By Pepper Parr

May 29^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

When the pandemic did serious damage to the hospitality sector in Burlington City Council did everything it could to ease the financial burden.  The Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) lobbied fiercely and the ward 2 Councillor did everything she could to help.

One of the solutions was to change the rules that applied to sidewalk patios – allow for more of them and make them as wide as possible.

What was sidewalk space has become patio space. The result is a narrowing of the traffic lane capacity.

The result of those decisions can be seen with the changes made to Lakeshore Road either side of Brant Street.

The interests of people who want to drive on Lakeshore and the interests of the restaurant owners are colliding.  Are there solutions?  Because there are certainly problems.

This part of the city, between Locust and Brant is very popular, people want to be outdoors and the restaurant operators want as much space as they can get.

During numerous delegations to City Council the restaurant operators explained how the financial dynamics of their sector of the economy have changed – they needed help and the city did as much as they felt they could.

This was the amount of patio space restaurants between Brant and Locust had before the increase in sidewalk patios. The increase in patio space is well over 50%. The price of that space is gridlock at least until we all ride bicycles.

Are there solutions? Is anyone at city hall addressing this issue? Does city hall see it as an issue? Don’t expect the Mayor or the ward 2 Councillor to say a word. Are they hoping the problem will just go away?

It will be interesting to see what traffic looks like during Sound of Music, which is just weeks away.

By Pepper Parr

May 29^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

High rise intensification, traffic congestion, sidewalk patios and Lakeshore Road – put them together – well you know where this is going.

A hole was punched through just underneath the letter O – the firemen weren’t sure just where the smoke was coming from. What they didn’t want was to see a sudden eruption of flames.

Fire fighters, fully kitted out get on to the roof.

Earlier this week there was a small electrical fire in the sign above the RCS restaurant directly across the street from the Waterfront Hotel.  Two fire trucks responded to the call.

Those of you who do the downtown thing know that Lakeshore Road has been narrowed with the right hand lane that lets you go North on Brant now taken up with road barriers.

The narrowing of the road to make room for the sidewalk patios creats close to gridlock.

Imagine what traffic will look like if the twin tower development gets approved at the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Pictures tell that story

By Pepper Parr

May 28^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Jennifer Keesmaat took to the stage last night and stood for more than an hour as she spoke to a very close to packed house audience there to hear what the former City of Toronto Chief Planner had to say about creating a Livable, Walkable community.

Livable and walk-able or ride your bike, – with twenty coffee shops in the immediate area.

She did not disappoint.  Labelling the presentation: Dream the Dream, she told the audience that Canada was on the edge of creating a different way of living as communities.

The full presentation will be available on a Facebook page – the Mayor’s office hasn’t said yet just which Face book page will be used.

Getting the event onto the stage of the Performing Arts Centre was not a slam dunk.  Some of the Mayor’s Council colleagues were not prepared to give the Mayor all that much in the way of support; they did in the end endorse what Mayor Meed Ward was setting out to do.

Meed Ward labelled the series of speakers as ‘Innovation to Action’ events; a dynamic series aimed at inspiring positive change and practical solutions within our city through innovative approaches and tangible actions.

The number of people gathered in the lobby was on the sparse side – but the main theatre was very close to full.

A part of what was planned included “sales tables” that were set out in the lobby. That part of the event was not packed; those who participated represented both city departments, not for profit groups and some private sector participants.

Far too much time was spent on introductions, do we really have to give members of Council recognition and having them stand up and wave?  Speaking of politicians: there were just three members of Council in the audience: Shawna Stolte, Lisa Kearns and Rory Nisan chose not to attend.  Hopefully they will watch the webcast – there was a lot to be learned.

Dream the Dream to Keesmatt meant having the conversation, which for her meant learning to use land differently.  Will Rogers got it right when he said:  “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.”

How do you change minds – “have the conversation”

The governments of the country Keesmaat explained own a lot of land and they have to begin to make it available for housing.  The big issues for Keesmaat was – what kind of housing and who is it going to be for – which brought her back to “the conversation”.

Keesmatt spoke of two “realms”: the private realm and the public realm and gave examples of how she defined the two.

The public realm would be the large back yard in which she played catch with her father when she grew up in Hamilton.  The public realm is the superb park just around the corner from where she now lives in Toronto.

Intensification is going to mean fewer homes with large back yards however that intensification will mean large, well fitted out public parks where Keesmaat suggested there will be groups of people who may not know each other all that well playing softball.

Keesmatt asked:  How do you change minds – “have the conversation” and added that younger people don’t want the suburban environment they may have been raised in – they want to be in communities where there are twenty coffee shops within walking distance and all kinds of public amenities where they can gather.

There will be more public realm in the society Jennifer Keesmaat describes.

Keesmaat said the change that is going to have to take place will require all levels of government to be aligned – and pointed out that “we aren’t there yet”.  She continued saying “we are at the beginning of doing things a lot differently – the young people don’t want what their parents have.

“There is uncertainty” said Keesmatt, “that is part of social change.

John Lorinc, a Toronto based writer said “… many people associate Keesmaat with a vaguely daring sort of star power and her relentless public advocacy of the sorts of progressive planning policies that have, in recent years, become the coin of the realm in that profession.

“But the real capstone of Keesmaat’s tenure is a far more technical and sprawling project that aims to do nothing less than give the city the capacity to bring some sanity and proactive planning to the raging speculative fever that has gripped the downtown for over a decade.”  This is the Keesmatt people in Burlington heard last night.

Keesmaat with a vaguely daring sort of star power and her relentless public advocacy.

It was very difficult to take notes in a darkened theatre and I’m limited as to how much I can remember.  But as I listened I wondered how many people from the city planning department are in the audience and how will they react to what Keesmaat had to say?

It would be interesting to do a group interview and hear what they thought – the city communications department doesn’t go along with that kind of journalism.

The audience was made up for the most part of older people – evident from the applause Mayor Meed Ward got when she mentioned that Burlington transit was now free for seniors.

My sense was that Keesmatt created a sense of excitement with the changes that are going to take place.  Mayor Meed Ward got it right when she invited her to be the first of her ‘Innovation to Action’ series.

Kudos to her on the first one.

By Pepper Parr

May 27th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

He has been in place for a month; got through Standing Committee meetings, a Council meeting and a Special Council meeting as well as a couple of CLOSED sessions of Council

Hassaan Basit: both direct and innovative.

Hassaan Basit is settled in and getting on with the business of running the city.

For a peek at what he has in front of him for the next two months – June and July – Council breaks for the month of August, consider the following:

A budget is in the process of being prepared; it looks like it is going to be another Mayor’s Budget – no word yet on who the next Treasurer will be.

Basit has to get comfortable with where things are with the Bateman Community Centre and the Burlington Lands project that Tim Commisso created.

He has to get a clear sense as to what will be possible with the Alinea plans for 1200 King Road, a development that will change the city as we know it when it is complete.

Basit when he was with Conservation Halton.

The document to watch is the Strategic Plan; it was in the hands of Sheila Jones on the Staff side and Paul Sharman on Council.  Sharman and Jones didn’t “chat”, that wasn’t her style.  Who that task gets handed off to with Jones no longer on the city payroll is one of the bigger challenges Basit is going to have to manage.

He is working through the developing of relationships with not just the senior people, but literally every person he can meet.  He wants to know who they are and wants them to know who he is.  He is totally new to Burlington City Hall – now he runs the place.

He is very much a people person; has a very warm smile and the capacity to draw the best out of people.

He is innovative; will look at new ideas and while the public has no idea what he plans for the next 18 month you can bet a sizable sum that he has ideas of his own – that’s just the man he is.

As the Chief Administrative Officer/City Manager he is the only person Council hires.  His job is to run the administration and follow through on the Staff Directions City Council passes.

While running Conservation Halton he was serving as the lead person for a group of Conservation people who were working with the province. After the province took the Conservation through the first round of cuts, Basit is reported to have marched into then-environment minister Jeff Yurek’s office to demand an explanation, and ended up leading a working group made up of Conservation authorities, municipalities, developers and the province that tried to chart a less combative and more collaborative way forward.

To get a better understanding of how he approaches issues hear his comment made during an interview: “We’re not a stakeholder, as far as I’m concerned, of the province. We’re not someone you give a heads up to or put on a checklist of calls. No, you need to start with us. Bring us into that conversation. We’re an extension of the province. We need to be at the table with you because we are in the field along with municipalities.”

Is he moving fast enough?  Hassaan Bait doesn’t let himself get rushed into anything.  There is a deliberateness about him – but don’t translate that in his being plodder.  In an interview with The Narwhal he said: “Anything innovative needs to be nurtured along the way for it to continue to be leading edge. Otherwise, it’ll fall apart.”

Hassaan Basit at his first Council meeting.

There is 60 days of some serious work to get done.  Council will be off for August.  Expect to get a decent sense of who Hassaan Basit is and how he will serve as CAO.

He is not a James Ridge, nor is he anywhere near what Jeff Fielding was – he is his own man. He once said: “If you think that 36 [conservation authorities] doing something in the entire province is a recipe for inconsistency, I don’t see how over 444 municipalities doing that thing make things better. It doesn’t.”

You don’t hear language like that in the world of municipal politics very often.

Watching his interaction with Council during the week of meetings it seemed evident they were keen and looking forward to the years ahead. His comments on the minister’s authority to override Conservation permits was refreshing. “It’s been on the books for a long time and we question the need for it. Why not address the root causes rather than give yourself that judge-jury power? That’s troubling.”

It will be interesting, and refreshing, to see how he applies that kind of thinking to the work ahead of him.

By Pepper Parr

May 26^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

There is a group located on the western edge of Burlington that supports people going through difficult times.

Eagle’s Nest is one of the groups supported by the United Way.  They have been around for 20 years.

Like every group they look to the community to raise funds.

They are currently in the last week of their fund raising campaign; it’s an online auction.

People can go on line and bid on the more than a hundred items that are waiting for bids.

The list of people who have donated goods and services is impressive.

Forget for a moment that you are supporting a worthy cause; there are some very good deals. You might want to check it out – see if there is something you have been looking for.

Link to the site is HERE

By Staff

May 23^rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

It is a week or two away – but you might want to make a note of it on your calendar.

The annual  Carpenter Hospice annual hike takes place on June 1st. Participants will spend the morning walking the five-kilometre planned route around the neighbourhood with staff, volunteers, families, and supporters. Registration is open now at www.thecarpenterhospice.com/hike.

The Carpenter Hospice

 All four Rotary Clubs of Burlington will act as the presenting sponsor for the event, which they have done for many years. “We are honoured each year by the support of our participants, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, and donors,” said John Gilbert, Manager, Fund Development at Carpenter Hospice.

“To ensure our services are free of cost, we annually raise funds to provide home-cooked meals for our residents, counselling and wellness programs, and ongoing upkeep of our facilities,” said Kim Pearson, Executive Director of Carpenter Hospice.

Among the activities on June 1, the Memorial Quilt has become a beautiful tradition. The Halton Quilters Guild has partnered with the Hospice to provide the necessary materials to capture messages in memory of loved ones on a small fabric square. Following the Hike, the

Guild will assemble the quilt, which will later be displayed in the Hospice. Like creating a quilt, providing compassionate palliative care is more than the sum of its parts. It is the work of many hands collectively supporting moments that matter.

About Carpenter Hospice

 Carpenter Hospice has been an integral part of Burlington since 2002. It provides compassionate palliative care in its 11-bed residence to people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness in a home-like setting in the heart of Burlington. It is a home away from home for its residents, families, and caregivers.

The Hospice’s specialized team of dedicated professionals and experienced volunteers help residents navigate their journey, provides guidance and support, and, most importantly, take the time to understand their needs and wishes in a peaceful, comfortable, and meaningful environment.

Carpenter Hospice also offers community-based services such as bereavement and supportive care, a wellness program, music therapy, spiritual care, and more. These essential services ensure that everyone feels well-supported and cared for.

By Staff

May 23rd, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

The provincial government has been playing fast and loose with the legislation they are dumping on a public that doesn’t fully unerstand what they are up to.

Environmental Defence a not for profit that has been keeping a close eye on what Queen’s Park is  up to put out media releases on a regular basis.

We interviewed their in-house counsel and will publish what we learned later in the week.

Shortly after our interview Phil Pothen, in-house counsel for Environmental Defence  sent us the following:

“If people in Ontario don’t speak up, the government might push through two new laws that could see a lot of the province’s farmland, forests, wetlands and habitats marked for destructive suburban sprawl development.

Phil Pothen, in-house counsel for Environmental Defence

“While this might seem like solely an environmental issue, it’s not. That’s because the biggest threat to our environment here in Ontario is also the biggest threat to fixing the housing shortage: sprawl development.

“With its permanent protections, the Greenbelt acts as the inner line of defence against destructive sprawl. But only a small portion of Ontario’s essential agriculture and remaining wildlife habitats have been protected within the Greenbelt so far.

Ontario’s Under-Protected Areas
“Most of the farmland and wildlife habitat that must eventually be included in the Greenbelt is still contested countryside, protected instead by “settlement area boundaries” that define the maximum area that might eventually be needed for housing, workplaces or industry in a worst case scenario -and prohibit any development applications beyond that area.  Because there was so much unbuilt land within settlement boundaries, and so much potential to add denser housing to existing neighbourhoods, there has been every reason to hope that most of the contested countryside would eventually get permanent protection.

“Ontario’s latest legislation, the Provincial Planning Statement and the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act (Bill 185), would demolish protection for the contested countryside by making settlement boundaries meaningless.

“The result? Unchecked, wasteful sprawl that will kneecap cities and towns from efficiently using construction capacity to build denser housing in existing neighbourhoods.

“Unless stopped, these laws will welcome a wave of sprawl developer led attacks in every community.

The Potential Impact
“In tandem, the proposed Provincial Planning Statement and Bill 185 would work to effectively erase settlement boundaries by:

“Cancelling the entire Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe

“Removing the requirement that at least 50 people be housed for each hectare of farmland or habitat destroyed. The current government had previously reduced the number from 80 people to 50 people.

“Removing the requirement that suburban municipalities ensure enough housing to accommodate half of their expected population growth gets built in existing neighbourhoods and built up areas.

“Letting land speculators demand suburban boundary expansions themselves, just as easily as they can apply for Official Plan approval to build within the existing towns and cities’ settlement boundary.

“Allowing settlement boundaries be expanded, and farmland & habitat be condemned to destruction, without any evidence that it is actually needed, or even helpful to meet housing needs, despite vast supplies of existing “greenfield” land already included in settlement boundaries but sitting unused.

“Transferring decision-making about sprawl away from regional governments, to rural councils that lack strong legal and land use planning teams and are vulnerable to inappropriate pressure and ill-equipped to defend against spurious sprawl developer appeals.

“Fostering corrupt pressure to approve dangerous sprawl and habitat destruction by removing any Ontario Land Tribunal oversight of municipal decisions that say “yes” to sprawl.”

Good doesn’t outweigh the bad
“There is one positive element included in Bill 185: it would remove minimum parking requirements in Major Transit Station Areas (the small circles of land immediately surrounding major transit stations). At the same time as it tabled Bill 185, the government announced that it may soon remove the Building Code bans on single staircase (“single egress”) construction up to 4 storeys and on “mass timber” construction up to 18 storeys, that have been obstructing denser, greener housing.

Suburban sprawl – it seemed like a good idea at the time, plenty of land and gas was cheap.

“Unfortunately, because both Bill 185 and the Provincial Planning Statement prioritize low-density sprawl over densification in existing neighbourhoods the benefits of those changes will remain negligible. Since Ontario has a serious construction labour and equipment shortage, any increase in sprawl development will come at the expense of a larger number of lower-cost homes that are ready to be built in existing neighbourhoods. In fact, the government is refusing to remove the zoning bans that currently make it illegal to build fourplexes in most Ontario neighbourhoods. These modest low-rise buildings can house four families on a residential lot that would otherwise be wasted on a single “McMansion”. Resembling a single detached house, they effectively house more people while maintaining the residential character and feel of a neighbourhood.”