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

Kevin Thomason kevinthomason at mac.com
Tue Jul 19 01:15:38 EDT 2022 

Good Day,

Thank you to everyone who spoke up and sent e-mails/calls to City of Kitchener Councillors and Staff over the past couple of days since the unusual summer Special Council Meeting was announced.  A strong, clear message was sent by a significant number of citizens that helped to persuade Kitchener Councillors to stay with their previous recommendations to the Region of Waterloo not to undertake any new actions to request additional greenfield expansion or urban sprawl that numerous developers were seeking.

It was a lengthy meeting that stretched for over 3.5 hours with delegations from myself urging Council to support the visionary Regional Official Plan recently endorsed by Regional Council and two delegations representing large developers advocating for hundreds of hectares of farmland loss and destruction for additional subdivisions.  There were lots of questions from Councillors to all the delegations as well as to Regional Staff who were also present at the meeting.  There was also vigorous debate between the Councillors.

In the end, the motion below was approved by a majority of Council and it is fantastic to see no action taken on the developer requests and City of Kitchener Council not requesting any additional farmland for development at this point.  

Next Steps

Today (Tuesday, July 19th) there is the Statuatory Public Open House at Regional Headquarters at 150 Fredrick Street.  I urge you to drop-by this in-person event either in the afternoon from 2pm to 4pm or the evening from 6pm to 8pm to learn more about the Regional Official Plan firsthand, speak with Regional Staff, and show strong support for this visionary plan that we are going to need for the years ahead.  If you can’t attend today I hope that you will e-mail or call Regional Councillors and Staff to express support.

Next Wednesday (July 27th) the Statuatory Public Council Meeting virtually online where Regional Councillors will hear from members of the public wishing to speak to the Regional Official Plan.  I encourage you to register to delegate and speak up for the future you want to see - even if it is just a few sentences.  We need to show strong support for this bold, visionary plan to help counter all those who are seeking to defer and undermine it.  Additional meeting details are below.

Please share any questions or ideas.

Cheers,
Kevin.

------------------------------- 
1) Motion Approved by City of Kitchener Council on July 18th, 2022:



2) Notice of Statuatory Open House and Public Meeting - Tuesday, July 19th and Wednesday, July 27th:





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

> On Jul 17, 2022, at 10:46 AM, Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com> wrote:
> 
> 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 living in Kitchener.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Kevin Thomason.
> 
> -------------------------------
> 
> 1) City of Kitchener Staff Report
> 
> <Kitchener Regional Official Plan Review - Proposed Growth Approach and Draft Policies - DSD-2022-313(1).pdf>
> 
> 
> 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 <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>
> 
> -----------------------------------------

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