BRAG: A Better Burlington is Within our Grasp

By Staff

September 30th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

BRAG, a newly formed citizen action group has thrown down a gauntlet and let the city know what they exist and what they plan to do – then set out the ideals they are committed to.  They don’t pussy foot around.

They have moved away from the zero tax increase they originally called for – now nothing more than inflation is acceptable.

They are very tough on citizen engagement – something the Gazette has been hammering away at for more than 10 years.

They want the Strong Mayor powers Mayor Meed Ward has rescinded – existing provincial legislation would not allow that change.

Interestingly they made no mention of the Bateman High school re-purposing situation.  No mention either on what the City can and cannot do with developments that are taken to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Set out below are the values BRAG published on Saturday.

Something to BRAG about.

The Burlington Residents’ Action Group (“BRAG”) is deeply committed to actively promoting certain policy initiatives that align with our overall goal of promoting a safe, secure and sustainable future for all residents.  To that end, we are committed to the following ideals:

Responsible Financial Management:

• • • The actual tax increases in the last 3 years have been excessive, and we believe these were too high. Consequently, we are calling for the following:
      • A clear and transparent budget process that provides for line-by-line budgets that reflect where tax dollars are being spent;
      • Establishment and management of a website that accurately depicts actual spending year to date in relation to the approved budget;
      • Municipal tax increases should not exceed the rate of inflation;
      • Funding for emergencies and extraordinary expenses should be provided through the allocation of reserve monies or time-limited tax levies that expire once the problem has been corrected;
      • Elimination of vanity projects such as Love Your Neighbour, mundialization, the upcoming trip to Japan, drones and art for public buildings;
      • More stringent funding criteria for special events, social causes and not-for-profit organizations;
      • A three year hiring freeze;
      • Prioritization of the maintenance of existing physical assets over the tearing down and reconstruction of existing facilities.
    • We strongly maintain that Council should undertake more of an effort to reign in discretionary spending.

Flood Mitigation:

• • • We support the development of a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy that focuses on better advance communication of impending severe climatic events, regular inspection and clearing of storm drains and creeks, upgrades to existing storm and wastewater systems, identification and opening of release catch basins in established neighbourhoods, and more direct interaction and consultation by City staff with homeowners impacted by the July 2024 flood.
    • We believe a proactive approach to flood mitigation will be more cost-effective for everyone. Existing infrastructure must be kept free of debris and improved where required.

Environmental Sustainability:

• • • We maintain that there is a direct correlation between population intensification and environmental degradation.  To that end, we believe the City should reject further massive development projects such as Appleby/Fairview and 1200 King Road on the grounds that these projects present significant flooding risks and negatively impact the surrounding greenspaces.
    • We believe that positive measures to address climate change should focus on enhanced tree planting, broader use and application of permeable concrete, and widespread adoption of bioswales.
    • We believe the expenditure of public funds on environmental conferences, seminars and such is both wasteful and unnecessary. We know there is a climate emergency, and these public funds should be directed toward addressing the city’s carbon emissions and other issues under the city’s control.
    • We believe a paperless option for our tax bills and other communications from the city is long overdue.

Traffic Congestion:

• • • We support better traffic light timing measures, and not just for buses. Traffic congestion has a direct impact on the quality of our lives and the climate.
    • We support the restoration of two-lane traffic in both directions on Appleby, Walkers and Guelph Lines south of New Street.
    • We believe the City should investigate bus cut-in or queue jump lanes on Fairview Street similar to what exists in Mississauga on Burnhamthorpe Road.
    • We support the restoration of two-lane traffic on Lakeshore Road west of Brant Street.  Do we want to add that the restaurant patios on Lakeshore Road should be eliminated – they already have large patios between their doors and the sidewalk, they don’t need to take a lane of roadway as well.
    • Other cities have strict rules against developers taking over lanes of roads and pedestrian sidewalks while building their condos for years.
    • We believe that continued intensification without road widening will result in a grid-locked and unlivable city.

Development:

• • • 

      This development proposed for 535 Brant will be completed. It doesn’t comply with the BRAG ideal.

      We believe that Burlington is essentially built out.  We believe that future growth in the housing inventory should be organic in nature.

    • We maintain that the City should actively promote the creation of affordable 2-and 3-bedroom properties by private developers. We believe that new developments throughout the City should be limited to eight storeys outside of the MTSA’s.  We support the move to build a variety of housing types including townhouses, bungalows, starter-sized homes, smaller duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes similar to what exists in communities such as Montreal.
    • We feel that the creation of additional high-rise condominiums should be rejected on the grounds that this type of accommodation has significant negative impacts on nearby residents, and is also antithetical to the housing needs of new homebuyers.
    • We propose that the City should initiate a modular housing project such as the ones developed in Peterborough and the Region of Waterloo, to address the issue of homelessness.  The target should be 50 homes.
    • We feel that the City should admit that the target of 29,000 new housing starts for Burlington by 2030 is both unrealistic and unachievable.

Stong Mayor Powers:

We believe the Strong Mayor Powers that were adopted by the Mayor in 2023 are antithetical to the principles of a fair and democratic government, as well as community engagement.  We believe this authority should be rescinded.

Community Engagement:

• • • 

      Burlington has always had a small group of citizens who get out to public meetings to review budgets, policy proposals and share ideas. The city stopped this type of meeting when Meed Ward became Mayor.

      We feel that the City’s Charter of Engagement doesn’t need to be rewritten so much as it needs to be followed by council.  The current review of the engagement charter is taking an inordinate amount of time and money with three staff members working on this project for what is now two years and counting, multiple surveys, advertisements, public sessions, and continual delays.  We believe the Mayor and Councillors should proactively commit to following the principles of consultation, and to follow the Charter of Engagement going forward.

    • We believe the previous practice of semi-annual City-wide and monthly Ward Town Halls should be reinstated.
    • We do not consider having council members meet with members of the public – usually one-on-one – in food courts or other such places, to be proper engagement.  Council members should hold proper meetings in city facilities where the audience can hear all other attendees’ questions and the answers, and attendees do not feel like random customers in the mall are listening to what they have to say.  Meetings should have an agenda and an open question and answer period, and the council member should be accountable for the answers he or she provides to the group at large.
    • We believe that all engagement must include associated costs, including the cost of staff time.
    • We believe tax increases must be stated in terms of the Burlington portion of the tax bill and the overall impact on the total bill when combined with the Halton and Education. The council’s current practice of stating the “impact” is misleading and doesn’t match the actual increase that people are seeing on line 1, the municipal line, on their tax bills.