By Pepper Parr
January 24th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The clarification I did not have when this was first written is now in hand. The Planning department expects to be able to take the final draft of the Official Plan to council on April 4th.
The die has been cast.
Council Meed Ward led the fight to defer the approval of the Official Plan until after the municipal election – the motion was defeated.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward put her motion on the floor to defer the approving of the Official Plan to after the October 28th election – it was defeated on a vote of 5-1; Councillor Dennison was absent.
The approval of the draft plan is scheduled to come before Council is either April, May or June – there is some confusion as to which month applies.
There were 35 delegations; two were in favour of not deferring – the remaining 33 were crystal clear on what they wanted: defer until after the municipal election in October.
During the afternoon session today staff did admit that there had been a problem in explaining all the changes to the public and there is agreement that staff will work on a communications program that will be visual in nature. No commitment to a date when the visuals will be ready.
The planners and a number of the council members made the point that the city has been working on this for seven years – Meed Ward pointed out the public has only seen the document and graphic material since last September.
There is a tonne of information to convey in news reports. In due course we will get the details to you.
33 delegates in a City of 182,000 people. I would say the councilors are spot on. For once the silent majority wins. The councilors and Mayor and Planning Staff are responsible for the best interests of the entire City first and foremost. Now having said that, a four or five thousand signature petition might change their minds. Burlington is one of the best Cities in the world. And we are blessed with experienced councilors who have helped to make and keep it this way. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Burlington City Hall and the Halton School Board should really get together. They both agree on one thing, they don’t listen to constituents! Time to clean out both!!
Two words
Corporate interest
It appears that Burlington city hall no longer believes in democracy!
It has become obvious that 5 of the 6 councillors are NIMWs … (Not In My Ward) and are quite happy to promote the devastation of the downtown to hold off the same thing happening in their Ward. A thorough housecleaning of Council is needed … but who is going to stand up for the job?
It’s time to clean house!
Yes. House needed to be cleaned out long ago!
It is abundantly clear that there is only one person on council who listens to the voice of the residents. It is up us to ensure that change happens in October.
33 Delegates in favour of deferring and Council disagreed . Cant wait for the election in October !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is a text of a statement Marianne Meed Ward made at the beginning of today’s meeting. Incredibly, this was met with a wall of silence by all of council, including the Mayor. Nobody felt the need to say a word. Except for the Chair, Councillor Craven, who asked if this would apply to her too. To which she replied, “of course”. He then further proved her entire point by continuing to badger her, in an incredibly rude and disrespectful display. Not one voice of support or comment from all of Council about the topic of treating each other and the public with respect. Wow.
POINT OF PRIVILEGE
I would like to raise a point of privilege before we begin.
My goal in raising this is to ask all of us to commit to respectful dialgoue.
Point of privilege is used “when a member wants to draw attention to a matter that affects the integrity, character or reputation of an individual/group”
· Last night a delegate said planning staff should be fired; it’s not the first time our staff have been unjustly criticzed publicly; I hope it will be the last.
· Another delegate said residents are NIMBYs, motivated only by self interest
· The same delegate said my motions were “political interference” a serious allegation – he chose to critize the woman who is bringing motions, but had no similar criticism for my male colleague who is also bringing motions – some of which are similar to mine.
· Finally, a 14-page memo has been submitted to the public record from Mr. Mark Bales from Carriage Gate Homes, we all got a copy Monday. Mr. Bales has never spoken to me about my views about the OP or the downtown, and yet in his memo he presumes to know my motives, calls into question my integrity and character, and makes allegations with no evidence.
All of this has to stop. None of this is helpful to our discussions.
Like many women who have been subjected to personal attacks for having an opinion, and saying it out loud, I have mostly ignored these things in the past, assuming they’re simply part of being in public service. I can take it – I have a tough skin – 22 years as a journalist and 7 in elected office does that.
But I’ve realized this isn’t about me; it’s about all of us and the culture and example we’re setting. So it’s time to speak up.
When people see others exposed to personal attacks, it discourages them from participating in the community conversation. And we lose that input. I know people who will not stand at that podium because of the way they have been treated or saw others treated.
When personal attacks go unaddressed, it sends the message that these are okay. They are not. We can’t have one standard for people we agree with – letting their comments go unchecked – and another for those we don’t.
It’s time for this to stop.
So, I am asking that we all – everyone around this horseshoe and all members of the community – commit ourselves to a higher standard of respectful dialogue and mutual respect.
This is in keeping with our Engagement Charter, and referred to in the draft OP Chapter 11: “Mutual respect for citizens, staff and members of City Council is the basis for the development of constructive relationships and successful citizen engagement.”
We may disagree about many things today and going forward; I expect we will. But let’s commit ourselves to this: let’s assume that each one of us around this table and in the community wants the best for the future of our city, even as we have different perspectives about how to get there. Let’s allow for that difference, and maintain mutual respect.
Thank you.
That is really too bad. However, it tells me in no uncertain terms that Ms Meed Ward is the person to lead Burlington through the next important years. I just hope she agrees to run for mayor herself, then the people of Burlington will have a chance to create the city they truly want.
Re: “….the city has been working on this for seven years…” – so why would another (at most) ~6 months matter?
“During the afternoon session today staff did admit that there had been a problem in explaining all the changes to the public and there is agreement that staff will work on a communications program that will be visual in nature”.
Understatement of the decade!!
Perhaps Pepper we should put you in charge of communicating the details? You and your paper have done a better and more consistent job of reporting on this than City Hall.
Sorry, but drowning us with more reports, graphs, slide decks and bar charts isn’t going to promote enhanced understanding, and won’t allay residents’ concerns. Engaging the public in a meaningful discussion about an issue isn’t about creating more paper. It has to do with listening to residents’ concerns, answering their questions, and responding accordingly. It isn’t about the City’s agenda, or the Mayor’s, or the Planning Department’s, or the developers’. It is about listening to residents’ concerns, treating them with respect, and responding accordingly. Adopting a dismissive attitude to delegations, and threatening lawsuits, doesn’t inspire trust.
If the Mayor wants to get a grip on this issue before it completely spirals out of control, and demonstrate some leadership for once, here’s a practical suggestion on where to start. Extricate James Ridge and Mary Lou Tanner entirely from this process from here on in because truthfully, their credibility is shot. Bring in a trained facilitator/mediator, and put Planning staff, the developers, representatives of ECoB and other key community leaders and stakeholders with an active interest in this issue in a room together, and try to thrash out a compromise arrangement. Perhaps that entails a postponement on the development, or a plebiscite, or partial implementation on certain non-contentious aspects of the OP, or perhaps it is something else. But for heaven’s sake, get people talking to one another face-to-face in a spirit of serious dialogue, respectful exchange and problem-solving!
Until then, preserve the environment and stop killing more trees and printing more reports!
It’s brutal watching Council work.
They ask for details and maps and descriptions that you would have thought would have already been forthcoming in staff reports. Staff tend to speak in bureaucratic-babble, instead of plain speak, and the lack of visuals, especially 3D models that convey height, density and “precinct” (a police term!) are not there.
I’ve seen the comment made before about lack of sophistication on the part of staff, and what I see confirms it. Everything seems stuck in the 90s but of course, we can afford to pay someone $280k a year instead of investing that in technology to communicate better!!!!
Does everyone on Council, sans Meed Ward,hate their job?
Not at all surprised there was no support for the motion. One council member did opine during yesterdays meetings that a newly elected council could reverse the wishes of this council. He was betting there will be no changes to council after the October municipal election.This is democracy in action.The question now is whether this is a Ward 2 issue or a Burlington issue?