 By Staff
December 17th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
They live life a little differently in Lowville.
They celebrate the Winter and Summer Solstice.
The purpose of ThinkSpot Solstice events have been solely around coming together as strangers or friends and finding that commonality to realize we are not alone as we walk this journey of life.
That’s the “why” – and to witness that happen twice a year is an unbelievable gift.
 Lowville residents parading around their community during the Winter Solstice. In the past a community has gathered paraded around the community and then gather to set paper lanterns into the night sky.
 Lanterns are illuminated and set afloat into a Winter Solstice night. The lanterns have been an amazing and beautiful way to celebrate our connecting and thank you to everyone who has been part of the past nine solstice events. For the last few months we’ve been wondering about how to create something new;
Kune Hua and Arryn Ter Smitte figured it out last week.
Lowville Burning Man – Family Style is coming to life next Thursday (December 21st) in Lowville. For those of you who are familiar with the festival in Nevada each year you will know what happens at the end when a beautiful creative masterpiece is set on fire.
 The Burning Man is a celebration – that will take place in Lowville. How does it come about – you have to be there to be part of it. At 7:00 pm a light dinner will be available and we will begin to create a Lowville artistic expression that will be an honouring of 2017 – what we are grateful for; what we wish to let go of; and what we may have lost (a relationship, friendship, job, family member, pet – anything that is of value to us).
We will be providing wood and tools (drills, hammers, screwdrivers, nails/screws, glue) so that people can get in there and create whatever comes to life. We will also provide cedar rings and sage for everyone to use as mementos.
What you can bring is any flammable memento (non-combustible is a definite requirement, no metals or concrete) that you wish to add to the sculpture. Perhaps a shirt, a stuffed animal, a pet collar, .a letter to your higher self – anything that you wish to offer as a symbol of 2017.
At 8:00 pm we will go for a candlelight walk through Lowville Park as we celebrate the shortest day/longest night of the year – and then at 8:30 pm come back to light the Lowville Burning Man Sculpture.
At 9:00 pm we will release one sky lantern to celebrate our coming together and welcoming the beginning of longer days and sunlight.
Please RSVP so we can plan for food and materials required. The evening is complimentary although we do request a donation of personal items (toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, tampons, underwear and warm socks (new only please)) to be shared with people experiencing homelessness.
 By Staff
December 17, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Hydro added $25,000 to the Joseph Brant Hospital’s Our New Era Campaign that will go towards ongoing redevelopment and expansion priorities at the hospital.
 Most of the patient rooms look south to the lake or north to the escarpment. The donation is being used as part of continuing renovations to the existing hospital and the construction of the new Michael Lee-Chin & Family Patient Tower which opened officially in August.
Gerry Smallegange, Burlington Hydro President and CEO said “We’re very pleased to give back to our community in this meaningful way, and support cutting edge medical care in the City of Burlington for many years to come.
“Expanding medical, surgical and outpatient services are an important part of the ongoing redevelopment of Joseph Brant Hospital.”
 Site plan for the now completed Phase One of the Joseph Brant Hospital. The entrance to the hospital was re-oriented to Lakeshore Road. The first phase is the construction of the new McMaster Family Medicine facility that will bring 10 new family practitioners to the city. Three levels of parking will be built above the medical offices. The redevelopment and expansion project to build the new hospital was done in two phases. Phase One was the construction of the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre, hospital administration and new parking facility. Phase Two included the Michael Lee-Chin & Family Patient Tower and the ongoing renovations to the existing hospital which are continuing through 2018.
Burlington Hydro Inc. is an energy services company in the power distribution business, serving approximately 67,000 residential and commercial customers. The company is wholly owned by the City of Burlington.
 By Keith Moorse
December 16th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
I was shocked to learn of the approval by council of Amendment No.106 allowing the construction of a 23 story condo at 421Brant St. This is almost twice the existing bylaw of 12 stories. Just as disappointing was the lack of any explanation by the five Councillors for approving the application. I have not heard a single voice supporting the project ,save and except the Planning and Building Department’s 112 page report submitted to the Planning and Development Committee.
 City Planner Mary Lou Tanner explains a development to ward 3 Councillor John Taylor The role of the Planning and Building Department also needs clarification. Who do they represent? Their report reads like it was drafted by the developer with the recommendation based on unreasonable assumptions, out right contradictions, false conclusions, and serious omissions.
What can be done to cancel the approval of Amendment 106 and implementation of this project?
FIRSTLY: Restore the democratic process whereby the citizens opinions and input receives consideration. If the five councilors truly represented their constituents they should welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment.
SECONDLY: Establish a referendum process to allow the citizens to determine the outcome of the project and Amendment #106.
THIRDLY: A thorough review of the report (PB- 62-17) by The Planning and Building Department and revisions made where necessary.
If this development takes place it will totally and permanently change the character and charm of lower Brant Street and the City of Burlington. This will affect all residents and is too big a decision for Burlington Council alone. A precedent will be established and more applications will follow, as is already anticipated. There is a reference in the report, PB-62-17, that the proposed 23 story building will look less obtrusive when similar buildings are erected in the immediate area. This is an admission that this building will look out of place until others are erected.
The Burlington Sustainable Development Committee has added it’s comments to the application, starting on page 149. It sets out several conditions to be met, most of which have at best received only lip service. For example: “full public participation in development decisions”. Input was given at public meetings and to council, however, it was ignored. It also called for the new development to be compatible to existing end users, which is clearly not the case. Putting aside, all the disputes regarding whether or not, the analysis is flawed the issue really distills down to three distinct choices:
 Part of the “quaint” small town Burlington feel that many citizens want. 1.Reject the by-law Amendment No.106 to allow a 23 story condo at 421 Brant Street, keeping lower Brant Street with its’ boutique like shops, and eateries. It has a quaint friendly character which has contributed to its rating as the #1 City of its’ size in Canada in which to live.
2.Allow the amendment to pass thus creating the tallest building in Burlington changing the character of Brant Street and Burlington itself. It would become a Mississauga or Toronto with its’ not so charming steel and glass canyons.
3.Authorize a 12 story building as established by the new official plan.
There are other locations where such a building would be more suitable. Just leave our historical Brant Street alone.
Appendix “A”
1. New Official Plan (NOP) states tall buildings in the downtown area should exclude construction of same on Brant Street which is presently approved for 12 stories.
2. Many units will be three(3) bedrooms to attract families yet elsewhere in the report it states the target market as being “ affluent empty nesters”.
3. Parking at 1.2 spaces per unit hardly meets the requirement for the family ( 3+ adults).
4. Two elevators to service 23 floors are inadequate
5. This project in NOT needed to meet the Provincial Growth Plan minimum target (report PB-62-17).
6. This is not an isolated project and sets a dangerous precedent.
7. Why 23 stories, when there are many exciting designs far more appealing which could be achieved in 12 stories? The cold sharp angles of this structure does not compliment City Hall. Burlington can do better.
8. The only one benefiting from 23 stories is the developer.
9. Years of disrupted traffic due to construction, making a bad parking/traffic situation worse.
 The clock plaza at City Hall provides this focus. 10. Many small businesses on lower Brant may not survive due to prolonged construction activity.
11. Burlington does not need a “signature’ building. The clock plaza at City Hall provides this focus.
12. For what purpose are there height By-Laws when they are continuously waved?
13. Staff response to citizens’ concerns with building height is flawed. They compare other buildings which cannot be considered in the same category the tallest being 5 floors lower(18) then the applicant and 2 to 3 blocks East of Brant. None are in fact on Brant Street.
14. No infrastructure costs are allocated to the City of Burlington for the sewer and water expansion and upgrades.
Keith Moorse is a Ward 3 resident. He is a retired senior executive with a Bay Street merchant bank with national responsibility. He has been a resident of Burlington since 1981
 By Staff
December 16th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
On Saturday October 28th, 2017 the TD Canada Trust bank located at 500 Guelph Line in Burlington was robbed.
The person responsible for the robbery was identified as Jeffrey George GORSLINE (38 yrs) of No Fixed Address (Formerly of Nova Scotia)
During the robbery the suspect gave the teller a note demanding cash and indicated he had a weapon. The teller gave the bank robber an undisclosed amount of cash who then fled the bank and was last observed running westbound on Eileen Drive.
Investigators learned that GORSLINE was also wanted in connection with a Niagara Falls Bank of Montreal robbery that occurred several hours earlier on the same morning as the Burlington robbery. He was also wanted for three October bank robberies in Eastern Canada.
On October 30th 2017, GORSLINE was arrested on Federal parole warrant by uniformed officers from the Dryden Detachment of the O.P.P. and incarcerated at the Kenora Jail.
GORSLINE was eventually transferred to Maplehurst Correctional Complex and on December 1st 2017, he appeared in Milton Court charged with one count of robbery. GORSLINE was remanded into custody and will appear next for a bail hearing in Milton Court on December 18th 2017.
Anyone with information regarding this robbery is asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825-4747 ext. 2343. Tips can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers; “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.crimestoppers.ca or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
Mr. Gorsline has some difficult days ahead.
By Staff
December 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Two Burlington schools will have additional space used as new child care rooms.
 Brant Hills – will have 48 new childcare spaces. Brant Hills Public School, will have two new pre-school rooms, allowing for 48 new childcare spaces.
Frontenac Public School, who will benefit from one new toddler room and one new pre-school room, allowing for 39 new childcare spaces.
The additions to the two schools are part of a program that results in 45,000 new licensed child care spaces in schools, communities and other public spaces across the province.
The province is investing $1,799,888 in Burlington for these new child care projects that will benefit local families.
The media release from the office of Minister McMahon was sent at 5:33 pm – too late in the day for any follow up.
 By Pepper Parr
December 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There are almost as many views on what Burlington should be doing in terms of its growth as there are people in the city.
 Citizens listening to the concerns community groups have over how developments in their neighbourhoods are handled by the Planning Department. The meeting was organized by the Engaged Citizens of Burlington – ECoB When Lisa Kearns, one of the ECoB organizers, stood at the lectern in the Burlington Baptist Church she told the 150+ audience that they had to do their homework and then hoisted a three in loose-leaf binder up and told the audience the information they need is out there – but you do have to work to find it and then offered to share what she had with anyone interested. We didn’t see anyone asking to borrow the binder.
Many of the people involved in what is a complex subject are reluctant to identify themselves publicly. One of those wrote in and said: “Seems that this group is questioning the “Urban Growth Centre” designation in Downtown Burlington. The answer is really, really simple – all people have to do is go back to and look at the original Places to Grow document from 2006 – Schedule 2. The designation is right there. No municipal approval is required. The Province says “this is it” now “do it”. All of this talk about evidentiary materials is a complete waste of time.
“People must also consider “The Big Move” which designates the mobility hub in the downtown as an “Anchor Mobility Hub”. Anchor Mobility Hubs are focal points with the potential to transform urban structure and improve transit. In other words … big changes are expected.
“There is an Appendix B which indicates that the downtown mobility hub is expected to accommodate 2,900 boarding per day. The question should be “why is the City not planning for this?” not is it really a hub.
“This same Appendix B includes a population target for the downtown anchor hub of greater than 25,000 people and jobs by 2031. The City is not even close to being able to accommodate this target.
“Most importantly, some people selectively ignore the fact that City Council unanimously approved its Strategic Plan that identifies the downtown as an area where intensification and redevelopment is to be directed.”
Joe Gaetan, a frequent contributor to the Gazette explains that the 2017 Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, was prepared and approved under the Places to Grow Act, 2005 to take effect on July 1, 2017.
Section 2, entitled, Where and How to Grow, contains S, 2.2 Policies for Where and How to Grow, and S 2.2.3 entitled, Urban Growth Centres and contains the following:
“Urban growth centres will be planned to achieve, by 2031 or earlier, a minimum density target of:
b)400 residents and jobs combined per hectare for each of the urban growth centres in the City of Toronto;
200 residents and jobs combined per hectare for each of the Downtown Brampton, Downtown Burlington, Downtown Hamilton, Downtown Milton, Markham Centre, Downtown Mississauga, Newmarket Centre, Midtown Oakville, Downtown Oshawa, Downtown Pickering, Richmond Hill Centre/Langstaff Gateway, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, Downtown Kitchener, and Uptown Waterloo urban growth centres;”
Oakville took an approach that attached more importance to Employment and Commerce. Their Livable Oakville committee produced a very detailed report – something Burlington might want t56o at least review.
 The Sims building across from city hall is the only office building in the core of the city – the city of Burlington is the largest tenant. Burlington has never succeeded in attracting commercial operations into the downtown core – parking space wasn’t possible – thus the major concentrations of corporate offices are along the north and south corridors.
“The Burlington Official Plan appears to be mostly silent on job creation or preservation of work land or spaces.
“This should be a concern to all and one more reason why our Official Plan process must be stopped in its tracks.”
Background material:
Where to download a copy of the Places to Grow legislation.
The Big Move – what it is and where to get a copy of the document.
 By Staff
December 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
A group of Dads in Burlington joined together Tuesday night at The Anchor Bar to have some fun and to raise some money for the Burlington Food Bank.
Burlington Dad’s is an online group and this was a rare live get together… hopefully becoming an annual event. Organizers Rene Schuster and Peter Winstanley never expected the level of generosity shown by their group and were thankful for all the support received. “This event grew from Rene and Peter saying we would like to see our members in person and give something back… we never imagined that the guys would get on board the way they did. Lots of generous guys in Burlington! Thanks for putting food on the table for Burlington families this Christmas guys!” said Peter.
 Shown here are Jamie & Mark Little, Peter Winstanley and Rene Schuster presenting Robin Bailey (Burlington Food Bank) with a cheque for $3,189 from Burlington Dads. Not shown is the additional 512 lbs of food donated the same night. The cheque presentation was broadcast live to the Dads Group. Burlington Dad’s was formed by Rene Schuster in March of 2014, and now assisted by Peter Winstanley. Burlington Dad’s was formed by Rene Schuster in March of 2014, and now assisted by Peter Winstanley. Basically it was Rene’s brainchild; a Dads helping Dads group. If you need some advice, something fixed, in search of a service, or simply need to vent, the Dads are always obliging.
There is no drama allowed, which means only a select few get in. It has grown to over 1,300 members, and includes Dads in the Oakville/Burlington/Hamilton area.
Check it out
Burlington Food Bank is committed to ensuring that no one in Burlington struggles with hunger. They provide food to those in need. If you or someone you know is hungry and in need of help, call them at 905-637-2273. https://www.burlingtonfoodbank.ca
By Staff
December 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington has been identified as one of 40 municipalities set to have a cannabis store by July 2018. The LCBO will make the determination of where a cannabis store is located in Burlington.
The city will be working with the Ministry of Finance and the LCBO to develop guidelines and the process for choosing store locations. The guidelines will achieve the provincial objectives of protecting youth by ensuring stores are not close to schools while providing access in communities and addressing the illegal market.
 Where in this fair city will the cannabis retail outlet be located. If it is on Brant Street will it bring the much discussed vibrancy to the area? The City of Burlington, like other municipal governments across Canada, has been paying close attention to provincial and federal legislation regulating cannabis.
Burlington joins 28 other municipalities for one or more standalone cannabis retail stores to open in July 2018. The other municipalities:
Ajax, Belleville, Barrie, Brampton, Brantford, Cambridge, Chatham-Kent, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, Lindsay (Kawartha Lakes), London, Mississauga, Niagara Falls, Oakville, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan, Waterloo, Whitby and Windsor.
Odd that Milton, the municipality with the highest population growth in Halton, is not on the list.
The city uses the tag line: “Burlington is one of Canada’s best and most livable cities, a place where people, nature and business thrive.” That just might become true next summer.
By Pepper Parr
December 15th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
We received the following this morning:
The article published in this morning’s Gazette titled “Major organizational moves by the city manager seem to be out of focus” is wholly inaccurate for the following reasons:
Parks & Recreation has NOT been merged into Roads, Parks & Forestry (RPF). Parks & Recreation continues to be a separate department headed by Chris Glenn
There has been no reorganization undertaken by the city manager, except the creation of a deputy city manager position and changes to department names only.
Council was fully briefed and aware of the creation of a deputy city manager position, to say so otherwise in incorrect.
Mary Lou Tanner will continue to lead the Official Plan and the Mobility Hub initiatives as deputy city manager; a competition to hire a new Director of Planning will begin in January.
Ms Tanner’s appointment as the deputy city manager was in no way a demotion and as previously stated was a result of a comprehensive internal competition
On November 9th, the City Manager, James Ridge announced a renaming of departments at city hall and moving responsibilities into the newly named departments under the people who were to head them up.
The renaming of the departments in the city was to more accurately reflect the services that are provided to residents.
 As of Jan. 1, 2018 Roads and Parks Maintenance will become the Roads, Parks and Forestry Department; with Mary Battaglia as lead.
Planning and Building will become the Department of City Building – Planning, Building and Culture with Mary Lou Tanner as lead.
Then on December 9th, Ridge announced that he had appointed Mary Lou Tanner as the deputy city manager after a comprehensive internal competition.
There is something about this picture that is out of focus.
If it was a “comprehensive internal competition”, and we will take the city manager’s word that it was – the competition had to be announced, those wanting to go after the job had to prepare their application, fine tune it, submit it and then let the Director of Human Resources and the City Manager review what they had.
The Director of Human Resources may well have been one of the applicants for the new position; we will let that slide.
 Newly minted Deputy City Manager Mary Lou Tanner Re-org November 9th, Tanner made deputy city manager December 9th – All this got done in less than a month?
What does the appointing of Tanner as Deputy City Manager do to the absolutely critical work being done on the planning side?
As of the 21st of this month the city doesn’t have a Planner. Tanner, the woman who was doing the job is now the “city’s representative for all Agencies, Boards and Commissions; acting in an advisory and liaison capacity for each organization and helping plan and coordinate major capital projects.”
Not much in the way of executive authority there
“Being responsible for the diversity and inclusivity portfolio; ensuring a strategy is developed, and implemented across the organization for all services and programs.”
Important but not the same level of influence as the Director of Planning
“Overseeing the Project Management Office, ensuring the priorities of this office are aligned with the Strategic Plan and corporate work plans and work with the Senior Leadership team to identify and establish priorities across the organization.”
 City Manager James Ridge – now has a Deputy to aid the important work he does, Tanner was a part of the Senior Leadership Team – now she “works with them”. Will Tanner have any clout? Will she be making decisions or does everything she does slide up to the desk of the City Manager?
There is going to be a “transition plan including an acting Director of City Building will be announced in the near future; however in the meantime Tanner will continue to lead the work on the completion of the city’s new Official Plan.”
How much of this were the city Councillors fully aware of? The City Manager is responsible for the administration of all city staff and serves at the pleasure of city council. Is Council pleased?
The time line for the approval of the Official Plan has been stretched out to April of 2018 from the original end of January 2018 date.
None of this looks very encouraging – we are changing horses in the middle of a fast flowing stream.
Troubling.
 Director of Parks and Recreation Chris Glenn There some additional concerns. Parks and Recreation is now merged in intro Roads Parks and Forestry under the direction of Mary Battaglia who is a Director. She now has Chris Glenn, also a Director working under her?
Transportation doesn’t seem to have a home at a time when there are several significant studies being done on just how people are going to get around the city given all the intensification that is to take place.
Where does Capital Works fit into the new organization?
On Friday, the 8th of December we had occasion to be at the Fire department following up part on a news story and met with a deputy fire chief who advised us that the Fire Chief was still on the site of the blaze that shut down the Paletta operation in the south-east of the city.
That’s where a Fire Chief is supposed to be – where the problems are. The fire was basically out – with some hot spots that needed a close watch to ensure that they didn’t flare up.
 Is the apparent senior staff reorganization a good one or is it a picture out of focus. The city has a problem – getting the new Official Plan in place and helping the citizens understand the mobility hubs. It is seen as a “hot spot” to hundreds of informed and involved people in Burlington. This is not a time to have senior staff fully immersed in the work they are in place to do.
Being made Deputy City Manager doesn’t look like a promotion – looks like the City Manager just got someone out of the way
And that is very troubling.
Links to related news stories:
Appointment of Deputy city manager.
Renaming of city departments.
By Staff
December 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
An infection prevention and control inspection conducted by the Halton Region Health Department on December 4, 2017, identified that clients who have received medical services at the Ontario Institute for Facial Surgery operated by Dr. Joseph Korkis located at 672 Brant St., Unit 405, in Burlington may have been exposed to improperly cleaned, disinfected, sterilized and stored instruments used for procedures.
The inspection was initiated following a patient complaint.
Halton Region is not aware of any cases of infection associated with this clinic at this time.
 Joseph A. Korkis, MB, FRCSC, FRCSl, FRCS, FCAFPS, offers Nasal and Facial Plastic Cosmetic Surgery, Snoring and Sleep Apnea Surgery in Burlington Ontario. “Improperly cleaned, disinfected, sterilized and stored medical instruments carry a low risk of transmitting infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to clients,” said Dr. Joanna Oda, Associate Medical Officer of Health for Halton Region. “As a precaution, the Halton Region Health Department recommend that all clients who have ever received medical services from Dr. Korkis at the Burlington clinic contact their physician (or go to a walk-in clinic if they do not have a physician) to discuss testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Clients can download a letter to bring to their doctor by visiting halton.ca/health.”
On December 4, 2017, upon completion of the inspection, the Halton Region Health Department closed the Ontario Institute for Facial Surgery. As of December 12, 2017, Dr. Korkis has satisfied all the requirements of the Health Department and can resume patient services at this location.
A question that might be asked is why the public wasn’t informed on December 4th that the clinic had been closed?
This is not the first time the Region has closed a medical office in Burlington – earlier this year a dentist was closed for much the same reason – not ensuring that the instruments used were properly sterilized.
For more information about hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, the inspection or investigation and to obtain a copy of the physician letter, please visit halton.ca/health or call Halton Region at 311, 905-825-6000 or toll free 1-866-442-5866. For inquiries related specifically to the Ontario Institute of Facial Surgery or Dr. Korkis, please contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario by visiting cpso.on.ca.
By Pepper Parr
December 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Is there a sea change taking place in Burlington politics?
Last week there was a neighborhood meeting in Aldershot about a proposal for a 6 story condo at 92 Plains Rd, right on the edge of a long established Aldershot neighborhood.
 Some at the meeting felt it was “totally out of compliance with the existing Official Plan and bylaws” and was being promoted as “in alignment with city proposals for the Mobility Hub.”
It was a raucous meeting. Nobody was happy, and many expressed this clearly and often angrily.
The discussion was on the negative impact on nearby property values from a development which Councillor Craven supported.
 Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven faced a hostile audience while explaining the justification of a development. This photograph was not from that meeting. Craven got called out a couple of times for not showing any support to residents, and for trying to undercut their concerns.
The city planner in charge threatened to shut the meeting down if the rancor and heckling that ensued was not stopped.
 When a resident stood up and said “We need to tell the members of council that we are not going to vote for them” there was an immediate robust burst of applause – they were sending a message – loudly and clearly. The recently formed ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington – meeting that took place Wednesday evening had representation from every ward in the city – people were just not happy with the way decisions were being made. They want change in the way city council decides on very complex issues.
The focus at the Wednesday ECoB meeting was a development that didn’t get any negative comment when it was introduced to the public several months ago at the Art Gallery. There was just the one delegation when the development was put on the table at a Standing Committee – but when council voted 5-2 for the development – the dam of feelings burst.
People didn’t want their city changed – they continually refer to a vibrant downtown core when Brant Street is anything but except when the Santa Claus parade and the Sound of Music Festival fills the streets.
 East side of Brant Street several days before Christmas 2013. It isn’t all that different this year. Not what one would call festive. Anyone who strolls along Brant street might be taken aback at how little there is in the way of Christmas decoration on the buildings.
 This graphic was put up on a screen at the Wednesday ECoB meeting. The city keeps saying this kind of thing is not going to happen – the citizens no longer believe them. There appears to be a hankering for a time when things were slower, more certain, safer.
Every politician now faces citizens who are unhappy.
That unhappiness is now being pulled together by a group of citizens who don’t like what they see and tend to exaggerate to make their points.
Interesting times ahead.
 By Staff
December 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Those festive lights in Spencer Smith Park didn’t fall of the back of a truck and suddenly glow. Volunteers from the corporate sector and high school students created the lights and installed them late in November and were turned on December 1st. Community spirit at its best.
They will be in place until January 8th and are turned on at 4:30 PM – 12:30 AM
The 2017 lighting marks the 22nd anniversary of this event.
 The festival gets its start early in December when Burlington Electricity Services Inc., a subsidiary of Burlington Hydro partners with the Burlington Downtown Business Association’s (BDBA) for the Candlelit Stroll through the downtown core and the lighting of the Tree of Hope.
Volunteers from Burlington Electricity Services Inc., Burlington Taxi, King Paving, Robert Bateman High School, T.A. Blakelock High School (Oakville), and local residents help with set up the lights in Spencer Smith Park
 There were 15 students from both schools involved with the project. The Students designed and built the newest hockey themed display. Expect to see two new displays from this crew for the for the 2018/19 year.
CHML’s Joey Castillio served as the emcee for the tree lighting and the Candlelit Stroll event.
By Pepper Parr
December 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
They weren’t sure how many people were going to show up. One of the four people that kept ECoB alive said there has been 30 people who said they were going to attend – and at that point there were about 40 people in a large church sanctuary.
But, by the time the evening was about to begin there were more than 150 people gathered in the Burlington Baptist Church on New Street, perhaps more than the church gets on a Sunday.
 It was a polite audience and a determined one. They wanted a change and they were there to see it happen. And people kept coming through the doors. So – they has an audience – now to take the crowd and turn them into evangelists for a different form of community organization.
A loyal Gazette reader commented that there was a time when there was an East Burlington Ratepayers group that was very active “But they got busy raising their families and the interest in what they were setting out to do petered away”.
This evening the audience was in the room because they were no longer happy campers. There were some younger people in the room but at least 100 of the 150 were seniors who had been around for a long time.
 By the time the meeting got underway – there were just eight empty seats in a packed church Sanctuary. Jim Young served as the meeting MC. They didn’t like what they were seeing happen to the city.
Representatives from four community groups spoke for a short period of time talking about what there issue was and how they were dealing with the problems and concerns they were having with city hall.
While the issues that brought them to the meeting was the city council decision to approve the building of a 23 story tower opposite city hall – they weren’t going after the developer – their focus was city hall and in particular city council.
Dave Conrath, a member of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, set it out pretty clearly for everyone when he stood up and said: “Every one of us has to be on the phone or email the members of city council and tell them that you are not going to vote for them and that you are going to work to elect someone else.” That statement got the most robust round of applause during the two hour meeting.
Jim Young, MC for the evening, explained where the ECoB people were with their plans to file an appeal to the OMB on the decision city council made to approve the development opposite city hall.
Lisa Kearns, another member of the ECoB leadership team explained the complexity of what the citizens were up against.
 Lisa Kearns She pointed out that the ECoB already had a win. “It was a big win” said Kearns,” a really big win. When the city revised the time line for the approval of the new Official Plan from the end of January to the end of April – we had won.” She added that it is important to recognize the wins and the celebrate them.
ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington has existed for less than a month – and at this their first public meeting they drew more than 150 people.
A change has begun – how deep and how long lasting only time will tell. This first meeting was another win and it too deserves to be recognized and celebrated.
The Gazette will report in more detail on what took place during the meeting.
By Staff
December 13th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
In his regular newsletter to his constituents Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman sets out why he was one of the five Councillors who voted for the 421 Brant Street development to proceed.
 Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman. I admit that I was one of the 5 (out of 7) members of Council who voted in favour of accepting staff recommendations to build a 23-storey building on the 421 Brant Street site, opposite City Hall. This decision was despite a significant effort by a number of residents, including an online petition with about 1,400 names, to persuade members to vote against the recommendations. The residents’ primary concerns appeared primarily to focus on the number of floors and “over intensification”. They said the building is too high. A number of residents said they simply want to keep Brant street the way it is.
Certainly, the issue of height appears to be a concern to some proportion of Burlington residents. Of course, we all love our family friendly, low key, community. So, it is understandable. Yet a discussion that focuses on one location and on one measure (i.e. height) without giving sufficient consideration to other important and complex matters will cause much long term, serious problems in the City that Council is focused on trying to address.
First, I will address the application and why I supported the Council decision.
 Massing with 12 storeys and massing with 23 storeys. Sharman and the developer saw the 23 storey version the better of the two. The site is permitted to have 12 stories by right. In other words, they could have proceeded without Council being asked to approve an amendment. Indeed, the owner did create plans to do so, however, City planning professionals were concerned a12 storey rectangular whole block sized building would be both unsightly and cause an unacceptable contribution to the downtown design.
• Clearly, the owners had a right to build something new on the site that would be larger in scale.
• Clearly, the City had created a plan to encourage redevelopment of the site with something new and large.
Staff had to negotiate with developers over what design characteristics would be acceptable. Clearly height is one such concern, but there are others. These include “massing”, set-backs, shadowing, parking, design and others.
In the case of 421 Brant Street, the developer had been working towards filing an application for many years. During that time, the Province had identified downtown Burlington, along with a number of other areas of the City, as a place for significant population density. This was a requirement from the Province, not a suggestion. Accordingly, the developer prepared an application for a 27-storey building that they believed would satisfy that requirement.
As is required, the developer consulted staff about their plans. Staff gave considerable thought to what the best design would be for the building and spent much effort over the last six months negotiating changes to the proposal that they believed would satisfy Provincial requirements, as well as many other considerations including many key issues presented by the public. The result was that they calculated the number of square feet of residential space that would have been allowed in the 12-storey block building and redistributed the floor space in a design that has a smaller street level foot print, with a four storey “podium”, on top of which they then proposed a 19-storey “slender” tower.
 East side of Brant Street several days before Christmas 2013. Wasn’t particularly festive looking. This design would satisfy all legal requirements. It also meant the developer was required to reduce the total amount of floor space in the building by 25%, part of which meant including less commercial and less retail space in the first four floors. Through public engagement, staff was presented with 10 issues that were their priorities (car share, wider sidewalks, separate visitor parking etc.). Of the 10, the approved design achieves 9. Staff negotiated with the developer to get these 9 priorities incorporated into the design.
Finally, the residents’ discussion became a debate about personal preferences and opinions about how something might look without taking into account all the other considerations. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and in the end, someone had to figure out what to do. That was the role of the developer and City staff. Council agreed the recommendations were, on balance, a reasonable compromise. A compromise that we believe will withstand any test at the OMB.
Second, I will address how the application fits within the long term broader concerns of the City:
The extensive analysis that went in to creating the economic vision for the City and the Strategic Plan which received unanimous approval of all City Council has led to the creation of a New Official Plan, Downtown Precinct Plan. The biggest issue is the fact that the City is pretty much built-out which means that land values will continue to increase faster than elsewhere in much of Ontario. Burlington home prices increased 73% in the last 4 years.
 The Downtown area precincts. The only way that the City can provide housing that is substantially more affordable is by making better use of land, which means going up in certain places. The community is rapidly getting older. 20% of Burlington population is older than 65, that will double in the next 20 years and the number of people over 80 will quadruple. Many of us will want to sell our single-family homes to live in a lower cost condominium or rental building with less maintenance. If there is no more intensified form buildings here then people will have to move out of the area. The same is true for many of our young people. Just to make matters more interesting, as the community gets older there will be less people who live in Burlington available to work here. This means that it is likely businesses will move elsewhere. Businesses pay twice the rate of property tax as residential homes. If the amount of business tax paid to the city declines then residential property taxes will go up, and you already know how people living on a fixed income will react to that. Our goal is to increase the availability of housing for the young and old that they can afford without losing control of property taxes.
Alternatively, if the City attracts more younger people to live here then a) businesses can stay and grow, and b) homes for young people will also be subject to property tax, all of which means that there will be less pressure to increase property taxes rates as fast.
The plan is to allow only 5% of Burlington land to increase in density, most of which will be less than 11 floors and that will be along Fairview St., Plains Rd. and some areas around plazas. There will be more height around Go Stations. Only 11% of the downtown area will have more height, but not all sites along Brant Street, only a few. Most of the Brant Street height will occur close to Burlington GO. Even that will not be anything like Toronto or Mississauga where 50 floors is common. We expect the maximum to be in line with the buildings at Burlington GO station which are more like 25.
Under the New Official Plan, developers will not be permitted to assemble properties in single family home neighbourhoods in-order-to build tall buildings. Most areas of the City will keep the same type of housing that presently exists. It may be reviewed though.
 Councillor Sharman disagrees with those who don’t want height opposite city hall. The reasoning of City Planning staff and Council members at the committee meeting can be viewed on the webcast. Regular Meeting of Council – November 13.
The issues are quite complex. Council was elected to understand all the issues and to figure how to address concerns of the entire population. Some people think the precise number of floors in a building is more important than everything. I disagree.
Paul Sharman was first elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. He was part of the Shape Burlington Committee. In 2010 he originally filed nomination papers to run for Mayor; when Rick Goldring filed his nomination papers for Mayor Sharman decided to run for the council seat Goldring held.
By Pepper Parr
December 13th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It was the Mayor’s first Facebook Live production during which the number of people on line was just a bit over 80. Viewer traffic was pretty steady – opened at just under 40 and rose to 80.
Did the Mayor rise to the occasion?
 Mayor had all kinds of notes, some of which he read from, others that he referred to for specific data. Well he did and he didn’t. A call from a viewer asking him to explain mobility hubs was awkwardly answered – see it for yourself at minute 15. It was pretty clear that the Mayor didn’t have a firm grip on that subject – and if he doesn’t – how do the rest of the population get to understand it?
His comments on a meeting he had with former Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller on what was happening at the Meridian Brick operation that threatens the value of properties on West Haven Drive will have been a surprise to many.
According to the Mayor Meridian is doing what they are supposed to be doing, the Region is doing what they are supposed to be doing, the province is doing what they are supposed to be doing and the city is doing what they are supposed to be doing. You can watch that segment at minute 32.
The Mayor said he “will continue to advocate for the residents” which had people on West Haven gasping. They have been pressing the Mayor to bring a motion to Council asking the Minister of Natural Resources to put a HOLD on the expansion of the quarry until all the studies have been completed.
 Mayor, live on a Facebook presentation. At the most recent Meridian Brick sponsored community meeting they said that they planned on cutting tree in part of the east quarry this winter.
Residents are terrified that the company will slip in any day now and cut the trees – once they are cut down there is no going back.
Traffic and transit took up much of the time – housing both affordable and the needs of the seniors community were given quite a bit of the one hour broadcast.
Oddly, the Mayor made no mention of the Task Force the Mayor created to address the issue of seniors’ housing in Burlington. Last April the Mayor had the Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on hand to talk about housing for seniors – not a mention on what that Task Force has done.
Viewers learned that the Goldring household consists of the Mayor, his wife and seven daughters. We learned that Cheryl, the Mayor’s wife, has a family tradition of buying each of the seven daughters a new pair of pyjamas each year. The “girls” range in age between 26 and 42 – that would be quite a pyjama party.
The Mayor did something like this with Cogeco TV in a broadcast from Council chambers for what was billed as a call in program – no one called in. So this was an improvement
Was the live production worth watching? It was. You can see the whole thing HERE.
By Staff
December 13, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Police Services Board met in Burlington in November, which is a first for some time.
Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven who represents Burlington on that Board would have been the host.
During the meeting there may have been an update on the new police headquarters that are seriously behind the original production schedule.
 New police HQ – this is the view from the QEW. They were to be opened in the before the end of the year – it now looks as if the new building, located in Oakville a short five minute walk from the Regional offices on Bronte Road.
 This will be the public entrance to the new police HQ Police work is now much more than a police officer walking a beat. You might see a police officer on bike from time to time but policing today is done from the seat of a cruiser that is loaded with technology.
What’s in the cruiser has to be backed up by staff who keep the systems operational. The police haven’t put out much in the way of information yet.
The police are currently in the north end of the Regional offices. That space will be used by the Region for personnel who are currently located in rented space elsewhere in the Halton.
All there is for the public to see is the building which sits on a prominent site. It has a different look.
By Staff
December 12, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Members of the Halton Police Fraud Unit while investigating a fraud commonly known as a “Lottery Scam” a type of advanced fee scam, intercepted two packages destined for an undisclosed location in Burlington. The packages contained a large quantity of cash that had been sent by two separate victims to the scam.
An advance fee scam is when a victim is instructed to send money in order to claim a substantially larger sum of money and the money sent is often alleged to pay taxes or administration fees before the larger sum can be released. The money is usually requested to be sent in some form of electronic payment but in this case the victims were requested to courier cash payments.
The combined amount of money recovered was $40,000.00 dollars in Canadian Cash and the fraud unit are investigating to identify the victims and return the funds.
There are going to be some very embarrassed people answering the door when the police call to return the funds.
Police would like to remind the public not to send cash or electronic transfers of money to anyone who has solicited these funds under promise of a bigger return of money. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center is an excellent resource for the public to assist them in identifying many of the common scams and provides advice on how to avoid them.
 Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Halton Regional Police – Fraud Unit. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers, “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes)
By Pepper Parr
December 13th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
It is an important meeting, being held on Wednesday at the Baptist Church on New Street. Starts at 7:00 PM
It will be the second ECoB meeting, first was a founding meeting at which they decided to incorporate and create a board and raised $5000.
 ECoB stands for Engaged Citizens of Burlington; they argue that the citizens are not really engaged with the council they elected and that staff really doesn’t engage – they aren’t for the most part, especially at the senior level, even citizens of the city.
Director of Transportation – Hamilton
City Clerk – Hamilton
Director of Finance – Milton
City Solicitor – outside of Burlington.
Director of Parks and Recreation – Oakville.
We are not sure any of the Director’s actually live in Burlington.
The city manager does live in Burlington – Aldershot actually.
The city seldom loses a chance to tout just how engaged they are and point to engagement as one of the four pillars that support the Strategic Plan.
Sprinkled throughout the city are groups that are differing with their city over the kind of development that is taking place in their communities. Several examples:
Plains Road group protesting the height and set back of a building beside the Solid Gold adult entertainment establishment.
Roseland Community Association
Shoreacres community group
Bluewater community group
Plan B
Bfast
Alton Village group protesting an ADI development in that community as well as serious traffic control problems.
 Jim Young will MC the Wednesday evening meeting at the Baptist Church on New Street. ECob would like every group in the city to show up and show support and then involve themselves in ways to make the city council they elected more accountable. “It isn’t enough to tell us that we get the opportunity to vote every four years and leave it at that” said Jim Young at a delegation he made some time ago.
The rush to push through a new Official Plan bothered many. That rush has been slowed down with a much longer timeline announced earlier this week. Anyone who doesn’t realize that public push-back brought this about doesn’t understand what politics is all about.
The matter of the Mobility Hubs is another issue for many. During the Mayor’s First Live Facebook event he had difficulty explaining to a caller just what a mobility hub is.
ECoB wants to be a city wide umbrella organization that would become a place where community organizations could gather and work together on common issues. Their objective is not to fight city hall but instead to work with the city collaboratively and be at the table where their money is being spent.
The common issue was a dissatisfaction with the way city council meets with and responds to the public.
The ECoB group that met in November also created sub-committee that was going to file an appeal against the city decision to permit the construction of a 23 storey tower on Brant Street across from city hall.
With what was seen as a very healthy start ECoB slipped into some organizational struggles trying to work with the founder who was in Fort Myers, Florida on winter vacation – a snow bird, and was going to be there at least until January. It wasn’t working and resignations were being tendered.
To their credit the people doing all the grunt work in the trenches managed to keep it together and have put set out a solid agenda for the Wednesday meeting.
Jim Young, who was one of the original co-chairs, will serve as MC for the Wednesday meeting.
 Lisa Kearns, standing, impressed many at the founding ECoB meeting. Seated are two people who were heavily involved in the drive to keep Central high school open. Fleshing out the ECoB board is Lisa Kearns who impressed a number of people when she delegated at a city council meeting.
Kearns was born in Hamilton, attended university in London, Ontario then lived in Mississauga and has been a Burlington resident for the past six years. Her career experience includes two decades of corporate management, government relations and strategic procurement experience across the manufacturing, advertising and health care sectors.
Her undergraduate degree was an Honours in Political Science from University of Western Ontario with a focus on Electoral Reform and Public Policy.
She has been a key principal in successful Provincial and Municipal campaigns.
She was the first Patron Sponsor for the Good Shepherd Charity advocating for advances in mental health support. She can be found volunteering at the local farmers market.
 Dania Thurman, the woman that will direct the social media for ECoB. Working with Kearns is Dania Thurman, one of the team that did the social media work that helped keep Central high school open despite a recommendation from Board Staff that the school be closed. Thurman is very active at Tom Thomson elementary school where she is one of a group that organized the pre-school breakfast program.
Penny Hersh, another Director, brings years of experience at the Seniors’ Centre and is very involved with the Burlington Seniors Community that was created when city hall basically booted the seniors that were running a large part of the program at the city owned Centre.
Burlington has a couple of dozen small community organizations that have formed when they had issues with city hall. Most tended to be local and didn’t draw much attention.
The decision to permit the construction of the first high rise on Brant Street seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
 The development that struck a chord with people who didn’t like the way height was going to be located in their city. The 421 Brant development is a very short walk from the Bridgewater project that is going to have a condominium soaring 22 storeys into the sky and sits on the edge of the lake. It didn’t seem to create the anger that 421 Brant has – a number of people reacted to the suggestion that a city wide group be formed – and ECoB was born
Far too early to tell if it will develop any traction – there are several accomplished people working on this one.
Worth keeping an eye on.
 By Staff
December 12, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
During the final city council meeting of 2017 Monday evening, the significant seven approved a Capital Budget spend of $68.6 million without as much as a word from any Councillor and no one delegating.
The ten year capital spending forecast is for $688 million.
The tax increase for 2018 is expected to be in the 4% range.
Seventy nine per cent of the 10-year capital budget will be invested in renewing Burlington’s aging infrastructure in accordance with the city’s Asset Management Plan.
A breakdown of spending for the 2018 capital budget of $68.6 million includes:
• $32 million, the largest component, for roadways
• $11.5 million for facilities and buildings
• $8.1 million for parks and open spaces
• $7.1 million in storm water management
• $6.1 million towards fleet vehicles and equipment
• $1.8 million for information technology
• $1.4 million for local boards (Burlington Public Library, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington Museums)
• $630,000 in parking.
 This is where the Capital spending is going to go – $68.6 million in 2018 City Council meetings are usually quite short – this one lasted 40 minutes. There have been council meetings as short as 20 minutes. The Mayor likes to move things briskly.
The electronic voting system the city used didn’t function – again. The Halton District School Board has a system that works exceptionally well.
During the discussion before the voting on different items there was mention of cycle tracks on New Street that were going to come in at $5 million.
The item is in the 2019 capital budget just as a place holder (it had to be put in somewhere was the comment heard off camera) – no date on when such a spend would take place. The decision to get rid of the road diet New Street was put on does not seem to have had any impact on how New Street is going to work going forward.
The buzz word was “active transportation for city roads.”
Council received and filed an update on the work being done on the Waterfront Hotel development plans. Councillor Meed Ward commented that this was a work in process and that there was still a lot to be done.
Councillor Craven added that he was pleased to see the high level of community input and added that is it “fair and appropriate to point out that this the property is privately owned.”
Traditionally this council has been much more robust in the way they wished their constituents all the very best for the holiday season and spoke glowingly on how much they had gotten done during the year and how well they had done their jobs – none of that grandstanding Monday night.
This is a somewhat subdued city council. As usual the tough questions came from Councillor Meed Ward.
 By Staff
December 12th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
With all kinds of snow on the ground snow men and snow angels will begin to appear on front lawns.
The Festival lights in Spencer Smith Park will look that much nicer and with good brisk winter weather a visit to the snack shop next to the Rotary Pond for a hot chocolate after a tour of the lights will be welcome.
 Our photographs were taken before the snow arrived – here is what is in store for you.  
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