By Pepper Parr
November 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
How can citizens have some control over the changes that are made to their city?
The current crop of politicians on city council take the view that they were elected to lead and so they bring their values and approaches to leadership – failing to connect in a meaningful way with what their constituents think.
That just might be changing in Burlington.
There are currently three community groups protesting against decisions that city council has made or might be making in the months ahead.
The 421 Brant development is a done deal. The best the citizens were able to do was put together a petition and pack the city hall chamber with unhappy people. City council paid even less than lip service to their concerns and approved the project. There is a rumbling going on about a possible appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) that doesn’t look as if it has any traction.
Approved by city Council November 13th, 2017
While the 421 Brant decision is truly trans formative for the city – there wasn’t a deep understanding as to just what it is going to mean longer term. And while there were some strong points made during the delegations at the council meeting where the development was approved – there wasn’t a focused group behind the protests.
And, not everyone was against the development.
Brant street is a bit of a mess – it is a location badly in need of some of that “vitality” many think it already has. There are those who want things to be the way they were 40 years ago. The decision to grow the population and the geographical boundaries the city has to work within meant growing “up” and not out. The Burlington we had 40 years ago is no more.
There are two other projects that have people upset: The plans Meridian Brick has to begin mining for shale in the eastern sector of their property off the upper part of King Road and the Tyendaga Environmental Coalition (TEC) group that wants to bring that to a halt.
West Have residents don’t want the third shale quarry site to get into production. Saving their homes and 9000 trees is seen as critical to a planet that is staring climate change in the face.
Then there is the Plan B group that wants to ensure that the city doesn’t screw up the re-development of the Waterfront Hotel site.
What a group of well funded citizens want the re-development of the Waterfront Hotel site to look like.
The TEC and the Plan B people are taking a much more focused and well-funded approach to their issues.
The best that the people opposed to the height of the 421 development could do was get the support of the ward Councillor and deliver a petition to city council.
The Plan B and the TEC group have gone to their community and raised funds and then retained professional help to take on city hall.
There is talk amongst the movers and shakers about creating a slate of candidates for public office in Burlington and electing a council that represents the interests of everyone and not just the limited understanding that most members of the current city council have.
City Council: Three of the seven were first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. One of the other four has been around for as long as 24 years.
To be fair to this city council – they were all re-elected in 2014 after being elected in 2010 – they felt they had a mandate. The people that are complaining now are the people that voted them all back into office in 2014. Surely there was enough evidence at the end of their 2010 term of office to know what they were going to deliver.
Are they politically adroit enough to change course and get ahead of the parade of protest that is taking place?
Or will enough of them give it up and move on to retirement. Councillors Dennison and Taylor have been in office for more than 20 years, the Mayor and Councillor Craven have close to 15 years as public servants behind them.
The big question is going to be – where will the new blood come from? Are there any prospective candidates out there that show at least some promise?
Salt with Pepper is the publisher’s opinion column.
I would like to encourage all residents of Burlington who want to be an agent of change to join our Facebook: Engaged Citizens of Burlington link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/170300306890636/
Our current focus is 421-431 Brant Street
Thank you for your interest & support
Susan Goyer
What D. Duck said…
Residents are rational, and will vote for the candidate they believe serves their interests. Frankly, we won’t get change on council if we continue to get the candidates we do. The challengers are typically uninformed on how city hall works or the provincial legislation governing municipalities. Many are single issue candidates.
This council has been together too long, with a few starting to blend into the office furniture. We have seniors represented on council – there’s just too many of them. We need different perspectives though I shudder to think of the cycling lobbyists or the millennials who are in the mayor’s advisory council orbit as candidates – like council, their most vocal members do little more than genuflect to the planners expertise and Grow Bold agenda.
Council members have been together so long, they’ve drunk the city hall Kool-Aid, believing:
· Residents are problems that need to be educated and managed.
· Places to Grow and protection of the rural areas means that egregious tall buildings on a podium and massive townhouse complexes are permitted below Hwy 407, with neither offering reasonable greenspace, public amenities or supporting genuine mixed-use.
· One nasty councillor should be coddled in support of his Beachway, Joseph Brant Museum and Lasalle Park Marina projects – all providing little community benefit while costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
· They should not be held to account through a code of conduct that restricts them from receiving perks or being transparent on how they’ve been lobbied by those looking to influence council decisions.
We don’t need more Kool-Aid drinkers who offer only nominally different candidacies. We need bold people who are prepared to challenge the status quo in the name of genuine community service – who are prepared to build consensus in the community by actively listening to their constituents, represent their aspirations for the city and holding staff to account to deliver on that.
Agree. I had enough 4 years ago.
There is a grassroots organization working towards taking the Brant Street Developer to the OMB. For more information, or if you would like to join in please email sgoyer@rogers.com
Any lawyer out there who would like to provide their services pro bono?
Glad to see this, some organization is needed. Sent an email
It is encouraging to see citizens finally mobilizing and challenging the status quo in this City. Last week’s Council meeting was a pitiful spectacle. Watching Council members schmoozing with developers before the meeting and later ignoring the comments and feedback from speaker after speaker opposing the 421 Brant Project was unbelievable.
This Council is a walking advertisement for term limits. Eight years and out!
You don’t need political or an administrative background to be a good member of City Council. You need a moral compass and a driving passion to do the correct thing for the betterment of the community and not for your ego. You need to listen to what is being said and hear what is not being said. You need to be honest, transparent and accountable and know that mistakes will happen, you are only human. But if a mistake happens, one should learn from the mistakes and apologize for them.
It’s not rocket science but maybe that’s just hubris talking and power truly does not corrupt.