The Committee of the Whole (COW) is scheduled for two days next week, on Mon., March 4, 2024, and Tues., March 5, 2024; this article will focus on the reports and issues on the agenda for the Environment, Infrastructure, and Community Services Committee (EICS) and the Community Planning, Regulation, and Mobility Committee (CPRMC). Click here for what to expect from the CSSRA portion of the COW.
Feedback from the public, especially golfers, has put pressure on the city to keep the 18-hole format at Tyandaga Golf Course with a few modifications to alleviate some of the safety issues identified by city staff. As a result, the staff report to the EICS committee suggests retaining the full 18-hole course and providing an operational update by 2029 to see if the format still works.
The staff report also suggests, “Tyandaga will furthermore establish a new Tyandaga Golf Course Reserve Fund, allocating 5% of all membership and green fee revenues, approximately $50k per year, to this fund. This change aims to assist with funding customer enhancements on the course and property.”
Concern from the public about the safety, noise factor, and inherent pollution from large fireworks displays (notably on Canada Day) prompted a review of the city’s practices and a current contract with Blue Star Pyro. Three options were proposed: remove the fireworks from Canada Day and replace them with a (100–300) drone display; or, partially replace some of the fireworks display with a smaller (70) drone display, or continue with the full fireworks as in the previous years.
COW will look at the cost (up to $60,00 for option 1, $22,261 for the others) and make a recommendation to full council (for March 19).
Local environment group BurlingtonGreen is requesting an annual “fee for services” of $50,000, similar to what the city contributes to another environmental group, the Bay Area Climate Change Council. BurlingtonGreen conducts several services and events on behalf of the city such as the city-wide Clean Up Green Up trash collection initiative; tree planting; urban forest education; and their Nature-Friendly Burlington program.
BurlingtonGreen also rents the old pumphouse facility from the city and conducts numerous displays and events at the Beachway location.
During the CPRMC, council will ask the Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) to provide what that organization is doing to attract a post-secondary institution to the city. BEDC has reached out to Mohawk College, Brock University, University of Waterloo, McMaster University, and others.
According to the staff report, “Depending on Council’s preferred options, potential municipal costs to attract a post-secondary institution to Burlington may range from $0 to over $20,000,000.”
Two developments in Aldershot are also on the agenda. One (1026 Cooke Blvd.) is a request to amend the Official Plan (in terms of zoning) to permit a mixed-use development with a height up to 22 storeys and re-designating the lands from mixed-use employment to mixed-use general (to allow residential units instead of strictly commercial or industrial uses).
At the other development (1120 Cooke Blvd., near Masonry Court and the Aldershot GO station), ADI Development Group is asking permission to build three tall buildings with maximum heights of 34, 32, and 30 storeys along with other amendments to the Official Plan to accommodate these buildings. These will be the tallest residential buildings in Burlington.
This represents some changes from the original proposal the city received. The original proposal featured 1139 living units. The revised proposal now asks for 1165 units. The height of the buildings has been reduced from 36, 26, and 36 storeys.
The retail/commercial space on the ground floor was upgraded from 231 m2 to 495 m2. For comparison, according to Statistics Canada, the average three-bedroom single dwelling home in Canada is 221 m2 on an average lot of 450 m2.
Bouncing back to the Corporate Services (CSSRA) committee, expected to happen on March 4, is an item called “Strategic Real Estate Acquisition Policy” that has implications on how and what land the city purchases for future use such as parks, community centres, or perhaps affordable housing.
Coming from the Legal Services department, “The Strategic Real Estate Acquisition Policy identifies the various means available to the City to acquire real estate, as well as providing a framework to guide decision-making. The Policy enables the City to proactively pursue land opportunities with transparency while following the objective framework. The City of Burlington, Realty Services, and Burlington Land Partnership will undertake the acquisition of real property interests in conformity with this Policy, unless otherwise directed by City Council.”
Council earlier directed city staff to review long-term planning horizons to connect the city’s vision for future service and program demands as it relates to real estate requirements, to:
• Enable city staff to respond to solicited and unsolicited real estate opportunities that align with city-wide priorities, which were or were not foreseen during the annual capital budget process;
• Enable city staff to proactively seek real estate opportunities that align with city-wide priorities; and
• Reduce future project costs associated with acquisitions and limit the need for expropriation while ensuring real estate is delivered to meet project timelines.
These actions include land that is bequested to the city; needed for city projects; purchased for future use; or expropriations.
You can watch all the action at City Hall or via video link through the Council and Committees section on the city’s https://events.burlington.ca page and click on the link beside “March 4 Committee of the Whole.”
