Loading...
MINUTES - General Committee - 20191105 Town of Aurora General Committee Meeting Report Council Chambers, Aurora Town Hall Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Attendance Council Members Councillor Gaertner in the Chair; Councillors Gallo, Gilliland, Humfryes, Kim, Thompson, and Mayor Mrakas Members Absent None Other Attendees Doug Nadorozny, Chief Administrative Officer, Robin McDougall, Director of Community Services, Rachel Wainwright-van Kessel, Director of Finance, Allan Downey, Director of Operations, Anca Mihail, Manager, Engineering Services, David Waters, Director of Planning and Development Services, Techa van Leeuwen, Director of Corporate Services, Stephanie Mackenzie-Smith, Manager of Corporate Communications, Patricia De Sario, Town Solicitor, Michael de Rond, Town Clerk, Ishita Soneji, Council/ Committee Coordinator The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. General Committee consented to recess the meeting at 9:01 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:11 p.m. 1. Approval of the Agenda General Committee approved the agenda as circulated by Legislative Services, including the following additional item: • Delegation (a) Erin Cerenzia and Kim Clark, representing Neighbourhood Network & Gazell and Company Re: Item C1 – Memorandum from Mayor Mrakas; Re: Engaged Inclusive Communities General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 2 of 11 • Delegation (b) Leslie Jennings, Resident Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns • Delegation (c) Suzanne Lytle, Resident Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns • Delegation (d) Amanda Dench, Resident Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns • Notice of Motion (b) Mayor Mrakas Re: By-law to Regulate Short-Term Rentals 2. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.50. 3. Community Presentations None 4. Delegations (a) Erin Cereenzia and Kim Clark, representing Neighbourhood Network & Gazell and Company Re: Item C1 – Memorandum from Mayor Mrakas; Re: Engaged Inclusive Communities Ms. Cerenzia introduced Ms. Clark and presented an overview of the collaborative project to involve Aurora, East Gwillimbury, and Newmarket to create engaged, inclusive, and connected communities. Ms. Clark outlined the purpose of the project being a deep dive into the demographics of the three communities involved. She provided details of the study including looking at shared challenges, developing an integrated approach and conducting General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 3 of 11 research to avoid duplication and finding efficiencies, key deliverables, and requested Members of Council to support the project. General Committee received and referred the comments of the delegation to Item C1. (b) Leslie Jennings Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns Ms. Jennings spoke in support of the staff recommendation and against the installation of sidewalks on Kitimat Crescent noting that sidewalks would affect house values, reduce parking space on driveways, and would not be compliant with the accessibility legislation. General Committee received and referred the comments of the delegation to Item R1. (c) Suzanne Lytle, Resident Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns Ms. Lytle provided background and expressed concern regarding pedestrian safety surrounding Aurora Heights Public School, and requested that installation of sidewalks on Kitimat Crescent be given priority. General Committee received and referred the comments of the delegation to Item R1. (d) Amanda Dench, Resident Re: Item R1 – PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns Ms. Dench spoke in support of the installation of sidewalks on Kitimat Crescent and Huron Court to ensure pedestrian safety around the school, and noted that a letter of support for sidewalks from the Aurora Heights Public School Parent Council has been circulated to Members of Council staff. She requested that sidewalk installation on Kitimat Crescent be given a priority and alternate solutions to safety concerns besides parking restrictions be explored. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 4 of 11 General Committee received and referred the comments of the delegation to Item R1. 5. Consent Agenda C1. Memorandum from Mayor Mrakas Re: Engaged Inclusive Communities General Committee recommends: 1. That the memorandum regarding Engaged Inclusive Communities be received for information; and 2. That an amount of $15,000 be granted for the Engaged Inclusive Communities study to be funded from the Council Contingency fund. Carried as amended 6. Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Recommended: That the following Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes item, A1 to A3, be received: A1. Finance Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of September 25, 2019 1. That the Finance Advisory Committee meeting minutes of September 25, 2019, be received for information. A2. Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of October 2, 2019 1. That the Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting minutes of October 2, 2019, be received for information. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 5 of 11 A3 . Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes of October 9, 2019 1. That the Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee meeting minutes of October 9, 2019, be received for information. Carried 7. Consideration of Items Requiring Discussion (Regular Agenda) General Committee consented to consider the items in the following order: R1, R4, R3, R2, and R5. General Committee consented to consider Item R1 prior to the consideration of Consent Agenda and Advisory Committee meeting minutes. R1. PDS19-097 – Kitimat Crescent and Aurora Heights Public School Alternative Solutions to Safety Concerns General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. PDS19-097 be referred back to staff; and 2. That a working group be created to address the safety issues around the school before reporting back. Motion to refer Carried R2. FS19-031 – 2020-22 Operating Budget Ms. Rachel Wainwright-van Kessel, Director of Finance presented an overview of the 2020 to 2022 Operating Budget including details on the multi- year budget approval process, overview of the proposed tax levy, water, wastewater, and stormwater budgets, budget impact on the average household, next steps, and details of the forthcoming budget meetings. General Committee received the presentation for information. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 6 of 11 General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. FS19-031 be received; and 2. That the 2020, 2021, and 2022 draft Operating Budgets be referred to Budget Committee for review at its scheduled meetings commencing on November 18, 2019. Carried R3. CS19-025 – Fence By-law Exemption Request – 203 St. John’s Sideroad West General Committee consented to vote on the third clause of the motion separately. General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. CS19-025 be received; and 2. That an exemption to the Town’s Fence By-law No. 4753-05.P to permit a non-compliant fence in the front and side yard at 203 St. John’s Sideroad West, be refused; and 4. That the registered property owner bring the property into compliance with respect to the provisions in the Fence By-law No. 4753-05.P within 30 days. Carried General Committee recommends: 3. That an exemption to the Town’s Fence By-law No. 4753-05.P to permit the non-compliant wrought iron gate with a height exceeding 2.0 metres, be approved and the amending by-law be brought forward for enactment; Carried R4. FS19-037 – Procurement Exemptions to Library Square Project Mr. Les Camm, Senior Project Manager, Colliers Project Leaders presented an overview of liquidated damages including the pros and cons of liquidated damage clauses, proposed CCDC 2 (Canadian Construction Document Committee) stipulated price contract template, which includes supplementary General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 7 of 11 conditions and all clauses pertaining to all aspects of the construction process, and the merits of including the delay clause in the contract. General Committee received and referred the comments of the presentation to Item R4. General Committee consented to vote on the third clause of the motion separately. General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. FS19-037 be received; and 2. That an exemption to the Procurement By-law be approved to permit Colliers Project Leaders, the project Architect and Planning/Landscape Architect, including RAW Architects and the Planning Partnership, to participate on the Evaluation Committees for the Library Square Project. Carried General Committee recommends: 3. That an exemption be approved to waive the requirement for liquidated damages for the Library Square Project and replaced with a delay clause. Carried R5. PDS19-091 – Amendments to Source Protection Plans and Assessment Reports General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. PDS19-091 be received; and 2. That Council endorse the proposed amendments as discussed herein to the Lake Simcoe Couchiching-Black River and Toronto Region Assessment Reports, and South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe and Central Lake Ontario, Toronto Region and Credit Valley Source Protection Plans; and 3. That the Town Clerk circulate the Council Resolution to the Regional Clerk, Chair of the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 8 of 11 Committee, and the Chair of the Credit Valley, Toronto Region and Central Lake Ontario (CTC) Source Protection Committee. Carried 8. Notices of Motion (a) Mayor Mrakas Re: Development Charges Exemption Whereas Goal #1 in the Town of Aurora’s Economic Development Strategic Plan is – Targeting Growth Sectors and Attracting New Investment; and Whereas Growing the economy through new investment is essential to sustaining long term economic sustainability for the community; and Whereas attracting Class A office development will help encourage employment and related economic benefits for the Town of Aurora; and Whereas the way in which municipalities treat non-residential development charges may play a significant role in the attraction of industrial, commercial and institutional development; and Whereas a number of municipalities provide development charge exemptions for particular types of non-residential development to address job creation and economic growth in their municipality; 1. Now Therefore Be It Hereby Resolved That staff bring forward a by-law to amend the Development Charges By-law to exempt The Town of Aurora’s portion of Development Charges for “major office development” which is defined as a free standing building with a minimum height of three floors and a minimum gross floor area of 75,000 square feet; and 2. Be It Further Resolved That the ability to take advantage of the exemption would begin at Council approval and end three years later; and 3. Be It Further Resolved That the total eligible gross floor area to be considered for the exemption to be capped at 300,000 square feet. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 9 of 11 (b) Mayor Mrakas Re: By-law to Regulate Short-Term Rentals Whereas Section 151 of the Municipal Act, 2001 authorizes a municipality to pass by-laws for licensing, regulating and governing of any business wholly or partly carried on within the municipality; and Whereas Airbnb and short-term rental properties in residential areas have resulted in nuisances such as excessive noises, and concerns about fire safety and the alleged mischief conduct in many municipalities; and Whereas a number of York Region municipalities such as Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill have taken steps to regulate or ban the Airbnb rental businesses; and Whereas The Town of Aurora currently has no by-law licensing or regulating Airbnb and short-term rentals; 1. Now therefore Be It Hereby Resolved That staff be directed to examine the feasibility of passing a by-law to licence, regulate and govern Airbnb and short-term rental accommodations in the Town of Aurora, and to report back to Council. 9. New Business Councillor Gilliland inquired about the mitigation measures to protect the ice surface from the rust falling from the damaged roof above the surface at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex, and staff provided a response noting that additional maintenance measures are being carried out daily and a broader assessment for a long-term solution is in progress. Councillor Gilliland requested an update regarding resident’s concerns regarding cutting of mature trees on a possible historic property within Town, and staff agreed to follow up. Councillor Gilliland requested an update on concerns regarding a trailer on a property on Edward Street, and staff provided a response noting that the matter is under investigation and any notices of violations would be issued. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 10 of 11 Councillor Humfryes sought clarification on the inclusion of the Aurora Family Leisure Complex roof repairs in the budget, and staff provided a response noting that it would be considered in the 2021 budget process after the complete assessment. Councillor Humfryes inquired about the height of fences around the new subdivision backing onto Wellington Street West, west of Leslie Street, and staff provided a response noting that the fence height is determined as per a noise attenuation study and is under the Regional jurisdiction. Mayor Mrakas provided an update regarding concerns at the Highland Gate construction site noting that notice of violation has been issued, and due process would be followed to ensure compliance. Councillor Gallo inquired about the process of including memorandums from Council members on General Committee agendas, and the Town Clerk provided a response. Councillor Gaertner inquired about the possibility of repairing the Aurora Family Leisure Complex roof sooner, and staff provided a response noting that a complete assessment is required to estimate accurate costs of the repairs. Councillor Gaertner inquired about the next steps of non-compliance to any notice of violations issued for the trailer on property on Edward Street, and staff provided a response. Councillor Gaertner inquired about the status of the Stable Neighbourhood appeal and staff provided a response noting that the matter would be brought forward to a future Closed Session meeting. Mayor Mrakas sought clarification on concerns expressed by residents on John West Way regarding the placement of waste items for collection during the winter months, and staff agreed to follow up. 10. Closed Session None General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Page 11 of 11 11. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:19 p.m.