 By Pepper Parr
December 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The city adopted its Official last April, on the 26th; and sent it to the Region of Halton where it has to be approved.
On May 11, the Region acknowledges the Burlington Official Plan was received and that they are the approval authority to make a decision on the Plan.
 During the last number of months, Halton Region staff have been working closely with City of Burlington staff in the review of the newly adopted Plan to address conformity to the Region of Halton Official Plan.
In a media release the Region said: “Through this review, Regional staff have identified a number of matters with respect to the Plan’s conformity to the Halton Region Official Plan that need to be resolved prior to making a decision on the Plan.”
A notice the Region sent the city set out additional information related to these matters and having to do with non conformity with the Halton Region Official Plan.
The Region has said they are ready to work with Burlington in an expeditious manner.
The Planning Act states that if the approval authority (the Region of Halton) fails to give notice of a decision in respect of all or part of a plan within 210 days after the day the plan is received by the approval authority, any person or public body may appeal to the Tribunal all or any part of the plan.
An exception to this provision applies if the approval authority states that the plan or any part of it does not, in the approval authority’s opinion, conform with the upper-tier municipality’s official plan.
The Region of Halton, has informed the City of Burlington that through its delegated authority to the Chief Planning Official, is of the opinion that the Plan does not conform to the Region of Halton Official Plan (2009) (“ROP”).
The Plan does not conform to the ROP with respect to policies and mapping related to, among other matters:
 Farmland use was one of the issues the Region had with the Official Plan Burlington submitted. proposed employment land conversions and permitted uses within the employment areas and lands;
the identification of and permitted uses within agricultural lands;
the identification of and permitted uses within the Natural Heritage System; and
transportation matters, including road classifications.
The Region takes the position that the 210-day review period does not begin to run until the Region of Halton confirms that the non-conformity with the ROP is resolved.
As such no appeals under subsection 17(40) of the Planning Act may be filed at this time.
Which is probably just fine with the new Mayor and city council as well as the hundreds of people who didn’t want the Official Plan approved before the election.
With the Official Plan now back in the hands of the Burlington Planning department city council can issue a different set of instructions to deal with the issues that had people upset and angry.
The Downtown Mobility Hub is probably history and the boundaries of the Urban Growth Centre may now get the consideration Meed Ward wanted when she was the ward 2 Councillor.
The creation of the Downtown Mobility hub was argument enough for the Adi Nautique development to get out of the Ontario Municipal Board without a scratch.
It is certainly good news for the new Mayor and those people who delegated to put the Official Plan on hold until the voters decided who they wanted running the city.
The Planning department now has to wait until new instructions are sent and also wait until a new interim city manager is in place. There has been no suggestion that the current Deputy City Manager will fill that interim role.
The Region’s decision to send the Official Plan back to the city is a validation of the election results even if the Regional issues are not part of what Burlington voters were angry about.
Confusing times – with the right leadership doing the right things for the right reasons, the city could be a much different place in five years.
Assuming the new city council doesn’t blow it
 By Pepper Parr
December 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
We can begin to get a sense as to how Mayor Meed Ward wants city council to operate.
She is asking her colleagues to approve a number of appointments and has recommended some changes to the city’s representation on a number of Boards and committees.
Her recommendation is to:
Increase the composition of elected representatives to the Conservation Halton Board from 1 out of 4, to 2 out of 4, with the remaining two being citizen appointees, subject to an interview process at the beginning of each term of council; and
Decrease the composition of elected representatives on the Burlington Economic Development Corporation from 3 to 2; and
Establish a Waterfront Citizens Advisory Committee, and direct staff to report back with proposed terms of reference by Q2 2019; and
Establish a stand alone Transit Advisory Committee, and direct staff to report back with proposed terms of reference by Q2 2019, including cooperation between this committee, the Cycling Advisory Committee and the
Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee; and
Establish the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Committee as a permanent citizen advisory committee of council, and direct staff to consult with members and report back with proposed terms of reference by Q2 2019; and
Decrease the council appointees on the Downtown Parking Committee from two to one; and
Conduct an overall review of citizen advisory committees, including consultation with the public and citizen advisory committee members, and report back to council with recommendations and options for any changes to improve effectiveness by Q2 2019.
In her report Mayor Meed Ward explains that “a significant portion of our role on council is serving on committees and boards, both internal and external to the city.”
There are 63 boards and committees in total, including standing committees of city and regional council, providing an equal share of 9 appointments for each council member, with the exception of one who has 8. Attached are the recommended appointments.
The Chairs and Vice Chairs of each standing committee of city council have to be elected by the Councillors. Mayor Meed Ward’s recommendations for the year ahead are:
 Lisa Kearns, ward 2 Councillor is going to be stretched to get a firm grip on the budget – it will be her first big test. Planning & Development Chair: Paul Sharman Vice-Chair: Rory Nisan
Committee of the Whole – Regular & Budget Chair: Lisa Kearns
Vice Chair: Kelvin Galbraith
Committee of the Whole – Workshop Chair: Shawna Stolte
Vice Chair: Angelo Bentivegna
A nomination will be required from the floor for the slate, followed by a vote.
Meed Ward wants to increase the composition of elected representatives to the Conservation Halton (CH) board from 1 out of 4, to 2 out of 4, with the remaining two being citizen appointees, subject to an interview process at the beginning of each term of council.
Her rationale is that there should be an equal balance of elected responsibility and citizen voice. CH’s work intersects at key points with our work on city and regional council in the areas of development permitting, flood mitigation, environmental rehabilitation, recreation and more. Given the variety and significance of these matters, a second elected representative directly accountable to the people is recommended.
There is more to this than meets the eye. A number of years ago former Councillor Taylor wanted to add Meed Ward to Conservation Halton. At a messy messy Standing Committee what the Gazette referred to as the “Gang of Four” shot that down. Councillor Taylor took his name off the list and nominated Meed Ward for the role. It was one of his finer moments.
Recommendation: Decrease the composition of elected representatives on the Burlington Economic Development Corporation from 3 to 2.
In the previous Council Paul Sharman and Jack Dennison both wanted to be on the BEDC – the then Mayor was also on that Board. Meed Ward doesn’t have that many people with a solid understanding of the role BEDC plays. That organization is in the process of looking for a new Executive Director. It will be a critical appointment. The question on this file is going to be: Is the Board of the BEDC in sync with where Mayor Meed Ward wants to go?
Frank McKeown, the former Executive Director, was never convinced that Meed Ward fully understood what economic development was all about. It isn’t one of her core strengths.
The establishment of a Waterfront Citizens Advisory Committee is a biggy for the Mayor. The issue that she rode to office in 2019 was the Save our Waterfront Committee. When Cam Jackson was Mayor he created a Waterfront Advisory Committee that was disbanded when it became clear that the committee wasn’t getting much done – mostly due to the way the Chair managed the Committee.
 SaveOurWaterfront- was the issue that Marianne Meed Ward rode to gain the ward 2 seat in 2010. She wants to make it one of the focal points for this Council. Meed Ward fully understands that Burlington is a waterfront city, without a formal citizen’s voice advising council. This Mayor is going to do everything possible to ensure that the city takes advantage of the opportunity to do something unique with what is left of the waterfront. She isn’t going to be able to get the land that was sold back (a travesty of municipal administration) but there is still a lot than can be done.
Transit is key to Mayor Meed Ward. She is recommending that Council establish a stand-alone Transit Advisory Committee that will cooperate with the Cycling Advisory Committee and the Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee.
Rationale: We have over 1 million rides annually on our transit system but no dedicated citizen’s advisory voice to council on transit. Establishing a committee honours the importance of transit in the community expressed during the election campaign and before, and honours the direct request for a stand-alone transit advisory committee from Burlington For Accessible Sustainable Transit and others.
Meed Ward is picking up the idea that Mayor Goldring had with his Millennial Advisory Committee; she wants to make it a permanent advisory committee of council.
Rationale: A formal advisory committee ensures a youth voice on issues in our community that is city-based and not subject to changes in the mayor’s office.
Recommendation: Decrease the council appointees on the Downtown Parking Committee (DPC) from two to one.
Rationale: Most boards and committees have one council appointee. Reducing the composition on DPC better distributes council appointments among the various boards and committees
Meed Ward is going one step further; she wants to have a review of citizen advisory committees, including consultation with the public and committee members.
City council members are also Regional Council members; their role at that level are set out below:
“Times are a changing” indeed.
 By Pepper Parr
December 4th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
There was never any doubt as to who was in charge.
There was never any doubt as to what she was going to do
And there was never any doubt as to how the audience felt about the direction Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor was taking. The applause was close to rapturous. There were at least five, heck make that six standing ovations. This was her night.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Justice Barry Quinn. The moment Justice of the Peace Barry Quinn, a former municipal Councillor himself, slipped the Chain of Office around the neck of the stunning red dress Meed Ward wore she was in the driver’s seat.
Meed Ward gave a hint as to just how well she was going to be able to deliver on her election promises when she told the audience that she would have some good news for them “tomorrow”. Expect some word on the “approved” Official Plan being in the mail from the Region and on its way back to city hall.
There was entertainment for the audience; Hayley Verral sang O’Canada, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry performed, Dan Murray, a Burlington poet read and Dania Thurman sang to close out the evening after which everyone congregated in the family room to munch on cup Kelly’s cupcakes and cheese trays from a local provider.
 The 2018 – 2022 Burlington city council. The Mayor set out how she was going to run the city when she laid out four themes that she said would define her term of office.
1: Residents first
2: Burlington is everyone’s city
3: Protecting the city
4: Honour the trust and the commitment to serve.
For the most part the Mayor spoke extemporaneously. Marianne did not needs notes or a script, this was an evening she has spent the last ten years preparing for.
 Citizens being citizens after the Inauguration and the Inaugural address. Her theme, that respecting the residents was first and foremost, was supported with a commitment to “serve you” by providing more parks and delivering budgets that are not in the 4% annual tax increase range. “We need to do better than that” she said.
“This council is dedicated to your vision, we need to repair the trust” and added that leaders do not need to come up with all the great ideas, leaders need to create the environment that lets great ideas come from the community”.
Statements like that brought people to their feet.
Staff, said the Mayor implement the decisions council makes.
Point number 2. Burlington is an inclusive city. She wants to “fix transit “The meat behind her 3rd point, protecting the city was this: “We will not take on over-development”. The applause was instant. The Mayor added that she was pushing the reset button on the downtown plan.
 Point # 3: Meed Ward wants to flood proof the city and protect the green space. She committed to fighting any effort to opening up the green space north of the Hwy 407 – Dundas demarcation line. The same comment was made about any effort to re-open the debate over an NGTA road cutting through Kilbride and Lowville.
Meed Ward gave Mary Munro, a former one term Mayor, a strong nod when she said “Mary committed to saving
Lakeshore Road and not going along with cutting down any trees to widen that road.
Meed Ward was not as successful in her efforts to save prime waterfront land from sliding into private hands.
Throughout her address she was firm in her resolve. “We heard you” said Meed Ward “and we are listening”.
“Stand firm and never back down” she added.
Statements like that make it clear that Meed Ward is firm in her commitment to lead a city council that will be significantly different than the one that was in place from 2010 to 2018.
In expanding on her 4th point Meed Ward told the audience that many felt the province holds all the cards. “Not true” she said and added that “we are going to choose our destiny.
The audience heard a slightly combative Mayor stake out her territory when she said to the audience, quoting Winston Churchill, that you “go from failure to failure without giving up” adding that she lost two elections before she went on to win three.
 Mayor Marianne Meed Ward wearing the Chain of Office for the first time. Before turning the inauguration into a meeting of City Council Meed Ward said “the cause is nothing less than our city. We need you to now go out there and do some good.”
Did Burlington get a look Monday evening at a woman who just might turn out to be a great Mayor? This country hasn’t had all that many great Mayors. Toronto did have David Crombie serve that city as Mayor; Crombie has a soft spot for Burlington and there is certainly a meeting of minds between Meed Ward and Crombie on how the city should protect its waterfront.
Those two should have lunch sometime. Crombie was a strong proponent of a Waterfront Trail – something Meed Ward has some ideas about as well.
By Pepper Parr
November 30th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The paper work involved in a major development application is extensive. The volume has become more than the city’s Planning Department can reasonably handle.
Add to the volume the fact that there are a reported 30 applications in the pipe line and toy end up with a situation where the developer file an appeal to the Land Planning Administrative Tribunal for not responding in the allotted 120 days. Some situations allow a 180 day timeline.
The public then howls claiming that the Planning department is inefficient.
Burlington’s Planning department is in one of those no one wins situations.
The paperwork for the National Homes development at 2100 Brant consisted of:
Supporting Documents
Application Form and Covering Letter (PDF)
Site Plan (PDF)
Draft Plan of Subdivision Application (PDF)
Environmental Site Screening Questionaire (PDF)
Enviromental Impact Study (PDF)
Functional Servicing Report and Storm Water Management Report (PDF)
Geotechnical Report (PDF)
Geotechnical Report – Slope Stability (PDF)
Grading Plan (PDF)
Height Survey – Adjacent Building Height Survey (PDF)
Letter of Reliance – Halton Region (PDF)
Noise Study (PDF)
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (PDF)
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (PDF)
Planning Justification Report (PDF)
Plan of Survey (PDF)
Planning Justification Report (PDF)
Preliminary Landscape Plan (PDF)
Sanitary Servicing and Drainage Plan (PDF)
Shadow Impacy Analysis (PDF)
Shadow Study (PDF)
Stage 1-2 Archaelogy Letter of Registration (PDF)
Storm Servicing and Drainage Plan (PDF)
Transportation Study (PDF)
Tree Inventory and Preservation Plan – East (PDF)
Tree Inventory and Preservation Plan – West (PDF)
Urban Design Brief (PDF)
Watermain Hydraulic Analysis (PDF)
Watermain Plan (PDF)
 A development with this degree of complexity requires time and resources from different levels to prepare a staff report – all within several months. Planning department has not met the target on a number of occasions. Various levels of expertise are required to understand and assess the contents of the document. They also have to get sent to other departments for their input.
On smaller developments the paperwork can be manageable – but when there are more than two dozen applications the staff in the Planning department get swamped. There are 26 planners on staff with one department asking for an additional planner to help lighten the load.
It is never as simple as it appears on the surface.
By Pepper Parr
November 28, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The first the Gazette heard of the status of the 2100 Brant development that is currently at a Local Planning Appeal Tribunal was a mention at the final city council meeting of the current council.
The discussion took place in a Closed Session so there was no information to report.
Then we got a document that had a letter from the National Homes legal counsel. A portion of that letter said:
Please also be advised that we will be asking the LPAT to convert this PHC to a SETTLEMENT HEARING to approve the settlement which National Homes (Brant) Inc. and the City of Burlington have reached. The settlement is reflected in the planning instruments (the Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Plan of Subdivision), all of which are attached to this letter. If you have a concern with the PHC being converted to a settlement hearing please contact the undersigned prior to Tuesday, December 18, 2018.
Also, part of the document we got was an outline on where things were in terms of what the developer was asking for.
 Vacant for years, the land had been donated to the Catholic church and then bought by a developer who had big plans – too big for the neighbours The development application was at LPAT because the city had failed to respond to the development application within the 120 day timeframe required.
The application was to permit the development of 233 townhouse consisting of 27 dual frontage townhouses, 123 standard townhouses and 83 street townhouses at a density of 43.4 units per net hectare.
The documentation on this development is complex and constantly changing.
Residents from the Havendale community put together a very well written and data supported response to the delegation.
Area resident’s point out that “a lame duck outgoing Council exacting some final tribute likely instigated by the retiring ward Councillor. There are so many planning failures and empty information boxes on so many critical things in the OMB/LTAP Notice that it is a repugnant rip off of the democratic and due public process in the planning and normal sequence outlined in the Planning Act.
 Traffic issues with just the one street running through the development that exist onto Brant and Havendale “There will be no staff reports on important matters such as: stormwater and groundwater flows in this escarpment location and how they are to be managed to achieve pre-development runoff rates, and to prevent impacts downstream; a full staff recommendation report with comments from various City departments and the public on the amendments and 19 or so variances requested; a Committee meeting with delegations and debates, and a vote; a following Council meeting with delegations, debate, and a vote; and then an opportunity for appeal.
“All of this democratic process and more is being arbitrarily taken away in this move by a defunct Council.
Tom Muir, an Aldershot resident said “I was told that the planner in charge of the file, Lola Emberson, wrote the basis for the amendment – there is no signature or otherwise identification – and that she agrees with it. Frankly, it looks more like it was written by the developer consultant than an objective planner. It’s a disgrace for a professional and objective planner, working for the residents of the City, to sign off on such a deficient basis for an approval of all the amendments wanted.
 The lack of a park within the development is a major issue. “Anything built on such a vacant site as this application would meet the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) targets for intensification, including a reduced build that would address and meet the existing OP and substantial resident comments and submissions suggesting revisions to the application that would satisfy all the PPS and intensification needs.
“It is notable that this appeal by the developer was made possible by the City neglect to make a decision on the requested Official Plan amendment within the 180 days’ timeline.
“This City neglect to make decisions on requested amendments extends also to amendments on zoning by-laws within the 120 day timeline on several other applications, appears to be a policy-like decision to sidestep the normal democratic public process, described above, for the planning process.
 Traditional look to the built form. “The developers love it as it removes any negative public and planning objections from the process of deciding the application. The public is effectively shut out of any due process, rights of appeal, and the City Council cannot do anything of its own volition without going through the OMB/LPAT. In the end, only one or two LPAT Chairs make the decisions.
“There is another appeal by National Homes on their 484 and 490 Plains Rd application for zoning by-law amendments based on the City failure to make a decision within 120 days. Again, this appeal is designed to sidestep the democratic due planning process, and is facilitated by the City planning and legal staff in an apparent deliberate fashion in ignoring the lapses of the mandated timelines for making decisions. There is a pre-hearing conference meeting set for December 19, 2018, one day after the meeting for 2100 Brant St.
“It’s the same developer, and similar logic, so it is a logical question as to whether this application can be approved without due process, just like the 2100 Brant St application.
“We ought to be concerned that such a planning ruse like these appeals can be used throughout the City planning and development process to undermine public participation in a democratic way of transparent decision-making based on a discussion of the merits and demerits of applications.
 Muir said: “And we should definitely be concerned that the existing planning, legal and senior managers have seemingly organized themselves in such a way as to allow this failure to occur. All I have heard in my complaints to city planning is a litany of possible things that could have happened to allow such a failure to occur, from inadequate staff for processing applications and studies submitted by the developers.
 Tom Muir has pointed out many of the problems with a development he feels is being rushed. Muir believes “This is a management and policy failure that must be fixed right now.
All this will land on the desks of the new city council that will roll up their sleeves and figure out how development applications are going to be handled.
The Planning department is swamped with applications. There are a reported 26 planners on staff who have to manage the reported 30 development applications in the pipeline.
It is close to an untenable situation and must be emotionally draining for the planners, who for the most part are young, well educated and personally motivated to do good work.
 The Gazette has invited residents for their thoughts on what the new city might try to achieve in its first 100 days. A lot of wishful thinking and some misunderstanding of how the city actually works. Interesting comments.
By Bryce Lee
November 28th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Have often thought the ward boundaries should shift, to accommodate two extra councillors account some wards are geographically larger than others. Even the load so to speak.
No more structures blocking the view of Lake Ontario.
The lake is perhaps the greatest asset this City has, do not lose it to developers!
No more fancy homes on Lakeshore east to Guelph Line.
 The issue is the portion shown as parkette. The city had three options: keep the land and develop it as a parkette, lease the land to adjoining property owners until the city decides on its long term use or sell the land. The city sold it. Over a long time that entire area should become a linear park. Selling those lots on Lakeshore Road between Market and St Paul to home owners was stupid and short sighted.
Let the council delegations be heard, good amplification is required; citizens must not be ignored. They voted the current Councillors in; they can just as easily be voted out in four years!
 Approved – all but impossible to change the decision  Developer is expected to appeal the council decision to keep the structure to 17 storeys – developer wants 24 – same as the approved building across the street. As to the planned monstrosities opposite the current city hall and elsewhere; the so-called Official Plan needs to be reviewed. Such tall buildings should be fronting the edge of Metrolinx railway line, not in the downtown area. Keep the downtown building height to six stories, set back from the new wider sidewalks.
Have affordable shops on perhaps the ground floor or even the second floor.
Motorized vehicle parking should be at the rear of said structures or below level; 1.5 vehicles per household please. Employees should also be afforded parking, below street level.
 We are an automobile based society We are an automobile based society regardless of the method of propulsion; make charging stations available payable by bank card. The car park with Elizabeth on the east and John Street on the west should be a many level parking garage with retail shops and professional offices on the ground floor and second level, shops to be fronted on the streets mentioned above.
Maintain, if possible, the residential areas of old Burlington below Ghent Avenue; homes constructed post WWII, and occupied for the most part by baby boomers.
Keeping those aforementioned residences allows residents to walk to most locations; The Brant Street No Frills plaza needs to be retained; grocery outlets are few and far between in this City unless one has suitable transportation.
City sponsored transportation should have free Sundays and free all the time to seniors.
Ensure all of the provincial subsidy is used; smaller electric powered (solar?) buses with frequent service is required.
And if the current Provincial Premier wants to merge Oakville and Burlington to Hamilton, tell him he too could be voted out of office, sooner than later!
 Mayor Elect Marianne Meed Ward My own thoughts on Meed-Ward: she will be a one term mayor, as were the two previous female mayors of Burlington.
She was wonderful as a Councillor however a mayor requires a whole different mindset. She will stumble and in four years be out of office.
As for the other newly elected Councillors; being a ward Councillor requires time; time far beyond what the incumbents know. A Councillor is a 7/24/365 job; no rest during the four years; while elected.
By Staff
November 26th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
See if you can find the news in this media release from the province.
Last week, Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued this statement in recognition of National Housing Day:
“Twenty years ago, National Housing Day was declared after municipalities, members of the public and community agencies across the country called on all levels of government to take action on housing – specifically community housing.
 Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing People said “What can we do to help those in need of a safe and affordable home?” Answering that question is something our government cares deeply about. And while the full answer is complex, at its core it’s simple: we need more housing.
Building more housing will help Ontario create good jobs across the province. Employees need affordable places to live and getting shovels in the ground will bring more construction jobs to Ontario.
But the road to building more housing has been challenging after a decade of mismanagement by the previous government. There is too much red tape that is choking the system – from complex approval requirements, to high costs and government fees. We need that to change.
Our government for the people promised we would remove the barriers to home ownership. My ministry in particular is taking concrete action, we are consulting with the people of Ontario about how the government can remove those barriers and build the right kind of housing in the right places. Their ideas will help us create a housing action plan to boost housing supply.
We know all housing is important. We also need to work together to sustain critical community housing, to repair and renew aging buildings and to maintain the financial viability of housing providers across Ontario.
On this National Housing Day, I want to stress to you as the Minister responsible, that we are committed to fixing the mess left by years of neglect.
 Part of the demand for more and better housing. National Housing Day began as a call for all levels of government to do more about housing. I agree – we need to work in partnership with our municipal and development partners. They are big financial contributors, and they are on the front lines, helping people every day. Our government is committed to making a difference. This commitment includes working collaboratively with my colleagues in other ministries.
However, the federal government needs to step up. Their National Housing Strategy barely maintains the status quo. I believe they must do more. If we are going to renew Ontario’s housing stock and provide the housing people across Ontario need, the federal government needs to invest more.
I believe we all have a role to play when it comes to maintaining and building more housing in our communities. Today, let’s reflect on how important it is to have housing that is affordable for the people of Ontario. Housing that meets their needs and offers more choice for their families. The people of Ontario should expect nothing less.”
Did I get the message in this provincial media release?
Housing is needed, more affordable housing as well and Ontario is waiting for the federal government to do something ?
Ontario has announced that it is going to take rent increase legislation off the books for any new houses that are built.
In December of 2017 Habitat for Humanity took part in the announcement of a National Housing Strategy.
At that time, Members of Parliament Pam Damoff and Karina Gould, as well as Andrew Balahura from Halton Region were in Habitat for Humanity’s Halton-Mississauga’s Burlington ReStore today to celebrate a historic initiative from our federal government.
All three, along with our affiliate’s CEO John Gerrard, spoke about what the NHS means for our community. MP Gould and Damoff both had a role in the development of the strategy, and were instrumental in broadcasting the message from our community – that a National Housing Strategy is of the utmost importance. This message sprouted from a roundtable hosted by our local MPs, and we believe has a lot to do with our country finally developing a National Housing Strategy of its own.
 From left to right: Habitat Halton CEO John Gerrard, Burlington MP Karina Gould, Oakville North Burlington MP Pam Damoff and Halton Region’s Andrew Balahura
 By Pepper Parr
November 22, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
In December of 2014, the city council that was first elected in 2010 sat behind a table on the stage of the Performing Arts Centre waiting to be sworn in. his was the first time the swearing in ceremony took place at that venue.
Trumpeters from the Burlington Teen Tour Band were in the gallery to the left of the stage; the sound of blaring trumpets heralded the event.
While the council being sworn on December 2014 was a repeat of what residents elected in 2010 there was still some electricity in the air.
As each member of Council was announced, after they had been sworn in, the applause for Marianne Meed Ward was just that much louder, lasted just that much longer than the applause for anyone else on that stage. If two people had stood up and shouted “bravo” and clapped loudly I swear she would have gotten a standing ovation.
 Mayor Elect Marianne Med Ward at the Polish Hall on election night Mayor Goldring may not have recognized what was going on but the 2018 election campaign had begun.
On Monday, December 3rd, Meed Ward will be recognized as Mayor and the trumpets will blare. The Meed Ward supporters will see this as the beginning of a new dawn.
It is far too early to tell if Marianne Meed Ward is going to grow into a great Mayor. There are still a lot of people out there that do not wish her well.
She is going to have to work with five people who have never served on anything that has had input into city policy considerations. Angelo Beneventigna is familiar with a lot of the people at city hall and has more in the way of understanding as to how the city works than most of the others.
What Beneventigna has to figure out and realize is that he wasn’t elected to be a “friend” of those who handle the day to affairs of the city but to assure that they are always accountable to council and to the wider public they serve.
Meed Ward will be something of a den mother for the first 18 months.
Paul Sharman, a man that Rick Goldring once said was the best strategic thinker he has ever met, will be sitting on the same stage.
 Councillor Sharman with his back to the camera debates with Councillor Meed Ward during the 2011 Strategy Planning sessions. Sharman will be the odd man out on this council. He brings a reputation for abrasiveness and a tendency to be abrupt with people. He is more comfortable getting his own way.
When he became BFF (Best Friends Forever) with Councillor Craven there was little hope of there being much in the way of collaboration. Sharman consistently referred to Meed Ward’s “ideology” which wasn’t one he shared. He was more comfortable with his own. The Gazette began to refer to Sharman as “Mr. Data”; he always wanted more data. Over time we realized that the request for more data meant that Sharman didn’t have to make a decision.
Goldring saw Sharman as the best strategic thinker he had ever met – We won’t test the veracity of that statement. However, Paul Sharman does come at what he does from a strategic perspective.
 Intense to the point of making delegations uncomfortable ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman does know how to drill down into the data and look for results. In 2010, to the surprise of many and shock to others, he fist nominated himself for Mayor. When Rick Goldring filed nomination papers for the office of Mayor, Sharman muffled his ambitions, withdrew the nomination for Mayor and nomination himself for the ward 5 council seat that Goldring was vacating.
Meed Ward needs Paul Sharman to get through the first 18 months. He is the only person on the new Council that can get a budget passed. He might even manage to somehow produce a budget with a 0% increase. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars in city reserve accounts; – Sharman knows those accounts better than any of the newbies..
Could he find a way to loosen up some of that money?
 Funds to pay for the break water barrier were found – all the city had to do was raid the Hydro Reserve fund. If the outgoing council could find a way to use $4 million plus that was in the Hydro Reserve find for the breakwater facility at the LaSalle Park Marina – Paul Sharman can find a way to wiggle some funds out of other reserve accounts. This of course will drive the Director of Finance bananas – that department likes nice thick reserves earning solid interest for the city.
Many people are watching how Meed Ward handles herself in the first 18 months. The people she took political power from are quite willing to see her fall on her face.
The pressure will be immense, which will be nothing new to Meed Ward. The current council has bullied and harassed this woman for the past eight years. Some of the behaviour bordered on the kind of thing you report to authorities that can take corrective action and ensure that there is due process.
Her council colleagues were not the only level that harassed Meed Ward; the failures in the Clerk’s department are legion.
Meed Ward tried hard to establish a good working relationship with Mary Lou Tanner when she was first appointed as the Director of Planning. Her efforts didn’t take.
In the months ahead, expect Councillor Sharman to go into his “smarmy” mode and do his best to charm the newcomers. He has reached out to all of them.
He will sit and wait patiently and should Meed Ward not be up to the job she has taken on – Paul Sharman will try to convince the city that he can do the job – for he was the best strategic thinker Rick Goldring had ever met.
 The mandate is thin – the hope runs very deep. Meed Ward’s mandate is thin. However, she has the goodwill and high hopes of many of the people who want to see the core values that are Burlington be recognized, kept and built upon.
Too early to tell if the battle lines for the 2022 election are drawn.
For her fans, and her supporters – stop lauding and convincing yourselves she can walk on water. What Marianne Meed Ward needs is to be held accountable day in and day out.
In 2014 she asked people to trust her – they did and she changed the way the city operates.
She will need that trust going forward.
Related news stories:
The day city council beat up Marianne Meed Ward
By Staff
November 21, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The meeting room at the Lions Hall on John Street was full; area residents wanted to know more about a proposed 11 storey development that was yards away from an application for an 18 storey development. A 26 story development has been approved for the bottom of Martha street. The neighbourhood was getting crowded.
 Audience at the Lions Hall listening to details on a proposed Martha Street development. People were in the room to hear what the LDG group wanted to build on the east side of Martha Street south of New Street. The land they assembled backs onto Rambo Creek which has created some problems for the developer. The ownership of the creek and how the flood plain will be managed are problems that are still being worked on
The developers have yet to file an application with the city Planning department. The new rules for developments is the requirement that they meet with the public and get reaction from the community that is going to feel the impact.
And impact there is going to be on all of Martha south of New Street. Based on the developments that are planned 520 new residences are going to be created in a stretch of land that you could walk in less than ten minutes.
 11 storeys with a set back from the street of two metres – total of 132 units, five of which will be two story townhouses. The Adi development at Lakeshore, the Martha that will be on James (James Street and New Street cut through Martha Street).
LDG assembled six properties on which there are five houses.
The proposed development will have four levels of underground parking. There will be 135 parking stalls with an additional seven parking spaces for visitors. The current city parking requirement is for 1.25 parking spaces for each unit. It was not made clear if a parking spot was bundled into the sale price – prices have yet to be set.
The developers did tell the audience that the faster they get approval the lower the cost of the units. The audience chuckled at that comment.
There will be two elevators and the developers is looking for some way to include a ride sharing service..
There will be 80 indoor bicycle parking spots and six outdoor spots.
 Some of the units at the ground level will be two story townhouses. Rendering shows a setback from the street of two metres. The proposed LDG group development will have 132 condo units of which five will be two story townhouses with three bedrooms. These will be built into the street level of the building and have different cladding.
Those giving the presentation continued to point out that the development complied with all the current policies. This development has to comply with the existing Official Plan and not with the plan that was approved by city council and sent to the Regional government where it has to be approved.
While stressing that the proposed development meets all the current policy guidelines Marianne Meed Ward pointed out that a site with medium density should have 185 units per hectare.
 Open landscaped space at the rear of the proposed building will abut Rambo Creep. The design shown at the public meeting had pathways for the general public – the audience wasn’t all that keen on that idea. The developer will be asking for the right to build 413 units on each hectare; an increase of more than 200%.
The developers want to create as much outdoor space that can be used and are asking to have a set back from the street of just 2 metres; the bylaws currently call for a six metre set back.
Time line for this development? The developer said getting approval in principle should take about 18 months and two years to build.
Singe bedroom units will range between 650 to 900 sq. ft.
Two bedroom units will range between 850 sq. ft. to 1400 sq. ft. in size
The developers said they met with Mayor Goldring about the development.
 The LDG Group is currently building the six floor Saxony opposite the Performing Arts Centre on Elgin Street. That development was originally set at four storeys – council approved an application for an additional two storeys.
 We asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the new city council needs to do in its first 100 days.
They get sworn in on December 3rd. There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; with the thinking coming out of the Planning department and worried about 4% tax increases. People voted for a new path to get the city out of the rut many feel it is in.
By Don Fletcher
November 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
“What a great initiative!
Asking for engaged citizens’ ideas, prior to the swearing in of our new Council.
While not original, I think the primary objective of the new Council has to be to “fix” our proposed Official Plan.
 By “fix”, I mean to retract from the Halton Region’s inbox our current proposal, and in particular, modify and resubmit a downtown plan (with community support) to be a mid-rise (4-8 storey) community, as opposed to the proposed high-rise ( 14- 25 storey) alternative.
Why?
Because:
1) This is what our Mayor-elect Marianne Meed Ward campaigned on. Trust needs to be restored.
2) The urgency of the submission was self-imposed and the Region will understand, given the “sea change” based on this issue at City Hall.
3) It’s what most engaged citizens want, because they felt that they were being ignored with its’ hasty approval. It became an “election issue”, maybe the central one.
4) It will unquestionably be the “elephant in the room” with all other matters. Deal with it upfront!
5) The developers need certainty with what is permissible in making future investments.
6) LPAT, unlike its’ predecessor OMB, treats the Official Plan as an enforceable criterion (I.e. teeth).
7) The Official Plan has longevity, unlike many of us.
 Planning staff put together charts and posters to advise, educate and inform the public. Okay. So nothing radically new there!
I would like to add a “how” we could do this..
Relationship is the medium for results and accomplishments.
I learned this as an executive of a $5B successful Canadian public corporation.
We have a largely new Council with a current understanding of what the residents want, and a staff that mistakenly thought they did.
I’m not a big fan of the one employee of Council, City Manager construct, with all of its’ implications. It feels as though we, the citizens through their representatives, are having our input constricted through a straw.
I recommend that the new Council convene an offsite (3-day) planning session, with all the functional heads in the administration (including the City Manager) at City Hall, to work through the City’s values, objectives and plans. A derivative benefit of such a meeting would be to begin developing those relationships needed to move the City forward and in a positive direction.
I know of a few very capable facilitators who could help.
What should I be paid for this idea?
A seat at the offsite meeting table. After all, I am a management consultant.”
Don Fletcher is a downtown Burlington resident who has been a city council watcher for some time. Before retirement he was a senior vice president with a public Canadian company in the communications and entertainment field.
 We have asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the new city council needs to do in its first 100 days.
The Councillors gets sworn in on December 3rd – what has to be done in that first 100 days to set a new path and get out of the rut many feel the city is in ?
There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; even unhappy with the thinking that is coming out of the Planning department.
We asked the people we knew, they aren’t all friends of the Gazette, what they thought could be done and should be done.
By Penny Hersh
November 12th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
 The residents voted in a new council with the mandate for change. Will it be what residents expect in what they perceive as a reasonable time frame? That is yet to be determined.
In response to this request and because Engaged Citizens of Burlington – ECoB feels that resident involvement is essential I asked the seniors who attend the current events class I am a part of for their input.
In no particular order this is what was expressed.
– Get control over development.
– Culture change at City Hall – Council needs to direct staff, not the other way around.
– Council needs to stop depending solely on Staff Reports.
– Council needs to work with the Provincial Government – Regarding” Places to Grow” and the demands put on Municipalities to reach the mandated target set out for them.
– Council Meetings should take place throughout the City not only at City Hall. Parking is a problem downtown, and if the meetings take place during the day there is a parking fee.
COMMUNICATION:
– Town Hall Meetings – to explain in “layman’s language” what is happening. Telling people to go to the City’s website is not the answer.
– Newsletters from Councillors that do more than just detail events happening in their wards. High praise for Marianne Meed Ward’s “ A Better Burlington”.
– City needs to hire a Public Relations firm to make Municipal Politics “resident friendly”.
 Together we can make a greater change in the culture at City Hall, and never again have to wait for an election to make our voices heard. The change Burlington needs requires commitment from City Hall and the citizens of Burlington alike, and it needs to start now. Together we can make a greater change in the culture at City Hall, and never again have to wait for an election to make our voices heard.
To be part of this change ECoB is asking residents to participate in the resident ward level committees that are being formed. More information can be found on our website Engagedburlington.ca To sign up email us at info@engagedburlington.ca and make your ward level committee a success.
 We asked Burlington residents that we know and have communicated with in our seven years of operation what they think the city needs to go in its first 100 days.
The new city council gets sworn in on December 3rd – what has to be done in that first 100 days to set a new path and get out of the rut many feel the city is in?
There are a lot of people unhappy with transit; unhappy with the thinking that is coming out of the Planning department.
Here is what Kevin Rutherford thought could be done and should be done.
By Kevin Rutherford
November 12th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
1. Perform audits of planning staff and City manager to evaluate the performance of previous planning recommendations. Staff recommendations are wildly different depending on the planner on file, they need to reign this in and provide a consistent message and approach. Performance should also be evaluated based on the time spent reviewing applications and whether they completed the recommendation within the 120 day window, failure to do so allowed the National Homes Developer on Brant Ave to file an appeal and with the Georgina Court Development it forced council to make a decision in haste because of fear of litigation from the developer because they were at roughly 390 days.
2. Come up with a plan on engaging residents more in development plans, and earlier in the game, and treat residents with respect when they are engaged. Current meetings are essentially about checking a box in the process rather than actually engaging with residents.
 3. Scrap or re-visit the City-wide parking review. They are reducing the parking spaces required for developments creating massive parking issues. The reality is that adult children are living at home longer so more spaces are needed, not less. The justification for their plan is that they want to eliminate cars from the roads and force people to take transit etc… I am sorry I manage rail/transit engineering projects and Burlington needs massive investment before any of their objectives will ever work and in the meantime residents will continue to struggle. In areas of the city where they are exploring street parking permits is just a cash grab and not proper planning.
4. Educate planning staff on the current OP, PPS, Places to grow act etc… They are submitting recommendations that do not comply either due to incompetence or insufficient education. I agree they need to try to ensure they meet the conditions of these plans/policy, they do not seem to understand the basic principles. Even when mistakes are found, they still defend their decisions and fight, forcing developers or residents to file LPAT appeals.
Keith Rutherford is a Senior Project Manager, managing Rail & Transit engineering projects. He is also the individual leading the LPAT appeal for the Georgina Court (Upper Middle Enclave) residents. He reports that “We just received responses from the City staff on our appeal synopsis and record that we submitted and they are still digging in and standing their ground essentially “sucking and blowing” in their response on the issue items.
 By Staff
November 5th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
This is not good news – at least not for the city.
 The ADI Development Group can now proceed with the construction of the 26 floor tower they want to put up at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road.
The Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) dismissed the city’s request to review decision the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) made on 374 and 380 Martha St.
The OMB released a decision on Feb. 13, 2018, regarding the development application that allows 26 storeys. The city filed a Section 43 review request to the Executive Chair of the OMB in March 2018.
The city requested the review on the assertion that there were four errors made by the OMB: Incorrect Application of the Growth Plan, Improper Regard for Council Decisions and Materials, Improper Exclusion of Evidence and Unreasonable Findings with Respect to Tower Separation.
In making its decision, the LPAT member, Paul Muldoon concluded that the city failed to raise a “convincing and compelling” case that any one of the listed errors or grounds cited in its Rules to grant a review was applicable.
By Pepper Parr
November 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
 Of the five new members of Council perhaps one has attended a Regional Council meeting. The process of installing a new city council is taking place. The five newcomers to council will be at the Regional government offices learning more about what their role is at that level.
In the week ahead they will be introduced to city staff- meeting the city manager, deputy manager, the clerks and department Directors.
They will probably park their cars in the Lotus street garage and cast a covetous eye on the parking spaces right outside city hall that will be theirs on December 3rd.
 The 2019 budget will be a challenge for the new members of the incoming council. According to one source they have yet to be given copies of the budget they are going to have to review and make decisions on – the decision they make will give the citizens of the city some sense as to what this council is going to be able to do.
Everyone says the 4% tax increase every year for the past seven years can’t continue – but continue it has. The only time the 2010 and 2014 council ever brought in a budget well below that close to 4% number was in 2011 when it was a 0% increase over the previous year. So it can be done.
As these new members of council learn their jobs the process of healing the rifts with the people that lost in the election has t begin. Traditionally the losers make a courtesy call on the winner, shake their hand, wish them well and head home to lick their wounds.
 Mike Wallace congratulating Karina Gould on winning the 2014 federal election. Mike Wallace had the graciousness to pay a courtesy call on Karina Gould when she took the federal seat from him in 2014.
Neither Wallace nor Rick Goldring visited the Polish hall where Mayor Elect Meed Ward was celebrating with her supporters.
Really poor form – both men were capable of better.
The hard feelings have to be set aside. Ideally, both men, when called upon, can provide some counsel.
The job of setting policy for the city gets debated at the Standing Committee level and then decided by council.
Committee structure:
The city currently has five formal committees of council. They are:
Audit Committee
Committee of the Whole
Committee of the Whole – Budget
Committee of the Whole – Workshop
Planning and Development Committee
A member of Council is going to have to chair each committee, manage the agenda and keep the meeting moving smoothly.
Of the people just elected there are three that have some capacity to do this kind of job. Rory Nisan, Lisa Kearns and to some degree Kelvin Galbraith. The others are going to have to watch carefully and learn quickly.
 Kelvin Galbraith, Ward 1  Lisa Kearns, ward 2  Rory Nisan, ward 3 Angelo Bentivegna, and Shawna Stolte have a lot of growing to do.
Marianne Meed Ward and Paul Sharman are going to have to carry a lot of the freight during the next 18 months.
Sharman will have to handle the budget and Meed Ward will carry Planning and Development and hope that Lisa Kearns and Rory Nisan are up to doing some of the Committee of the Whole work.
 Returning council member for ward 5 Paul Sharman will have to head up the Budget committee. He will also have to work on how he wants to relate to the new Mayor.  Mayor Elect Meed Ward has her work cut out for her. She has wanted the job for more than a decade – now that she has it – can she make it work? A lot of people are depending on her. Nisan certainly has the background; his experience as a federal government bureaucrat where he served as part of Canada’s diplomatic corps, should serve him well. However, the world of managing and trying to meet competing interests is far different than dealing with bureaucrats from other countries.
Kearns is said to have solid experience in the commercial world; many are waiting to see that experience in action.
Mistakes will be made – and the public will have to cut them some slack.
By Pepper Parr
November 3rd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON’
What are the issues for this new council going to be?
 We know what the developer wants to build; shovels will go into the ground just as soon as the building permit is issued. There are some, downtowners for the most part, who wonder if the Carriage Gate development, that has now been named The Gallery is really a done deal. We were asked: “Is there nothing that can be done to stop that development?”
 Sales office is open. Has a building permit been issued?
If not then city council can, if they choose to – un-delegated the authority on this project that they gave the Director of Planning.
That has been done before.
There was a project that then Director of Planning Bruce Krushelnicki asked city council to take back from him- and he was duly un-delegated.
The project was given back to Krushelnicki later.
The point is that city council can un-delegate and this might be one of those projects that should be treated this way.
We asked Mayor Elect Marianne Meed Ward:
Would you consider un-delegating the authority the Director of Planning has over that project and bringing it back to council where they will manage the project?
Meed Ward responded with:
“City council by majority vote can un-delegate the site plan from staff back to council for a final decision.
“This does not stop the project or slow it down.
“It allows council and community input into site plan details (including layout, entrances, landscaping and so forth).
“I’m open to un-delegating the site plan.”
By Pepper Parr
November 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Kelvin Galbraith took the ward 1 city council seat by a decent margin given that there were 11 people on the ballot.
 Kelvin Galbraith – about to learn that being a member of city council is a full time – and then some job. His connections based on his leadership of the Aldershot Business Improvement Association proved to be what gave him the edge. The woman who serves as the BIA Executive Director was also a ward 1 candidate – she will now work with Galbraith to grow the commercial sector
 One of the bigger challenges coming down the pipe for the Aldershot community is the planned development on the Solid Gold property just east of Waterdown Road. He has worked at any number of small business initiatives that included power washing driveway and plowing snow.
He has owned and operated the Fitness Firm located just west of the Plains Road – Waterdown Road intersection on property that someone is going to buy and develop at some point.
Many suggested this would put Galbraith in a conflict of interest – and it will. His answer to that is – “it certainly will put me in a conflict and I will recuse myself from any council vote.”
Galbraith takes the position that just because you own a piece of property doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be running for public office. You just have to let people know the facts and be transparent.
 Is Kevin Galbraith going to succeed where retiring Council member was not able to – in getting a small supermarket into the community. The Adi group are not known for being easy to deal with. Galbraith is the kind of guy who flowered at doing door-to-door sales work. He is a consistent booster for the community: Thinks the Marina should be improved even more and that some way should be found to include a restaurant on the site. He’d like to see more in the way of restaurants in the community and like everyone else wants to know when there is going to be a supermarket in the west end of the community.
Galbraith has gone a little further than anyone else and is in conversations with the Adi people who are in the process of constructing the Station West development further up Waterdown Road. They, the Adi people see the need for a supermarket.
Galbraith, a graduate of the Business program at Brock University, wants the community to have more than just a Tim Hortons and a MacDonald’s in the way of coffee ships; “these are the only options we have at this point”.
The Fitness Firm Galbraith has owned and operated for more than 15 years has been restructured which will give him the time he is going to need to serve as a council member.
Galbraith said he would meet with constituents at his health club offices – he may find that isn’t going to make some people feel very comfortable. People feel that public business and personal commercial work should be separated.
While Galbraith has solid experience working with the commercial community in Aldershot he hasn’t seen much of city hall. This will be a new experience for him. His common sense and understanding of the street level needs of the Aldershot community should give him a bit of an edge in dealing with budgets and smaller developments.
He gets his first meeting on how the Region works when he takes part in an orientation at the Region later in November. “I’ve already gotten calls from people in Milton and I’m doing the ‘speed dating’ with my fellow Burlington council members.
He has had his first conversation with Paul Sharman, the holdover from the outgoing council.
 Where Galbraith will fit in with the crowd that has tended to focus on the downtown core is anyone’s guess – the one thing that was evident during the interview was that Kevin Galbraith is a leader – not a follow the herd type.
He got through university with a nickel of debt. He had a number of part time jobs that put beer money in his pocket and cash in the bank to pay for books and tuition.
Expect that same fiscal prudence from this man at city council.
By Pepper Parr
November 1st, 2108
BURLINGTON, ON
The first thing the members of the city council you elected a week ago are going to have to do is show the public that things are going to be different.
That the respect for each other will be there – and when it isn’t there they will make sure that those who are out of line are brought into line immediately.
If the new council is truly new – citizens will be watching for this.
Without that civility and respect for each other the city is looking at four years of chaos.
 Paul Sharman – the only council member who held his council seat. The holdover from the council that is on the way out is Paul Sharman. Many found the man to be difficult to work with and at times seemed menacing to people who were delegating before council.
The Gazette has learned from a number of sources that Sharman is now reaching out in an effort to create bridges to the new members of Council. That is a good sign.
Mayor Elect Marianne Meed Ward is going to need some of the skills Sharman has always had in matters of finance and organization. The problem is going to be the radically different ideological differences between the two.
Some will say that ideology should not be the issue – when that is precisely what the election last Monday was all about.
With a voter turnout of less than 40% – this new council is going to have to be transparent in a way that this city has never seen. They are certainly up to it and if the election promises were real – this is the kind of municipal world all of the newbies want to work in.
It is not going to be easy.
 The victory salute. Marianne Meed Ward recognizing the public that elected her at a Polish Hall event. What the Gazette is watching for is the first few steps that Meed Ward takes as Mayor. If she can be seen as moving forward on several issues within the first 30 days and pulling the whole city together there is a chance that she can actually pull this off.
Meed Ward has time working for her. She get sworn in on December 3rd and begins budget deliberations on the 10th. She then has 12 days to make announcements, take positions before they all head off for the Christmas Holidays.
She has quite a bit of political capital but it doesn’t come from a very broad base. 60% of the population didn’t vote and while Meed Ward had a very convincing win over Rick Goldring and Mike Wallace it isn’t all that wide in terms of the population.
The Gazette’s early thinking on which of the three, Meed Ward, Goldring or Wallace would best serve the interests of those that were vocal – one can only guess what the complacent 60% had in mind – was that Meed Ward was the best hope the city had.
Her thumping the incumbent the way she did suggests that those who were focused and engaged felt she was the person to go with.
Thus we watch closely and carefully how Marianne Meed Ward re-directs the city she chose to live in 18 years ago.
In an exclusive interview with Meed Ward before the ballot were cast she told the Gazette her role models were Hazel McCallion and Bernie Saunders.
If she can focus on the best of both of them and convince her Council to follow her – it just might work.
It is the best hope we have.
Meed Ward is now meeting with the newly elected members of council to get to know them, hear what they hope to achieve during the next four years and answer the questions they have.
One newbie got a call from a constituent about a road problem; he thought about passing it along to the retiring member of council but decided it was his job to do even though he had yet to be sworn in.
He puts out a call to Meed Ward – what do I do? Problem solved.
One of the comments Meed Ward made before she was elected was that if she was elected she wanted to find a way to teach new council members how to deal with staff at city hall.
Who they are, what they do and perhaps how they can best be approached?
The public has now adjusted to the fact that there are going to be changes. People who once had influence at city hall are realizing that the phone calls they used to be able to make to a member of council or the Mayor will not be the same.
 Angelo Bentivegna has delegated to city council and knows most of the staff members – he now has to decide what his approach to serving the public is going to be and can he reach the people who were die-hard supporters of the Council member he replaced. Five of the members of council have no experience dealing with public issues. They each face a steep learning curve; some will do well quite quickly, some will struggle and some may fail and find themselves wondering if they made a poor career choice.
At this point each of the five new members are figuring out how they want to communicate with the people that elected them. Those that voted – and realize that 60% of the people eligible to vote didn’t do so, are, we think, are expecting these new council members to be communicating with them the day after they were elected.
Given the heavy use they all made of Facebook and Twitter and, assuming they kept the names of the people they communicated with, one would think they could have something up in the way of a communications vehicle and a strategy.
Shawna Stolte, who took ward four from a long long term incumbent, found that she really liked talking to people on their doorstep. You can’t cover the 20,000 plus people she now represents walking door to door.
Another newbie thought he would be able to see people in the office of the health club he operates – shades of the Jack Dennison approach; used to be that when you wanted to see Dennison you had to hoof it over to his health club.
Some are suggesting that we need to give these five new members of council time to adjust – the problem with that approach is the issues the public have don’t wait.
Most of these people ran on a campaign that included better engagement. The proof as they say is in the pudding.
How are they doing so far?
 Salt with Pepper are the opinions, reflections, observations and musings of the publisher of the Gazette, an on-line newspaper that is in its 8th year of as a news source in Burlington and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
By Staff
November 1st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
A new development will be going before the public before the planners at city hall see anything – is this the way development applications are going to be handled going forward?
A development taking place in ward 2 is going to be presented to the public BEFORE it is presented to the Planning department.
That is new; the ward 2 Councillor and Mayor Elect Marianne Meed Ward explains “This is a pre-consultation with the community prior to submitting an application, so we will all see the information at the public meeting.
This approach to development was unheard of with the council that was first elected in 2010.
The development will be presented to the public at a meeting to take place at the Lions Hall on November 19th, at 6:30 pm.
 The development is yards away from a controversial 18 storey development.
Councillor Elect Lisa Kearns published a note telling her “constituents” that she would be attending the meeting to represent their interests.
Kearns gets to represent the good people of Ward 2 sometime during the evening of December 3rd once she has been sworn in.
 Adi’s Nautique development is stuck at the Administrative Review level. Martha Street is undergoing a massive change. The Nautique, an ADI development that is stalled in an Administrative Review Tribunal hearing is planned for where Martha meets Lakeshore Road.
The Mattamy development for the corner of James and Martha is working its way through the planning process.
The Mattamy development was for 18 fkloors at one point – then got taken down a notch to 17 storeys which is what the city was prepared to approve on Brant Street.
The Adi development is for 24 storeys and almost across the street is the 22 storey Bridgewater development that is well underway; the full height has already been reached.
 Mattamy wants to put up a 17 storey tower right across the street from the proposed 11 story building the public get to know more about later in the month.
 By Staff
October 30th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a pivotal meeting; took place on November 1st, 2017 when the Planning and Development committee heard the staff report on the development application for the NE corner of Brant and James Street.
 It’s a done deal – the 24 storey tower will go up. And it is likely to be twinned by a tower of the same height on the SE corner The development application got approved and was named The Gallery by the developer.
The eventual decision meant a 24 storey tower opposite city hall and the issue that became the focus point for the election that took place a week ago yesterday that put a new Mayor in office.
When development applications go before a Standing Committee they start out with a presentation by the Staff Planner, often followed by comments from the develop.
Rarely does the most senior bureaucrat make comments before an application is discussed publicly. The Gazette has never seen a city manager do this in the seven years we have covered city council.
On November 1st, 2017 city manager James Ridge said the following.
“I’d like to make a few introductory comments just before I turn it over to Kyle.
There are two issues that I would like to address in relation to this application that have come up over & over again in the context of the last number of months.
“The first is the relationship between the application and the new plan for downtown and the Official Plan.
“The timing is unusual.
 James Ridge: “”You’ve made a decision … “This is coming just months before we consider the new Official Plan and has been going through the approval process in parallel with conversations we’ve been having about the downtown.
“I’d like to start with the Strategic Plan.
“You’ve made a decision as a City that the City will grow in certain strategic locations and downtown Burlington is obviously one of the locations.
“Tonight, you are considering the merits of this application which addresses at least some of the goals identified in the Strategic Plan.
It delivers a mix of housing, office, retail, in the City’s urban growth centre.
“It’s walkable.
“It is close to major transit hub and it is arguably higher density.
“There can be an argument about whether it is the right density or not,
and people have asked how this relates to the work done in recent months in downtown and that’s been engaged a lot of the community and there are obvious questions about the relationship.
“The short answer is this.
“The application is not bound by that work, by the work that’s been done nor is it bound by the new Official Plan, but nonetheless, it reflects much of it, and that’s the interesting reality of this application.
“The new Official Plan hasn’t yet been approved.
“It won’t be for a month or so, and as such, this principle by law must be considered in the context of the existing Official Plan.
 James Ridge: “The application in front of you takes the density that is allowed in the existing Official Plan, and reconfigures it … “The application in front of you takes the density that is allowed in the existing Official Plan, and reconfigures it in a way that we believe is consistent with the work that’s been done in recent months in the downtown and the intent and goals of the Official Plan.
“The applicant has a right now in law today, without further council approval, to build 12 storeys across that sight, and the fact that we have been able to take the rights that the applicant has under the current Official Plan, 12 storeys across the whole site, and reconfigure it in a way that is far more reflective of the work that’s been done over the summer around the downtown growth plan and the new Official Plan is a function of hard work that’s been done by Kyle and his colleagues and the applicant and I thank them both for that.
“The application in front of you isn’t bound by the new draft Official Plan, it still achieves a number of the key priorities that the public told us were priorities this summer.
“When we talked about the downtown, they include wider sidewalks, less sun shade impacts, respect for the character of Brant Street, more public open spaces and excellence in architectural design and Kyle will talk about these in more detail.
“So I’m very pleased that staff and the applicant have been able to incorporate many aspects of the new plan and the public’s priorities for the downtown in this application on an entirely voluntary basis.
“While some may argue, and I’m sure many will, that this application doesn’t fully or sufficiently reflect the new downtown plan, I think that any fair-minded person says, looking at the application, there has been a real effort to at least address some of the vision for the downtown in the plan, notwithstanding the fact it’s not bound by the new draft plan.
“The second thing I’d like to talk about is height and height is often the issue that generates the most conversation and controversy about an application,
“You know that as well or better than I do, and yet decisions based primarily on the height of a proposal can have bad outcomes, especially dangerous in my professional opinion is the notion that shorter buildings are always preferable to taller ones and this application is a case study in that fallacy.
“This applicant has a right to build 12 storeys across the whole site In our professional opinion, having the site developed as a full 12 storey block is as inconsistent as you can possibly get with the vision for downtown that has developed through the summer.
 James Ridge: “… the applicant has the right to do 12 storeys across that site today …” “Once again, the applicant has the right to do 12 storeys across that site today and we think that would have lasting negative impacts for the downtown, and that’s nor an extreme case or hypothetical.
“The applicant came in in 2012 with a proposal to do exactly that, 12 storeys across the whole site.
“We have pictures if you would like to see them, and to the applicant’s credit, they backed away from that proposal and have come with something different, and while height is clearly a consideration, I want to stress it is not first and foremost about height in this application.
“Show this to you graphically … this is about taking the densities that the applicant has as a right by law right now and reconfiguring it differently.
“Height is part of those considerations but it is not the only one.
“So simply put, our collective professional advice to you is that reconfiguring much of the density on this site from 12 storey monolith to a taller skinny to tower on a smaller footprint is far preferable.
“It is better to have wider sidewalks.
“It’s better to have the expanded view to City Hall and the cenotaph.
“It’s better to have more open space on the street and more sunlight than have 12 storeys across the whole sight, in our professional opinion.
“The benefits of height need to be considered fairly.
“In my professional opinion, that happens rarely.
 James Ridge: “Height tends to be a bogeyman …” “Height tends to be a bogeyman, something that is seen as fundamentally bad in a development.
and we ask only that we have a fair and an honest conversation about both the downsides of height and there are some, but also a conversation about the benefits and there are many of those as well.
“So with that, I’ll turn it over to Kyle”
 Kyle Plaz Here is what is interesting about the comments made by the city manager: they sound like someone acting as a shill for an initiative.
Mention is made of a 12 storey monolith on several occasions but the public never got to see a drawing of what the monolith would actually look like. No architectural rendering.
 The dark shading is what the developer had an “as of right” to build. The light blue is what city council approved instead. There was never the sense that the 12 story’s was actually seriously considered. The public was just given the impression that it was going to be plunked down on the land and that it would be squat looking and really ugly.
Ridge uses the word fairness in his remarks – many of the delegators who spoke to council later on in the process (there were 30 of them) had to focus on a development that was going to change the city they knew radically.
It was clearly what the city planners wanted.
 Some creativity might have solved that 12 storey situation. What if the city had challenged the developer to hold a design competition for a building that was just 12 storeys – what have others done with 12 storeys?
 Others have dome some very good 12 storey designs.
 By Roland Tanner
October 27th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Thank you so much
On Monday night I didn’t get the result I and my team wanted to see, but I believe the results, in Ward 2 and across Burlington, were excellent ones for our city. I don’t have the slightest reservation in congratulating Lisa Kearns on an excellent campaign.
Burlington and Ward 2 voted for the things I entered the race to pursue.
A return to civility and respect for residents’ voices.
A council that doesn’t just listen, but sees engagement with citizens as the constant responsibility of every level of democratic government.
A council that will protect downtown from excessive intensification, and demand a creative approach to growth directed at creating complete communities on a human scale.
A transformational approach to better transit, walkable and cyclable communities, and infrastructure that gives us all transportation choices.
A focus on affordable and subsidized housing so our parents, children and grandchildren can afford to live and work here.
I want to thank everybody who took even the smallest role in this process for your support and your interest.
 Roland Tanner Thank you for reading my emails and articles.
Thank you for taking lawn signs.
Thank you for your donations and incredible generosity.
Thank you to the volunteers, family and friends who worked harder and were more generous than I could possibly ever have expected, to reach so many doors with me, to speak to so many residents in every corner of Ward 2 and to make this campaign one I can be proud of, even though we didn’t win.
Working with you all was both a privilege and an absolute blast.
Next steps
I’m not going anywhere. A new and better council still needs residents to stay engaged. Council alone will not create a better Burlington. A large part of the responsibility still falls to us. I intend to stay involved and keep pushing for the things I care about, and the things the residents of Ward 2 and Burlington care about.
Burlington is coming of age. There is huge promise in our city as it grows and changes, while treasuring and protecting our history, heritage and special neighbourhoods. I can’t wait to be part of that future.
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