[All] GREN Minutes
Susan Bryant
shbryant at uwaterloo.ca
Tue May 3 20:25:36 EDT 2011
Hi GREN-
Attached and below are the minutes of the April 27 GREN meeting.
Cheers,
Susan B.
Minutes of Meeting of Grand River Environmental Network (GREN)
April 27, 2011, 7:15
St. John's Kitchen, Kitchener
1. Discussion of Light Rail Transit - GREN's Position
. Waterloo Regional Council will vote on the transit options on June
15. There was discussion whether GREN should take a position, and what
position GREN should take.
. Kevin T. urged a position in support of Regional staff's preferred
LRT option, noting that if we don't get an efficient transit option now, it
will be put off for a generation. The money promised by the feds and
province now won't be available for long. He also stated that the new ROPP,
with hard countryside lines, depends upon renewed public transit to be
successful. Others expressed concerns about the routes and technologies in
the current transit recommendation.
. After some discussion, the following motion was tabled as the GREN
position:
Urge Region to adopt a combination of L9 & L3 (the administration's
recommendation to council). [this means that they commit now to having a
light rail train system all the way from St. Jacob's farmers market to the
Ainslie Street bus terminal in Cambridge (L9), but that they begin by having
rail only from St. Jacob's farmers market to Fairview Mall and Bus rapid
transit to Cambridge (L3); 2) Urge Region to now commit to and immediately
begin rapidly implementing a reformed bus system throughout the three
communities, with new Express Bus Routes and new local bus route system as
shown on page 10 of their "Connecting to the Future" document; 3) integrate
this with a reassessment of the road system needs given that the bus and
rail system is dramatically improved; 4) while the details of the LRT system
are being developed over the next two years, that they continue to explore
new technologies; and 5) ensure that planning policies are implemented (as
described in the Region's new official plan) that will support the transit
system.
. Since there was not consensus among the members present, a vote
was taken on the motion. Only paid-up GREN members are eligible to vote.
The vote of those present was 10 in favor and 2 against. It was agreed we
would poll the rest of the GREN members by e-mail.
2. Pipeline Committee Update
Susan B. reported that the committee has not met since last spring. The
committee had developed materials for a campaign against the pipeline and
then it was decided a launch was premature, with ROPP, LRT, and an election
taking precedence.
. John J. noted that Great Lakes United has been granted Trillium
funding for a 3-year water conservation pilot, with Waterloo Region being
one of the 3 communities to pilot the project.
. Susan suggested that the thinking about the pipeline may be
changing, and that we should perhaps recast the campaign as a pro water
conservation campaign rather than an anti-pipeline campaign. She suggested
re-starting with a GREN meeting featuring speakers from the Region who can
enlighten us on the current thinking---perhaps Eric Hodgins (head of water
protection for Waterloo Region) and/or Jane Mitchell (Region councillor and
new chair of GRCA).
3. ROP Update
. Kevin T. reported that there will be a pre hearing on the OMB
challenges to the Waterloo ROPP on May 20 or 22. Regional planner Kevin Eby
will take the lead on behalf of the Region. There are 22 challenges to the
ROP, and the pre hearing will attempt to scope the issues. Resolving them
could take years.
4. Transition K-W
. Alisa McClurg from TransitionKW spoke about the history of the
Transition movement world-wide and the success of the Mayor's Forum on April
2, in the City of Waterloo, with a focus on values and an approach called
"facilitated networking." The aim is to bring people together for a common
vision.
. The next local gatherings are on May 7 and June 18. You can
register for the next Forum and see video of the last one at
<http://www.transitionkw.ca/mayorsforumseries.html>
http://www.transitionkw.ca/mayorsforumseries.html
<http://resilientwaterloo.ca/mayorsforumseries>
http://resilientwaterloo.ca/mayorsforumseries
5. Hidden Valley
. Daphne N. showed a map illustrating the extension of River Road
that is planned through Hidden Valley in Kitchener, noting the harm it will
do to the ecosystem and the threat to the reservoir for 25% of the area's
drinking water. She also discussed light pollution in the area from Highway
8.
. The Region's public consultation of the extension is on 4:30-8:00
on May 17. Q & A is 7:00-8:00. Knights of Columbus Hall, 110 Manitou Drive,
Kitchener.
. The information Package for the PCC will be posted on the
Region's main website under Council/Committees Meetings, agendas, with the
Planning and Works Committee Agenda for May 3, 2011, and on a new project
website: <http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/riverextension>
www.regionofwaterloo.ca/riverextension
6. Other Business
. Kevin T. and Deb S. attended the International Greenbelt
Conference, where a draft agreement was signed to work together as a global
greenbelt network.
. Susan B. noted that the GREN executive had sent short letter to
the MNR opposing the Melancthon Quarry.
. Yvonne F. reported that the City of Kitchener will be closing
downtown King St. to vehicle traffic on four Sundays from June until
September. GREN could have booth there.
Postscript on the Transit Vote by GREN members
On May 2, John J. sent an e-mail to All GREN noting that all 17 paid-up GREN
members had voted on the motion quoted above. The motion passed with 14 in
favour and 3 opposed. Therefore, this is the GREN position that we will be
promoting to the Regional Council. John noted the following:
The fact that this is the GREN position does not mean that GREN members
shouldn't present a differing view to Regional Council if they so wish. Just
make sure that it is presented on behalf of yourself or of another group
that you are part of - but not on behalf of GREN. Likewise, even if you
support the motion that GREN has adopted, we encourage you to speak to or
e-mail the councillors and participate in the various public input sessions
promoting the position. The more people and groups that speak out the
better.
Minutes by Susan Bryant
Free Energy and Water Saving Workshops
Dates: Tuesdays and Saturdays from March to May 2011
Location: REEP House for Sustainable Living
Topics: electricity savings, furnaces, water conservation, and more!
<http://www.reepgreen.ca/events_workshops.php> Click here for workshop
details
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