[All] Waterloo Council Delays Costco to Address Community Concerns!

Tue Apr 8 21:45:27 EDT 2014

John
Unfortunately, you are so right.
Neil

Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2014 20:23:32 -0400
From: jjackson at web.ca
To: deswid at gmail.com; eleanor7000 at gmail.com
CC: all at gren.ca
Subject: Re: [All] Waterloo Council Delays Costco to Address Community Concerns!

Message body

And I add to Deb’s concerns that the decision on whether – actually on when - to proceed will not be made by council, but by a civil servant. Council is now off the hook. This is not the way that an important community decision should be made.

John 

On 14-04-08 7:40 PM, "Deb Swidrovich" <deswid at gmail.com> wrote:

As I see it, City of Waterloo councillors tried to appease everyone:

- last night's approval of the zone change essentially is an approval of a Costco at that location (because of the way the big box store designation was written into the City's official plan; it was almost hand written for Costco) which they likely thought would keep the Costco people from running to the OMB

- this allows the Rice Group (owners of the property) to move ahead with the land augmentation (SWM ponds, etc.) (a condition of the land swap that was heard before this Costco application) thinking it would keep them at bay

- it addresses some of our concerns that we brought forward about the need for an integrated traffic analysis, public consultation, etc. so that we don't run to the OMB

- it makes it easier for councillors during their campaigns who can tell their constituents that they approved Costco (for those who want it); but they've put everything on hold until the traffic analysis and road improvements are done (for those who are concerned about traffic or don't want to see it at that location), and that Costco may go away if the studies take too long (for those who don't want it at all)

-  the politicking has already begun with the Region blaming the City for the traffic problems and the City blaming the Region (Karen Scian, City councillor who presented the motion will be running against Sean Strickland and Jane Mitchell this term).  There's already a discussion on CTV about the cost, who will pay, and whether the Regional roads can be upgraded before 2020.

I would have preferred:

- a deferral

- had they not approved the zoning we might have had a chance to remove the big box store designation from the Official Plan based on traffic issues; now it is embedded in the Plan

- I have the same concerns as Eleanor that we will not have representation on the task force under the Commissioner of Integrated Planning and Public Works, or have much influence in the final say other than responding to another report from staff that could recommend that Costco or another big box store be approved at that location (Kevin is aware of this as well)

I am still concerned that:

- we will have gridlock

- the Laurel Creek ESL will not be protected

- that the Wilmot Line will suffer

We do have another kick at the can which is what we have to work with now.  Time will tell.  

We will continue to push to be included.

Deb Swidrovich

On Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 5:25 PM, Eleanor Grant <eleanor7000 at gmail.com> wrote:

Kevin - friend - if you could take off those rose-coloured glasses for a minute:)

Costco is APPROVED.  Only Mark Whaley voted against that.  Nothing else can go on that land now.  The pressure to speed up the study will be enormous.

Who is this Commissioner of Integrated Planning and Public Works?  Can s/he be trusted not to approve a transportation report that's as big a joke as the one presented last night by staffer Joel Kotter (that you were shaking your head all the way through)?  It's the Commissioner that has to be satisfied, not the people.

There don't exist any transportation solutions that could accommodate the thing.  If the study did its job it would conclude that.  But it won't.  We'll end up with a half-baked outcome that DOESN'T protect Wilmot Line and the ESLs, and DOESN'T keep Erb's Rd an open way between city and township.  A lot of disastrous outcomes ..... 

Talk Thurs.

Eleanor

On Apr 8, 2014 4:53 PM, "Kevin Thomason" <kevinthomason at mac.com> wrote:

Wow!  I'm thrilled to let you know that at last night's Council meeting, Waterloo City Councillors listened to our community and voted to delay the proposed West side Waterloo Costco development to undertake a detailed study of traffic issues (vehicle, cycling, and pedestrian), involve the community in proper public engagement, and implement the required transportation infrastructure before allowing Costco to proceed.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone (including a significant number of GREN folks) throughout our community who spoke up and expressed concerns about this proposed high-volume, big-box development.  Fourteen delegations from Waterloo, Wilmot, and Kitchener did a great job presenting a myriad of issues to City Council.  Costco Vice-President Jeff Ishida tried to address several areas of concern however, it was clear that many unanswered questions remained.

It was amazing how delegations presented a broad spectrum of community concerns including traffic, financial, environmental, landfill, EMS, and cultural issues during the four hour long meeting.  Community members made it clear that Waterloo would not succeed in the future if our city faced serious congestion and gridlock daily, neighbourhoods were compromised, and rare environmentally sensitive lands that have been protected through decades of efforts were overwhelmed by traffic.

City Staff and consultants did their best to defend Costco's development plans and their recommendations to proceed immediately, however even after hours of discussion there were too many unanswered questions, too many vague responses, and too many outstanding issues - including considerable concerns about the lack of public engagement on this large development proposal that stood to negatively affect so many people.

The standing room-only crowd filling the Council Chambers heard the Mayor and nearly every City Councillor speak about their serious concerns with this proposed Costco and the predicted impacts to the West side.  In the end, Councillors voted against their own City Staff recommendation and sent a clear message that only after outstanding issues are addressed, and solutions have been found, completed, and are fully in place, would the Costco development be permitted to proceed.

The Approved Motion

Specifically, the complete holding provision motion introduced by Councillor Karen Scian, places the entire Costco store, gas bar and surrounding development on hold until:

a) An integrated multi-modal traffic analysis (including existing and planned development) has been completed and accepted to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Integrated Planning and Public works;

b) Public open houses and engagement has been held regarding the integrated traffic plan; and,

c) That the necessary transportation improvements have been completed.

The funding and study is to begin in 2014, will involve co-ordination between local and regional governments, and is expected to ensure the protection of vulnerable neighbourhoods and environmental areas.

Community Engagement

It has been incredible to see how quickly and strongly our community rallied in recent days upon learning the full details about Costco's proposal and the ensuing issues - particularly the severe traffic congestion forecast over such a large area.   While most people in Waterloo would like to see a Costco warehouse store in our city, the proposed Erb St. W. location listed in the City Official Plan has proved to be an incredibly constrained and challenging site.  Few could fathom that such a massive Costco drawing an estimated 5,500 cars/day would be built on only a two lane road with no other accesses or road infrastructure for up to four years in such an already congested area.

Councillor Scian reported receiving more than 350 e-mails in the past week alone on this development proposal.  Neighbourhood associations, community groups, and citizens met with Staff and Councillors to try to understand forecasted impacts, and last week on very short notice Costco Executives and consultants flew from Virginia and Ottawa to meet with representatives from area neighbourhood associations to better understand our concerns.  Costco has a global reputation for being a responsible corporate citizen and an excellent employer.  So far our experience with their team reflects this excellence.  I am optimistic that Costco and its developers/consultants will work with our community, City Staff, and Councillors to find the needed solutions and best path forward.

Thank You and Next Steps

Thank you to everyone, every group, neighbourhood association, and organization that took the time to learn about this development proposal, it's forecasted impacts, and spoke up with concerns.  Our city leaders have responded and we now have a unique opportunity to pause and reflect on the current state of the West side of Waterloo. We have a chance to envision the future and develop a plan that will create the community that we want.  

We need to be innovative, creative and visionary.  With a limited land supply remaining we must carefully consider the future - what we want the Westside to become, how we want to travel, how much congestion is acceptable, and what our legacy will be for future generations.

At this point it is too early to say how long it will take to develop and implement this plan to address the community's concerns.  It will likely take several months to complete the integrated plan and perhaps several years before all the solutions and infrastructure can be put into place before Costco and the surrounding developments can proceed.

Please share any thoughts or ideas on how we can develop a world-class plan for the West side.  Congratulations again, to everyone who sent letters, attended meetings, talked with neighbours, and worked so hard to help ensure the best possible future for our community.

Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road

Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519 <tel:%28519%29%20888-0519> 

Mobile Phone: (519) 240-1648 <tel:%28519%29%20240-1648> 

Twitter: @kthomason

E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com

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John Jackson

17 Major Street

Kitchener, Ontario N2H 4R1

519-744-7503

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