 CITY OF KITCHENER A special meeting of City Council was held at 2:06 p.m. this date, chaired by Mayor C. Zehr with all members present. 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. Council was advised that this special Council meeting was a strategic planning session which was being held to allow discussion on various strategic initiatives and directions being taken by the City. Mr. M. Seiling, Director of Building & Chief Building Official, provided an update on the following three topics: construction after building permit issuance; customer service initiatives; and, 2008 building permit statistics. He showed a clip from an episode of the CBC show Marketplace entitled `New Home Nightmares', dealing with the issue of new homes constructed in the City of Hamilton which appeared to be constructed below the minimum standards prescribed by the Building Code Act. Mr. Seiling stated that last year 146 Building Code complaints were filed, 124 dealt with construction starting prior to obtaining a permit. He stated that Building staff resolved 80% of these violations without having to issue astop-work order. He noted that this speaks to staff's ability to work with the customer to find an amicable solution. He added that another testament to the Building Division's positive customer relations is the Tuesday night express service. For the last six years, Building staff have offered extended hours of operation every Tuesday over a 16-week period during the summer months. This service is specifically dedicated to dealing with permit requests from residential homeowners for projects such as decks, sheds and swimming pools. He noted that last year 153 permits were issued through this initiative. Mr. Seiling then reviewed the building permit statistics for 2008. He stated that the City's permit numbers were strong for most of the year, noting that it was not until December that staff first noticed a decrease. Mr. Seiling outlined that for 2009, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has predicted that Kitchener's new house construction activity would increase by 3.5% and noted the following large ICI projects that are anticipated to move forward next year: the courthouse at Frederick Street; 10-storey apartment building on Block Line Road; a new elementary school; two hotels on Conestoga Boulevard; a hotel on Kingsbury Drive; and, the redevelopment of the Tannery District. Mayor C. Zehr inquired if there were any circumstances where a construction company would be permitted to undertake their own inspections, and was advised that such a situation is only permitted to occur under the CSA approved process for pre-manufactured homes. Mr. Seiling stated that at this time he is not aware of any pre-fabricated homes being constructed in Kitchener. He noted that building officials are not supportive of this process as it does not provide for independent building inspections. Councillor B. Vrbanovic noted the positive responses he has received from members of the public regarding the Tuesday night express service and commended staff on that initiative. Ms. C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer, presented the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan advising that it incorporates the Corporate Plan (2002), the Healthy Community Plan (2006) and the People Plan (2008). She stated that underpinning the Plan are the six community priorities identified and developed through the Healthy Community process, being: Quality of Life; Leadership and Community Engagement; Diversity; Development; Dynamic Downtown; and, Environment. She stated that the structure of the twenty-year Strategic Plan is such that all City initiatives are to be aligned with the priorities and directives contained therein and these initiatives will be identified on an annual basis in departmental business plans. The City's annual business planning cycle is intended to provide a process in which to review annual work plans across the Corporation and align annual budgets. She noted that the formal rollout of the City's Strategic Plan is scheduled for January 29, 2009. Ms. S. Adams, Director of Community & Corporate Planning, advised that the City's annual status report will continue to measure and report back to citizens and Council on the progress made on the six community priorities. Progress and achievement will be tracked through more than 130 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) covering each of the priorities. This allows staff to measure the results and outcomes of the work of City government and use that information to consistently make better business decisions for the future. She stated that Compass Kitchener will continue its own analysis and evaluation of the results of the annual status report to Council and report their overall grading of the City's achievements via its annual `Citizens Report Card'. The Report Card shows the City's success in reaching the goals set out for each term of Council as well as long term goals and strategic directions now captured under the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan. She then reviewed a SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2009 - 21 - CITY OF KITCHENER list of the various initiatives that were undertaken in 2008 and anticipated for 2009 and outlined how each initiative aligned with the priorities and goals identified in the Strategic Plan. Staff was directed to provide Council with a copy of the summary of initiatives presented by Ms. Adams. In addition, staff was also requested to circulate a list of the ongoing projects that were not covered in the summary. At the request of Councillor G. Lorentz, staff agreed to conduct a direct mahout to the residents in the Kingsdale area to update them as to the status of the Kingsdale Community Centre. Councillor B. Vrbanovic inquired as to the status of the implementation of the Corporate-wide Active Customer Response Program (ACR) as well as the status of the City's website review. Ms. J. Murphy, Customer Service Project Manager, advised that as part of Phase 1 of the Customer Service Strategy the general inquiry phone lines for Operations, Legislated Services and Enforcement Divisions were transferred to the Corporate Call Centre, which employs the ACR system. She stated that staff are currently investigating the best means of moving forward with Phase 2 and anticipate providing a report to Council on this matter by the end of 2009. Mr. M. May, Director of Communications & Marketing, advised that the next step in the website review is to hire a company to undertake the redesign. He noted that once the redesign is implemented, staff will proceed with investigating the various e-government initiatives that could be incorporated into the website. He stated that staff anticipates providing a report on the website redesign by late 2009. Council considered Development and Technical Services Department report DTS-09-015 (A. Pinard), dated January 21, 2009, regarding comments and concerns with respect to the Region's Draft Official Plan. Councillor B. Vrbanovic suggested, and it was agreed that any recommendation arising from the discussion of staffs' comments on the first draft of the Regional Official Plan 2029 (ROP) would be deferred and referred to the regular Council meeting scheduled for later this date; to be considered in conjunction with the recommendations arising from the January 19, 2009 Development and Technical Services (DTS) Committee meeting on the Kitchener Growth Management Strategy (KGMS). Mr. Dave Aston addressed Council as a follow-up to the comments made by Mr. Bernie Hermsen, MHBC Planning, at the January 19, 2009 DTS Committee meeting. Mr. Aston circulated written copies of a recommendation which he asked Council to consider, being: "There may be strategic advantages in identifying an urban reserve beyond 2029. The southwest portion of Kitchener (those lands within the municipal boundary but not identified as City Urban Area in the Regional Official Plan) could be a candidate area. The City of Kitchener will consider /assess this matter in providing input to the proposed Regional Official Plan." Mr. D. Aston stated that as the City of Kitchener is the largest municipality in the Region, a majority of future growth is projected to occur within its boundaries. Accordingly, a strategic position needs to be taken to manage this growth and planning for along-term urban reserve would serve to preserve the City's flexibility. He added that further discussion and investigation is needed regarding the establishment of a Countryside Line and requested that staff put forward a recommendation to the Region on a long-term urban reserve in the southwest area of Kitchener. In response to questions, Mr. D. Aston advised that his recommendation is the same as the one previously proposed by Mr. Hermsen at the January 19, 2009 DTS Committee meeting. Mayor C. Zehr pointed out that at that meeting Mr. Hermsen stated that he had no concerns with what staff was recommending provided there was an understanding that they would continue to work with the Region on this matter before a final decision is made. In response to issues raised by the delegation, Mr. A. Pinard advised that the draft ROP identifies a Countryside Line that traverses the southwest corner of Kitchener, which would act as a boundary to contain future urban growth and to protect farmlands and sensitive natural areas. He stated that the authority to establish permanent boundaries under the current planning framework and the merit of doing so given the possibility of new technologies in the future requires further investigation and discussion with the Region. Developing areas adjacent to the Countryside Line will be designed and serviced very differently depending on if the Countryside Line is permanent or long-term. He further advised that the action in the KGMS to direct staff to examine the merits of an urban reserve in southwest Kitchener was reworded from the original draft and qualifiers were added. Several SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2009 - 22 - CITY OF KITCHENER members suggested that the language in the Countryside Line section of report DTS-09-015 should be strengthened before these comments are submitted to the Region. Mr. Pinard noted that the current wording provides flexibility and leaves the door open to further dialogue with the Region. Mr. A. Pinard then reviewed staff's key observations of the first complete draft of the ROP, as outlined in report DTS-09-015. He stated that City staff has participated in the ROP review process starting with general discussions in 2006 and more formally through the ROP Municipal Working Group that was formed in the Fall of 2007. Since the release of the ROP in September 2008, the Working Group has continued to meet to discuss areas of concern and supplementary meetings have been held that involve the CAOs and other senior municipal officials from across the Region. He advised that the ROP did contain a lot of positive elements and that staff are particularly supportive of the overall vision that promotes compact urban communities and greater transportation choices. He commented that one of the more significant aspects of the draft ROP is that it represents a fundamental shift from the Region's current role in municipal planning. This new role would have the Region involved in many areas of detailed local planning, which have been matters outside of their traditional jurisdiction. He stated that staff is unsure as to why an expanded role is being pursued and noted that the draft ROP is also very directive in its tone. Area municipalities are directed to implement very prescriptive policies throughout the document, which leaves little opportunity for independent decision making. He noted that during the Working Group meetings, City staff has expressed the position that the Region should maintain a strategic roll and that detailed municipal planning should be left to the local municipalities. In response to a question from Councillor Lorentz, Mr. Pinard advised that in the end if the City is not satisfied with what is being prescribed by the ROP, it can file an appeal with the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). He speculated that the Region has no desire to see the ROP appealed, which is why they are open to making changes at this time. He outlined that throughout this process staff has been providing detailed comments to the Region, the highlights of which have been included in the staff report under the following subject areas: • transportation planning /dominance of rapid transit; • employment /industrial lands; • complete communities; • implementation of targets; • countryside line; • cultural heritage resources /landscapes; • planned community structure (nodes /corridors); • greenlands network; and, • source water protection. Several members inquired as to whether it was necessary to add a further clause to the staff recommendation in relation to the detailed comments that have not been specifically outlined in report DTS-09-015. Ms. C. Ladd stated that the comments provided for in the staff report provide a high level overview of the City's concerns and estimated that they should be sufficient to meet the Region's January 28, 2009 submission deadline. She advised that a more detailed response could be provided once feedback is received from the Region as to the changes they are willing to make. Mr. A. Pinard noted that six of the issue areas have been identified as being common to all local municipalities, which he noted should make it evident to the Region that changes need to be made to the ROP. Mayor C. Zehr raised questions regarding the nodes /corridors, in particular how the various nodes / corridors were to be accounted for in the ROP; such as, the Wellington Street corridor or the Bridgeport business area node. Mr. B. Sloan advised that while the ROP shows the corridors, it does not specifically identify the locations of any nodes. He added that the Region has stated that it is up to the local municipality to determine their location. Councillor B. Vrbanovic inquired as to whether future development is being proposed to follow the old alignment of Hwy 7 and was advised that would depend on the environmental features identified along with alignments. Mr. A. Pinard stated that the greenland networks and source water protection provisions are new to the ROP and while staff are supportive of their tenets, further review is required to understand how they impact existing policies and regulations. Questions were raised regarding whether the ROP addressed the issue of an additional connection to Hwy 401. Mr. A. Pinard advised that currently the ROP is silent on that issue and staff is suggesting that consideration should be given to including policies that specifically identify the need for an SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2009 - 23 - CITY OF KITCHENER additional Hwy 401 connection. He noted that the ROP is scheduled to be completed before the Region has finalized their Transportation Master Plan. He added that Regional staff have explained that the new ROP would need to be amended in order to implement the pending Transportation Master Plan. Mayor C. Zehr commented that in his opinion an additional connection to Hwy 401 is a major issue and specific reference should be made to it in the ROP. In reference to the staff comments with respect to airport lighting, Councillor B. Vrbanovic inquired as to whether similar suggestion should be made regarding noise. It was noted that there is existing Federal legislation pertaining to airport noise and that the current draft of the ROP addresses this issue. He then expressed surprise that the Ottawa Street extension/bridge over the Grand River has been included; yet the Fairway Road extension, which has been subject to an Environmental Assessment and detailed design has not been provided for in the ROP. Several members suggested that the staff recommendation should be amended to indicate Council's endorsement of the detailed concerns raised by City staff throughout the ROP process. Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic Seconded by Councillor K. Galloway "That consideration of the following recommendation be deferred and referred to the regular meeting of City Council scheduled for later this date: `That the Regional Municipality of Waterloo be requested to address the comments and concerns regarding the First Draft of the Regional Official Plan 2029, as outlined in Development and Technical Services Department report DTS-09-015 and by City staff during the ROP Municipal Working Group discussions; and further, That staff be directed to provide additional detailed comments to the Region of Waterloo, as discussed at the January 26, 2009 Special Council meeting."' Carried. Moved by Councillor C. Weylie Seconded by Councillor G. Lorentz "That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held this date to consider a land acquisition / disposition matter." Carried. On motion the meeting adjourned at 4:16 p.m. MAYOR CLERK