[All] URGENT - Kitchener Calls Emergency Council Meeting on ROP for Monday

[Kevin Thomason]

Good Day,

This past Friday afternoon, the City of Kitchener issued a surprise notice that a highly unusual Special City of Kitchener Council Meeting would be called on Monday (tomorrow) during the peak of the summer break to further discuss the Regional Official Plan that has already been the subject of at least three other Special Council meetings in recent weeks by the City of Kitchener.

The purpose of this extremely rushed meeting isn’t exactly clear.  The City of Kitchener has already sent a detailed resolution to the Region of Waterloo on June 13th outlining their desires for the next 30 years and has received almost everything that they requested including:

	- 140,000+ more residents, 
	- 59,500+ jobs, 
	- a focus on intensification and the missing middle, 
	- a more balanced and affordable mix of low, medium, and high density housing, 
	- meaningful changes to address housing affordability,
	- a significant focus on climate change,
	- a majority of the future growth and development for the entire region being directed to Kitchener.

City Staff have drafted a new report (attached below) in which they state they don/t have any significant concerns or objections to the latest Regional Official Plan draft and that they are satisfied that it is in accordance with provincial criteria.

A Special Council Meeting wouldn’t be called during the two month recess in the middle of summer on one day’s notice simply to discuss a Staff Report.  We know though that developers have been extremely upset with the visionary Regional Official Plan being proposed by the Region.  This final ROP draft has a strong climate change focus with minimal urban boundary expansion as the public has requested and is consistent with our current Smart Growth trajectory.  Some developers and land speculators have been doing everything that they can to defer and revise this plan to see far more farmland targetted for destruction than just the 150ha proposed for residential development and the 456ha proposed for employment lands.  

It is feared that Councillors beholden to developers are going to try to push for significant greenfield expansion in the Southwest corner of Kitchener despite the fact that it is not needed and can’t even be justified by the external consultants land needs analysis, City of Kitchener Staff, or Regional Staff.  The City of Kitchener already has decades of supply of development lots already designated and approved.  It is broadly agreed that there is no shortage of development lands in Kitchener, yet developers still want more.

While this proposed Waterloo Regional 2051 Official Plan does not have the zero hectares of farmland loss like Hamilton and Halton Region, Regional Staff are recommending only at total of 606 ha additional hectares (150 ha residential and 456 ha employment lands) of boundary expansion over the next 30 years to accommodate over 300,000 more people and an additional 178,000 jobs.  While it is unfortunate to see almost 1,500 acres of our irreplaceable farmland forever destroyed in the midst of a climate and pending food crisis, this is a visionary plan that is far better than other growth alternatives that would have seen far more farmland loss.

It would be a shame to see elected officials in Kitchener try to increase this minimal 150ha of expansion and destroy prime farmland while also threatening important groundwater recharge areas in SouthWest Kitchener.  It is possible that they could also recommend moving the Countryside Line as well to please these developers and land speculators with this windfall (see Figure 2 in the Kitchener report below - “Proposed New Countryside Line”).

The Special Council Meeting has been called for 1:00pm tomorrow (Monday) on Zoom.  You can delegate to speak at the meeting anytime up to 2 hours before the meeting by calling the Kitchener Clerk Dianne Saunderson at (519) 741-2200 x7278.

You can write or call Kitchener Councillors and Mayor Vrbanovic at the addresses below to urge them to listen to citizens wanting sustainability and the complete, 15 minute efficient neighbourhoods we need for the future - not more farmland loss and unnecessary urban sprawl.

We don’t have much time to act.  Please speak up for the future that you would like to see - particularly if you are a GREN member living in Kitchener.

Sincerely,
Kevin Thomason.

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1) City of Kitchener Staff Report




2) City of Kitchener Council Contact Information

Berry Vrbanovic (Mayor, Kitchener) - mayor at kitchener.ca <mailto:mayor at kitchener.ca>
Scott Davey (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 1) - scott.davey at kitchener.ca <mailto:scott.davey at kitchener.ca>
Dave Schnider (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 2) - dave.schnider at kitchener.ca <mailto:dave.schnider at kitchener.ca>
John Gazzola (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 3)- john.gazzola at kitchener.ca <mailto:john.gazzola at kitchener.ca>
Christine Michaud (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 4) - christine.michaud at kitchener.ca <mailto:christine.michaud at kitchener.ca>
Kelly Galloway-Sealock (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 5) - kelly.galloway-sealock at kitchener.ca <mailto:kelly.galloway-sealock at kitchener.ca>
Paul Singh (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 6) - paul.singh at kitchener.ca <mailto:paul.singh at kitchener.ca>
Bil Ioannidis (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 7) - bil.ioannidis at kitchener.ca <mailto:bil.ioannidis at kitchener.ca>
Margaret Johnston (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 8) - councillor.johnston at kitchener.ca <mailto:councillor.johnston at kitchener.ca>
Debbie Chapman (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 9) - debbie.chapman at kitchener.ca <mailto:debbie.chapman at kitchener.ca>
Sarah Marsh (Councillor, Kitchener Ward 10) - sarah.marsh at kitchener.ca <mailto:sarah.marsh at kitchener.ca>


3) Upcoming Dates

New! - Monday, July 18th 1:00pm - Emergency Special Council Meeting - City of Kitchener

Tuesday, July 19th 2:00pm to 4:00pm - Statutory Public Open House at Regional Headquarters - 150 Fredrick Street, Kitchener
		6:00pm to 8:00pm - Statutory Public Open House at Regional Headquarters - 150 Fredrick Street, Kitchener

Wednesday, July 27th 3:00pm - Statutory Public Meeting on the Regional Official Plan Update

Thursday, August 18th - Final vote and approval of the 2051 Regional Official Plan

Monday, October 24th - Municipal Elections


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

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com

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