After an hour on his feet Premier Ford left the podium knowing that his 'we are going to build homes' message was never in doubt

By Pepper Parr

September 6th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Premier started his hour long media event sating: “They’re the right team to get it done” and went on to congratulate, at length, all the people who had been brought into his Cabinet or given new roles as Cabinet members.

He couldn’t say enough about them.

Premier Doug Ford on his feet for more than an hour with close to 1000 people listening to the web cast.

I want to congratulate ministers taking on new portfolios and welcome members of caucus who are new to the cabinet table. As Minister of long term care Minister Paul Calandra has been hard at work for residents and their families. Under his leadership, shovels are in the ground to build new long term care homes across Ontario, with new homes for over 10,000 seniors currently under construction. Ontario is on track to be the first province in Canada to deliver an average of four hours of resident care per day as we bring on 1000s of new nurses and personal support workers. For the first time, we’re bringing diagnostic services to residents rather than disrupting and moving them to appointments.

Its clear Minister Calandra has a proven record of delivering on tough assignments. He has a proven record of getting it done. He’s going to bring this same get it done approach to Municipal Affairs and Housing as he takes on the housing supply crisis, the biggest challenge facing governments in Canada.

Caroline Mulroney: President of the Treasury Board;

I also want to congratulate Caroline Mulroney, as President of the Treasury Board, where she’ll apply her years of work in the private sector and financial markets to her new jobs standing up for Ontario taxpayers. It’s incredibly important role and one of the most important in government and there’s no better suited person than Minister Mulroney

Congratulations to Prabmeet Sarkaria as Minister of Transportation who will continue Caroline’s great work and who knows firsthand from his constituents, the importance of building highway 413 alongside the Bradford bypass.

Congratulations to Stan Cho, who has done amazing work as an Associate Minister and will continue the work of supporting long term care home residents and their families. By building 1000s of new homes for our seniors.

He congratulated Rob Flack, Todd McCarthy and Nina Tangri, who are taking on important new roles associate ministers to build attainable homes modular homes, build transit, and support small businesses.

Steve Clark: “want to thank him for being such an important part of our team.”

I also want to give my gratitude to Steve Clark for his years of service and cabinet. I’ve always had so much respect for Steve, his dedication to his community and his unwavering belief in Ontario. His decision to step away couldn’t have been easy, but it only demonstrates his integrity, his maturity and his commitment to our province. For that I want to thank him for being such an important part of our team.

As I’ve said since day one of receiving the auditor general’s report, and as I’ve said again, after the integrity commissioners report, the process we use to make changes to the Greenbelt could have been better, the process should have been better. It’s why we agreed to implement all 14 recommendations from the Auditor General to improve our processes. At the same time have also said that nothing matters more than building homes. You’ve heard me say it before, Ontario is growing at a breakneck speed.

Last year alone we added 500,000 more people. And as we grow, we need to build at least 1.5 million new homes or the dream of homeownership for newcomers and young families in particular will slip further away. Our government will never stop working to build homes for our growing province. As we do. We’ll also do what’s needed to ensure that the people of Ontario that people will never stop serving, have confidence in the decisions we’re making.

When the previous government introduced the Greenbelt, they put in legislation, that mandated the province review it at least every 10 years.
I’ve asked my new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to launch this review. And as part of this process, reevaluate the remaining land swap sites. These sites will have to survive on their own merit. Last week, when we started the process of putting the Ajax lands back into the Greenbelt, we made it very clear. We have no tolerance for anyone who does anything that doesn’t support building homes quickly.

Minister Calandra will spend the coming days and weeks working with his officials to design and launch this review. It’ll be informed by recommendations put forward by the auditor general as ministry officials design and launch this review the government’s nonpartisan non political facilitator will continue her work (the facilitator was not named) with the remaining landowners and home builders. In fact, her work to ensure the landowners pay for important community infrastructure like parks, community centers, schools and hospitals will be an important part of this review.

Newcomers are struggling to find a place to live, young families not able to buy their starter home. That’s who we’re working for. That’s who will never stop working for.

Questions from reporters followed.

Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star. So this reevaluation and review of the Greenbelt lands will be a full and proper process? Well, what role will the housing Minister’s Chief of Staff play? What role will the bureaucrats play? What role will other land use planning experts play? And how will it be different from what just happened?

Premier: Well, we’re gonna go through the government, deputy ministers and government officials to review all lands. The mandate back in 2005was to review every 10 years. We’re following the recommendations of the Auditor General and we’ll continue to follow the recommendations – there’s going to be a complete review from top to bottom and then they’re gonna have to stand on their own merit. And it’s not just the 14 lands, it’s going to be the seven or 800 lands right across the board.

Reporter: Did you know that Steve Clark was going to resign yesterday morning or were you taken by surprise when it appeared on Twitter?

Ford: “No, Steve Clark called me. It shows the integrity, and the maturity of Steve Clark. He thought it’d be best for the government and for his family and his constituents that he step aside.

Laura Stone, Globe and Mail. I just want to be absolutely clear here. Are you pausing all development or assessment for development on these lands that you have removed? What are you doing? Are you not going ahead with your plan to develop on the ground?

Premier: The provincial facilitator will continue working with the landowners and the builders to move forward but it’s going to be based on the merits – they’re going to review the whole process, not just the 14 lands, the seven or 800 applications.

And they’ll be able to sit down and talk to stakeholders be indigenous communities, people that need homes. We’ll be talking to communities, and we’ll do a complete review.

Reporter: So is it possible that you would open up other lands for development as part of this review?

Premier: Well, first of all, we’re gonna see what the review says at the end of the review, and we’ll analyze it that will be up to the Minister to make that decision.

Colin Global News. I wanted to ask you about the mandate letter that you gave to Steve Clark in 2022. It specifically asked him to open up lands in the Greenbelt. Did he have the power to say no to that mandate letter?

Premier: Every minister has the opportunity to sit down with myself. I’m pretty accessible. I’m probably the most accessible premier that’s ever existed. I take calls from my MPPs, I take calls from my ministers. I take calls from mayors right across this province and I listen to their concerns. We have a great working relationship with 444 mayors and wardens across this province. I’m in constant communication with them, not just about building homes, even though that’s the number one issue.

Reporter: I wanted to ask about the relationship between the government and the owners of those 15 parcels of land. Did your government enter into any legally binding contracts with those owners to stipulate that they would have to build X amount of housing on that land? Was there a contract between the Ontario government and the owners or is it just a handshake?

Premier: That’s going to be up to the facilitator to make sure that these lands include community centers, hospitals, long term care parks, and that’s something that we wouldn’t be able to do. If a builder down the street for instance, decides to build. We don’t go up and say you got to build this you got to build that. We rely on the municipalities to build homes, to make sure that they get the permits out in a timely fashion.

We’ve given them every single tool possible to make sure makes their life easier to get homes built. And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna make sure that we build those 1.5 million homes for people.

We’re going to go across the country to make sure that if there are modular home builders I want to bring them into Ontario.

Blaine Higgs, the premier of New Brunswick, that told me that they have for companies that build modular homes in New Brunswick, and after we exhaust all other avenues, we’re gonna go to the US and encourage them to open up their plants in Ontario to build modular homes.

Reporter, Trillium news Minister Clarke resigned for not keeping a close enough eye on his staff and letting this whole process get out of hand but your mandate letter told Minister Clark to come up with, and I’m quoting, “processes for swaps, expansions, contractions and policy updates for the Green Belt and to finish it all by fall 2022.”

Did you or anyone in your office communicate with Clark’s office along the way ? So are you not guilty of the same thing that Minister Clark resigned over?

Premier: I have confidence and our ministers. I don’t believe in micromanaging ministers that have confidence in our ministers and to follow the process. You know, Minister Clark came out admitted the process wasn’t, there. It could have been better. I came out and said the process wasn’t there.

We’ve taken 14 recommendations from the Auditor General. We’re moving as we speak on those 14 recommendations. And we’re gonna do a complete review of all lands in the Greenbelt, as it was mandated by the previous government.

We’re going to make sure that we review every single aspect of making sure that we follow the process.

But the most important thing is the people that are hurting out there that can afford a home on top of the interest rates that we’re seeing 10 hikes from the Bank of Canada in 18 months. You know, I pleaded with the Bank of Canada, the governor, go out there, talk to the average person like I do,meet the people that are struggling. People that can’t afford a mortgage, because the rate hikes, not just the hikes, but the speed that it did it at 10 hikes I can’t remember in living memory that the Bank of Canada or the governor raised rates 10 times in 18 months. If we don’t see a stop, people will lose their homes. They’re struggling, mortgages have doubled.

The federal government which is separate from the Bank of Canada should be investing in infrastructure like the 413 to get goods from point A to point B in a more efficient manner to make sure people can get home a lot quicker than rather than being stuck on the highway the 401 or stuck on the 400.

That’s the reason we’re investing over $30 billion unprecedented in building highways be at 413. The Bradford bypass high widening highway three expanding highway seven building highway seven from Kitchener all the way to Guelph, our province is growing like we’ve never seen. We’re the fastest growing region in North America, bar none. We have to make sure that we build the infrastructure. We’re building $70 billion of transit; the largest transit expansion in North America. There’s no one that comes close to that. We already have shovels in the ground on the Ontario line. That’s unprecedented at the speed that we’re moving. I can’t remember the last time any government is building subways and tunneling at the speed we’re doing. And we’re going to continue pouring money into infrastructure.

We’ve invested over $184 billion in infrastructure that includes $50 billion building 50 new hospitals and additions to those hospitals never been done before. That’s what we’re focusing on.

Reporter: I’d like to ask about the ongoing work of the facilitator integrity commission report said you guys have eight agreements in principle with the landowners. If these are still going forward. Will you commit to publicly releasing these agreements once they’re finalized?

Premier: Once they’re finalized, we’ll release them. We’re going to show how these builders these landowners are going to spend billions of dollars in supporting the community that they’re building. They’re going to be building parks, community centers; they’re going to be building hospitals and long term care.

The nonpartisan facilitator will be working hand in hand but we’ll also be reviewing all other applications right across the Greenbelt, like the previous government mandated, it should be reviewed every 10 years.

McIntosh from the Narwhal. So the housing affordability Task Force found that cutting into the Greenbelt isn’t necessary that Ontario already has enough land. But it did make 55 other recommendations, your government’s only finished three of them. Why not do that, instead of opening up Greenbelt land or reinstate rent control on newer buildings to improve affordability?

Premier: Thank you for that question. They did have so many recommendations. We’re going through 30 of them already. We’re going to follow up on the other 40 We’re working as we speak right now, but in saying that, even the person that headed the review would admit right now, when they did that review, they didn’t expect a half a million people show up to our doors.

And I always say that’s a conservative estimate. I believe it’s closer to 800,000. As a CIBC report came out saying we need to continue building homes right now with the volume that we’re seeing. And over the next 10 years at minimum, there’ll be five to six million people coming to our province. We do not have enough lands to be able to build enough homes for over five to six million people. Our number one goal for the people of Ontario, is to make sure they have affordable homes, have modular homes that they are going to be able to live in. I call them starter homes. They’re going to be basic homes, and they’re going to be affordable and attainable homes of under $500,000. They’ll be able to walk in through their front door, put the key in, they’re going to have a backyard. They’re going to have a finished basement that they can use as a rental unit. That’s what we’re going to focus on. But it’s not about just modular homes. It’s about building a community having more rentals that people can afford. We had more rental starts than we’ve seen in decades. We’re doing the right thing for the people that can’t afford our homes right now. We’re gonna fight for the hard working blue collar people that are getting killed right now by the interest rates from the Bank of Canada.

We’re gonna stand on their side. We’re going to make sure it comes down to supply and demand that we all know that’s out there. Right now. We’re gonna flood the market with new homes right across this province

Reporter: premier when it comes to Greenbelt land doing this review the reports from the Integrity Commissioner and the Auditor General found that you know, you and minister Clark were not in control of what the government was doing as you undertake this new review. How can Ontarians trust that you are in control now?

Premier: Well, let me first answer the first question that I’ll get to the second question about trust. We’re going to work with our government officials where we’ve already admitted numerous times and I’ve said it today, I’ll say it again – I wasn’t happy with the process. We’re correcting the process and the 14 recommendations. Now let me tell you about trust and why the people can trust this government. You know, results speak for themselves. Folks. When we took office back in 2018 we inherited a bankrupt company. We had a healthcare system that was totally broken. Move forward to 2023 we’ve added over 3000 beds we’re adding another 3200 beds. We’ve hired and registered 60,000 new nurses 8000 new doctors registered last year alone 15,000 nurses which was a record registered here in Ontario, as I mentioned earlier we’re the only government that’s putting $50 billion no matter where you live in Ontario. You’re either getting a brand new hospital, or you’re getting in addition to a hospital. The previous government stopped talking to the Ontario Medical Association We have a great relationship but they all may. We’re in constant communication with the Ontario Hospital Association and the CEOs.

We’re making sure that when you go get a prescription, you don’t have to go to your doctor to get the most common prescriptions. You can go into a pharmacy and get them and we’re going to expand on that. We’re making sure that we’re giving people opportunities on diagnostics, that we’re gonna have convenient care closer to home. We’re changing the education system for parents. We’re making sure through the great leadership of Minister Lecce that we’re investing right now. $500 million building 100 new schools and that’s going to continue.

Over $700 million more is being spent on hiring educators. We’ve hired you know, 1000s and 1000s of new educators over 8000 this year alone. We are going to hire an additional 2000 educators.

We have three credit agencies that have given us a positive report for the first time in decades. Folks, when I took office, companies were leaving the province in droves – 300,000 families lost their jobs. They couldn’t get hired because companies were leaving in the droves. General Motors Oshawa closed their plant and left. The other ones are ready to leave. But we came in and we changed the system.

We took $8 billion of burden off the backs of companies to invest back here in Ontario. Since then $25 billion of investments in the automotive sector, in the EV sector has been invested in Ontario because they have confidence in our government. We’ll see probably in the next year $3 billion in life sciences, no matter if it’s Moderna or if it’s AstraZeneca, or any of the other pharmaceutical companies Roche investing here and creating more jobs.

The tech sector has grown to overtake Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area. We now employ more people than anywhere in North America. We’re leading North America in job creation and economic development compared to back in 2018. As I mentioned, we’re spending $184 billion previous governments totally ignored it. We’re building for subway lines we’re spending over $70 billion in transit expanding GO train service. We’re just expanding $30 billion, the highways and roads and bridges. And when it comes to long term care, the previous government and their whole mandate of 15 years built about 600 homes for long term care. We’re going to build 30,000 homes that seniors can call home that we’re renovating long term care homes right across the board.
We we’ve graduated over 65,000 STEM graduates we’ve given the support to the colleges and universities that we have the best in the entire world. That’s just a few of the things. Our track record speaks for itself. That’s the reason the people of Ontario can trust our government.

Reporter: Alan Hale from Queen’s Park Today. So just to be clear, you’re saying that this is not a backtrack of any kind you’re not giving into demands for a revisit of the Greenbelt. This is a review that you would have been doing anyway.

Premier: We’re going to review the whole system including the 14 properties.

We’re going to review all the properties; we’re going to acknowledge the process wasn’t up to snuff by any means. We’re going to make sure that all properties are reviewed to make sure they stand on their merit, and that’s what we’re going to look at.

Reporter: You talk about how you don’t want to micromanage your ministers, but given the fact that you have had one minister give himself and many of your caucus and some other party loyalists,the title of King’s Council without you apparently knowing and now you’ve let another minister sleepwalk you into a scandal where it looks to many people like a corrupt deal has happened and maybe is it time for you to maybe check in a bit more with what your ministers are doing and read documents before they come to cabinet.

Premier: Well, thank you for that question. First of all King’s Counsel; people don’t care. I’m gonna be very frank about having KC beside their name that’s really in the legal sector.

We’re gonna make sure at the end of the day, we have the best interest of the people at heart. That’s the reason folks were building these homes.

We see a crisis; the other party’s, the Greens, the NDP and the Liberals put us in an absolute disastrous position in 2018. When I took office, we’re fixing everything that was broken. They don’t have a solution. All they do is get up and complain and criticize. Ask them what is your solution? We have a solution. We have a plan. The plan is working. The plan is working in healthcare. The plan is working long term care and transportation infrastructure, education, colleges and universities and I can go on and on and on. We’ve corrected the problems of the previous government of 15 years that destroyed this province. No one in the world wanted to invest in Ontario.

I work hand in hand with everyone.  I have a message at the Bank of Canada. You want to destroy people’s lives. You want to watch people go bankrupt and lose their homes. Just raise the interest rates. It’s going to be on your hands. We don’t need any more interest rates being raised what we need is infrastructure money to build highways. That’s what we need.

Reporter: Richard Southern. You said today that Ontarians can trust you but you’ve never told Ontarians exactly what you weren’t happy about with this process for three weeks. You’ve just said I’m not happy with the process. In your own words today. Can you tell us what went wrong here?

Premier: Well, there was 14 recommendations and I said we’re going to follow those 14 recommendations. You know, it was very clear with the auditor general’s report, the integrity commissioners report which I have a great deal of respect for the Integrity Commissioner, that these are the recommendations that they’re putting forward. You know, we realize it – we admit our mistakes. I’ve come out here with apologize.

We’re moving forward. But nothing is more important than building homes. And we have a record of getting it done. As sure as I’m standing here, folks, there’s going to be people that are going to be able to afford a home and attainable home. There’s going to be more rentals than there’s ever been. That’s our responsibility to make sure that we give the tools to the mayors and the wardens and councils all across this province. Get the tools to build homes. There’s no more important issue to the people of Ontario right now. There’s no more important issue for our government than to build homes. That people can afford at a reasonable interest rate.

Reporter: I didn’t get an answer there premier but I want to ask you about your new cabinet. Is shuffling Miss Mulroney out of transportation. Is that an acknowledgement about some failings on the Eglington Crosstown and are we any closer to finding out when the Crosstown is going to open?

Portions of the elevated part of the new subway line

The Crosstown had time line problems – has yet to be completed.

Premier: I’ll answer that in two parts. First of all, let’s talk about the Crosstown: GO CEO Phil Verster will be out frequently giving the people of Ontario an update. And as for Minister Mulroney. I think her record speaks for itself. You know something I’ve had the opportunity to know Minister Mulroney for the last five years. And make no mistake about it. She’s a brilliant person. She’s worked in the private sector. She’s worked in the financial sectors. And again, her record speaks for itself. Before we took office. There was no plans ever to build subways, under her watch under her leadership there’s four lines being built. There’s expansion and GP train services across our province to the tune of $70 billion. The reason that people in southwestern Ontario are getting highway three widen is because of Minister Mulroney’s leadership, the reason that we’re building the Bradford bypass that’s Minister Mulroney, the reason we’re doing 413 is Minister Mulroney. The reason we’re building highway seven that governments have talked about for years from Kitchener to Guelph is because Minister Mulroney She’s done an incredible job in transportation portfolio. She’s going to do an incredible job watching every single penny for the taxpayers of this province.

Reporter: Shavon Morris, CTV News. You said that lands will have to pass on their own merits. Can you explain what that means exactly given what we saw in the auditor general’s report and the integrity commissioners report that lands were removed from the Greenbelt that didn’t pass the kind of basics, first servicing and then speed of development.

Premier: First of all, I want to re emphasize the Greenbelt has expanded, it has not shrunk. There’s 2000 more acres in the Greenbelt that didn’t exist before. And as for the merit, we’re putting together a process, a process through government officials that we’re going to make sure that the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted. We’re gonna make sure that there’s merit to every application that comes forward. But in saying that again nothing is more important than building homes for the people of Ontario.

Reporter: There are lots of pictures online now of you and former Clarington Mayor John Mutton, can you shed any kind of light as to what role he might have had in having lands removed from the Greenbelt?

Premier: Well, this is a message to anyone any other see work that people do. If you don’t follow the rules, then you’re going to be held accountable and I encouraged the Integrity Commissioner to hold people accountable who don’t follow the rules.

Folks, I meet with 1000s and 1000s 10s of 1000s of people every single year in every sector, no matter if it’s the health care sector, manufacturing sector. You know, making sure that we’re building homes and endless amounts of sectors. I meet with a common folks do you know what I do? I want to find out what the people are doing. I don’t go in with anyone I don’t go in with my detail or anything. I can wander the local Walmart’s, the Home Depot’s – I go into the Sobeys and the Loblaws and the metros to talk to people. I go into the Canadian Tires. That’s where you get how people are feeling. You don’t sit here in a bubble. You don’t not give your phone number out. I talk to 1000s and 1000s of people. I hear what’s going on. I talked to endless people on the weekends by going out into public and hearing what they have to say. And let me tell you something. I’ll tell you what the priorities are. Number one priority is home ownership. Affordability, affordability, when you go to the gas pumps.

I want to work with the federal government when we build these homes to eliminate the HST well the GST on their behalf and we’ll do the same to make it more affordable. We want to make sure that when they go to a municipality on development fees, they don’t get charged $130,000 to put shovels in the ground.

Reporter: Allison Jones with the Canadian Press. How long do you expect this review will take if every Greenbelt parcel is going to be part of it?

Premier announced that not only are the sites taken out of the Greenbelt going to be reviewed – everything is going to be reviewed.

 

Premier: Well, I’ve said it very clear, if we don’t see movement on the parcels that we see that will be under review that will have to stand on merit. Then they’re going back into the Greenbelt. I did it with the Ajax lands.

They’re going back and just a message to the 14 owners of this property. If I don’t see movement, you’re going back into the Greenbelt.

This isn’t about the builders. I don’t give two hoots about the builders, but they’re part of the process. Eliminate them. We don’t have homes. So we’re going to make sure that they follow the process that the facilitator is putting out, making sure that they’re investing billions of dollars. There won’t be a penny spent of government money when they put in the roads when they put in the water pipes and the sewer pipes. That’s going to be on them. All I want are more homes for the people. We have a crisis. You come up to Rexdale there’s 160 People living up at the mall. They’re newcomers, asylum seekers and a message to the Government of Canada. This is an emergency. You have to get these people working permits. They want a better life in Ontario, but they can’t be sitting in some mall living there without being able to have a shower.

It’s about the young people that are graduating of a university that are going to get a job that can’t afford a home. They’re gonna be living in their parents basement for the next 10 years. If we don’t build more homes, that’s what I care about. I don’t care about anything else. I care about the people. That’s why I got elected. And we’re going to continue focusing on what matters to the people.

Reporter: I just want to be clear on the timeline. So development is going to continue on these 14 parcels, while a review is underway to determine if they should in fact have been taken out of the Greenbelt based on merit.

Premier: The facilitator is going to be working, as she is right now, making sure that they have a responsibility to pay for the roads and the sewers, the community centers, the school’s the hospitals and long term care homes. And it’s going to be based on merit and all the other applications are right now.

There’s about seven or 800 applications, folks, there’s nowhere in the entire world outside of I don’t know, I guess Communist China and North Korea that a government comes in with no consultation and takes two million acres of privately held property off people. We’re going to review it.

Nothing should get in the way of building homes. As fast as we can. That’s what matters. A year down the road, folks, you’re going to see homes being built at an unprecedented rate. We’re going to make sure that there’s supply to meet the demands of over 500,000 new people that want to go out there and rent a condo or apartment or even better buy a condo or apartment, buy an affordable starter home. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to exhaust every single avenue we’re gonna use every single tool we have in our toolbox to make sure that happens. The worst thing we can do folks, is sit back, throw up the white flag and say we aren’t doing it. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what our governments about. Our government is about working for the hard working blue collar folks. That I meet in factories every single week that I meet in the malls that I meet in the stores that I go into.

Reporter: Lorenda Redekop, CBC News. You praise Minister Clark’s integrity and his resignation but this wasn’t something you called for. You also didn’t call for his former Chief of Staff’s resignation. You stood behind both of them. What does this mean when it comes to your integrity?

Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Steve Clark

Premier: Something I believe strongly in is the work that Minister Clark has done from the day he got elected. When I talk about integrity, he could have sat back and said: Premier,I want to continue being the minister. I want to continue, even if you move me to another portfolio, but he didn’t. He took the best interest of the people of Ontario at heart. He took the best interest of our party at heart and said it’s time for me to step aside and let someone else move forward with this. We have one of the best people in our caucus Minister Calandra that has a proven record in anything he has done to make sure that he builds homes. We have great associate ministers with Rob Flack one of the brightest business minds that we have down here at Queen’s Park will be his Associate Minister.

Our environmental assessment is second to none in the world. There’s no reason in the world that the federal government should slap another environmental assessment to purposely slow down the build of the 413.We were elected to build the Bradford bypass and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Last question. Charlie Pinkerton: Who is paying for the legal fees for yourself and others in the government in the various investigations that have taken place and continue to take place and excuse me into the Greenbelt.

Premier Well, I can’t speak for anyone else. Right now. I don’t have a lawyer. So I’m just going to sit down when someone has a question. I’m going to answer it truthfully, just the same as when I sat down when the Auditor General I answered it truthfully.

I never hide from the media. I don’t run away for weeks and avoid the media. I’m out here addressing the media’s questions, tough, tough questions. But I’m always going to be transparent with the people.

Reporter: Yeah, back to the point. So do I gather correctly that you aren’t aware of whether it’s the government or the PC party or anyone else who’s paying the legal fees for everyone under investigation the government or is there an answer to that question again?

Premier: That’s up to the people if they get a lawyer. I’m not at liberty to discuss their private finances. We’re going to make sure that we cooperate with any investigation moving forward. We agreed the process wasn’t up to par but we also agree we’re gonna fix the process. We’re doing that right now as we speak – make no mistake about it. This is not going to deter me from building homes for the people that need homes. Talk to people about food prices going up and gas prices going up and how they can’t afford homes and another message to the Bank of Canada. Enough is enough. You’re trying to kill the economy. You personally are responsible for creating inflation.

I’m working my back off 24/7 to make sure we have a strong economy. We have a great healthcare system, great education system, and making sure people can put food on their tables. That’s what I can control.

And with that the Premier walked away – no one laid a glove on the guy. He was there to talk about building homes and that is what he did.

The Greenbelt is important to most people – Doug Ford thinks having a home is even more important to the people who don’t have one – and he appears to be betting that those people will carry the day.

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Premier Ford working 24/7 to find a way out of the mess one of his Minister's created

By Pepper Parr

August 29th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The drip, drip, drip is becoming a gusher of public outrage causing Premier Ford to back track and begin looking for a way out of the mess his Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing created.

Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles in a soybean field inside the Greenbelt

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition at Queen’s Park said: “Ford’s Conservatives are changing their tune simply because they got caught. Clearly, this is a government that has one set of rules for those with close connections to their party and a different set for everyone else. None of this is about housing. This government needs to recall the Legislature so we can restore all of these lands to Greenbelt protection now, and Ford needs to fire Minister Clark from Cabinet.” 

Ford expressed concern earlier today that a company called Buena Vista Development is trying to sell 765 and 775 Kingston Road East in Ajax.

Those are two of the “sites that were selected as part of the land swap to build at least 50,000 new homes and grow the size of the Greenbelt,” the premier said in a statement.

What do you make of that body language. Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clark communicating with Premier Ford.

“At no point was the intention to sell disclosed to the government’s facilitator during active and ongoing discussions.

“This behaviour goes against everything that our government is doing to bring home ownership into reach for more people.

“In response, our government is exploring every option available to us, including immediately starting the process to put these sites back into the Greenbelt.”

In firing a salvo at the Ajax landowner, Ford is sending a signal to developers who have had their Greenbelt land rezoned.

“To the other property owners, you’re on notice: if you don’t meet our government’s conditions, including showing real progress by year end with a plan to get shovels in the ground by 2025, your land will go back into the Greenbelt,” the premier said Tuesday.

Officials from Buena Vista Development were not immediately available for comment.

CBC has reported the land at 775 Kingston Road East was purchased in June 2018 for $15.8 million and that the company’s main officer is Yuchen Lu, who resides in Fuyang, China.

Ford is doing his best to make it clear that if the land taken out of the Greenbelt was not developed – he said he wanted to see shovels in the ground by 2025 – then the land will revert to being part of the Greenbelt.

From a purely legal point that might be easier said than done – but that is some distance down the road.  Road now the Premier is working 24/7 to save his government.

Public pressure works.

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Tough week for the Premier: RCMP Investigating Handling Of Greenbelt

By Staff

August 26th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is investigating the Ford government’s handling of the Greenbelt after receiving a referral from the Ontario Provincial Police.

The RCMP has confirmed that it will be looking into “irregularities in the disposition of the Greenbelt surrounding Toronto.”

“We will review and assess the information received and will take appropriate action as deemed necessary,” the RCMP said in a statement. “As the investigation is in its infancy and is ongoing, we decline to offer any further comments.”

The news comes two weeks after a scathing report from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that the manner in which the provincial government chose to remove land from the Greenbelt was “not transparent, objective, or fully informed,” and showed “preferential treatment” to certain developers.

The 95-page report found that Ryan Amato, Housing Minister Steve Clark’s Chief of Staff, was heavily influenced by suggestions from developers as to which lands should be removed — of the 15 sites that were selected for removal, 14 were put forth by Amato.

Amato resigned on Tuesday. Ford has insisted that “no one had preferential treatment” in the land swap that will see 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt removed for housing development, and 9,400 acres of protected land added elsewhere.

Lysyk’s report made 15 recommendations, 14 of which the province has said it will move forward with. The one it will not implement is the recommendation to re-evaluate its decision to change the Greenbelt boundaries and open the land up to housing development.

Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles standing in a field of soybean plants in the Greenbelt Photo courtesy NDP

Marit Stiles, Leader of the New Democrast Opposition has to be given credit for writing the provincial Auditor General asking that there be a “value for money” review of the decisions the province made on Greenbelt properties.

When the report was made public Stiles did more digging and found that there were other people involved in providing information to the developers.

Premier Doug Ford with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Keeping a brave face.

The Premier said “no one had preferential treatment” and the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs said he wasn’t aware of what his Chief of Staff was doing.

Someone is either really incompetent or has a very very long nose.

The public is hoping the Mounties prove to be very competent – which might be a stretch for some people.

Big question going into next week is – how much longer will Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clarke be in Cabinet?

Related news stories:

Premier gives his side of the story.

Tip sheet

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How is $1.2 billion over three years going to result in more homes being built - city doesn't build - developers build and they haven't been doing much of that lately

By Pepper Parr

August 22, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Would someone explain to the Premier of the province that municipalities do not build houses.

They approve developments and issue building permits when all the required conditions are met.

Some developers don’t like that process and take their case to the Ontario Land Tribunal holds things up for a couple of years and often, most of the time give the developer at least a part of what they want.

Of the five categories only those waiting for site plan approval have an outcome determined by the city.

Ford, under a lot of pressure is as a result of the Greenbelt land swaps announced a $1.2-billion fund to encourage municipalities to build more housing.

Hopefully he will give them rubber stamps so they can put approval on development applications.

The announcement was made to delegates at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in London on Monday.

The surprise move, was a new three-year, $1.2-billion “building faster fund” that would reward cities and towns that try to meet the housing construction targets the province has imposed upon them.

This is a really dismal bit of information.

“This new fund is an incentive program that supports municipalities to build more homes,” the premier said, citing Pickering, Vaughan and Brantford as examples that would receive increased cash for “infrastructure and community-building projects” because they are exceeding their mandates.

“Municipalities that reach 80 per cent of their target each year will become eligible for funding based on their share of the overall goal of 1.5 million homes,” he said, warning those failing to meet the 80 per cent threshold won’t qualify.

The Progressive Conservatives want to build those homes 2031, with Ford conceding it is an “ambitious” aim because this year there will be about 110,000 housing starts; well below the average of more than 150,000 that need to be constructed each year.

“It’d be the first time in over three decades that we surpassed the 100,000 threshold. From there, we’ll ramp up over time until we’re on track to build at least 1.5 million homes”, said Ford

Do you see anything positive about these numbers?

Municipal leaders welcomed the new funding, which comes as they are coping with reduced revenues from development charges that the province removed to spur construction of more affordable housing.

We have yet to hear a single municipal leader explain how the money is going to move the development applications any faster.

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Auditor General raises major issues and puts out 15 recommendations - Premier accept 14 and promises to 'change the process'

By Pepper Parr

August 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

With less than a month to go in her term of office Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General for the province dropped a scathing 95 page report on what she saw is serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,”

She said the Ontario government’s process for choosing protected Greenbelt land to open up for housing development was heavily influenced by a small group of well-connected developers who now stand to make billions of dollars, the province’s auditor general says.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk wasn’t buying whatever was being said.

Lysyk offered a damning assessment of how the province selected sites last year for removal from the Greenbelt — a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough that was meant to be off limits to development.

Lysyk found the selection process was largely controlled by Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff — not non-partisan public servants — and was also influenced by specific suggestions from developers with access to the chief of staff.

The process didn’t consider agricultural, environmental and financial impacts of the decision, and involved little input from non-political planning experts or other stakeholders, including the general public and Indigenous communities, according to the report.

 

“Our review … raises serious concerns about the exercises used, the way in which standard information gathering and decision protocols were sidelined and abandoned, and how changes to the Greenbelt were unnecessarily rushed thorough,” Lysyk said at a news conference at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.

“The process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to the housing minister’s chief of staff.”

Lysyk didn’t name Clark’s chief of staff in the report, however, she later confirmed to reporters it is his current chief of staff. Ryan Amato is currently working in that role.

According to Lysyk, the chief of staff directed a small team of housing ministry bureaucrats in October 2022 who decided which sites would be removed. The work of the so-called “Greenbelt Project Team” was limited to three weeks and they were sworn to confidentiality, according to the report.

According to Lysyk’s report, Clark’s chief of staff identified 21 of the 22 sites the team considered. Ultimately, they settled on 15.

At a news conference later Wednesday, Ford acknowledged shortcomings with the process, but said the government would continue to do everything it can to address the province’s housing crisis.

“While we’ll never waver in our commitment to build more homes, we know there are areas for improvement as we move forward,” Ford said. “We were moving fast. We could have had a better process.”

Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of the 15 total recommendations Lysyk made in her report. The single recommendation it will not accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse the decisions, he said.

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Stiles: AG report paints picture of corruption in the Conservative government

By Staff

August 9th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Auditor General issues a scathing report saying Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives “favoured certain developers” in a controversial Greenbelt land swap that could make the landowners $8.28 billion.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk turned in her report – she also turns in her keys to the office on September 5th when her term of office comes to an end. Premier Doug Ford on the right.

In a searing 93-page report to the legislature Wednesday, Bonnie Lysyk found Ford’s opening up of 7,400 acres of environmentally protected land last fall “cannot be described as a standard or defensible process.”

Lysyk said the Tories did not need the 15 parcels of land to achieve their promised target of building 1.5 million homes over the next decade to alleviate Ontario’s housing crisis.

Premier announces he will hold a Press Conference at 1:00 om.

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition

Before he can get a word in Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition hammers the Premier saying:

“Let’s call this what it is: corruption. Ontarians deserve better than a government that enriches a select number of party donors at the expense of hard-working Ontarians,” said Stiles, after noting that the Ford government’s Greenbelt transferred $8.3 billion over to donors and developers.

“This is not about Mr. Ford, this is not about politics, this is about reinstating Ontarians’ trust in their government. Trust that this government has seriously eroded with their insider dealings and culture of corruption that goes all the way up to the Premier.”

Stiles and the Ontario NDP are calling to immediately remove Minister Steve Clark from Cabinet. Following the resignation, the Ontario NDP are calling to:

• Immediately recall the Legislature, to reverse course, and return these lands to the Greenbelt and cancel these deals with developers.

• And that this Conservative government not stand in the way of the Integrity Commissioner’s investigation, including any potential criminal investigations – because we know this is just beginning and the public deserve and to know everything.

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With two integrity complaints against the Premier on the go the Commissioner has put one on abeyance until he gets the other one completed

By Pepper Parr

March 17th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Marit Stiles Leader of the Opposition

The complaints sent to the provincial Integrity Commissioner by Marit Stiles Leader of the Opposition (there are two of them) are keeping the Commissioner busy. So much so that he has decided to put one in abeyance while he works on the other.

J. David Wake , the Integrity Commissioner said he is not prepared to dismiss Stiles’ second complaint “since there is an overlap to some extent with the issue being determined in her first request. Therefore I am placing it in abeyance until I have completed the investigation on the first.”

The second complaint was related to donations that were made to the “stag and doe” event for the Premier’s daughter.

The first complaint is related to the land swaps that were made in the Greenbelt area where there was a concern that developers were made aware of government plans before they were public.

Premier with Steve Clarke, Minister of Municipal Affairs in the Legislature.

In a newspaper report Wake said he has requested documents from government and non-government sources and is reviewing the material gathered so far. His final report will be made public, he said.

As long as the work being done isn’t dragged out for months the public interest will be met.

As for the first complaint the Integrity Commissioner has already said that “the gift rule … is very specific. It applies only to the member who receives the gift. It does not apply to gifts received from third parties to an adult child of the member or her spouse. Even the definition of ‘family’ in the act is restricted to the member, the member’s spouse and minor children.”

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Evidence is beginning to pile up - at some point the public will want to know what came of the complaints

By Pepper Parr

February 11th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It didn’t tale the new leader of the new Democrats in Ontario to make a mark on the politics of the province.

Marit Stiles will take her seat at Queen’s Park on February 21st, and serve and serve as the Leader of the Opposition.

The day she was confirmed as the leader of the party she was out on the streets of Hamilton doing some door to door campaigning.

The next day she released a statement reporting new revelations about Doug Ford’s relationships with Greenbelt developers.

The Toronto Star reported that:

Developers whose lands stand to benefit from recent provincial government decisions attended the premier’s daughter’s wedding — with some sitting at Premier Doug Ford’s table.

Sitting with Ford at Table 10, according to a picture of the reception’s seating plan, was Mario Cortellucci, whose family’s companies’ have benefitted from at least four minister’s zoning orders that fast-track development since Ford’s Progressive Conservatives came into power.

Also invited to the September wedding, according to the seating chart, was Shakir Rehmatullah — one of the developers who stands to benefit from the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap. In November, a 102-acre parcel of Markham land he owns through his company Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. was removed from the Greenbelt to be developed.

On February 21st, the Legislature will reconvene and Stiles will take her seat and serve the public as Leader of the Opposition.  The first couple of hours will give an indication as to what kind of leader she is going to be.  Doug Ford’s political life might begin to change.  Going to be worth watching.

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP, put out the following response:

“There’s mounting evidence that Ford’s cozy relationship with developers has crossed the line.

“These developers include the very people who directly benefited from the Ford government’s decision to carve up the Greenbelt and other special favours – what exactly were they talking about at that table?

“I will be immediately pursuing all options to get to the bottom of what exactly happened here. That includes submitting a further complaint with the Integrity Commissioner and ensuring all the facts that have now come to light are being considered.

“Ontarians deserve not just answers about Ford’s conduct, but a government with integrity that always puts their interests first. I am committed to making sure that they get both.”

The tally of complaints is beginning to pile up:

A complaint to Bonnie Lysyk, the Auditor General of Ontario

Two complaints to the Integrity Commissioner

And questions being asked by the OPP Rackets squad.

Related news story:

Several investigations are taking place.

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A deal has been done for the purchase of the Bateman High Site - now the questions

By Pepper Parr

November 2nd, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

So – there is a deal.

For reason that are not clear at this point the information was posted on the Get Involved portion of the city web site – where you could stumble upon it.

We will come back to that.

The city has signed a deal with the Halton District School Board to purchase the Bateman High School site.

The Bateman site is now owned by the city. What will it be named?

The transaction with the HDSB would see the City transfer ownership of approximately five acres of City owned land to the HDSB as a component of a land exchange for the Robert Bateman site. The City owned land in question is located near Central High School and includes the high school football field and running track.

The City has completed a purchase agreement and land exchange transaction with the Halton District School Board (HDSB) involving the Robert Bateman High School property. In the agreement, the City purchased the Bateman property for $29.6 million, while the HDSB purchased a City owned property near Burlington Central High School, which includes the high school football field and running track, for $21.7 million. The difference in price of $7.9 million will be debt financed, with annual debt payments recovered from the City’s capital reserve funds.

Both leases at Bateman are expected to be long term leases not to exceed 25 years.

This acquisition would push forward key objectives laid out in the City of Burlington’s 25-year strategic plan. Key pillars of this Plan include making Burlington a City that grows through attracting talent, good jobs and economic opportunity to the community.

Within the Bateman space, the HDSB will retain a long-term interest at the school to accommodate the Gary Allan Learning Centre. And as previously announced, Brock University will offer their Teachers Education and Applied Disabilities Studies Programs and will be developing professional and continuing studies specifically to the needs of Burlington.

In addition to the partnership with the HDSB and Brock University, the City has partnered with other institutions, ensuring that there is an adaptive reuse strategy for the Bateman site and to create a sustainable community hub which will include community rooms, a triple gym and the existing City pool.

The Burlington Public Library will relocate its Appleby Line branch to this location to develop a place for learning and education.

TechPlace will be located to the site.

How far beyond the concept has the thinking gone?

The city is now looking for residents’ feedback on a proposed land transaction with the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and leasing arrangements with the HDSB and Brock University for the City’s planned acquisition of the Robert Bateman High School building and property.

Public engagement will take place in early 2023 to seek community feedback on possible uses for the remaining space.

Feedback will also be sought on securing leases with the HDSB and Brock University for portions of the Bateman Site. The HDSB intends on leasing space back at Bateman for educational purposes. Brock University also seeks to lease space at Bateman for their long-term educational needs.

The Halton District School Board said in a media release that:  “Securing the lands near Central High School in HDSB ownership has been consistent with the HDSB’s long term intention to continue operating Central as a school. This land exchange component will advance the City’s efforts to secure the Robert Bateman site in continued public ownership, ensuring that the Robert Bateman site is available for continued educational and community-oriented us

Back to the way the information was released to the public.  Normally the city issues a media release and within hours the Mayor has a Statement lauding the decision that was made.

Recall that the decision to purchase the site was to be made public on September 30th.  Why the delay to today?  Because it might become an election issue?

There are some questions:

How much of the gymnasiums and the swimming pool time will be made available to the Brock University students?

Are the sports/recreational facilities going to be operated by the Parks, Recreation and Culture department?

Where did the $50 million price tag that Councillor Stolte revealed come from?  The media release states that the difference after the land swaps is $7.9 million.   Did Stolte just make up the $50 million number.  Highly unlikely.

Which of the city’s capital reserve funds is going to be raided to get the $7.9 million.  All we know is that taxpayers will replace the money.

And why was the news announced on the Get Involved portion of the city web site.

Now that the properties have changed hands – when do the renovations start – will the work be done in time to get the  Brock University students in classrooms on the planned schedule.  And by the way – what is that schedule?

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A Gazette reader has a question for you on the Bateman High School site that the city is in the process of purchasing

By Jeremy Skinner

June 5th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Much has been mentioned in the Gazette about the Bateman opportunity that is before us. I ask that each person who has contributed a comment thus far and are interested in the issue to respond by way of a comment to this article with your answers to the following two questions.

Question 1:
Do you believe that the City should acquire the Bateman property via a land swap which would enable the HDSB to acquire Wellington Park as part of their Burlington Central site?

If not, do you acknowledge the fact that the HDSB will likely be forced to sell the Bateman property to private as opposed to public interests? Note: Public access to Centennial Pool may be lost because it is owned by HDSB and operated by the City.

A lot of land and a lot of public interest.

Question 2:
(Answer only if yes to question 1. ) What do you believe that the Bateman property along with or without existing 220,000 sq. ft. 2 storey building should be used for?

Consider the fact that the City has received multiple offers from potential tenants seeking long term leases to reside in Bateman. These include:

– Brock University who wishes to relocate their Faculty of Education from Hamilton;
– HDSB who wishes to relocate their Burlington Gary Allan Learning Centre from 3250 New St.;
– Burlington Public Library Appleby Branch who wishes to relocate from Appleby Square Plaza (which will soon undergo redevelopment).
– TechPlace who wishes to establish presence in the East Burlington business community; and
– a City Community Centre complete with gym and pool facilities.

The long term leases from these tenants will cover most, if not all, of the one-time costs required to enable necessary maintenance upgrades required to host these tenants. Think of the financing to that of seeking a mortgage to repair an existing owned house which has a long term revenue stream from multiple tenants.

So is the Bateman situation a mountain or a molehill? Share your answers to the two questions above by adding a comment to this article.

When Jeremy Skinner sent this in we weren’t sure if it was a good idea – then thought that it might be a good idea to let the readers ask the questions and see how other readers respond.

Take it as one of our engagement initiatives.  We will work with what comes in and send it along to Council members.

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Lot of yappity yap over just where things are with the Bateman high school property purchase.

By Pepper Parr

May 20th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

There is just something not quite right about the sale and purchase of the Bateman High School property.

It is monumentally expensive.

It brought about the sanctioning of a council member based on a complaint by two other Council members.

Councillor Stolte was docked five days’ pay for talking publicly about something that was discussed in a CLOSED session of Council – a no no in the municipal world.

Councillors Nisan and Galbraith filed a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner.  The issue was related to comments about the sale of the Bateman high school property n property.

Then there is an announcement that there will be a land swap – the city would sell the sports field to the west of Central High school to the Halton District School Board – the proceeds of that sale would go towards paying for the Bateman property owned by the public Board of Education.

A Gazette reader sent us a couple of tweets that were sent yesterday.

Here we have Lynne Crosby talking to someone with concerns and questions.. Civil enough

But then the following appears.

Were these meant to be assuring words?

Is Councillor Sharman offside on this?  He isn’t just a citizen with an opinion – he is a councillor with all kinds of inside information that a lot of people would like to hear him expand on.

Our faithful reader said: “My take is that the city has too much invested in this already to walk away. Look how they spent dollar after dollar for the pier to nowhere with no accessibility to the upper area for those who cannot walk up the stairs.

“Residents will never know the true cost of the Bateman project.

“Someone suggested to me that one of the reasons why so few people are entering the Municipal race is because they don’t want to have to work with our current Mayor, and presently no one is really challenging her.”

The social media types and their networks are going crazy over the Bateman high school and Central High school sports field matter.  Amidst all this there is chatter over it all being a done deal

Don’t think it is a done deal and there might be a chance that it will fall apart.

 

 

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Waterfront study and the development application - no recent news on either.

By Pepper Parr

March 12th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The deadline for responses to the survey put out after the Waterfront Study virtual meeting that took place on February 22nd, was March 1st the last date they would be accepted.

There are two things taking place with the area outlined in blue. The oldest activity is a study of the area outlined in blue which the city says has been ongoing since 2018 – it actually started way back in 2015 when the city had a Staff member doing some work on what would be possible and fit in with the Promenade and Spencer Smith Park when the owners of the Waterfront Hotel decided they were ready to redevelop the property. The area within the red boundary is the property owned by Darko Vranich . In August of 2021 he began the process of providing the City Planning department the information it would need to prepare a report for City Council which would decide to Approve the development, Not approve the development or approve a development with required changes. hotel site was ready. The report from the Planning department has to be before City Council and approved no later than April 17th of 2022

It was a very short survey; two questions – what did you think and where do you live.

The X’s mark the land the city would take as permitted park land allowance.

Shouldn’t have taken all that long to sift through the responses, pass them along to the consultants overseeing the study and share both the results of the survey and whatever the next step was going to be.

There was some interesting news shared during the DATE meeting – the most significant being that the city planned on taking a 20 metre wide piece of land from the west side of the site. The width would run from Lakeshore Road to the southern and of  the the property line.

There doesn’t appear to be any sense of urgency about a study that is intended to “inform” the long term development that will take place.  Wouldn’t the Hotel site development application, if approved, set the pattern for any development in the immediate area.  No?

 

Related news stories:

A time line that didn’t work for the citizens.

What about a land swap

The Statutory meeting

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Plan B fears the city might have missed the boat on keeping view to Spencer Smith Park as part of the public domain

By Don Fletcher

January 13th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

An earlier version of this article included illustration that were out-dated.  The illustrations have been revised.

We are pleased to learn from this update that Phase 4 of this study has restarted, and to understand somewhat why the study was placed on hold in mid-2018. Given that we’ve suffered through a pandemic over the last few years, it’s understandable why it wasn’t resumed earlier.

A study on the best way to develop this area began in 2015.

The delay in completing the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study as originally planned is still potentially problematic. In Section 3.3 of Bousfields’ Planning & Urban Design Rationale that was part of the Burlington 2020 Lakeshore Inc.’s development application submitted on October 26th, 2021, their rationale for requesting the removal of Policy 5.5.9.2(l) of the in-force Burlington OP, as amended, was that this study had an “indeterminate deadline” with a further characterization that it “has never been completed, indefinitely sterilizes the subject site from redevelopment and from achieving its highest and best use potential”. It is not clear to us whether the property owner ultimately plans to ignore the guidance of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study, but it is clear that completing it on a highly accelerated basis must be a top priority.

Citizens’ PLAN B remains committed to the extension of Spencer Smith Park and the enhancement of the Brant Street gateway to Lake Ontario, through the application of the ‘Thin Red Line’ design principle related to the Waterfront Hotel Redevelopment. Yes, we understand the changing context of the NE corner of Brant Street & Lakeshore Road with respect to the origins of the ‘Thin Red Line’, but it still has great utility in its’ application to achieve what most residents want in the redevelopment of the Waterfront Hotel property and remains a simple concept that resonates with everyone.

A citizens group – Plan B – introduced the concept of a thin red line. Will it be enough and will it ever be adhered to?

We understand that City staff with support of project consultant, The Planning Partnership, will resume the work plan where it left off in 2018. This update references Section 3 of Report PB-23-18, which contains 16 key policy directions, as one of those milestones that can be built upon.

PLAN B fully supports PB-23-18.

Application of the ‘Thin Red Line’ will help fulfill Public Realm policy directions 5a, 7, 8 and 9, which in our opinion are not achieved in the current development application.

One deliverable that was not mentioned in this report but should also serve to expedite completion of the project is Emerging Preferred Concept #3. I have attached a Planning Partnership Jan/ Feb 2018 Overview/ Snapshot of its’ evolution for your reference, with some of the rationale for selecting EPC #3 noted there re-iterated below:

Achieves the Urban Design objectives for the Downtown

Achieves a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) that balances the base permissions of 5.0 with the Developer’s Current Concept of 7.5 FAR

Buildings located east of the ‘Thin Red Line’, representing the view corridor south of Lakeshore Road, proposed by the Downtown Mobility Hub Study.  A new significant open space defined by the ‘Thin Red Line’ located on the west portion of the property, contiguous with the waterfront park

Buildings that provide a clear landmark visible from the park, Brant Street, John Street, Lakeshore Road & Lake Ontario

A potential development yield that is viable and provides some incentives for redevelopment.

Panel 1 is what the developer originally proposed, panel 2 is what is permitted on the site, panel 3 is one of the alternatives that didn’t include any resident input panel 4 is the last iteration of concepts being considered in the planning study.

This was the last iteration of conceptual designs that we were party to, and while we fundamentally supported it, we through Ramsay Planning Inc. submitted a few minor improvement suggestions. We are unaware of Vrancor’s feedback.

We acknowledge and respect the current property owner’s right to profit from his investment, and that this will necessitate a “reasonable” amount of massing and building height. We also believe passionately that the impact of this development will be felt by many future generations of Burlington residents & visitors, and collectively we must get it right. Citizens’ PLAN B is completely open to work with all stakeholders to help make this a “win-win” scenario.

Follow Plan B at: www.planbwaterfrontredevelopment.ca

Related news stories:

What about a land swap?

Plan B has been pressing city council for years

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With the horses out of the barn why does Council want to talk about ideas for a different barn design?

By Pepper Parr

January 10th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

Council is going to hear a report this week on the The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study that was undertaken to comprehensively plan the  waterfront site at 2020 Lakeshore Road and guide the landowner in its redevelopment.

Given that the site has been referred to as Ground Zero for Burlington an in-depth study made a lot of sense.

The Waterfront Hotel Planning Study will inform an implementing Official Plan Amendment. Once approved, that amendment will form part of the City’s Official Plan and provide a strategic framework to guide the redevelopment of the subject property.

Notice the space between the southern part of the dotted red line and the edge of the lake. Who owns that property? Is it part of the hotel land or is it controlled by Conservation Halton? That’s an important question.

The Study began in early 2017 and included three public meetings/community workshops (a total of six sessions) and two community surveys. In November 2017, an update on the status and progress of the study was presented to Council at the Planning and Development Committee Meeting. This community and stakeholder engagement phase first explored eight design ideas, which were then refined to three preliminary design concepts, and then two emerging concepts.

As a result of additional community and stakeholder input in early 2018, a staff report was brought to the Planning and Development Committee in June 2018. At that time, a set of key policy directions to guide the development of a final concept were endorsed by City Council. These key policy directions were organized around the design principles of Land Use and Built Form, Public Realm, and Mobility and Access.

In mid-2018 the Study was placed on hold due to other various priorities in the Community Planning Department such as the New Official Plan process and for staff to re-visit the Study workplan while considering the set of key policy directions endorsed by Council in June 2018.

While all the futzing and putzing was going on the developer beavered away at doing the design work and taking part in a pre-consultation meeting required to submit a development application.

The design is world class – the architects have made excellent use of the different views that will be available.

That application was submitted, but deemed to be incomplete by the planning department.

So what is the point of returning to the Study – the developer has wind in his sails and is on his way.

The Staff report makes mention of “height not to exceed three (3) storeys within 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road and eleven (11) storeys adjacent to John Street and beyond 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road” while the developer presents a plan for two towers that are very close to the southern edge of Lakeshore Road and soar 35 storeys high.  The second tower is just 30 stories high.  Both sit on a five storey podium.

The design of the buildings is superb, these are very smart looking buildings that would be a delight to live in.  The plan puts them in the wrong place. One wag described the development as “out of proportion; out of place and should be outa here”

The northern edge of the site is very close to the edge of Lakeshore Road. The five storey podium will loom over the street – with no view to the lake. The entrance to the east end of Spencer Smith Park will be through an opening in the podium.

The surrounding context of the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study Area including changes to the northeast corner made through the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project, will be considered in the development of the preferred concept for the Subject Property.

This will also include a review of the key policy directions endorsed by Council in June 2018, including the amended key policy direction #8 which was modified by Council to include the following language in bold text:

Enhance the Brant Street view corridor to frame views to the Brant Street Pier, and require a significant building setback from the west property line and define and consider a building setback from the thin red line and maximize the new and enhanced publicly accessible green/open space.

That “thin red line” concept came from the Plan B, a group of citizens that believe something much better can be done with the hotel site.

It was a solid idea but the city planners found a way to get rid of the idea.

At the January 23, 2018 Planning and Development Committee a council motion was carried to modify the block shown at the northeast corner of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road located in the proposed Cannery Precinct (22-storeys) to the Downtown Core Precinct with a maximum building height of 17-storeys including community benefits.

As a result of Council’s modification, the basis for the expanded public realm at the corner and enhanced setback limit was eliminated.

On April 26, 2018 City Council adopted a new Burlington Official Plan. On December 4, 2018, the Region of Halton issued a Notice of Non-Conformity to the City, which had the effect of extending the Region’s review process until such time as the Region determined that the non-conformity was rectified. While collaborating extensively with Regional staff on the issues of non-conformity the City undertook the scoped re-examination of the adopted Official Plan. This process took place while the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was on hold.

Through the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project in 2019-2020, the adopted Official Plan policies for the Downtown were studied. As part of that work the north-east corner of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road was revisited and was included within the Brant Main Street Precinct. The purpose of this precinct was to serve as a unique retail destination within the Downtown and city-wide.

The precinct provides a wide range of policies to guide development within the precinct. Specifically, related to built form, this precinct requires height not to exceed three (3) storeys within 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road and eleven (11) storeys adjacent to John Street and beyond 20 metres of Brant Street and Lakeshore Road. In November 2020 the Region of Halton approved Burlington’s New Official Plan, which is currently under appeal.

The Subject Property was not included in the scoped re-examination of the New Official Plan Project and the new Official Plan did not change the existing land use designation and permitted building height for the Waterfront Hotel property located at 2020 Lakeshore Road.

Former city Councillor John Taylor in discussion with Linda Davies and Dee Dee Davies during one of the six public sessions that were held shortly after this Council was elected.  The Gazette was asked to leave the room, at the instructions of the Mayor, when the conversation between the stakeholders was taking place.

Next Steps
With the re-examination of the New Official Plan (Taking a Closer Look at the Downtown) Project completed, approval of the new Official Plan (under appeal), as well as the Minster of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s approval, with modifications, of the Regional Official Plan Amendment 48 it is the appropriate time to resume the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study.

City staff with support from the project consultant, The Planning Partnership, the group that is leading the consultation process will resume the workplan where it left off in 2018 to complete the study. The work is anticipated to take 16-17 weeks and will be completed within the original project budget. The resumption of the study will build upon and advance the previous work and community input to-date to develop a final preferred concept.

There is a much better solution on what can be done with the hotel site.

A small group is working at building public support for a different look at the waterfront hotel site that includes possible land swaps and building a new city hall on the property; something that would be four or five storeys high and include a purpose built Art Gallery.

Burlington can do better than the application before the Planning department.   There are limits on what developers should be able to do.

This is a story that is going to be around for some time.  It is your city.

Related news stories:

More on Plan B

Some ideas on what is possible

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Suddenly a development that is very controversial files an application to proceed and no one tells the public

By Pepper Parr

November 23rd, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What is it this time you might ask?

Same old.

Developers doing what they seem to feel they have to do.

The one the Gazette has been watching is what we are calling the two Towers that Darko Vranich wants to put in the space now occupied by the Waterfront Hotel.

Developer filed their application on October 26th – no one told the people who are opposed to any additional high towers along Lakeshore Road.

The understanding we had was that the company, Lakeshore 2020, had yet to file a development application.

Not a bright future for an old hotel – what replaces it is the big question.

Not true – Lakeshore 2020 apparently filed an application on October 26th and at a meeting of City Council this afternoon the city planners are going to advise the Councillors that they do not want to accept the application because they believe it is not complete.

What we would like to know is – why does the public not get to learn the moment that an application had been filed.

One source has advised that the city planning department had 30 days to keep the application to themselves until they had assured themselves that it was complete. WE are not sure that is correct.

Not that it matters all that much at this point – what is really disturbing is the way members of council go mute and do not make any effort to inform the people.

Related news stories:

Plan B – worth more than a close look

Try a land swap and put city hall and the art gallery on the waterfront

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What happened to the Waterfront Hotel study that got mentioned in 2005 ? It doesn't seem to have a timeline - however, the owner of the hotel site has a timeline

By Pepper Parr

October 26th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

 

This is one of those chicken and egg situations – which came first ?

We’d like to revise that just a little bit and ask – which should come first?

The public was recently treated to a pre-application presentation by Bousfields, the planning consultants hired by Vrancorp to re-develop the Waterfront Hotel site.

The twin towers would change more than the skyline of the city.

The designs that were made public were stunning – but much of the public reaction was less than enthusiastic – what stunned them was the idea of putting two towers on Lakeshore Road, one that would be the highest in the city.

Nice buildings but not in Spencer Smith Park, was the predominant comment.

The two towers were proposed for what the planners called the iconic ground zero location – the intersection of Brant and Lakeshore Road where a 35 storey and a 30 story tower were to replace the nine storey hotel.

The site has been the focus point for a lot of planning – some of it going back more than a decade.

An agreement had been put in place to have a study done on how best to develop the hotel site and have it compliment Spencer Smith Park and the Promenade.

The area to be covered in the Waterfront Study that started back in 2005. At this point there isn’t a completion date – there is a report that is scheduled to go to Council in 1Q of 2022

Vrancor, the corporation that owns the hotel, is reported to have put up the $150,000 to have the study done. They are understandably upset. They paid for the study but the study was not completed. The city doesn’t have a planner assigned to the study – the most recent word is that the planning department will be getting something to council in 2022.
This may be one of those times when the horses are out of the barn and it’s too late to close the door.

In June 2018 Council went along with a revised Work Plan for the study that was to be completed by Q1 of 2019, (This was before Meed Ward became Mayor.)

The re-thinking of what could be done with the site goes back to 2005 with a follow up report in 2006.

There was a subsequent site-specific policy requiring that a planning study process be completed prior to any redevelopment of the subject site.

Residents at a workshop setting out their ideas with planner Thomas Walker.

The 2018 report called for a high quality of urban design reflecting the landmark nature of this site, that “shall be contingent upon the completion of a master plan to the satisfaction of City Council.”

Public meeting to consider what the waterfront area should include.

In 2015 Council approved the terms of reference for the Waterfront Hotel Lands Planning Study.

In 2017 the Waterfront Hotel Planning Study was publicly launched, beginning with a pair of visioning workshops in May.

In November of 2018 the site’s significance was affirmed at the Planning and Development Committee meeting, evidenced by a number of delegations that presented a varied set of interests and development concepts.

A series of drawings that got whittled down to two Preferred Concept – and that as far as the study of the Waterfront Hotel site has gone.

At this point, 2018, the public had a series of drawings that resulted in two preferred concepts for development.

A group known as Plan B inserted itself into the process with their position that a thin red line be drawn beyond which there would be no development west of the hotel site.

Despite extensive engagement opportunities, a clear consensus on direction had not yet been achieved. Staff then built upon the consultation work done through three community workshops (a total of six sessions); what came out of the Planning and Development Committee held on November 28, 2017, and significant contributions from the Vrancor Group and the Plan B Citizen Group; they created key policy directions to move forward.

The key policy directions were intended to align with the vision statement, accommodate an iconic landmark building, and reinforce the site’s unique location as a major gateway to the waterfront.

One of two renderings of what the site might look like. The entrance to the development would be from John Street not Brant

 

Early concept didn’t have the height that was shown in the pre-application presentation.

The key policy directions have been organized around the study’s three frameworks and guiding design principles of Land Use and Built Form, Public Realm, and Mobility and Access, as follows:  Land use and built form and Public Realm are important and it is vital that everyone share the same understanding as to just what this means.

Land Use and Built Form
1) Create building frontages along Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth Street with building placement that establishes a defining street wall and frames the street zone.
2) Provide active uses at grade along Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth Street.
3) Achieve active and animated edges adjacent to Spencer Smith Park, with a requirement for retail and service commercial uses at grade:
a. Built form next to the south property line shall activate and animate this edge, respect the existing grade, and be scaled to the waterfront trail with higher levels stepping back as necessary.
b. Built form next to the west property line shall activate and animate this edge, respect the existing grade, and be scaled to Spencer Smith Park with higher levels stepping back as necessary.
4) Require a minimum of two uses within buildings and where feasible, encourage three uses.
5) Establish an iconic landmark building on the site subject to the following:

a. A new public, pedestrian space is provided at the foot of Brant Street where public views to the Lake and Pier are enhanced;
b. The iconic landmark building must contain a destination use or function;
c. The iconic landmark building shall enhance the City of Burlington’s image/identity.
6) Require design excellence in all matters of architecture, landscape architecture, sustainable and urban design and require that all public and private development proposals on or adjacent to the site be evaluated/reviewed by the Burlington Urban Design Advisory Panel.

An unobstructed view of the Pier from Brant Street was objective number 1 for almost everyone.

Public Realm
7) Protect public view corridors to Lake Ontario from Brant and Elizabeth Streets, and where possible John Street.
8) Enhance the Brant Street view corridor to frame views to the Brant Street Pier, and require a significant building setback from the west property line.
9) Create new and enhanced publicly accessible green/open space, which would include new north-south pedestrian connections between Lakeshore Road and Spencer Smith Park (mid-block and along the site’s edges).
10) Minimize changes to the existing grade along the southern edge of the site and enhance the interface with Spencer Smith Park.
11) Integrate a public washroom within the future redevelopment; with an entrance that is accessible, highly visible and within close proximity to Spencer Smith Park.
12) Identify opportunities for the placement of public art on and adjacent to the site.
Staff was to continue with background work and in early 2019, re-start the process with a refreshed look and feel building on the above policy directions. This will include a revised work plan and new public engagement plan which leverages the city’s newest communication and engagement software and tools.

Changes to the existing land use designation and permitted building height are not included in the new Official Plan – as it was in the then current Official Plan – not the one that the new Council adopted in 2019.

The process would involve a site-specific amendment to the Official Plan at such time as the study is completed by the City and approved by City Council.

What muddies up a clear understanding was the existence then of a downtown mobility hub, that problem was resolved; then a change in the Urban Growth Centre boundary.

The ICBL – Interim Control By Law was imposed and then the world was hit with a pandemic brought about by the Covid19 virus.

We are now at the point where a sense or normality seems to be returning.

Add to that a frenetic increase in the development applications that required the city to hire more than a dozen new planners.
Then along comes the planner for the hotel site owner saying they were tired of waiting and did a pre-application presentation that shocked many.

That pre-application is the beginning of a process that has a ticking clock.

The towers are closer than many realize – closer to the street than the hotel on the site.

So back to that first question:  which should come first – the completion of the Waterfront Study or the accepting of a development application.

There is an important connection between this Waterfront Study and the City’s new Official Plan, the Downtown Mobility Hub Area Specific Plan, the City’s Transportation Plan, Cycling Master Plan, Community Trails Strategy, the Transit Plan and the Tall Building and Downtown Streetscape Guidelines, all of which are necessary to ensure that redevelopment of the subject property meets the City’s urban design and growth management goals, as well as enhances the adjacent public space and waterfront.

People began asking – what about the Waterfront Hotel Study and wondering how a pre-application presentation could be done before the study was complete.

There is a lot riding on what is to be built on the hotel site; people are getting anxious.

Will the downtown core begin to look like the Toronto waterfront where a lot of the land south of the Gardner Expressway is studded with towers that limit the view of Lake Ontario?

Not much is being heard from the politicians – they have taken the view that they can’t say much at this point without being accused of being biased.

The point at which they feel they can comment is when planning staff produce their report that either recommends that a development proceed, or that the development not proceed or that they should continue working with the developer.

The stickler at this point is this: the city has 120 days to produce their report to council – something that is close to impossible for a development of this size.

Once the 120 point has been met the developer has the right to go to the Ontario Land Tribunal to ask for permission to proceed with the development.

Burlington has not done very well at the tribunal level, partly many feel because of the direction that comes out of Burlington’s legal department.

With all those agencies commenting the project begins to create some momentum that it might not be possible to hold in check.

The Gazette has made the telling of this story a mission.

The people of Burlington are going to have to make it a mission to ensure that Council hears what they think and feel.

In the next 13 months we are going to go through a provincial election and a municipal election.  The strategy for those who care about where growth takes place and the kind of growth that takes place should be a mission as well.

Related news stories:

The pre-application presentation

Is there a different approach to how the site can be used?  A land swap perhaps?

 

 

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Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the Adi Development Group proposal to build 26 storeys at the Martha - Lakeshore Road intersection to begin on Wednesday. It might be a very short hearing.

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

February 20th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Wednesday morning at 10:00 am the person chairing the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing will call the meeting to order and the scheduled 10 day hearing will begin.

Those attending might see some rabbits pulled out of a hat as the Adi development Group begin their argument that they should be given approval to build their now 26 storey condominium on the comer of Martha and Lakeshore Road.

nautique-elevation-from-city-july-2016

In terms of design the proposed building i several grades above what Burlington has seen in the past the level o intensification and the location are what have citizens upset.

The last OMB level event was a request the ADI Development Group made to have their argument go to mediation.

There has not been a report from the OMB on how the mediation process went – did it even take place?

If it did was the mediation successful and if it was successful what did the mediator conclude?

The OMB meeting on Wednesday might be to have the OMB officer hearing the arguments decide to accept the recommendation from the mediator.

There hasn’t been a word from either the city or the OMB.

This mess, and that is the only fair word to apply to the 23 month saga that began at the end of March in 2015, when the city failed to make a decision on the application the Adi Group made to build what was originally a 28 storey stricture at the intersection.

The rules call for the city to respond to an application to either approve or not approve an application to revise the Official Plan within 180 days. These are often site specific revisions to the Official Plan.

The city got their lines crossed and was not able to give the developer an answer – the Adi group went to the OMB very shortly after the 180 day period ended.

The Adi Development Group had every right to do what they did even though the practice has been to allow some leeway. It was evident that Adi was quite prepared to bulldoze their way through the process.

ADI Nautique detailed sketch

The site for the planed condominium was enlarged when Adi did a property swap with the Carnacelli group. The block between Martha and Pearl is now owned by the two developers – if the Adi development is approved – watch for a second building the same height to go up in that block. Is there no limit to what the Burlington market can absorb in the way of new residential units?

Adi, perhaps realizing that they had a problem, did a land swap with another developer that had a small property to the north of the site making it larger – they reduced the height by two storeys as well.

The city had every right to ask the OMB to not hear the application because it was now a new and different proposal. The city chose to not force that argument. Had they done so Adi would have had to reapply for whatever they wanted from the city.

The city in essence gave Adi a pass.

It has been a badly managed file on the part of the city from almost the day the proposal was made public at a public meeting at the Art Gallery of Burlington.

Wednesday morning we will see what direction the OMB takes.  This one could go in almost any direction.

The city solicitor, the city manager, members of city council know if there is a recommendation from a mediator.

If there is – the plot thickens.

Two sources, both close to this story are suggesting that the city has gone along with a structure that will be 18 storeys in height.

Adi - Saud and Tarif

The Adi brothers.

A developer working in the same general area has said that in order to make a profit the Adi people need approval for eighteen storeys.

The Mayor has asked several people what they thought of a ten storey structure.

Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has stick to her guns and said that the Official Plan and zoning for that property allows eight storeys and that is what she wants to see approved.

The property along the north side of Lakeshore Road between Pearl and Martha is owned by two developers.

Should the OMB hearing decide that Adi is to be given the right to build 26 storeys expect to see some almost identical built on the western side of that block.

wer

A 19 storey condominium plus a parking garage plus a medical building approved for this site. One block south and one block west the same developer is proposing a 26 storey tower opposite city hall.

Brant Street rendering

Partial view of a proposed development opposite city hall on Brant Street.

With the Carriage gate development now underway at Maria between Elizabeth and John Street going up 19 stories and another Carriage Gate development announced for James Street and Brant, opposite city hall the downtown core of Burlington will not resemble anything like the city many people seem to want – something quieter and small – and with less traffic.

Speaking of traffic – where do things stand on the road diet pilot study the city is struggling with on New Street between Guelph Line and Walkers Line?

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City gets told to put more money on the table if it wants to own LaSalle Park - and to find another Fire Chief as well.

News 100 redBy Staff

January 23rd, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It was a tough week for city manager James Ridge: he lost his Fire Chief, one of the best the city has had in some time and he learned that Hamilton wasn’t going to sell him the land around LaSalle Park in the city’s west end.

For a number of historical reasons that defy simple explanation – Hamilton owns a chunk of land inside Burlington’s borders.

The city, Burlington has been trying to buy it back – they currently rent the land for $1 a year on a lease that end in 2022.

The waterfront park, just south of Plains Road, includes a marina, baseball diamonds, a splash pad, picnic areas, bocce courts and a pavilion operating as a banquet facility.

Despite painstaking efforts to end a long-standing oddity, Hamilton will be holding onto its green space in Burlington for years to come.

LaSalle Park - aerial

LaSalle Park – a 22 acre property inside city of Burlington borders and owned by the city of Hamilton who rent it to Burlington for $1 a year.

Following a closed-door meeting last week Hamilton Councillors voted 8-6 to reject transferring ownership of LaSalle Park to Burlington in exchange for a complicated cash and land swap.

Details of the proposal remain confidential, but, according to several Councillors, there simply wasn’t enough money on the table for such prime waterfront property.

Mayor Rick Goldring says he’s disappointed the “win-win” deal was rejected.  “I believe what we offered was very fair. This was really a negotiated proposal that came from their staff as well as our staff.”

Hamilton owns the 22-hectare (54 acre) Aldershot park on Burlington’s North Shore Boulevard for historical reasons, but since 1983 has leased it to Burlington, which maintains and operates it, for $1 a year.
The lease expires in 2022. Last year, both councils directed their city managers to come up with a proposal to permanently resolve the anomaly.

LaSalle Pacillion

Operated as a banquet hall and location for meetings the LaSalle Pavilion is popular.

A third party appraiser was jointly hired to assess the value of the land. Because the proposal was presented in camera, the details are not known but it’s believed Hamilton was offered a low-end six figure purchase price.
For reasons that remain unclear, the proposal also included a land swap with the Royal Botanical Gardens, whose lands straddle both cities.

For his part, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger supported the deal as a “good neighbourly thing to do” based on market value.

“I thought it was fair and equitable, and I thought it was an opportunity to fix an historical anomaly that would create some value for everyone.”

Ridge and Chris Murray - city managers

Burlington city manager with Hamilton’s city manager Chris Murray at a Bay Area Economic Summit last year – they weren’t able to come to terms on a price for the LaSalle Park property which Hamilton owns.

Because Councillors also voted to take no further action, Eisenberger says the ball is in Burlington’s court if it wants to make another overture that might be more acceptable to the majority of Councillors.

Goldring says Burlington isn’t in any rush. “We’ve taken a shot at this. Our lease comes due in 2022. We have a pretty good deal right now. We lease the park for $1 a year so there wasn’t a whole bunch of sense of urgency to deal with this.”

Why does Hamilton own a piece of land inside Burlington’s borders? That goes back to when the Region of Halton was created. A Hamilton resident claims it was purchased in 1915 for $50,000 by Hamilton, the inflation adjusted value is $1,019,000 today.

The land cannot be developed into condos or apartments or housing – it is a park.

Burlington was originally to be part of Hamilton when regional governments were being set up. The province promised Hamilton the Aldershot community (including Hamilton’s RBG lands and LaSalle) if Hamilton would “shut up and go away” – accept regional government without Burlington. Instead, influenced by Burlington PC MPP G. Kerr, the governing PCs double-crossed Hamilton and instead included Aldershot with Burlington and making it part of the Halton Region.

Why does Hamilton own a piece of land inside Burlington’s borders? That goes back to when the Region of Halton was created A Hamilton resident believes it was purchased in 1915 for $50,000 by Hamilton, the inflation adjusted value is $1,019,000 today.

The land cannot be developed into condos or apartments or housing – it is a park.

Burlington was originally to be part of Hamilton when regional governments were being set up. 18

The Province promised Hamilton Aldershot (including Hamilton’s RBG lands and LaSalle) if Hamilton would “shut up and go away” (accept regional government without Burlington). Instead, influenced by Burlington PC MPP G. Kerr, the governing PCs double-crossed Hamilton and instead included Aldershot with Burlington (and Halton Region).

Tony Bavota - fire chief

Fire chief Tony Bavota quite and heads for a senior job with the Toronto Fire department.

As for the Fire Chief deciding there were better career goals for him in Toronto – we lost a good one. Tony Bavota tightened up operations at the Fire department and did the necessary work to ensure that Emergency measure matters were in the hands of the people who had had the experience needed to manage tough situations.

Bavota steps into his office in Toronto on February 6th.

getting new - yellow

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As much as three years of citizens complaints about construction disruption while the smartest development the city has seen in 25 years gets underway on Lakeshore Road.

News 100 blueBy Pepper Parr

April 12, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

This isn’t the time of year for people to be out on the streets all that much – it’s still a little chilly.

For those who do venture to the edge of the lake and happen to wander east of the Waterfront hotel – they find themselves entering the early stages of a construction zone.
That lot that used to be home to the Riviera is now just mud with pieces of equipment scattered around the site.

Bridgewater - drill - bore hole

It could be taken for some kind o armament – but it is a drill that bores into the ground.

Fencing is in place and those “must wear a hard hat” signs are beginning to go up. Earlier in the week there was a tall – maybe three storey’s high – rig on the property. Bore holes were being drilled.

Bruno Kresina, the construction project manager, wasn’t on hand to explain what was going on.

The piece of land was home to the sales office – that was torn down a couple of weeks ago. The large six foot by six foot scale model of the Bridgewater project was put in storage – it will show up again when the new sales office is opened.

For a while the use of office space in the downtown core east of Brant was close to a game of musical chairs. Mayrose Tyco owners of the five storey tower on the north edge of the Elizabeth Street parking as well as the owners of the Bridgewater development, had rented space to the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. They were set up on the ground floor of the building while the parking lot at the Joseph Brant hospital underwent a massive re-development re-build that is costing the taxpayers $60 million – with the hospital foundation raising a second $60 million.

Bridgewater Aerial-rendering-1024x758

A drawing setting out where the different buildings will b situated and the open space for public access.

With the hospital foundation out of the space, Jeff Paikin and his New Horizons Development group can move their sales offices into the space. Not they need all that much of a sales office space – they are said to be past the 70% sold point – and that must be true because the bankers don’t release the cash until sales are at that magic 70% level.
And so now the construction begins.

Details

This is what the south side of Lakeshore is going to look like sometime in 2018 – there will be public access to the lake in between the hotel on the right and the condominium of the left. It won’t be a very wide opening.

It’s a complex set up. The development was approved by city council in 1995 – it was to be a “legacy” project that had been in the minds of the Mayrose Tyco people before 1985. There were some land swaps that squared the assembled land – and a couple of close calls when Conservation Halton, who had grandfathered the development a long time ago but were beginning to get impatient.

Mayrose Tyco brought in the Mady Group to build what was to be a 22 storey condominium and a seven storey condominium plus a seven storey hotel that edged up to eight storeys.

The first hotel was to be a Delta – that got upgraded to a Marriott – which is some distance from the old Riviera motel.

Mady ran into financial problems – Mayrose Tyco took them off the building of the development and asked Paikin if he would take on the construction.
Paikin had already bought a unit in the seven story condominium – he was now going to build his new home.

Bridgewater - road alignment Apr 12-16

You are looking at what is going to be pretty close to the new street – sidewalk alignment on the south side of Lakeshore immediately east of Elizabeth street.

LogoIt will be a couple of years before the any moving vans arrive – the residents of the city have a couple of years to complain about the construction disruptions.

When it is completed – the waterfront will be a much different place.

Save the news feedThe construction of the pier and now this luxury level hotel and some very high end condominiums, which will be described as the finest buildings to live in the GTA. Better than Oakville?

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Bruce Krushelnicki leaves city hall to enjoy the first summer vacation he has had since he joined the city 11 years ago.

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

June 1, 2105

BURLINGTON, ON

Today is the first day of a summer vacation he never had in the years he was been with the Planning department in Burlington.

At some point all the data and all the public input gets placed in front of Burlington's Planner, Bruce Kruselniiki - who will issue a report and city council will make decisions.  Creating the downtown the city wants and needs has not been an easy process for Burlington.

Bruce  Krushelnicki was frequently at the table working with citizens, listening to their ideas and explaining the why and how things were done.  The reports his department issued were frequently as good as they get in the planning business.

Lakeshore looking east to Brant north side

Insisting that there be commercial space at grade level was not an easy conversation with the developers of the Buntin Wharf project on Lakeshore Road between Locust and Brant – imagine that part of the city without this look?

Bruce Krushelnicki left city hall on Friday afternoon and summarized for the Gazette what he managed to get done during his time with the city and some of the things that haven’t happened yet.

Planners build on the shoulders of the people who came before them explained Krushelnicki I didn’t plan the Alton Community – my job was to implement the plan and ensure that the original design was adhered to.

Krushelnicki was heavily involved in the creation and implementation of the Plains Road Village Vision (PRVV) which has changed radically the road that used to be the only one that got you to Niagara Falls.

We had to do a lot of talking to the Shoppers Drug Mart people to get them to see things our way – we wanted the entrance to the store open to the street and they did build the door – but it is locked.

We wanted a two story building – and they did that – now there are doctors’ offices on that second floor – what better place to have a doctor’s office.

Plains Road is no longer just a major traffic artery – it has been going through a process of change for a number of years – that job is far from finished.

Getting developers to see the longer term potential for their properties can be a time consuming process explained K. We had many conversations with the Molinaro’s about street level store fronts on the Buntin wharf property that stretched between Locust and Brant. Can you imagine Brant Lakeshore Road without that stretch of patio space?   They make that part of the city feel like parts of Europe added Krushelnicki.

For some developers talking wasn’t enough and the building permit they had been issued was pulled. Drewlo learned that lesson when they made major changes to the way vehicles were going to enter and leave the underground garage of the multi building apartment complex they were building on Plains Road.

Maranantha-revisions-8-and-7

Early version of the Maranatha design had more massing then the planning department was prepared to accept.

Maranantha-6-storey-version

After a lot of negotiating and discussion the final look of the Maranatha project looked like this. Preparing the land for construction has begun

The Maranatha project on New Street that is now having the land prepared for construction was another project that Krushelnicki believes benefited from intervention by the Planning department. The building has significant massing and even though it was set back from the street further than most people realized it was a large building. By tapering the ends and creating a large glass section in the middle the building is much easier to look at.

There are those who still feel it doesn’t fit in with the neighbourhood to which Krushelnicki replies – neighbourhoods change – they are supposed to change – but at a pace that fits with where planners feel the city is going.

Most of the two storey properties on Brant Street have four storey zoning as of right and can get eight storeys once they have worked with the planning department to ensure that what is planned fits in with what the residents of the community – and the city believe is appropriate for the area.

Krushelnicki knows now that the malls created in the 70’s do not meet the needs of the community the way they once did and that they need to be re-developed to include a residential and commercial component.

Making more efficient use of land will mean changing the way some sectors of the local economy use the space they have. Krushelnicki points to Mississauga where they created a part of the city that was for the automotive sector. Burlington doesn’t have that Krushelnicki of space available anywhere in the city but Krushelnicki does see the possibility of automotive dealers going up rather than continually going sideways.

The land at the corner of Fairview and Brant has too much value to serve as a parking lot for used cars – the same would apply to the automotive dealers along Fairview and Guelph Line. The planning department did have conversations with most of the automotive dealers in town to talk about different configurations that could be used. “They weren’t ready for a change yet” explained Krushelnicki at a committee meeting.

In the world of planning and development the Ontario Municipal Board is the 800 pound elephant in the room – it is an organization Krushelnicki understand very well. He served as an OMB Commissioner for a period of time and wrote one of the more definitive texts on just how the OMB works.

Lksh Riveria looking east

The walkway that was built at the bottom of what was once the infamous Rivieria Motel was the result of a land swap Krushelnicki put together with Mayrose Tyco the developers of the property that will house a 22 storey, a seven story condominium plus an 8 storey hotel. The hotel was originally going to be open for the Pan Am games which isn’t something you can blame on the now retired planner,

While many of the decisions on what would be built on the waterfront were made before Krushelnicki  joined the city as the planner 11 years ago he does get credit for coming up with a land swap that extended the waterfront the public could use a little further to the east and gave the people who were developing what is today called the Bridgewater hotel.

Burlington currently has a major case before the OMB – the ADI development on Martha and Lakeshore that he won’t say a word about because it is before the board.

Krushelnicki taught for twelve years and has until very recently done some teaching at Ryerson and Waterloo. Is there some teaching for a man who is in excellent shape and still holds his truck driver’s license.

There are those who believe Krushelnicki never stopped teaching. On numerous occasions when there was a planning issue of some significance one could see all the junior members of the Planning department in the council chamber – many of them taking notes. And there were always a number of the senior members watching a master at the craft of explaining how planning is supposed to work.

Downtown precincts

The concept of precincts to define neighborhoods was an approach Bruce Krushelnicki brought to Burlington’s Official Plan

Burlington is in the process of re-writing its Official Plan. The Plan that was approved in 2006 was a Krushelnicki creation. We created a precinct approach and grouped interest and gave them a precinct name and applied zoning development guidelines to them. While the word “neighbourhoods: didn’t actually appear in the official plan – it was vital from Krushelnicki point of view that the way people had organized themselves in the city be respected.

Krushelnicki didn’t live in Burlington but he had a feel for the city that must have run through his mind as he came over the Skyway Bridge and saw it set out before him.

The people writing the new Official Plan are all Krushelnicki prodigies – his finger prints will be all over the document.

Krushelnicki did have his detractors. Many felt he was too restrictive and that he didn’t manage his staff as well as he might. He certainly had strong views and had little difficulty making them know. What made Bruce Krushelnicki so different was the way he would frame and arrange his comments.

He certainly had the best tailor in town and would not take off his jacket when making a presentation. One could not even imagine Krushelnicki wearing a pair of those plaid trousers golfers tend to wear.

During what was really an oration at a Committee of the Whole recently at the LaSalle Park Pavilion the sun was shining directly onto Krushelnicki’s back and the beads of perspiration on his forehead were showing. One of his senior staff who was within his line of sight patted her hip a number of times.

I wasn’t quite sure what she was doing or why – but realized she was sending her boss a signal.  The staff member knew that Bruce Krushelnicki always kept a fresh handkerchief in his jacket pocket; she was trying to remind him that it was there.

The staff within the planning department for the most part adored the man. He treated his people with respect and saw his major role as one of developing them and making them better civil servants.

Krushelnicki was without a doubt the most literate senior staff member the city has. During the crafting of the Strategic Plan in 2011, when asked what form it should take, Krushelnicki said keep it to two pages and write it in Latin.

Tim Horton property - top of bank issue

Krushelnicki must have explained what “top of bank”meant to citizens groups more than 1000 times while he was Director of Planning for the city.

During his time as Burlington’s planner he must have explained what “top of bank” meant more than 1000 times – he also tirelessly explained that approval of some height density on one lot did not serve as a precedent for every lot in the neighbourhood.

Krushelnicki had a style that was very much his own. His ethics were beyond reproach, he had that old school politeness about him and more often than not he knew what he was doing and why he made the decisions he made

Krushelnicki was no where near retirement age – but some took the position that his time had come.

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