Chop chop - Mayor gives Grow Bold the old heave ho!

News 100 yellowStatement by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

January 25th, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Well that didn’t take long.

Tom Muir made some scathing comments about a development meeting that took place earlier in the month.

That was followed by an opinion piece by three Aldershot residents who asked the city to clarify just what the city was using in the way of an Official Plan.

Mayor Meed Ward issued a statement this morning making it very clear what she had in mind.  The Grow Bold tag line the Planning department had fallen in love with was out – and council will be looking at the “approved” Official Plan that the Regional government returned as deficient.

Here is what Her Worship had to say:

MMW arms out - thank you

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward moments after being sworn in.

“Burlington residents have consistently raised concerns about over intensification and development in our City. During the 2018 election, they made their voices heard and clearly indicated the need to review the scale and intensity of planned development, especially in the new Official Plan.

“As a result, I am bringing forward a motion to re-examine the policies of the Official Plan that was adopted, though not officially approved, in April of 2018, and review matters of height and density.

“Halton Region has also recently identified areas of non-conformity, so this motion seeks to gain the time to address those issues.

“Once the Region identified areas of non-conformity, that stopped the clock on approving the new Official Plan and opened the plan up for any other matters of discussion. This allows our new city council the time to define what areas we want to study, undertake that work, consult with the community, and send back a comprehensive plan. We expect that plan to truly reflect the needs, best interests and vision of the community and its elected council.

“The motion will also provide absolute clarity to staff and to the community that the City of Burlington staff are not to use the adopted 2018 plan in evaluating current/new development applications and that the existing Official Plan is still in full legal force and effect. Multiple analyses by staff in assessing development applications, downtown in particular, have made it clear we do not need to overintensify in order to meet our obligations under the Places To Grow legislation.

Grow bold - front door“Further, we will immediately discontinue use of the “Grow Bold” term and related branding to ensure we
are absolutely clear on our direction.

“A timeline will be discussed at the next committee meeting.”

What we are seeing is a Mayor with her hands firmly hold the tiller on the ship of state.

The then Director of Planning for the city, Mary Lou Tanner, told city council that after polling people in the city they had decided to go with the tag line: Grow Bold, Grow Smart, Grow Beautiful. The words got placed on the door to the space on Locust Street that was rented for the Planning staff to work out of.

With the tag line gone – are the people that created it far behind?

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11 comments to Chop chop – Mayor gives Grow Bold the old heave ho!

  • S.C. Gardner

    New slogan Go Boring Go Broke Go even older(we don’t want young people)

  • Joe Gaetan

    For the record and unless corrected by evidence to the contrary, per Report # CM-1-16 that went to council on April 11,2016, here is what COB asked us; “When asked on the on-line survey “Of the four Strategic Directions, which is the most important to you?” The following are the results:
    o Healthy & Greener City 41%
    o Engaging City 24%
    o A City that Moves 20%
    o A City that Grows 14%
    How on earth did we get “Grow Bold” out of that effort, is the 64,000 question.

    • Gary Scobie

      If memory serves me correct, we were asked in a separate poll to choose between “Grow Bold” or “We’re All In This Together” or some similar touchy feely phrase. There may have been a third fairly lame choice as well.

      I remember it wasn’t much of a choice to go with Grow Bold when the other choices were so weak. Some might have called it a well-manufactured poll.

      • Lynn Crosby

        Yes, certainly surveys can be formulated to achieve the desired results! Who knows exactly who responded to the survey, for one thing. 😉

      • Tom Muir

        Thanks Gary – your memory does serve you correct.

        I have been trying to remember the alternative choice to Grow Bold that you state and it’s exactly it. Thanks. It was a few years ago as I recall.

        I always thought this choice “We’re all in this together” was a ridiculous plant, but given my suspicion I voted for it anyways. and wasn’t the least surprised when the official announcement came that Grow Bold was the winner.

        It was obviously rigged – a short punchy motto that was what was wanted versus lengthy mush with no chance as a winner.

        Can you imagine trying to sell anything with this?

        The writers of this fraudulent crap are fired.

  • Stephen White

    Good for the Mayor!

    Taxpayers should never have been on the hook for spending money on this ridiculous p.r. campaign that was nothing more than a bald-faced front to promote the former Council’s intensification agenda. Good riddance!

  • Bob

    “Grow Bold” never made sense. Just think, taxpayers paid for this kind of deep thought and Liberal leaning bunk and a bunch of other crazy consultant based wasteful stuff.
    Why does a city need to be branded anyway. I always thought branding was for beef cattle out on the prairie – yippie I oh.

  • Penny

    Finally we have a mayor who is clearly ‘hearing’ what residents have been asking for and following through on election promises. I hope the “GROW BOLD” office is closed permanently. I cannot tell you how many times I went into that office in the past for information and printed material only to be told that it wasn’t available as policy was continually changing.

    I attended the Public Meeting for the proposed North Shore Development and asked staff directly why they were citing both the existing official plan and the adopted official plan that had been returned to the city for non conformity with regard to this development. Staff’s response was that they were waiting for direction from Council on how they were to move forward with regard to the Official Plan.

    Hopefully, after the vote on Monday, planning staff will know what is expected of them.

  • Gary Scobie

    Thank you Mayor Meed Ward and Council. Clarifying the in force status of our current Official Plan and the non-status of our Official Plan adopted by the former Council but not approved for use by the Region of Halton is an important first step as we begin to wean ourselves off the “growth at any price” mantra.

    Perhaps we can change the Grow Bold branding to Grow Wisely instead.

  • Brian Jones

    Never agreed with the terminology. Thought our newly elected Mayor would
    not take long to jetison it.

  • Jim Thomson

    Hope fully we get to “Grow Smart”.