Owen Sound Committee - Community Services Meeting Transcript — June 25, 2025

00:00:10 Speaker 01: Good evening, everyone.

00:00:11 Speaker 02: It's five thirty.

00:00:12 Speaker 02: We'll start our Community Services meeting for June 25th, and we have members in the audience.

00:00:19 Speaker 02: Welcome, everyone.

00:00:20 Speaker 02: I'm glad to have you here.

00:00:23 Speaker 02: I'm going to, at this point, call for additional business.

00:00:26 Speaker 02: Allie.

00:00:30 Speaker 02: Sorry.

00:00:33 Speaker 02: I'll have apologies.

00:00:35 Speaker 02: I'll have an additional business related to a report on Bill Five.

00:00:41 Speaker 02: Are there any other members for additional business?

00:00:45 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:00:46 Speaker 02: I will note that Member Chemick is joining us virtually, so she would make our quorum correct.

00:00:54 Speaker 02: Yes.

00:00:55 Speaker 02: Great.

00:00:57 Speaker 02: Next item we have is declarations of interest.

00:00:59 Speaker 02: Are there any members who have an interest to declare?

00:01:03 Speaker 02: If so, during the meeting, please indicate.

00:01:08 Speaker 02: Confirmation of minutes of the meeting held on May 21st.

00:01:11 Speaker 02: Council has approved these minutes, and just need a member of the committee to also do the same.

00:01:18 Speaker 02: Sunit, so move by Sunit that the minutes are approved.

00:01:22 Speaker 02: All those in favour?

00:01:25 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:01:25 Speaker 02: And I see Member Chemick's hand is in favour as well.

00:01:29 Speaker 02: So that's carried.

00:01:31 Speaker 02: First, we have a deputation by Jay Parmar from the Owen Sound Cricket Team regarding a possible cricket ground in Owen Sound.

00:01:39 Speaker 02: So we welcome you to the podium, and you can turn the microphone on and give us your pitch.

00:01:51 Speaker 02: Hi.

00:01:52 Speaker 02: Good evening, Honourable Council Members.

00:01:55 Speaker 03: I am Jay Parmar, and I'm here on behalf of the Owen Sound Cricket Team, requesting a cricket ground.

00:02:07 Speaker 03: Before I go ahead, I just thought I'll just give you background information about cricket for the people who are not familiar with this sport.

00:02:17 Speaker 03: Cricket is one of the fastest-growing sports in Canada, second to soccer.

00:02:25 Speaker 03: On the world stage, it has a total revenue of seven billion dollars, and right now, I mean, like, it's only progressing.

00:02:40 Speaker 03: I mean, everywhere, Canada has a cricket team which participated in the World Cup last time, and they played fairly well.

00:02:50 Speaker 03: So it's amazing, like how many tournaments and leagues are played in Toronto.

00:02:57 Speaker 03: Some of my colleagues go to Toronto to play matches out there.

00:03:02 Speaker 03: Some go to Port Algonquin, and so it's a lot happening in this field.

00:03:09 Speaker 03: And just second thing, I want to speak about what is cricket.

00:03:14 Speaker 03: Cricket is almost familiar to baseball, and it has a bat and a ball, like what you see right now on the display, and it requires a ground very similar to the soccer field.

00:03:34 Speaker 03: Now let me see if I can figure it out to move this forward, because I have a slide where it shows.

00:03:44 Speaker 03: All right, this one.

00:03:49 Speaker 03: Okay, so can I make it bigger by any chance?

00:03:53 Speaker 03: Just press.

00:03:55 Speaker 03: That's all right.

00:03:56 Speaker 03: So this is what the cricket ground looks like.

00:03:59 Speaker 03: I mean, it's slightly oval in shape, and the centre part, which we call it a pitch, is basically seven to eight metres wide, roughly around, and 22.2 yards in length.

00:04:18 Speaker 03: And this is like the pitch can be made either from like a mat or it can be like a concrete pad, similar to like the one we have for tennis courts.

00:04:32 Speaker 03: Now there are benefits, and I mean disadvantages and advantages for having either whatever option we choose.

00:04:41 Speaker 03: The one with concrete doesn't take maintenance at all; it lasts for a long time, and you can go on for it.

00:04:47 Speaker 03: But for the one with the mat, of course, you have to have regular maintenance, and I mean it requires upkeep and stuff.

00:04:56 Speaker 03: Having said that, like, there are options we can both look at.

00:05:01 Speaker 03: I mean, if the council chooses to move forward with this, why do we need a cricket ground in Owen Sound?

00:05:10 Speaker 03: Well, just to give a background on that, we used to play cricket way back in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 timeframe, and we had players from all over the world.

00:05:26 Speaker 03: They were players from the UK, from Australia, from the Caribbean, and from Sri Lanka, from India, from Pakistan, and I was fortunate to be a part of that team.

00:05:37 Speaker 03: We played in Victoria Park and Harrison Field.

00:05:40 Speaker 03: The game went on for like a few years until such time as, like, the players moved away and slowly died down; there weren't many players then.

00:05:51 Speaker 03: But now, since the last three or four years, this has grown tremendously.

00:05:55 Speaker 03: Now we have over 100 cricket players in Owen Sound, and the numbers are still growing up.

00:06:01 Speaker 03: There's so much demand that we always hunt around for a place to play.

00:06:05 Speaker 03: We even use the tennis court in Harrison Park when nobody's around to play, as early as March, April, and stuff.

00:06:12 Speaker 03: We have started playing in Harrison Field as well.

00:06:15 Speaker 03: So we are always looking for a place which is unoccupied and where we can play around.

00:06:20 Speaker 03: So we are looking for a place where we can probably go every evening or when the players are available, we can go and we can play.

00:06:28 Speaker 03: And that's the reason why we are looking for a ground.

00:06:31 Speaker 03: And the other reason is like the fact that some of the players have to go to Toronto, some have to go to Port Algonquin to play.

00:06:38 Speaker 03: We want to have something in Owen Sound where we can play and I mean enjoy the sport without having to waste time going back and forth.

00:06:51 Speaker 03: And this comes with the benefit too.

00:06:53 Speaker 03: I mean, like in the future, if we choose, like if the council approves, we can host tournaments and leagues because I know like there are a lot of teams available in and around Owen Sound,

00:07:05 Speaker 03: like Collingwood and Vite and Bolingwood and White and Port Algonquin has three teams.

00:07:10 Speaker 03: Southlanders has a team and stuff.

00:07:11 Speaker 03: So it can generate revenues and businesses for Owen Sound.

00:07:17 Speaker 03: It can make it a vibrant community.

00:07:19 Speaker 03: I mean, so that's the upside of looking at having a ground in Owen Sound.

00:07:26 Speaker 03: The cost associated with what we are asking is like if we have a cemented pitch and stuff, it would come in somewhere in the ballpark figure of seven to eight grand and stuff.

00:07:41 Speaker 03: Other than that, it doesn't require much maintenance.

00:07:45 Speaker 03: And if we are looking for something that basically is with turf kind of pitch,

00:07:56 Speaker 03: that requires a lot of maintenance and that brings up the cost slightly more in the ballpark figure of over ten grand and stuff.

00:08:05 Speaker 03: Now having said that, I just want to bring some of the things which Port Algonquin did because some of my colleagues, a lot of my colleagues live there,

00:08:15 Speaker 03: and they have a dedicated cricket pitch and they do maintenance and stuff.

00:08:20 Speaker 03: And for them, it costed around like ten grand and stuff, if I'm not mistaken.

00:08:25 Speaker 03: And they hosted a league and a match this summer.

00:08:29 Speaker 03: And I don't know whether I can show you.

00:08:31 Speaker 03: I had put a link there.

00:08:34 Speaker 03: This is more or less the ground dimension which is showing around there, and this is how the pitch looks like.

00:08:42 Speaker 03: Yeah, and that's basically the centre pitch where we play cricket.

00:08:49 Speaker 03: And this is the pitch with the concrete one.

00:08:54 Speaker 03: And yeah, those are the players.

00:08:56 Speaker 03: I mean, those are the people working on the turf pitch, which requires more maintenance.

00:09:03 Speaker 03: And this is one of few of the grounds that we have in mind that we think we are just proposing and we don't know whether that's feasible or not.

00:09:13 Speaker 03: We have couple of spots in Kiwanis which we think that would work out for us because the size of the ground what we are looking is somewhere to that area.

00:09:25 Speaker 03: The other thing we have in mind is the OSDSS ground and as well as the Victoria Park, we can always like since we play on evenings and on weekends,

00:09:40 Speaker 03: so we are not to interfere with any one thing that's happening during the daytime and stuff.

00:09:49 Speaker 03: Yeah, I wanted to.

00:09:50 Speaker 03: Can I go to that link?

00:09:52 Speaker 03: Can I open that link?

00:10:04 Speaker 03: Yeah, so this was article that was published right couple of weeks back, showing cricket makes historic comeback with first tournament since the eighteen hundreds.

00:10:14 Speaker 03: And if you go further down, it yeah you can yeah please scroll yeah.

00:10:20 Speaker 03: So this was the tournament, and there were the prizes.

00:10:23 Speaker 03: I look at, and this happened right in our backyard, right in Port Algon.

00:10:27 Speaker 03: So they had so much of success that now there are four teams, and they're thinking of doing this annual basis.

00:10:35 Speaker 03: And this is something we can do as well.

00:10:37 Speaker 03: I'm like other communities are already developing it, and I think like this is something which would be a great thing for from our own sound.

00:10:45 Speaker 03: Yeah, I'm I'm done unless any of my players has anything else to add from the team now.

00:10:55 Speaker 03: Team, no. Yeah.

00:10:57 Speaker 03: I think we got to go.

00:10:57 Speaker 03: Yeah.

00:10:59 Speaker 03: Thank you very much.

00:11:00 Speaker 02: I think at this point I'll call on the director and ask.

00:11:07 Speaker 02: Just some.

00:11:08 Speaker 02: Okay, Travis, you can go first.

00:11:10 Speaker 02: Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for doing the presentation.

00:11:12 Speaker 02: I'm sorry I'm late.

00:11:13 Speaker 04: I'm just getting back from a road trip here for work.

00:11:17 Speaker 04: So thank you for doing the presentation.

00:11:19 Speaker 04: I saw the presentation earlier, but so I appreciate it.

00:11:22 Speaker 04: It might be hard to believe, but we did actually have a cricket pitch at one point in Harrison Field a number of years ago, and then just over time, it had it didn't get kept,

00:11:33 Speaker 04: and we've lost it.

00:11:34 Speaker 04: So I think it's fantastic that you're looking and came to the committee to look for a suitable place for your activity.

00:11:42 Speaker 04: Pam, during our capital meeting on Monday, the mayor had actually had just made a recommendation for a staff report to come back in our next meeting,

00:11:57 Speaker 04: and I'm going to my memory is not that great these days, so I'm going to go to Pam to provide a little bit of insight on maybe what that recommendation that the mayor had made,

00:12:05 Speaker 04: and maybe in the meantime, I think that's maybe a good idea to start that partnership discussion with OSDSS, of saying, hey,

00:12:12 Speaker 04: is that an availability that we can start using some of their spacing to do that there or Victoria Park wherever, but it just gives a little.

00:12:19 Speaker 04: Sorry, Marian, if you could give us a little bit of what the mayor had noted.

00:12:27 Speaker 05: Through the chair, and thank you for the presentation.

00:12:30 Speaker 05: I met J.S. She came to our Owen Heights open house, so we had an opportunity to meet and talk a little bit that night.

00:12:38 Speaker 05: Just in terms of size and perspective, a soccer field is just over a hundred metres long by sixty-five metres wide.

00:12:47 Speaker 05: So, a cricket field or pitch, if I'm getting it right, is about one and a half times that, and it needs to be in in that diametre.

00:12:57 Speaker 05: Whereas a soccer football field is longer and narrower.

00:13:01 Speaker 05: Did you say you have four hundred players in Owen Sound?

00:13:04 Speaker 05: Over a hundred.

00:13:05 Speaker 05: Over a hundred.

00:13:08 Speaker 05: Okay, okay.

00:13:09 Speaker 05: And then, just for me, how many players are on the field?

00:13:13 Speaker 05: Like, how many teams would one hundred players represent?

00:13:24 Speaker 03: Yeah, each player, like each team, compromises of twelve players.

00:13:28 Speaker 03: Yeah, the fact we have hundred players is like we rotate.

00:13:33 Speaker 03: Like sometimes we turn out is twenty, thirty.

00:13:35 Speaker 03: So sometimes, depending who is free on the particular day, turns out to play.

00:13:39 Speaker 03: Yeah.

00:13:48 Speaker 05: And then to Councillor Dodd's question, the mayor had at capital budget, and I don't we don't have draft minutes yet,

00:13:55 Speaker 05: but I think the gist of the mayor's motion was to request that staff prepare for the fall December capital budget report the capital costs of investing in a space for cricket.

00:14:11 Speaker 05: Now I know we've spoken about portable mats, so other uses could continue to kind of coexist in that space.

00:14:18 Speaker 05: So,

00:14:19 Speaker 05: I think it'll be great if you can help resource staff as we work on on that draft report and and certainly making a connection with the Blue Water Board around OSDSS and their public use

00:14:33 Speaker 05: of school programmememe is absolutely something that we can we can work with you on.

00:14:42 Speaker 05: Thank you for that.

00:14:43 Speaker 02: So, in the meantime, you're playing now just wherever you can find space.

00:14:49 Speaker 02: Is that correct?

00:14:52 Speaker 02: Yeah, that's right, and that's kind of creating a concern.

00:14:56 Speaker 03: I mean, like because sometimes there's none available and stuff.

00:14:59 Speaker 03: So I mean, everyone turns up, and then we see kids playing and stuff.

00:15:03 Speaker 03: And we it's it's doesn't feel right to interrupt the kids when they're already playing and stuff.

00:15:09 Speaker 03: So we have to turn down and stuff.

00:15:11 Speaker 03: So yeah.

00:15:13 Speaker 02: And the difficulty there is too.

00:15:14 Speaker 02: There may be people that have rented those fields to play on.

00:15:21 Speaker 02: Yeah, sometimes that's a case too.

00:15:22 Speaker 02: Yeah, yeah.

00:15:25 Speaker 02: So you basically just take your chances.

00:15:27 Speaker 02: You don't call in to rent a field or anything.

00:15:30 Speaker 03: The the problem, what I said before, is like though we have over one hundred players, we don't know like how many people will turn up on a specific day.

00:15:41 Speaker 03: So we have a group chat where we just say every day like is how many people are ready, and there are a good number.

00:15:48 Speaker 03: Then we probably go out and play.

00:15:50 Speaker 03: So depending on a day, given day we have twenty players.

00:15:53 Speaker 03: Sometimes like twenty-five.

00:15:54 Speaker 03: Sometimes we may have just end up with ten players and stuff.

00:15:57 Speaker 03: So we don't know specific day that okay this is the day that okay we'll play.

00:16:03 Speaker 03: Okay, so your sport is actually seasonal, obviously.

00:16:05 Speaker 03: It is seasonal, but just this season, but just we start pretty early.

00:16:13 Speaker 03: Like as long as the ground is even the even the wet ground, as long as the pitch is dry, we start playing.

00:16:21 Speaker 03: So we have started as early as March and April in Harrison Field or in Harrison Park on the on the tennis court, just because that part is dry.

00:16:32 Speaker 03: So yeah, there are a lot of I should say esteemed players like who looking forward to play this sport, and we continue till late until October.

00:16:42 Speaker 03: Sometimes, yeah.

00:16:45 Speaker 02: I just wonder, through staff, if there's something that can be arranged that they would have an available space.

00:16:54 Speaker 02: You said something about temporary mats or something like that.

00:16:59 Speaker 02: But if on a regular basis, they could establish a regular space and with a rental fee or something.

00:17:08 Speaker 02: Yeah, through you,

00:17:10 Speaker 05: I think the best idea to be guaranteed a space would be to you know call into City Hall or come in and see what's available and and book it and pay for it.

00:17:19 Speaker 05: That would also ensure that you have the opportunity to purchase insurance, so that if you know any of the players were injured or you injured somebody else that was passing by,

00:17:29 Speaker 05: that that would be covered as well.

00:17:31 Speaker 05: So it's a good idea to book it, and then there's less confusion at the sports field.

00:17:39 Speaker 05: Yeah, we can certainly work with with the group on on the idea of using a roll out mat, which I think is possible.

00:17:49 Speaker 05: In terms of using the tennis courts, the surface isn't ideal and gets damaged by the use of I guess it's a cricket bat.

00:17:57 Speaker 05: So it would be best if we stayed away from that hard surface.

00:18:02 Speaker 05: But I understand why it's sort of attractive in terms of use, and it certainly does dry off before the other areas.

00:18:13 Speaker 02: Okay, so next step will be to work with the city.

00:18:16 Speaker 02: I would think Morgan has her hand up, so we'll ask Morgan to speak.

00:18:25 Speaker 02: Thank you, and again, thanks for this presentation.

00:18:28 Speaker 02: The city always is interested in helping people be active and even you know move those pickup games on a Thursday night to a more standard schedule,

00:18:39 Speaker 02: and I think even like you were saying is is with the growth of that,

00:18:42 Speaker 06: if all of a sudden your your you know drop in or pickup game on Thursday nights at seven p.m. you get twenty people, and the next thing now it's a standard schedule,

00:18:52 Speaker 06: then you can kind of get more people.

00:18:54 Speaker 06: And I think what Pam has proposed is is a great idea.

00:18:58 Speaker 06: Is there a recommendation that needs to be proposed or anything along that line, Miriam.

00:19:05 Speaker 02: I'm sorry, I didn't hear what your first what you first said in in the last sentence.

00:19:09 Speaker 02: Your request.

00:19:10 Speaker 02: Oh, sorry.

00:19:11 Speaker 06: Is there a recommendation or anything that needs to be put forth on that basis?

00:19:18 Speaker 06: I'm just turn to the director.

00:19:21 Speaker 06: Do you think we need something?

00:19:21 Speaker 05: I I think you know it's clear and and if they hadn't made this presentation.

00:19:30 Speaker 05: We would certainly be working with them to, you know, try to find a location that suits their their needs.

00:19:38 Speaker 05: Okay, so I think that's covered.

00:19:41 Speaker 05: Anything else, Morgan?

00:19:43 Speaker 02: No. Okay, Suneet, you had comments.

00:19:48 Speaker 02: Through you, Madam Chair.

00:19:50 Speaker 07: Just wanted to pass on the comment that it is a popular sport and a much-needed sport.

00:19:55 Speaker 07: So residents need to go to Port Algonquin, while we do have some playgrounds here, which is always appreciated.

00:20:04 Speaker 07: My one question was, which member colleague just asked that in order for this deputation and the recommendation and the request to go to council, we don't need anything, right?

00:20:17 Speaker 02: It's looking like the presentation itself is going to proceed.

00:20:23 Speaker 02: Staff will work with the group and the group knows that if you want some regular time somewhere, you need to book it, and then you have your space.

00:20:33 Speaker 02: So, anything else?

00:20:37 Speaker 02: Anyone?

00:20:37 Speaker 02: Lloyd, no?

00:20:39 Speaker 02: Okay.

00:20:39 Speaker 02: So, do you have any more comments?

00:20:42 Speaker 02: Yeah, I do.

00:20:43 Speaker 02: Like when?

00:20:45 Speaker 03: I mean, is there any definite, definitive timeline, like by which we can look forward for our ground?

00:20:52 Speaker 03: Like, because this is what two years we have been like sending emails back and forth.

00:20:57 Speaker 03: I have been emailing Mayor Boddy and stuff, and he did indicate that there was a possible ground that's being worked upon.

00:21:07 Speaker 03: But the I mean, like, is it like, can we have some time frame that we?

00:21:18 Speaker 03: Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:21:20 Speaker 04: So capital budgets have already been approved for 2025.

00:21:24 Speaker 04: So that's why the Mayor would have requested in our last budget meeting on Monday to have that plan coming forward for 2026.

00:21:30 Speaker 04: That's when we'll be saying if there's a capital cost to build what you're looking to build, and we've got to find the right facility for that.

00:21:36 Speaker 04: And there's a cost to that that isn't being budgeted right now in 2025, so that would have to be utilised in 2026 with the report that has been asked for.

00:21:45 Speaker 04: So that's why Pam Coulter and Eckhard Pastrik would be reaching out to your group first of all just to get an idea of saying where is the best facility for it to be?

00:21:53 Speaker 04: What does it look like?

00:21:54 Speaker 04: How do we construct it?

00:21:55 Speaker 04: What's the cost of that?

00:21:56 Speaker 04: And then that would come to council in December to make the decision whether to move forward with that capital project or not.

00:22:03 Speaker 04: So it will be some time, and it's just that when those capital projects come, the dollars just aren't always just sitting around to utilise for those off projects.

00:22:15 Speaker 04: So that report is expected to come into our December meeting, and then once if that is approved by council, the capital plan would identify where and when that could be put into place.

00:22:25 Speaker 04: I think the more important part, and probably what your urgency is saying too, is we just want to have a space where we know we can go.

00:22:31 Speaker 04: And I think in the meantime, that's we're working with the Director on saying trying to see if there's an arrangement with OSDSS on that space, and if it's got active transportation,

00:22:42 Speaker 04: there's all kinds of things like open spacing for parking, all that other area that's there, and if we can work within an arrangement with OSDSS,

00:22:47 Speaker 04: then maybe that is a space we could use in the meantime until we find a permanent location.

00:22:53 Speaker 04: We already use like OSDSS has their tennis court, as you're aware.

00:22:58 Speaker 04: The City already has a mutual agreement, kind of a partnership with them, so that way members of the public can use that as well as the school board.

00:23:07 Speaker 04: And as Suneet and other members have already noted, this sport is just going to continue to increase in popularity.

00:23:13 Speaker 04: So we want to ensure that there's adequate spacing for it.

00:23:15 Speaker 04: It's not you're not going to outgrow it, and we're going to spend money, and then you're going to say, "Hey, this place is too small.

00:23:20 Speaker 04: We need something bigger."

00:23:21 Speaker 04: So I think having finding that partnership, and then knowing that there's other members of the community that could do it as well,

00:23:26 Speaker 04: then might be different from might be a different group of people who want to play cricket outside of your group that there is a location there.

00:23:33 Speaker 04: So I think if you're looking for timeline, I think the staff will work with your organisation to try to find a temporary solution, whether it's those rollout mats,

00:23:43 Speaker 04: whether it's an arrangement with OSDSS that we can get that in place in their field,

00:23:47 Speaker 04: and then you know that secondary report or the sorry the first report from the Mayor is requested would come in December.

00:23:58 Speaker 04: All right, thank you.

00:23:59 Speaker 03: Yeah, no, thank you for giving us the opportunity to present, and yeah, looking forward to have something in place.

00:24:07 Speaker 03: For the meantime, I understand that the budget is done for this year.

00:24:11 Speaker 03: That makes perfect sense, but yeah, it will work.

00:24:13 Speaker 03: Yeah, yeah, we'll work with the City to get something going.

00:24:17 Speaker 03: Meanwhile, yeah, no thanks.

00:24:21 Speaker 02: Thank you very much, and I know there'll be lots of members of the public and community that would enjoy certainly watching the cricket matches.

00:24:30 Speaker 02: So, thanks so much for coming.

00:24:33 Speaker 02: You're welcome to stay, or you can leave if you like.

00:24:36 Speaker 02: We have other business to attend to, but please feel free to leave if you like.

00:24:49 Speaker 02: Our next deputation is from Christine Hempel, and she's going to be providing ideas for the upcoming zoning review.

00:25:01 Speaker 02: Hello, thanks for coming.

00:25:02 Speaker 08: I was invited here because I've been speaking with various members of the public and Council at some informal housing events over the last year,

00:25:15 Speaker 08: and I was in discussion about some of the work that we've been doing with a firm that I work for called Tim Welch.

00:25:23 Speaker 08: He's a housing consultant, and it was suggested that I come and present a few of these ideas to this Committee in advance of the zoning bylaw review that's coming up this season.

00:25:37 Speaker 08: I'm not sure exactly of the timelines,

00:25:38 Speaker 08: but there are a few things that we've learned in the course of working with different municipalities across Ontario and even in Nova Scotia about things that can happen in the zoning bylaw that can really

00:25:52 Speaker 08: help foster affordable housing development.

00:25:56 Speaker 08: And so I understood from earlier correspondence with the City that they feel that this is a sort of upper-tier issue or a County issue.

00:26:06 Speaker 08: However, I think there's definitely some actions that can happen at the municipal level that can really make things go more smoothly.

00:26:15 Speaker 08: So, I don't have a clicker, so... or maybe I do.

00:26:19 Speaker 08: Or are you someone moving this along, or is this me?

00:26:22 Speaker 08: Oh, it's me.

00:26:24 Speaker 08: So, I'm working part-time on a freelance basis with Tim Welch.

00:26:28 Speaker 08: He's been doing affordable housing work for closer to 40 years than 35, and so he knows so much more about how to make projects built, and I'm on a learning curve.

00:26:40 Speaker 08: Mostly about how funding happens, what the processes are, how you have to stage projects, and actually to go from an idea, like a church donates a parking lot, to an actual building.

00:26:54 Speaker 08: Certainly, things have become extremely challenging since the pandemic, with the cost of construction and the cost of housing.

00:27:01 Speaker 08: But we've also seen, at the same time, since the '70s and '80s, a major shrinkage in what's available from the federal government and the Province.

00:27:12 Speaker 08: It's not what we're talking about, but I am learning about what we can do.

00:27:16 Speaker 08: Meanwhile, I have my own planning, illustration, urban design, and community engagement work as well.

00:27:23 Speaker 08: My background is in architecture and planning and rural studies, with a particular focus on community engagement.

00:27:33 Speaker 08: So, what I'm often called upon to work for Tim is very early-stage work, and so on a very tiny little budget, we'll try to look at a site usually for a not-for-profit community group,

00:27:48 Speaker 08: and imagine first the first steps that we go through.

00:27:52 Speaker 08: I'll just take you through the steps that we work on initially.

00:27:55 Speaker 08: We'll meet with a housing provider.

00:27:58 Speaker 08: It could be a municipality, could be a non-profit group.

00:28:03 Speaker 08: We learn about their goals.

00:28:04 Speaker 08: Usually, visit the site and do preliminary mapping.

00:28:08 Speaker 08: We review the zoning bylaw of the municipality, and we have early, very early discussions with planners to get a feeling for what they are hoping for.

00:28:19 Speaker 08: We look at that.

00:28:20 Speaker 08: We cross-reference that for funding opportunities and to sort of start to see whether there's something that we can do.

00:28:28 Speaker 08: And I produce for Tim usually some very conceptual sketches, just site plans and floor plans, because we're not taking it into architectural design at that point.

00:28:39 Speaker 08: It's too early.

00:28:40 Speaker 08: We don't have any funding in place, and then depending on whether the zoning bylaw supports the ideas and the goals of the housing provider, we either... this sort of on the left column,

00:28:55 Speaker 08: on the right column is if zoning doesn't support the sketches and what the housing provider wants to do, we have two really different paths to go down.

00:29:04 Speaker 08: And so, if a property has as-of-right zoning, and we can get notice or proof that the concept that we have will be permissible by the City in the Planning Department,

00:29:19 Speaker 08: we're in a position where we can go and apply for either seed funding.

00:29:23 Speaker 08: There's often other sources of small community development funds: ten thousand dollars, fifty thousand dollars for a large project, maybe a hundred thousand dollars,

00:29:33 Speaker 08: and what this does is put money in the non-profit's pocket to be able to hire to do environmental assessment work or that kind of thing.

00:29:43 Speaker 08: After that, we can start looking at if there's other housing opportunities, and if something comes along that you can't always predict,

00:29:51 Speaker 08: it came along at the end of this year—a new introduction of money from the federal government to have a new rapid housing substream aimed at particular groups.

00:30:00 Speaker 08: We were able to work with a local community group to get in a fast-track application on a project because the zoning was in place.

00:30:09 Speaker 08: It didn't need to go through a formal process, and so pre-development work can move along without as much risk for the housing provider.

00:30:19 Speaker 08: They don't have to come up with money out of their—you know—very slim usually budgets to try to pay for consultants to do a lot of preliminary work without knowing if it can go ahead.

00:30:30 Speaker 08: So that's versus the process.

00:30:32 Speaker 08: If the zoning bylaw does not support the plan, it's not considered shovel-ready.

00:30:37 Speaker 08: We can't apply usually for seed funding, and so we have to obtain official plan or zoning amendment or variances.

00:30:47 Speaker 08: Even very simple variances are still a public process, and so therefore we can't apply for money because we don't have a certain outcome on whether the planning will happen,

00:30:59 Speaker 08: and so project permissions dependent on public processes.

00:31:03 Speaker 08: These are unpredictable, and we end up having to spend money early, not knowing whether there will be a housing development.

00:31:11 Speaker 08: Very often, these ideas get cut off right at that stage.

00:31:15 Speaker 08: So, for local examples, this one is hopefully going ahead with CMHC.

00:31:23 Speaker 08: Saint Clair Place planners were supportive, but they still needed a zoning amendment.

00:31:28 Speaker 08: If I'm not mistaken, to raise the height to six stories, which even with a fairly minimal number of studies, there's extra costs and there's extra timing.

00:31:37 Speaker 08: But they did get approved, and this is now, after a very fairly lengthy process, in and hoping to be approved for CMHC funding.

00:31:46 Speaker 08: I think there's a few funding gaps, but it's almost there.

00:31:49 Speaker 08: Hopefully, we'll have a build for the Lutheran group.

00:31:53 Speaker 08: For market housing providers, it can get quite lengthy.

00:31:56 Speaker 08: You're probably very aware of the 10th Avenue Estates.

00:32:00 Speaker 08: The list on the right—I know it's too small to read—but this is the studies that had to be done so that they could have a four-story building to be able to conform to a bylaw.

00:32:10 Speaker 08: So everything from shadow studies and urban design—I can't read it exactly,

00:32:15 Speaker 08: but I do know that Richard Graham told me that it took two years and seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars to get to the stage where they can start applying for site plan approval.

00:32:26 Speaker 08: I'm not one hundred percent sure on the details.

00:32:28 Speaker 08: I do know how he feels about it, though, which is that we pass these expenses onto the purchaser.

00:32:34 Speaker 08: So even in the case of when these developments are market rate, it still adds to the cost.

00:32:40 Speaker 08: And so I'm not sure which of these studies are deemed helpful or useful in terms of staff and Council decision-making,

00:32:49 Speaker 08: which ones gave us new information that we didn't have with just a sit-down and a design document?

00:32:55 Speaker 08: I'm not sure what a four-story building would cast a shadow on that needed some of these studies.

00:33:00 Speaker 08: So I would just look at where the costs get passed on to, even in the private sector.

00:33:05 Speaker 08: So I'm gonna have to talk faster.

00:33:07 Speaker 08: So unless I can have a bit of extra time, the most common zoning barriers that we find are land use regulations that prevent housing in certain areas.

00:33:16 Speaker 08: Prohibition of multi-unit dwellings, which are the most affordable housing types right now.

00:33:21 Speaker 08: They're mostly all multi-unit.

00:33:23 Speaker 08: No one's building affordable single-family homes at all.

00:33:26 Speaker 08: But if you can't build them in certain areas, that's a barrier.

00:33:30 Speaker 08: Strangely, parking and driveway regulations can be burdensome.

00:33:34 Speaker 08: Sometimes I start with parking lots when I do those conceptual drawings, which is really sad.

00:33:39 Speaker 08: I don't start imagining these wonderful developments.

00:33:43 Speaker 08: I start mapping out parking to see where we're going to start, and because with affordable housing you're almost always into surface parking, you can't afford underground parking.

00:33:54 Speaker 08: Size restrictions, height limits like the St. Clair Place or Richard Graham's four stories instead of three, or lot line setbacks.

00:34:02 Speaker 08: These kinds of things can mean that we can't quite squeeze where we need to or make effective use of sites.

00:34:09 Speaker 08: So there is very progressive zoning in some parts of Owen Sound.

00:34:12 Speaker 08: In some parts of Owen Sound that I've used to present to other communities, by the way, so for instance here we have really helpful use of apartment dwellings within commercial zones.

00:34:24 Speaker 08: I would say this is something that we don't see everywhere, and we're trying to convince other municipalities to allow this.

00:34:30 Speaker 08: This is so that you can have maybe apartments over some of the retail areas.

00:34:36 Speaker 08: They're finding it's good mixed use for seniors, often especially, and in Goderich, they went through some rezoning thinking to be able to allow that.

00:34:45 Speaker 08: So I think that's really great that we have that, as well as the mixed use designation in the core.

00:34:51 Speaker 08: Those are very quite open and lots of as-of-right zoning.

00:34:54 Speaker 08: So very helpful to work the zoning bylaws.

00:34:58 Speaker 08: Quite user friendly, by the way, from a consultant point of view.

00:35:02 Speaker 08: It's very clear, easy to navigate.

00:35:04 Speaker 08: The maps are available.

00:35:06 Speaker 08: Can you let me know if I can have an extra minute or two, or if we should?

00:35:11 Speaker 08: Alrighty, thank you.

00:35:12 Speaker 08: So, land use barriers could also be something like institutional zonings that exclude housing.

00:35:19 Speaker 08: We had a meeting earlier this week that I followed, where it's fairly clearly compatible.

00:35:25 Speaker 08: The official plan allows housing, and yet this proponent has to go through a rezoning to put housing in an institutional use.

00:35:35 Speaker 08: I don't.

00:35:35 Speaker 08: It just adds costs, delays, and I'm sure that the...

00:35:38 Speaker 08: And I'm sure that this will succeed because it falls under the provincial planning policy.

00:35:43 Speaker 08: But if it was allowed as-of-right, they wouldn't have had to go through that public process, which you know they're always the same.

00:35:50 Speaker 08: Nobody wants affordable housing.

00:35:52 Speaker 08: We know what to expect with them.

00:35:53 Speaker 08: But that's what happens when you have to go through a rezoning.

00:35:57 Speaker 08: So one of the solutions for this with institutional use is to start understanding that many institutional properties are... of very supportive of housing, and so, for instance, in the Town of Port Colborne,

00:36:12 Speaker 08: apartments are permitted public apartments, which means they're working with generally how they described it to me as non-profit groups and municipal housing or whatever to be able to build on institutional lands,

00:36:25 Speaker 08: and in our institutional zone, you can't do apartment buildings.

00:36:30 Speaker 08: There's some care homes and things that you can add, but we can't.

00:36:34 Speaker 08: A proponent let...

00:36:35 Speaker 08: A proponent, let's say Lee Manor, wanted to build some housing for independent seniors who own their property, or let's imagine the hospital wanted to divest some property, or let's imagine a school is being converted,

00:36:48 Speaker 08: or other institutional use, such as that smaller care home that's been bought by a private person.

00:36:55 Speaker 08: They have to go through this process, meaning they wouldn't be able to apply for seed funding, or it wouldn't be able to be considered shovel-ready if a really terrific federal funding programmememe came along,

00:37:06 Speaker 08: so I would suggest that we talk about having an apartment designation in many of our institutional areas—the ones that can be pre-identified as you know really suitable for residential infill or conversion—and then have that

00:37:22 Speaker 08: be in place already.

00:37:24 Speaker 08: Lots of church conversions are happening; you read about them everywhere.

00:37:28 Speaker 08: Well, each one of those church groups has to go through a rezoning process before it can... zoning process before it can invite a developer into do housing,

00:37:36 Speaker 08: so we want to kind of try to keep those costs down.

00:37:39 Speaker 08: Land use barriers also might include industrial zones that exclude housing.

00:37:45 Speaker 08: These are trickier.

00:37:47 Speaker 08: Usually, a site-by-site analysis is a really good idea.

00:37:50 Speaker 08: But many sites, for instance, I think the south half of the parking lot at the old Edwards facility that's currently zoned industrial.

00:37:59 Speaker 08: It's very unlikely to be a giant factory again, and if that's even the most suitable use for it.

00:38:06 Speaker 08: But if you wanted to buy it and do a residential development, you'd have to take it through an entire rezoning process, meaning again all the risk and all the unknowns.

00:38:15 Speaker 08: So I think just that there should be some consideration.

00:38:19 Speaker 08: That's a mistake, by the way.

00:38:21 Speaker 08: That's from a previous slide where I say Town of Port Colborne apartments permitted.

00:38:26 Speaker 08: Town of Port Colborne is considering a different designation on their some of their light industrial sites, whether or not they should have a mixed-use light industrial that permits residential,

00:38:37 Speaker 08: but that's... that's they haven't approved this for the industrial use.

00:38:42 Speaker 08: They're going through similar processes.

00:38:44 Speaker 08: Other municipalities are thinking through the same things.

00:38:47 Speaker 08: So this was a sketch that I'd been hired to do for a private developer who was interested in whether, if they bought the Edwards plant when it was for sale,

00:38:56 Speaker 08: could they convert anything to housing, and I think even if you kept the whole north half as a commercial space, there's still room to tuck some housing in there.

00:39:07 Speaker 08: But right now, it wouldn't be something that someone could go ahead and do.

00:39:10 Speaker 08: We'd have to put them through a public process.

00:39:13 Speaker 08: So I think just that inclusion of residential permissions within some industrial zones would be helpful.

00:39:20 Speaker 08: So the next thing is multi-unit dwellings in residential zones.

00:39:24 Speaker 08: I think if anyone was following, it's been around as long as me.

00:39:28 Speaker 08: This was back in two thousand and ten.

00:39:30 Speaker 08: I applied to do a small fourplex beside my own house.

00:39:33 Speaker 08: At the time, fourplexes weren't apartments of any kind weren't permitted in residential zones.

00:39:39 Speaker 08: I did go through a rezoning application, and it was denied.

00:39:43 Speaker 08: My neighbours were unhappy about it, and planning didn't support a small infill building, even though it was a smaller home than most single-family homes.

00:39:54 Speaker 08: This is the kind of project that the whole province is looking at, trying to encourage.

00:40:00 Speaker 08: CMHC was trying to encourage it back then, and they had funds available for private developers like me to do it.

00:40:06 Speaker 08: But but yeah, we didn't succeed at the time.

00:40:11 Speaker 08: This is the opportunities that I'd like to share with you, looking at from for instance, if I was working for a non-profit group, trying to look at what would be super helpful in ours.

00:40:23 Speaker 08: Helpful in our zoning bylaw, and that's looking at how do we help smaller-scale multi-unit dwellings.

00:40:29 Speaker 08: We refer to this as missing middle.

00:40:31 Speaker 08: Sometimes we talk about it as gentle density, but right now they're still prohibited in many of the zones.

00:40:38 Speaker 08: I don't know if this is something that your consultants will be looking at, but my suggestion is that you have a look at the smaller-scale apartments and that they be classified.

00:40:47 Speaker 08: I think when we use a word like apartment building, we think Manhattan or... or Moscow, or something, and an apartment building can be four units, two on top of two,

00:40:57 Speaker 08: and so the idea that we're excluding apartment dwellers from certain neighbourhoods, we have to understand as a discriminatory type of policy.

00:41:07 Speaker 08: Whereas, if we look at the size and scale and character of buildings, that's different.

00:41:12 Speaker 08: That seems to be something that we could look at.

00:41:14 Speaker 08: So, if if the apartment buildings are a certain scale, or if they have a height that makes sense.

00:41:21 Speaker 08: There's design issues we can look at that.

00:41:24 Speaker 08: So neighbourhood compatibility is a better metric.

00:41:28 Speaker 08: Zoning opportunities in Port Elgin.

00:41:30 Speaker 08: This is about money.

00:41:32 Speaker 08: The province is not offering housing, or the feds are not offering housing accelerator funding for any community who does not allow fourplexes everywhere.

00:41:42 Speaker 08: So the zoning that we currently have that doesn't allow fourplexes in all residential zones will mean that we can't apply or receive those funds.

00:41:51 Speaker 08: So the Town of Saugeen Shores has updated their zoning bylaw for all residential zones, so that you can build single homes, triplexes, fourplexes, semi-detached.

00:42:03 Speaker 08: This is a condition of receiving the millions of dollars that they were able to obtain.

00:42:08 Speaker 08: This brings money into Owen Sound without an adjustment to the zoning bylaw.

00:42:12 Speaker 08: We don't get to have those monies coming in.

00:42:16 Speaker 08: So the other thing is... there's some notes on parking and built-form limits.

00:42:21 Speaker 08: One of the best hints that I heard of was that if you can have, outside of the official zoning amendment process, if there can be a committee who can waive certain parking requirements.

00:42:36 Speaker 08: For instance, community living has certain parking requirements, but in independent apartments, but none of their residents drive,

00:42:44 Speaker 08: and so if there was a committee... you could come to with a certain proposal and have them be able to waive parking requirements, or just a discussion-based thing ahead of—I mean, possibly it doesn't work.

00:42:56 Speaker 08: But often planners will tell me, "My hands are tied.

00:43:00 Speaker 08: I don't want to make you do these parking things, but you have to go through a variance because my hands are tied."

00:43:05 Speaker 08: Well, there's ways to untie hands, and it's in the form of waivers.

00:43:10 Speaker 08: If if there was a height, for instance, a waiver for form limits.

00:43:13 Speaker 08: For form limitations like setbacks and heights, it's possible that St. Clair Place could have had that height limitation waived by a committee, as opposed to having that be something instilled into the bylaw.

00:43:26 Speaker 08: It's something to research.

00:43:28 Speaker 08: I will move along.

00:43:30 Speaker 08: I think I'm just about done.

00:43:33 Speaker 08: There are other things we can do on brownfield sites with reduced lot line setbacks and reduced parking requirements.

00:43:42 Speaker 08: Reduce parking requirements and lot coverage, so that it's financially feasible for property owners to only remediate a small section of their site, and then use the remainder of the site for open space and parking,

00:43:58 Speaker 08: while it remains in a light industrial use.

00:44:01 Speaker 08: And if they knew that they could, let's say, really shrink the amount of land that had to be thoroughly cleaned,

00:44:08 Speaker 08: and acknowledge the limitations of funds—every dollar counts—I mean everything that we want to have happen hasn't been happening because it's too expensive.

00:44:15 Speaker 08: One of the things we can do is remove some of those zoning barriers for specific brownfield sites.

00:44:21 Speaker 08: It's a good strategy that other communities are looking at because they all have the same problem: there's not enough money to clean the land,

00:44:28 Speaker 08: but there's a lot of parking out there on those brownfield sites.

00:44:33 Speaker 08: Identifying specific sites for pre-design and pre-approval,

00:44:37 Speaker 08: working with affordable housing groups to see if we can upzone specific properties—this is an initiative many communities are doing by inviting landowners to come in and talk about whether their sites are viable and to

00:44:50 Speaker 08: help shepherd them through the process.

00:44:52 Speaker 08: It's the reverse of what we usually do, which is wait for a proponent to come knocking on the door.

00:44:58 Speaker 08: This is in anticipation of really trying to have more access to affordable housing and to line those groups up for the funding that can be available.

00:45:08 Speaker 08: You need to sit down ahead of time and see what we can do to try to spur development.

00:45:14 Speaker 08: So there's a number of groups in town who are working to do it.

00:45:17 Speaker 08: Are there creative solutions that we can have?

00:45:20 Speaker 08: Are there zoning tweaks that would help work with certain sites?

00:45:24 Speaker 08: Are there landowners, like a person I've been in contact with, who has a piece of land that may be suitable for a small build in the upzoning process?

00:45:35 Speaker 08: It's a good idea to have more invitations out to people who have land that may be useful.

00:45:42 Speaker 08: We're going to lose a lot of our identified housing land in the official plan if the school goes ahead on the east side, the new St. Mary's School.

00:45:50 Speaker 08: So where is it going to go?

00:45:52 Speaker 08: Can we work with willing landowners to upzone and create more space for affordable housing?

00:45:58 Speaker 08: It's a good one.

00:46:00 Speaker 08: The other thing I like to do is really think ahead to lands for the long term.

00:46:05 Speaker 08: Lots of our institutional properties are on quite serious acreage, and in, for instance, Penetanguishene, they've added more of a life cycle to institutional properties, so that, for instance,

00:46:18 Speaker 08: you can have seniors' apartments or seniors' life lease homes next to the long-term care facility in Penetanguishene, and those are now prohibited because of our zoning bylaw.

00:46:29 Speaker 08: You wouldn't be able to do it.

00:46:31 Speaker 08: So I think we can look ahead and see if some properties could have that inclusion of apartment dwellings or residential dwellings in advance.

00:46:40 Speaker 08: And then the last thing I'll say is that I think pre-approving small, little surgical sites is important.

00:46:47 Speaker 08: This is just around the corner from my son's house.

00:46:51 Speaker 08: It's an unopened road allowance, and while it probably is highly unsuitable for affordable housing because it's a very prestigious little area, but that lot could be valuable if it's pre-designed and pre-zoned.

00:47:03 Speaker 08: I don't know for sure if an infill building would work there.

00:47:06 Speaker 08: It would probably need some variances, but then that can be sold, and the money can be leveraged, and it can support a community group that's doing something that's really much in need.

00:47:17 Speaker 08: And that kind of early contribution—let's say it's one hundred and fifty or two hundred thousand dollars from the sale of a small parcel of land—can be the first step in a platform.

00:47:27 Speaker 08: CMHC and federal and provincial dollars always look for collabourators.

00:47:31 Speaker 08: And if the municipality is able to, you know, take one piece of land and contribute it to help a community group build a hundred units in this process of seed funding, followed by bigger dollars,

00:47:46 Speaker 08: then this is how other municipalities are making it happen.

00:47:50 Speaker 08: Thank you for the extra time.

00:47:53 Speaker 08: Thank you very much.

00:47:54 Speaker 02: I'm certain that you have given all of your knowledge to the planner, and they have your ideas, so they can go ahead, Pam.

00:48:07 Speaker 02: Yeah, and thank you for that.

00:48:09 Speaker 05: And Christy, thank you for the presentation.

00:48:11 Speaker 05: I have already sent it along to MHBC Planning, who is working with the city on the update to our official plan and zoning bylaw, as well as the development of urban design guidelines.

00:48:23 Speaker 05: There's lots of ideas here that I don't know if you did the survey or not, but there are things that we're thinking about: the uses that are permitted in all the residential zones, parking height,

00:48:37 Speaker 05: looking at those things.

00:48:39 Speaker 05: I would note a couple of things.

00:48:44 Speaker 05: So, so we will consider this presentation as sort of feedback and part of the comment on the official plan process.

00:48:56 Speaker 05: There is an open house scheduled for Bayshore on July 17th from three-thirty to six.

00:49:01 Speaker 05: So hopefully that's a time where you can attend.

00:49:06 Speaker 05: In terms of the existing development examples you gave, Saint Clair Place, as well as the Tenth Avenue East Estates, both of those zoning bylaw amendments were required.

00:49:19 Speaker 05: Both of them were processed in well under ninety days.

00:49:22 Speaker 05: The list of studies.

00:49:24 Speaker 05: So in Ontario, not for you, but for committee: just a reminder that we have a provincially led planning system.

00:49:30 Speaker 05: So, 20 years ago, what was required in terms of development versus today is more complicated.

00:49:38 Speaker 05: We're more worried about the environment, hydrogeology, stormwater, all of those things.

00:49:45 Speaker 05: So, yes, there is a list of studies.

00:49:47 Speaker 05: The one listed there for Tenth Avenue East Estates is not only just for the zoning amendment, but for the site plan approval, and that requires detail to make sure that we're getting it right,

00:49:59 Speaker 05: so that the neighbours next door aren't impacted negatively by stormwater, or that there's enough servicing capacity so that the apartment has enough water to service the whole thing.

00:50:14 Speaker 05: So, industrial: the province has made some recent changes to the Planning Act that will have certain employment lands be very protected.

00:50:23 Speaker 05: They've removed things like daycares and offices; they're really trying to protect those employment lands.

00:50:30 Speaker 05: In the institutional designation and zone, there's often, particularly at the hospital, work done with previous administrators to develop specific policies for the hospital that would allow those other uses,

00:50:44 Speaker 05: kind of acknowledging that maybe they have some surplus lands there, so the official plan is set up to address that.

00:50:50 Speaker 05: Many sites like Lee Manor, owned by Grey County, public uses are permitted anywhere.

00:50:58 Speaker 05: So if they wanted to have residential use on that, as it would be owned and run by the county, and they had extra land, public uses are certainly permitted in those institutional places.

00:51:10 Speaker 05: So, but it is, it is, it is, it is.

00:51:17 Speaker 05: This isn't no. It's in.

00:51:20 Speaker 05: It's permitted by zoning because it's a public use, and in an institutional zone, a public use is permitted.

00:51:27 Speaker 05: So, it would be a use by, you know, Canada, Ontario, city, county, that type of thing.

00:51:36 Speaker 05: Anyways, there are lots of things here, and the update to the OPE started with a report to this committee back in May, and it will continue to be sort of funneled through this group.

00:51:53 Speaker 05: Questions from members of the committee?

00:51:56 Speaker 05: Seeing none.

00:51:57 Speaker 05: Okay.

00:51:58 Speaker 05: Thanks.

00:51:58 Speaker 02: Just a question for you: briefly, will you have to push your button before?

00:52:04 Speaker 02: Okay.

00:52:04 Speaker 08: I think the reason I'm presenting this is because I believe that the way that planning has been done and the way that things have been going with increasing costs, increasing studies—whether necessary or not,

00:52:18 Speaker 08: urban design studies and solar studies on something that doesn't cast a shadow on any existing building—it's a bit of an exaggeration.

00:52:27 Speaker 08: It's not necessarily a belief that many of us in the affordable housing community, from that perspective, believe that there is very much attention paid to.

00:52:37 Speaker 08: Do we really need this?

00:52:38 Speaker 08: Is it something we could sit around and work out in a roundtable format?

00:52:43 Speaker 08: Is this study absolutely necessary?

00:52:47 Speaker 08: Did Saint Clair Place cast a shadow across Second Avenue that would warrant something like this?

00:52:52 Speaker 08: So I would just say that I don't believe currently.

00:52:55 Speaker 08: My experience is that we are doing enough work to ask, "Is this really necessary?"

00:53:01 Speaker 08: But even then, if the zoning is in place, you don't have to do those studies, especially with smaller developments.

00:53:07 Speaker 08: It's not necessarily required.

00:53:09 Speaker 08: Is that right?

00:53:10 Speaker 08: So you don't have to go through this expensive and time-consuming process.

00:53:14 Speaker 08: If you've got the zoning in place, you move right on to either site plan approval, or if it's a small development, make your application.

00:53:22 Speaker 08: And so it just takes away a step if the zoning is in place.

00:53:26 Speaker 08: If we can pre-approve, so the culture that I found with my own experience—I don't know if it's changed since my fourplex was denied in terms of wanting to see affordable housing, small, gentle density,

00:53:40 Speaker 08: missing middle housing—but if it's still the case where the same kind of mindset is here, it's not going to be easy for affordable development providers to do anything.

00:53:52 Speaker 08: And so, I would really prefer, rather than explaining why the system is what it is, to say how are other municipalities working to foster development?

00:54:05 Speaker 08: What can we do that's creative?

00:54:07 Speaker 08: What are we doing now that maybe we don't have to do that's costing money?

00:54:11 Speaker 08: We know housing has ballooned out of proportion, and it's not a sound issue.

00:54:16 Speaker 08: If I showed you the studies you have to do for a Toronto development, you'd cringe because you can have no parking and be on a transit line, and they'll make you do a traffic study.

00:54:29 Speaker 08: It's worse in many places.

00:54:32 Speaker 08: But what I can say is that in many places they're looking to address this.

00:54:36 Speaker 08: We have the chance now because the zoning bylaw is coming up for review.

00:54:41 Speaker 08: That's why I'm here today, which is that now we have it.

00:54:44 Speaker 08: We won't have this kind of open format for another five years.

00:54:48 Speaker 08: I don't have high hopes for a whole bunch of people coming to a zoning bylaw review meeting in July.

00:54:54 Speaker 08: I mean, you know, it's me, right?

00:54:57 Speaker 08: I don't even think I need to donate more time.

00:55:00 Speaker 08: I'm just saying, please consider that the way we're doing things and the rationale we have been using for all these years is not working for affordable housing.

00:55:12 Speaker 08: It's just not, and so if we want to see this fostered, we have to do some changing.

00:55:17 Speaker 08: And this is one place I'm identifying that's easier, costs nothing to the municipality.

00:55:24 Speaker 08: Thank you.

00:55:28 Speaker 02: Next on our agenda is the community and business development advisor regarding a mid-year report.

00:55:34 Speaker 02: Mid-year, pardon?

00:55:42 Speaker 02: I don't know what you're saying.

00:55:45 Speaker 02: Oh, sorry, I've skipped ahead.

00:55:48 Speaker 02: Public forum.

00:55:49 Speaker 02: Are there any members of the audience who wish to ask a question?

00:55:53 Speaker 02: Go ahead, Anne.

00:55:58 Speaker 02: Thank you.

00:55:59 Speaker 09: I'm Anne Finley Stewart, and I'm an Owen Sound resident.

00:56:02 Speaker 09: And because parks are on the agenda today, I just wanted to say that I've been coming to what is currently Ryerson Park since I was a child.

00:56:11 Speaker 09: I visited a great aunt who lived in the same house on the park since the 1950s, and I'm from the 1950s.

00:56:20 Speaker 09: In 1994, we moved to Owen Sound with our five-year-old son, who told his ninety-nine-year-old great-great-aunt how lucky she was to live so close to the swings, so she could use them anytime she wanted.

00:56:32 Speaker 09: And since then, her house has been demolished because it got moved off its foundation by the reconstruction of Eight Street Hill.

00:56:38 Speaker 09: But we continued to use the park as we lived a block away when he was growing up, and now we visit with our son's childhood friends and their children in that park.

00:56:51 Speaker 09: It's lovely for my now senior generation: seven fixed benches, two in full shade, two perennial gardens, three year-round garbage containers—round garbage containers with bird-dissuading covers, a bike rack, and a fixed picnic table.

00:57:06 Speaker 09: And lately, I've been at two potluck picnics there, made easier with two additional seasonal picnic tables.

00:57:14 Speaker 09: So I'm glad that the renaming consideration has begun, but primarily because the park has not had signage for four years since the 100 signature patrician moved the city to remove it.

00:57:27 Speaker 09: Therefore, the park does not have a sign that says, "In case of emergency, call 9-1-1 and tell them that you are at this park at this address."

00:57:36 Speaker 09: So, I'd like the committee to consider requesting such a sign with at least the location in the interim, as the renaming process, if it happens, is still a long way away.

00:57:49 Speaker 09: Which is a segue to the park where I now live as a senior: Owen Heights Park doesn't have a 9-1-1 sign either, which I noticed when I walked around the park and went, "Okay,

00:58:00 Speaker 09: it's got signs saying it's not looked after."

00:58:03 Speaker 09: So when they see an old blah blah blah, but it doesn't have a 9-1-1 sign, and I'd very much like to see one,

00:58:10 Speaker 09: because it's just as much use whether you're having an accident on the sledding hill in Ryerson Park or whether you're a senior tripping over the curb in Owen Heights Park or lost in the swamp.

00:58:26 Speaker 09: So, it also only has Owen Heights Park one fixed bench in full sunlight and a seasonal garbage can, which is an open rusty oil drum.

00:58:38 Speaker 09: That's it.

00:58:39 Speaker 09: Although we are now officially in summer, there are no picnic tables at all.

00:58:44 Speaker 09: And last year, two years ago, we had a community picnic, and we asked for tables.

00:58:50 Speaker 09: But this year, we have no tables at all.

00:58:53 Speaker 09: As you consider the refurbishment of the park, I hope you'll consider the needs of an age-friendly community: the grandparent-aged people who are delighted to share the park with their littles.

00:59:04 Speaker 09: It's wonderful to see accessibility considerations, but I don't see on the design where the curb cut is to get into the park.

00:59:12 Speaker 09: There's a curb all the way around the park, so to get to the accessible elements from the street, also picnic tables and seating of some kind are critical,

00:59:24 Speaker 09: even if they must be seasonal for at least this year.

00:59:28 Speaker 09: So, thank you for the work you're doing on this critical park infrastructure, and your consideration of safety and comfort for everybody.

00:59:36 Speaker 09: Thank you very much.

00:59:39 Speaker 02: Now, item seven is correspondence.

00:59:43 Speaker 02: Have there been any correspondence items received?

00:59:47 Speaker 02: No correspondence.

00:59:49 Speaker 02: Okay.

00:59:49 Speaker 02: Now we're moving on to which I skipped right over from the director of community services' request to rename Ryerson Park.

01:00:01 Speaker 02: If you could give us a summary of the report, please.

01:00:15 Speaker 05: Council had received an application under policy CSO 87, which is the policy that deals with naming and renaming for city parks and facilities.

01:00:26 Speaker 05: That was the first application that we've had under the policy, and council considered a staff report CS 2047, and they directed the initiation of the renaming process.

01:00:38 Speaker 05: So there seems to be a bit of confusion about: doesn't mean that the park's been renamed, and no, it doesn't.

01:00:45 Speaker 05: It means that we've embarked on the process that's contemplated under that policy.

01:00:49 Speaker 05: Council did appoint three members of council to a working group, including Chair Keppie, Councillor Hamley, along with Councillor Farmer.

01:00:59 Speaker 05: This report looks to identify the staff that will support the work of the committee, and they are proposed as per the policy.

01:01:08 Speaker 05: The City Manager, Mr. Simmonds, the City Clerk, Briana Bloomfield, and given the area parks, that it would be myself along with the Manager of Parks and Open Spaces.

01:01:21 Speaker 05: The working group will, under the policy, establish the consultation, particularly with the Indigenous community, and make them.

01:01:31 Speaker 05: And they'll decide if they need other information or expert advice.

01:01:36 Speaker 05: They will then make a recommendation to this committee, and you'll make a recommendation to council, who will make a final decision.

01:01:45 Speaker 05: The recommendation is that you would recommend council appoint the following staff to support the working group, and I won't say their names again.

01:01:56 Speaker 05: I just did.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Questions to Suneet?

01:02:04 Speaker 05: To you, Madam Chair.

01:02:05 Speaker 07: I'm happy to move the recommendation as this, but just a quick question, following up on the concern with the current naming of the park to the director, do you?

01:02:13 Speaker 07: To the director, do we have any?

01:02:18 Speaker 07: Do are we planning to put up signage saying that in case of emergency you are here?

01:02:22 Speaker 10: Like absolutely, and Mr. Pastrik had identified a number of parks and open spaces that were missing 911 signage.

01:02:31 Speaker 10: We do get that signage through the county, but there will be.

01:02:36 Speaker 10: I had asked that we get interim signage, laminated signs, up in these parks, and I'll be checking why that hasn't happened.

01:02:45 Speaker 10: So it's, it's you know safety is important.

01:02:49 Speaker 10: Not everybody knows the nearest cross streets, and that is important.

01:02:52 Speaker 10: So we'll be, we'll be taking action on that.

01:02:56 Speaker 10: Allie, yeah, I'm excited about seeing this move forward.

01:03:02 Speaker 10: I live in the right area.

01:03:03 Speaker 11: My family frequents and really loves that park dearly.

01:03:06 Speaker 11: So excited to see the official name come forward.

01:03:10 Speaker 11: I did have a question regarding.

01:03:13 Speaker 11: My understanding right now is that this working group will be considering only the name that was submitted in the application.

01:03:19 Speaker 11: But I have, on an informal basis, from the neighbourhood, have other people can say, "Oh, I didn't know this process.

01:03:24 Speaker 11: I have a different name.

01:03:25 Speaker 11: I would love to bring forward."

01:03:26 Speaker 11: Is there any recourse for that?

01:03:29 Speaker 11: Is there, is that open for consideration, or is that would have to go through a separate process itself?

01:03:36 Speaker 11: Sorry, and through the Chair, I should have mentioned that.

01:03:38 Speaker 10: Mention that this process under the policy is whether or not the park should be renamed.

01:03:49 Speaker 10: So there is no particular name.

01:03:51 Speaker 10: That's although one was put forward with the application.

01:03:54 Speaker 10: So the decision is sort of to rename or not.

01:03:59 Speaker 10: And if the decision is yes, then we'll embark on a process.

01:04:03 Speaker 10: Okay, so we're going to rename it.

01:04:05 Speaker 10: What's the name?

01:04:05 Speaker 10: So we're not at that stage yet, and there will be opportunity if we get there for public input in that process.

01:04:17 Speaker 10: Thank you.

01:04:17 Speaker 10: That's really clarifying.

01:04:18 Speaker 11: I did have one other question related to some of the existing infrastructure on the park.

01:04:23 Speaker 11: There used to be a wooden pavilion, kind of located off to the side a little bit.

01:04:29 Speaker 11: There used to be a sign at one point saying, "This has come down.

01:04:31 Speaker 11: It's going to come back."

01:04:32 Speaker 11: I believe it said a date that it was maybe going to come back, but since then, that sign has disappeared, and there's.

01:04:35 Speaker 11: That sign has appeared, and there's no more further update on what is going on with that pavilion.

01:04:40 Speaker 11: So I thought I would just take an opportunity to see if there's any update that can be provided on that.

01:04:53 Speaker 11: Through you, Chair Kepkay.

01:04:54 Speaker 11: So the pavilion was removed last year.

01:04:57 Speaker 12: We had some components of that structure that rotted out, and it was structurally unsound.

01:05:04 Speaker 12: And we're now in the process of trying to figure out how to replace a very custom piece of lumber, large stock, and put it back together and reinstall.

01:05:12 Speaker 12: So it's taking us a little longer to figure that out.

01:05:19 Speaker 12: Other questions, Morgan?

01:05:26 Speaker 12: Sorry, I just took myself off mic.

01:05:29 Speaker 12: The or off mute.

01:05:30 Speaker 12: Sorry.

01:05:30 Speaker 12: The thank you for asking about the structure.

01:05:33 Speaker 06: I was actually just there recently too, and was wondering where or when it was coming back.

01:05:39 Speaker 06: In regards to the naming process,

01:05:41 Speaker 06: so I'm just wondering about you know we talk about being lean and and you know even going with some of the earlier comments about taking things out of processes or shortening processes.

01:05:55 Speaker 06: When I'm looking at the timeline here, the naming Bryson Park was Riverside Park was removed in 2021, and Anne's recommendation was put in 2024.

01:06:08 Speaker 06: So we're almost, you know, four years into the sign-in removal, and then a year into putting a name forward.

01:06:17 Speaker 06: So I'm just actually interested to hear the reasons in the delay, or is this because it's a first-time instance we've had to go through this process that it's taking so long?

01:06:29 Speaker 06: Thank you.

01:06:33 Speaker 06: Those are great observations, Morgan.

01:06:36 Speaker 05: And the first time you apply a policy, I think you always learn a lot.

01:06:41 Speaker 05: So, in this case, you're right.

01:06:44 Speaker 05: I don't know the exact date when the sign came down, but probably around 2021, and it was removed due to concerns around vandalism.

01:06:53 Speaker 05: The renaming and naming policy was developed and approved in 2022.

01:06:57 Speaker 05: Developed and approved in 2022, and it really works on the basis of an application from a member of the public, or council can direct.

01:07:10 Speaker 05: Council hadn't provided any direction in terms of the renaming, and we did have an application from a member of the public in 2024.

01:07:18 Speaker 05: So that really helps explain that delay.

01:07:24 Speaker 05: Once we get through this process one time, I think you know there'll be lessons learned from the application of the policy, and each naming or renaming is always unique too,

01:07:36 Speaker 05: and how the request will be considered under the policy will be different.

01:07:42 Speaker 05: But I think there'll be lessons learned that we'll be bring back to this committee and look at amendments to that policy.

01:07:50 Speaker 06: Okay, thank you very much for that, and yeah, I too look forward to seeing this in its entirety and the stakeholders.

01:07:56 Speaker 06: Entirety and the stakeholder engagement, and I'm assuming we'll use our City website to maybe put out a survey or ask for ideas.

01:08:04 Speaker 06: And that I think this is going to be a great process.

01:08:09 Speaker 06: Thank you, Morgan.

01:08:09 Speaker 06: Any other questions or comments?

01:08:12 Speaker 06: So the recommendations on the floor.

01:08:15 Speaker 06: All those in favour of the recommendation?

01:08:17 Speaker 06: That's carried.

01:08:19 Speaker 06: Thank you.

01:08:20 Speaker 02: Next is the design elements of Owen Heights and Comrade Park.

01:08:24 Speaker 02: And Comeret Park playgrounds from the Manager of Parks and Open Spaces.

01:08:32 Speaker 02: Thank you, Chair Kepke.

01:08:33 Speaker 12: So I'm here this evening, afternoon, seeking approval of the final concept layout for the playgrounds at Owen Heights Park and Comeret Park, following public input.

01:08:46 Speaker 12: Staff worked with Park and Play Design to establish a standard neighbourhood playground consisting of play structures.

01:08:53 Speaker 12: Consisting of play structure and swings that cater to both junior and senior age groups, the new playgrounds are compliant with CSA Z614-20, which is Playground Children's Playground Equipment and Surfacing,

01:09:09 Speaker 12: and includes compliance with Annex H of the CSA standard, which lays out the minimum requirements for accessibility for persons with disabilities in public use playgrounds.

01:09:24 Speaker 12: In addition, new playgrounds are required to address the regulatory requirements of the Design of Public Spaces Standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

01:09:35 Speaker 12: The AODA requirements for outdoor spaces requires municipalities to incorporate accessibility features such as sensory and active play components.

01:09:46 Speaker 12: Ensure that the ground surface is firm, stable, and has impact attenuation properties for injury prevention, and establishes an exterior path of travel to the playground, including curb ramps.

01:10:04 Speaker 12: In response to these design parametres, both the playground and the outdoor play spaces, two playground configuration options were developed.

01:10:15 Speaker 12: One is a consolidated playground with both junior and senior play components in one play structure, and another option with them both separated.

01:10:24 Speaker 12: In both configuration options, a bay of swings are included that involve a pair of junior bucket swings and a pair of senior belt swings.

01:10:33 Speaker 12: Now, as part of the basic playground configuration, a number of associated elements have been included to address the accessibility that I've already mentioned, to minimize maintenance requirements,

01:10:45 Speaker 12: and to extend the life of some of the playground elements.

01:10:46 Speaker 12: For some of the playground elements, and they include an accessible path of travel to the playground,

01:10:53 Speaker 12: a gathering area that will serve as a circular hub that provides direct access and smooth transition into the playground, a curbed playground edge,

01:11:03 Speaker 12: drainage pipe where required to protect both the pit and the EWF integrity, and a seating area which includes a bench and a pad.

01:11:18 Speaker 12: Now, once the options were developed, they were presented at two open houses.

01:11:22 Speaker 12: Invites were sent out to residents within an eight-hundred-metre radius of each park, and promoted through media release and social media.

01:11:33 Speaker 12: The open houses were held in each park from 4:30 p.m. or from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. on two different days,

01:11:39 Speaker 12: with approximately forty people attending the Owen Heights open house and thirty-five people attending the Comeret open house.

01:11:47 Speaker 12: We received a total of 143 responses through the survey related to both parks.

01:11:56 Speaker 12: Now, based on the feedback, one final playground concept for each park was developed, and it's outlined in a handout that you would have received this afternoon.

01:12:11 Speaker 12: In very general terms, I'm not going to get into a whole lot of detail.

01:12:15 Speaker 12: I've given you what I think.

01:12:15 Speaker 12: I think I missed one, Councillor Dodd.

01:12:18 Speaker 12: If you could pass that down.

01:12:19 Speaker 12: In very general terms, what you will see in these final layout concepts for Owen Heights is the preferred composite play structure option.

01:12:39 Speaker 12: Perfect.

01:12:42 Speaker 12: Okay, so this is Comeret.

01:12:46 Speaker 12: So in Comeret, we have two separate play structures, a junior and a senior, and then the swing bays, which is consistent in both options.

01:12:57 Speaker 12: In both cases, the playgrounds are more or less situated in the same location as they are currently, with some minor adjustments for sight lines, particularly at Comeret Park.

01:13:11 Speaker 12: So, as a final point, I can go through these.

01:13:17 Speaker 12: So, this is Comeret.

01:13:18 Speaker 12: You'll see to the left the junior, to the right the senior, and then the play structures.

01:13:23 Speaker 12: The ramp is there; there's a ramp actually into the playground.

01:13:28 Speaker 12: That's where we basically transition folks in wheelchairs into the playground smoothly.

01:13:35 Speaker 12: And these are just some illustrations to show you, give you a sense of what the components are that are being included as part of this project.

01:13:52 Speaker 12: This is the Owen Heights.

01:13:53 Speaker 12: So the difference here is based on the feedback that we got, both on site and through the surveys, is they preferred the composite play structure where the junior and senior are combined in one.

01:14:06 Speaker 12: And this is just to illustrate some of the components.

01:14:09 Speaker 12: The only changes that we really made to this one is related to a few components.

01:14:14 Speaker 12: There was interest from some of the children at the site that they wanted a slide that was circular as opposed to straight,

01:14:21 Speaker 12: and then some of the parents wanted a separation between the junior play structures, a greater separation.

01:14:29 Speaker 12: Beyond that, most of the other components were very well received.

01:14:35 Speaker 12: At the Comeret location, the previous major change that we made was when we had separated the junior and senior play structures, we had left the swings in the centre,

01:14:44 Speaker 12: and it really wasn't a great approach to the layout because what it forced is the kids actually, when they transition between the playgrounds, they actually ran in front of the swings,

01:14:55 Speaker 12: and that wasn't a great idea, which everybody there picked up on, which was fantastic.

01:15:00 Speaker 12: So that was a minor change where we just consolidated the swings to one side, junior play structure on one side, junior play structures on the other.

01:15:06 Speaker 12: So, the next step: the reason I'm here and the reason we're kind of fast-tracking this whole process is there's a huge lead time in procuring the equipment.

01:15:17 Speaker 12: It's many weeks; I won't even give you a number, but it's a few months, and I want to get that process going if I can get approval in principle of the general layout,

01:15:30 Speaker 12: and then the aim is to order the equipment.

01:15:34 Speaker 12: We have surveys for the site, which will look at exactly what is being asked for.

01:15:41 Speaker 12: Where we are looking at connection of the playgrounds to existing contexts, which would mean a curb cut, and in the instance of Owen Heights, an actual pedestrian crossing, to connect to an existing sidewalk,

01:15:56 Speaker 12: which currently doesn't exist.

01:15:58 Speaker 12: So those are the components that we're exploring, but they can only be explored through detailed design,

01:16:03 Speaker 12: and then the aim of all of this is to be in a position to construct in the fall of this year, so we can get the bulk of the work done in 2025.

01:16:14 Speaker 12: So, with that, I guess the conclusion: The recommendation reads that, in consideration of staff reports CS 25052 respecting design elements for Owen Heights and Comeret Park,

01:16:28 Speaker 12: the Community Services Committee recommends that City Council approve the design and layout generally as presented.

01:16:37 Speaker 12: Thank you very much.

01:16:38 Speaker 12: Questions from members?

01:16:40 Speaker 12: Ali?

01:16:42 Speaker 12: Yeah, these look really exciting, really great.

01:16:44 Speaker 12: I love that consultation helped make that adjustment to where the swing placement is.

01:16:48 Speaker 12: That sounds like a parent of a young child that figured that out.

01:16:52 Speaker 12: I had a couple questions related to the consultation.

01:16:55 Speaker 11: I heard from some neighbours of Owen Heights that they received an invite by mail after the consultation had happened.

01:17:02 Speaker 11: Is it possible for future consultation projects to give more advance notice?

01:17:06 Speaker 11: Or, yeah, through Chair Koepke, I believe...

01:17:14 Speaker 12: I mean, I think it was at least two weeks in advance.

01:17:19 Speaker 12: We had some other issues with the letters returned to us.

01:17:24 Speaker 12: People had moved.

01:17:25 Speaker 12: Our database obviously isn't reflective of the folks that live there today, but for the most part, I didn't.

01:17:33 Speaker 12: That's the first I've heard where it was... it got there late.

01:17:38 Speaker 12: But yeah, we made every effort.

01:17:40 Speaker 12: Pam worked tremendously hard to get that list generated and out at least two weeks in advance of the open houses.

01:17:50 Speaker 12: Is the sorry, can you pull up?

01:17:53 Speaker 11: Is the two-week kind of a standard just for City process for advance notice?

01:17:56 Speaker 11: Just out of curiosity, often on public notices, we'll say ten days.

01:18:06 Speaker 11: The Planning Act has certain timelines.

01:18:08 Speaker 05: I would just note for committee that the engagement that our manager, Parks and Open Spaces, has undertaken with the public, and particularly these neighbourhoods,

01:18:17 Speaker 05: has gone above and beyond what would be required by any sort of City policy or practice.

01:18:24 Speaker 05: So we thought two weeks' notice.

01:18:27 Speaker 05: We also did social media, you know, allowing for some delivery time.

01:18:32 Speaker 05: That and given that we were having the meetings right in the parks in their neighbourhood, they didn't have to come to City Hall.

01:18:38 Speaker 05: We thought it was the best we could do in terms of providing notice.

01:18:45 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:18:46 Speaker 02: Sometimes we can't control Canada Post.

01:18:50 Speaker 02: Yeah.

01:18:52 Speaker 02: Any other questions, Travis?

01:18:54 Speaker 02: Thank you, Madam Chair.

01:18:55 Speaker 02: And again, I agree.

01:18:56 Speaker 02: I think the designs look great.

01:18:59 Speaker 02: I can't wait for my wild child just to run through all of that.

01:19:03 Speaker 02: That'll be fun.

01:19:04 Speaker 02: Landscaping components.

01:19:07 Speaker 02: I'm sure that's going to be an after we get this process done.

01:19:10 Speaker 02: I know this is what you're looking for right now: just to get this part done.

01:19:13 Speaker 04: But I will admit that, you know, sitting in a park bench in midsummer is quite challenging for myself.

01:19:20 Speaker 04: I always like a nice shady spot to go while I watch someone run wild.

01:19:26 Speaker 04: So, will there be like components of trees or other areas of landscaping that will be added to those areas?

01:19:32 Speaker 04: And through your chair, Deputy Councillor Dodd.

01:19:35 Speaker 04: Absolutely.

01:19:37 Speaker 12: So, it's not in the budget, but we do have a fall tree planting programmememe,

01:19:41 Speaker 12: and our target is to address both playgrounds with some strategically placed trees that will provide some shade in the not-too-distant future.

01:19:53 Speaker 12: Yep, yep, fantastic, thank you.

01:19:55 Speaker 04: I'm starting to go bald at the top, so it's get a little bit of extra tan on the top, which I don't really appreciate.

01:20:00 Speaker 04: So anything when we can do to limit that's fantastic.

01:20:04 Speaker 04: But I've moved the recommendation as it's noted within the report, and thank you, Madam Chair.

01:20:10 Speaker 04: Ali, go ahead.

01:20:13 Speaker 11: I was also just going to follow up on the question that was brought forward in the public forum regarding benches.

01:20:18 Speaker 11: I can see them in the renderings.

01:20:19 Speaker 11: Appreciate that they're there, and this may fall under the same landscaping question.

01:20:23 Speaker 11: Is there anything that can be done, such as like a redeployment of current assets, to address this summer there being a need for maybe more benches or tables in the area?

01:20:36 Speaker 11: Mr. Keppie, yes.

01:20:39 Speaker 11: I mean, I am struggling a little bit.

01:20:42 Speaker 11: We have forty-eight parks.

01:20:43 Speaker 12: I don't have picnic tables for all forty-eight, and I guess the way I've been handling it to date is: if I get a request, I will do what I can to accommodate.

01:20:55 Speaker 12: It usually means stealing from somewhere else.

01:20:58 Speaker 12: I don't have the budget to add new and relocate.

01:21:01 Speaker 12: And I'm already aware of the need or desire to have additional picnic tables out at Owen Heights.

01:21:06 Speaker 12: So we're working on it, and we'll get to that as soon as possible.

01:21:13 Speaker 12: Okay, Morgan.

01:21:18 Speaker 06: Thank you, and I understand the urgency to speed up this... well, not speed up this process, but get us our approval so that we can get these things ordered.

01:21:28 Speaker 06: I also appreciate, as Pam had mentioned, the effort that the manager has put into the consultation.

01:21:38 Speaker 06: That's why I'm gonna ask this question, but I don't mind if the answer is no as well.

01:21:43 Speaker 06: I notice on the Comeret, and this is a mom of two that go to a lot of parks.

01:21:48 Speaker 06: The Comeret design is basically the same setup.

01:21:54 Speaker 06: I don't know if you want to bring up...

01:21:55 Speaker 06: I think it's the attachment to proposed final playground layout on page three, um, or page two or three is the junior and the senior design is basically the exact same design,

01:22:09 Speaker 06: just flipped a little bit.

01:22:11 Speaker 06: Um, you know, the only difference is that instead of a little rock climbing wall, it's kind of a big rock climbing wall.

01:22:16 Speaker 06: It's two slides going down.

01:22:19 Speaker 06: So I don't see much difference in the two structures.

01:22:24 Speaker 06: I'm wondering if, because when I look at the proposal, the initial is that it was the same two structures, just with the swing in the middle.

01:22:32 Speaker 06: And then we don't want kids to get hit by swings, so we put them together.

01:22:35 Speaker 06: Is there an opportunity, or is there any other options for a senior or a junior playset in and around the same price range, but with different difficulty levels or different challenges that are available?

01:22:55 Speaker 06: Through you, Chair Koepke.

01:22:56 Speaker 12: So the feedback that we got at Comeret...

01:23:01 Speaker 12: So there was a definite demographic that was geared towards younger children here, and that's why we separated.

01:23:07 Speaker 12: And that's why we separated the two because there was a desire expressed for that.

01:23:13 Speaker 12: With respect to the components, so we have a defined budget envelope that we're working within, and you know,

01:23:22 Speaker 12: our playground manufacturer practitioner has been tremendously supportive of trying to get us the best value that we can for the dollars that we have to spend.

01:23:36 Speaker 12: And this is these are the components that they were able to come up with.

01:23:38 Speaker 12: I mean, we can.

01:23:39 Speaker 12: I know this is not the final colour that we're going with for this playground.

01:23:43 Speaker 12: These are very traditional playground colours that I we had not wanted to illustrate, but unfortunately, this is all they could do in the timeline that they had to work within.

01:23:54 Speaker 12: But I'm looking at different colours.

01:23:56 Speaker 12: But we can certainly look at the components.

01:23:58 Speaker 12: You know, I've been doing I've been swapping in and out components and trying to you know stay within that budget envelope.

01:24:04 Speaker 12: So we have a defined budget envelope.

01:24:06 Speaker 12: Yeah, and I completely understand the budget envelope.

01:24:09 Speaker 06: I'm just wondering, like, instead of the one piece, can we have like a rope piece that challenges different aspects of the individuals?

01:24:19 Speaker 06: Also, even the monkey bars, like, yeah.

01:24:22 Speaker 06: And again, I don't want to slow down the process.

01:24:24 Speaker 06: If I'm the only one that noticed this, I'm just interested to hear other people's opinion on it.

01:24:35 Speaker 06: Is there anyone else that wanted to speak to that?

01:24:43 Speaker 06: Thank you, Morgan, for those comments.

01:24:45 Speaker 05: And I think hearing this and with some flexibility, I think the recommendation is that you would approve it generally in accordance with,

01:24:54 Speaker 05: knowing that the manager has heard the comments and looking for maybe a bit more variation between the junior and senior components, respecting what we heard through the public process,

01:25:04 Speaker 05: we'll look to work with the manufacturer.

01:25:08 Speaker 05: You know, I put a lot of pressure on staff to keep things rolling so that we could get it ordered and hopefully installed still this fall.

01:25:16 Speaker 05: So hopefully, the committee can give us a bit of latitude that the designs aren't exactly as developed as the manager would have likely had liked to see them tonight.

01:25:30 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:25:31 Speaker 05: Okay.

01:25:31 Speaker 05: We have a motion on the floor.

01:25:33 Speaker 02: All those in favour of the motion, that's carried.

01:25:37 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:25:40 Speaker 02: Now, where are we?

01:25:44 Speaker 02: We're where I thought we should have been long ago.

01:25:48 Speaker 02: Community and Business Development Advisor regarding a development mid-year update.

01:25:53 Speaker 02: So, Rebecca, welcome to the podium.

01:26:12 Speaker 02: All right.

01:26:13 Speaker 02: Hello again, committee.

01:26:16 Speaker 13: Thank you again for listening to me chat to you about how much I love my job.

01:26:20 Speaker 13: Today, I have a much shorter presentation for you.

01:26:24 Speaker 13: I will leave you to read the report before you with an update on everything that I was able to accomplish over the last six months on contract here at the City of Owen Sound.

01:26:37 Speaker 13: It's truly been an honour, and the recommendations before you are to receive the report for information purpose, and as I'll get into in kind of like the next steps,

01:26:49 Speaker 13: direct staff to lead the preparation and submission of an application to the Ontario Trade Impacted Communities Programmememe for project funding.

01:26:56 Speaker 13: To advance sector-wide innovation and economic development in coordination with Grey County and Georgian College, I would also add to that that this week, if we could add an addendum,

01:27:09 Speaker 13: Ontario also released their new Rural Ontario Development Programmememe, and funding applications for that programmememe are also due this September 25th.

01:27:23 Speaker 13: So, if we could amend that recommendation to be apply in collabouration with Grey County and Georgian College to economic development funding opportunities, we can specify them or not as you wish.

01:27:37 Speaker 13: Okay.

01:27:38 Speaker 13: So, the highlights of this are that staff have advanced the city's priorities in three key areas through the role of the Community and Business Development Advisor.

01:27:49 Speaker 13: Those three key areas that we've kind of grouped the update into are our economic development, community relations, and government relations.

01:27:59 Speaker 13: The collabourative process that we used to develop the new community profile, which was released in April 2025, resulted in very strong working relationships with key stakeholders and community members across the city and across industry.

01:28:16 Speaker 13: We've been building on the intensive engagement process that was initiated by the Vision Two Thousand and Fifty report development,

01:28:26 Speaker 13: and through that we've seen a very strong interest from community members to become more engaged in this process and to work with the city to advance some of these priorities even before you know the

01:28:40 Speaker 13: Vision Two Thousand and Fifty report comes before council.

01:28:45 Speaker 13: So a number of special projects and initiatives involving interdepartmental or intergovernmental collabouration have been successfully executed, and work continues to advance the city's priorities.

01:29:01 Speaker 13: So, through these three areas, one thing that I really wanted to highlight was that a great amount of this work involved collabouration and storytelling.

01:29:19 Speaker 13: So telling the story of our prosperity, telling the story of our connections and our community, telling the story of our partnerships and the strength of our regional role as a hub for employment, healthcare,

01:29:37 Speaker 13: community services.

01:29:38 Speaker 13: There's a real emphasis on the fact that we in Owen Sound play a leading role, not just within coalitions such as the Southwestern Ontario Isotope Coalition, but as a hub for Bright Shores,

01:29:56 Speaker 13: as the site of Georgian College, as a space that many people come to when they're looking for entertainment or shopping or healthcare and necessary services, community services, housing initiatives, legal advice.

01:30:13 Speaker 13: We are a hub not just for our own residents, but for the entire region.

01:30:18 Speaker 13: And so, when we look beyond our own municipal borders, we're really focusing on building strong partnerships that benefit not just our own residents and businesses, but bring opportunities to our entire region.

01:30:33 Speaker 13: So, we are going to skip right ahead to conclusions and next steps.

01:30:40 Speaker 13: I was very privileged to attend the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council's Canadian Radiotheragnostics Leaders Summit in Toronto, June 11 to 13.

01:30:59 Speaker 13: I learned a lot there.

01:31:02 Speaker 13: It was an incredible opportunity to see the impact of the research and innovation in medical isotopes and nuclear medicine that is being done because of the local expertise and local suppliers.

01:31:21 Speaker 13: Steve Warwick of Stebcon was there.

01:31:23 Speaker 13: These are people who are creating, like the packaging and supplying Bruce Power with the necessary tools and instruments to advance the production of nuclear isotopes,

01:31:36 Speaker 13: medical isotopes that are being used both to sterilize medical tools to increase the contrast on diagnostic images between cancer cells and healthy tissue,

01:31:48 Speaker 13: to target treatment to the bad cells and leave the healthy tissues intact, and the images that they were showing us at this conference were truly astonishing.

01:32:00 Speaker 13: My background is in science fiction, and this is the closest I have seen to science fiction becoming reality before our very eyes.

01:32:09 Speaker 13: So, Owen Sound has played a really significant role in developing these local and regional collabourations as leaders in the clean energy frontier.

01:32:18 Speaker 13: Along with our partners at Huron and Bruce Counties, we are also founding members of the Southwestern Ontario Isotope Coalition,

01:32:27 Speaker 13: which recently released a regional opportunities study and also held their second quarter meeting and AGM this morning in Tiverton.

01:32:38 Speaker 13: It's been a long day, and we're so proud to see Mayor Boddy continue to serve.

01:32:44 Speaker 13: Now, first as co-chair, and now as of this morning, as a member of the advisory committee, which will be steering that effort to attract investment to our area.

01:32:56 Speaker 13: And because of the anticipated global demand for the medicine that's produced here, in particular the Lutetium 177 isotope, which is only produced at Bruce Power,

01:33:13 Speaker 13: and the CANDU reactors are uniquely capable of scaling up production for medical for the global supply of medical isotopes in a way that other reactor designs just cannot.

01:33:25 Speaker 13: So when you know James Scania of Bruce Power and the CNIC gets up there and says, like the world is depending on us, they're really serious.

01:33:35 Speaker 13: That's not just key messaging; it's true.

01:33:39 Speaker 13: And this Lutetium 177 medical isotope is actually used in very successful and effective treatments for prostate cancer globally, including the new Pluvicto radiopharmaceutical that has recently received approval.

01:33:58 Speaker 13: So, what does all this mean?

01:33:59 Speaker 13: It means that we are asking permission to continue to expand these partnerships, to broaden our scope, to build a stronger foundation between Grey County and our partners at Georgian College, the Bright Shores Research Institute,

01:34:21 Speaker 13: and interested partners from the London area.

01:34:27 Speaker 13: We've made some interesting connections recently, both with academic and healthcare partners in the London area, who are interested in exploring collabourations and partnership ideas.

01:34:40 Speaker 13: The other side of that is that there are a ton of these big, you know, galaxy brain ideas for bringing in investment to the area.

01:34:50 Speaker 13: But economic development does not happen in a vacuum.

01:34:54 Speaker 13: When we're talking about bringing these kinds of economic development opportunities to our region, you also have to think of all of the spillover effects.

01:35:02 Speaker 13: When I was at the reception in Toronto, speaking to people and talking about how great it was and how I had recently moved from Toronto to Owen Sound,

01:35:12 Speaker 13: the questions that I was being asked were: How do you find daycare?

01:35:17 Speaker 13: How long is your commute?

01:35:19 Speaker 13: You know, where would where will your kids go to school?

01:35:22 Speaker 13: What kind of opportunities are there?

01:35:24 Speaker 13: Was it hard to find a doctor?

01:35:26 Speaker 13: And so when we're like looking at these external relations.

01:35:29 Speaker 13: Looking at these external relationships and this kind of investment attraction goals, we also need to make sure that we're addressing all of those other aspects that, you know, make a community healthy.

01:35:42 Speaker 13: Kind of like a whole body approach, so that we are, you know, not skipping leg day or something.

01:35:47 Speaker 13: We need to make sure that our health care system is regionally resilient.

01:35:52 Speaker 13: We need to make sure that we have childcare.

01:35:55 Speaker 13: We need to make sure that we have affordable housing.

01:35:57 Speaker 13: We need to make sure that our students are supported and can access opportunities and get around the city by transit or by whatever means possible.

01:36:06 Speaker 13: So this is like a very ambitious set of ideas,

01:36:12 Speaker 13: and our plan is that over the next few months we will develop an 18-month external relations and investment attraction plan to present before you in September 2025.

01:36:27 Speaker 13: Inclusive of initiatives and ideas such as the following, and this is where I pulled from my big ideas parking lot that Tim let me play around with to present to you today.

01:36:40 Speaker 13: So, ideas such as developing an economic health report card, identifying 10 to 12 trackable data characteristics to be updated on an annual basis to measure and track different indicators of economic health of a community.

01:36:55 Speaker 13: This is going to provide us real data that we can track year over year to help understand the impact of the various initiatives that we are undertaking citywide,

01:37:08 Speaker 13: including some of the recommendations coming out of the forthcoming Vision Two Thousand and Fifty report.

01:37:14 Speaker 13: Expanding rural access to radiopharmaceutical medicine through partnership with Bright Shores, Georgian College, and the leading academic and healthcare institutions in London, to explore establishing a local hub for treatment, education, and workforce training.

01:37:31 Speaker 13: There is going to be a huge demand for nuclear medicine technologists over the course of the next number of years.

01:37:38 Speaker 13: There is going to be a huge demand for power engineering students, a huge demand for nursing, oncology, and we are uniquely positioned to drive that capacity building effort locally.

01:37:52 Speaker 13: And we're already looking at partnerships between Georgian College and Bright Shores to train their staff and to utilise the resources at Georgian College, like their simulator training rooms.

01:38:04 Speaker 13: There is a significant opportunity for this to be the way that Owen Sound amplifies and elevates those efforts locally.

01:38:13 Speaker 13: Supporting healthcare resiliency and physician recruitment in collabouration with the Gravels OHT, to connect all residents with a local primary healthcare provider.

01:38:24 Speaker 13: This is coming out of our government relations initiatives.

01:38:26 Speaker 13: We are we have requested a number of delegations for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference coming up this summer.

01:38:36 Speaker 13: Building on those efforts is a conversation with OHT to submit an application to expand local healthcare access within Owen Sound.

01:38:46 Speaker 13: And as part of that, we've extended a unique argument on the eligibility of Owen Sound and our clinics through like the way that they apply the rurality index of Ontario guidelines.

01:39:02 Speaker 13: Anyways, we're getting creative and we're playing with our friends.

01:39:06 Speaker 13: Promotion of the City of Owen Sound as a natural incubator for creativity, innovation, inviting partners across multiple sectors to a digital and environmental stewardship summit developed in collabouration with Indigenous leadership, local creators and entrepreneurs,

01:39:22 Speaker 13: and other clean energy frontier partners.

01:39:25 Speaker 13: This is very much a pet project idea that has received significant support.

01:39:31 Speaker 13: Before coming to the city, I was part of the Mars Discovery District's pilot programmememe of an AI stewardship programmememe connecting global leaders in the AI space,

01:39:44 Speaker 13: and I was there as a science fiction author saying: "Hello, please pay your creators."

01:39:50 Speaker 13: But what I learned through that opportunity was that AI is not scary, but it does need to be handled with care,

01:39:57 Speaker 13: just like nuclear medicine and other radioactive materials that can either help us or hurt us, and we want to make sure that they help us.

01:40:05 Speaker 13: And I think that there is a significant opportunity here with our strong relationships with our Indigenous partners, with our strong relationships with industry, and our immense, enormous well of creativity through musicians, artists, actors.

01:40:25 Speaker 13: There's an enormous creative hub right here in Owen Sound, and celebrating those creative assets and ensuring that they have a career going into the future is also something that we need to maintain.

01:40:36 Speaker 13: And so, finding a way to bring all of these elements together, industry, our Indigenous community, industry, our Indigenous communities, our creative communities,

01:40:45 Speaker 13: and to have a conversation about how we go into the future conscientiously—you know—on a path of stewardship, while preserving environmental protections and highlighting clean energy needs—is incredibly important.

01:41:01 Speaker 13: And we have a real opportunity to do just that.

01:41:05 Speaker 13: And finally, continue to collabourate with colleagues and external partners on interdepartmental projects and initiatives to grow the city's reputation as a strong team player and regional leader, and once again,

01:41:19 Speaker 13: this is a please let us play with our friends and come up with great ideas that benefit our entire city.

01:41:25 Speaker 13: A couple of things that I wanted to highlight just through the attachments and Christine, I'm going to put you on the spot.

01:41:33 Speaker 13: I just wanted to highlight a few of the initiatives that have happened recently or are coming up.

01:41:41 Speaker 13: So, if you want to click on the YCAC flower, yeah.

01:41:44 Speaker 13: So we are delighted to be building on the engagement process and supporting a local grassroots initiative that is now in its fourth year.

01:41:56 Speaker 13: The Youth Climate Action Conference will be held Tuesday, October 28th, at the Bayshore Community Centre.

01:42:04 Speaker 13: It's a programmememe that supports education and training for both educators and students from grades six to eight.

01:42:12 Speaker 13: It is completely free, and Owen Sound is now a proud partner with the other groups that are supporting this incredible conference,

01:42:23 Speaker 13: which was started by local advocate and educator Hillary Coburn while on maternity leave because she does not stop.

01:42:31 Speaker 13: So this is an incredible initiative, and we are absolutely delighted to be new partners for the Youth Climate Action Conference.

01:42:41 Speaker 13: Then, if you want to do the Omers, so this was an opportunity that came to us.

01:42:48 Speaker 13: The Omers, which is the pension plan for largely municipal workers, they are highlighting different community members through their online space,

01:43:01 Speaker 13: and they approached us with a request to feature our work with the Southwestern Ontario Isotope Coalition, and in particular Mayor Boddy's work in initiating the creation of that local body.

01:43:18 Speaker 13: And one thing that I was really struck with when I read this article is how clearly they explain it.

01:43:24 Speaker 13: It's available on the Omers website, or you know, in the attachments to this report.

01:43:29 Speaker 13: And it talks about how the development of the Canadian radio pharmaceutical and radiopharmaceuticals programmememe increased the cure rate for cervical cancer from 25% to 75%.

01:43:44 Speaker 13: So that's just like a hard figure that kind of gets at this: we are living in science fiction era land, and it's very very exciting to see the expansion of these treatments.

01:43:55 Speaker 13: I'll let you go through the other ones.

01:43:57 Speaker 13: Finally, just like the Trade Impacted Communities programmememe webinar deck.

01:44:03 Speaker 13: Yes, so this is the programmememe that I would like you to direct me to apply to.

01:44:11 Speaker 13: It's a very exciting new opportunity, and there are two streams of funding.

01:44:15 Speaker 13: The first one focuses on community economic development projects, eligible for up to 100% of funding for projects between $250,000 and $2 million.

01:44:26 Speaker 13: And stream two is transformational projects, and this is the one where applications are due by September 11th, and it's for projects between $2 and $10 million, up to 100% of funding.

01:44:42 Speaker 13: And this is the one where I feel like we have a real opportunity to collabourate with Jordan College, Bright Shores,

01:44:51 Speaker 13: and potentially some partners outside of our community in London to establish a local hub for treatment, research, education, and training.

01:45:01 Speaker 13: So I've already attended a couple of webinars on this.

01:45:06 Speaker 13: I'm also signed up for a webinar on the new Rural Ontario Development Programmememe, and I would like to finish off by asking you to tell me to get to work.

01:45:22 Speaker 13: Thank you, Rebecca.

01:45:23 Speaker 13: That was very enthusiastic.

01:45:27 Speaker 13: Where do we go from here?

01:45:28 Speaker 02: We need someone to move the recommendation for one.

01:45:33 Speaker 02: Sunit, any questions, Lance?

01:45:38 Speaker 02: Excuse me.

01:45:39 Speaker 02: More of a comment.

01:45:41 Speaker 14: I am absolutely thrilled with this multifaceted approach and this notion of playing with our friends.

01:45:48 Speaker 14: Love it.

01:45:50 Speaker 14: Owen Sound has always been a regional hub.

01:45:52 Speaker 14: It's one of the reasons I came here many years ago.

01:45:55 Speaker 14: There's so much here, and we can really play a leadership role.

01:45:58 Speaker 14: And playing with our friends is great.

01:46:00 Speaker 14: And I am particularly thrilled with the emphasis on healthcare.

01:46:04 Speaker 14: In a previous life, I was pounding the pavement trying to get people interested in healthcare in this region, and I'm glad to see it's really taking off now.

01:46:15 Speaker 14: So this is fabulous.

01:46:16 Speaker 14: Thank you.

01:46:20 Speaker 14: Other comments?

01:46:22 Speaker 14: I need some.

01:46:23 Speaker 02: Oh, I have the motion on the floor, so all those in favour of the recommendation, that's carried.

01:46:29 Speaker 02: Now, do we need a second recommendation?

01:46:32 Speaker 02: You were talking about attending this.

01:46:36 Speaker 02: Pam, can you help me out there?

01:46:38 Speaker 02: Do no, no. We're good.

01:46:45 Speaker 02: That's great.

01:46:46 Speaker 02: Thanks so much, Rebecca.

01:46:49 Speaker 02: Whoops.

01:46:55 Speaker 02: Sorry about that.

01:46:57 Speaker 02: Moving on to no matters postponed, no motions for which notice was previously given.

01:47:05 Speaker 02: Correspondence is the development update.

01:47:08 Speaker 02: Will that be provided by you, Pam?

01:47:11 Speaker 02: Not a lot to mention.

01:47:13 Speaker 05: Building permits.

01:47:15 Speaker 05: The number were thirty-seven of interest.

01:47:19 Speaker 05: The Frost Manor, the old park.

01:47:21 Speaker 05: The old parking garage at Breckinridge Ashcroft has been converted to four residential units, so that's really great.

01:47:28 Speaker 05: And we did issue a building permit for the work happening at the Bayshore Community Centre.

01:47:33 Speaker 05: Planning applications—you'll see, compared to the green and the blue compared to the orange line from last year—we thought we were busy last year, and we're much busier again this year.

01:47:45 Speaker 05: So things continue to be busy in the planning and development world.

01:47:51 Speaker 05: Travis, thank you, Madam Chair.

01:47:54 Speaker 04: I know you said there's not much to talk about there, but I would just like to highlight that we're six months into two thousand and twenty-five,

01:47:59 Speaker 04: and there's been two hundred and forty-one new units added into the roll.

01:48:03 Speaker 04: So I know that's great for housing.

01:48:05 Speaker 04: It's also great for the tax roll.

01:48:07 Speaker 04: So see those numbers as just the best number we've seen in six years.

01:48:11 Speaker 04: I think is a pretty good accomplishment, and it shows the hard work that our staff have been doing through our development team and engineering, and planning,

01:48:20 Speaker 04: and then I will move the recommendation to receive the report.

01:48:25 Speaker 04: Any other questions?

01:48:28 Speaker 02: Okay, we have a motion on the floor to receive the report.

01:48:30 Speaker 02: All those in favour?

01:48:32 Speaker 02: And that's carried.

01:48:33 Speaker 02: Thank you, Morgan.

01:48:36 Speaker 02: All right.

01:48:38 Speaker 02: Additional business.

01:48:38 Speaker 02: Ali, you have an item.

01:48:43 Speaker 11: Yeah, I just wanted to ask if there is any plans for city staff to provide community or council with a report on Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Alleviating Our Economy Act,

01:48:52 Speaker 11: we received a report on Bill 17 at last month's meeting.

01:48:55 Speaker 11: But my understanding is that one has not been completed for Bill 5, which could stem from the fact that there was a very short common period, which closed on May 26,

01:49:04 Speaker 11: and the bill receiving royal assent on June 4th.

01:49:07 Speaker 11: However, while this bill has passed, the issue still seems lively as municipalities and civil society groups continue to voice opposition and rally against components of the bill.

01:49:16 Speaker 11: For instance, Dr. Ann Bell, the former director of Ontario Nature, gave a keynote speech on Earth Day at Harmony Centre, just a few blocks away from us.

01:49:23 Speaker 11: For the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, that stressed that Bill Five would negatively impact existing environmental protections for the area provided in the Endangered Species Act.

01:49:32 Speaker 11: Further, the Ontario Archaeological Association have voiced opposition to the bill, noting it erodes requirements for the conservation of cultural heritage and Indigenous consultation, and infringes on the rights of Indigenous communities.

01:49:43 Speaker 11: And lastly, and maybe most prudent for this conversation is in the last month, the Grey Highlands Municipal Council unanimously carried a motion to oppose Bill Five.

01:49:52 Speaker 11: With these continuing conversations in mind, and the details of how this bill be implemented through regulations are yet to be established,

01:49:59 Speaker 11: it seems worthwhile for the city to have a clear opportunity to respond to the bill.

01:50:04 Speaker 11: So, I guess in summary, I have a question, perhaps this is a request.

01:50:07 Speaker 11: I'm not, maybe can get some clarity on how this best goes forward.

01:50:10 Speaker 11: But could the city provide a report for council and community consideration?

01:50:18 Speaker 05: Through you, chair, we weren't able to get one here in advance of the bill receiving royal assent.

01:50:24 Speaker 05: Certainly, we're keeping an eye on the development of the regulations.

01:50:29 Speaker 05: As time permits, we'll work on bringing forward that report.

01:50:33 Speaker 05: Bill seventeen was led by the city manager.

01:50:36 Speaker 05: I think it does merit note in the May report on the planning update, we talked about eleven pieces of legislation, and we are sort of being flexible.

01:50:49 Speaker 05: Those last two bills, five and seventeen, are being added into that conformity exercise.

01:50:54 Speaker 05: So, if nowhere else, you'll see in terms of the OP and zoning bylaw updates that are required or need to be reflected there in those documents.

01:51:07 Speaker 05: Definitely appreciate.

01:51:07 Speaker 15: This is a bit of a wild time for provincial legislature in responding to that.

01:51:14 Speaker 11: Is it helpful if we kind of establish like a timeline for that, or like when it would be realistic for the town, the city,

01:51:21 Speaker 11: to come back with a summary of how that could impact here and considerations we should have?

01:51:30 Speaker 11: We are breaking all this?

01:51:31 Speaker 11: Correct.

01:51:31 Speaker 11: Okay.

01:51:33 Speaker 11: Is it bringing it forward to next month's meeting?

01:51:36 Speaker 11: Is that unrealistic?

01:51:37 Speaker 11: I obviously I appreciate this.

01:51:38 Speaker 11: It is a bit of oh, that would be September.

01:51:40 Speaker 11: Yes, the next meeting then.

01:51:43 Speaker 10: Through the chair, there would be one more meeting in July, but I don't think we'll have a report in July.

01:51:48 Speaker 10: I just don't.

01:51:52 Speaker 10: I propose September.

01:51:54 Speaker 10: I'm not sure if there's anything else I need to say here.

01:51:56 Speaker 10: But you would, and I think procedurally, and I'll look to Christina for clarification.

01:52:06 Speaker 10: But as it wasn't a matter listed on the agenda, you'd need a motion to waive the notice provisions, and then that would need a two-thirds majority, and then you could deal with the motion.

01:52:23 Speaker 10: Thank you, Madam Chair.

01:52:24 Speaker 10: I would move the motion to...

01:52:29 Speaker 10: Jeez, my brain's gone.

01:52:30 Speaker 10: There you go.

01:52:31 Speaker 10: There you go.

01:52:32 Speaker 04: We'll waive the notice motion procedures.

01:52:38 Speaker 02: Okay, we have motion on the floor to waive the notice of motion procedures in order to allow us to go ahead with this motion.

01:52:50 Speaker 02: Morgan, thank you, and thank you very much, Ali, for bringing this up.

01:52:58 Speaker 06: And through Madam Chair, I am interested to with this motion or with what the city can bring back to council, is there an opportunity to oppose Bill Five?

01:53:12 Speaker 06: What is that?

01:53:13 Speaker 06: I don't know if we can get into what that looks like.

01:53:16 Speaker 02: Morgan, at this point, we're just doing a motion to waive the procedures.

01:53:23 Speaker 02: We'll come to the motion, and I'll let you speak to that in a moment.

01:53:27 Speaker 02: Okay.

01:53:28 Speaker 02: So I'll look for a vote on waiving the notice procedures; that's carried unanimously.

01:53:35 Speaker 02: Okay, now we need to have Ali's motion on the floor.

01:53:39 Speaker 02: If you wouldn't mind.

01:53:41 Speaker 11: Apologies if I don't have a perfect reading for this, but a motion for City staff to bring forward a report regarding Bill 5 for Council and Committee consideration in September.

01:53:52 Speaker 02: Okay, Ali or Morgan, go ahead now.

01:53:57 Speaker 02: Thank you, and sorry that I went out of order there.

01:54:00 Speaker 02: Um, what does this look like?

01:54:03 Speaker 06: Like I emailed Mr. Vickers about this as well as before it went to vote because I have a fair amount of concerns about it as well.

01:54:13 Speaker 06: So what does this process look like, or how do we get opposition?

01:54:19 Speaker 06: Sorry, I don't even know how to word that.

01:54:22 Speaker 06: But what, what are we when they bring a report forward?

01:54:25 Speaker 06: Is there an opportunity for us to say, "Yeah, this impacts us too much."

01:54:31 Speaker 06: And please, City Council, talk to our representatives, or what does that process look like?

01:54:37 Speaker 06: I'll let Pam answer that.

01:54:43 Speaker 06: Through you, Chair.

01:54:43 Speaker 10: Just looking at the website, Bill 5, as we've talked about, did receive royal assent on June 4th.

01:54:52 Speaker 10: Although it has been approved, I understand that it is not yet in force.

01:55:01 Speaker 10: And just reading here, it says according to a legal analysis, the specific date it will come into effect is not yet specified.

01:55:10 Speaker 10: And certainly there's lots of controversy.

01:55:14 Speaker 10: And we, you know, when we look at these bills, we try to bring to you not only, you know, an offer and offer comments to the province about what might also be possible.

01:55:31 Speaker 10: But also, we try to say, okay, if this is approved just like this, what will the impact on us be?

01:55:37 Speaker 10: So, the report can look at those things.

01:55:41 Speaker 02: Okay, any other questions on the motion?

01:55:45 Speaker 02: All those in favour?

01:55:47 Speaker 02: That's carried.

01:55:48 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:55:50 Speaker 02: Okay.

01:55:50 Speaker 02: Next item is adjournment, and it is 7:26 p.m., and I will declare the meeting adjourned.

01:55:57 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:56:02 Speaker 02: Thanks, everyone.

01:56:03 Speaker 02: See you next month.