Coming Up: August 26
Council meets on Monday. The agenda includes:
A rezoning request for Trader Ridge
Business arising from a new Code of Conduct for Council
Amendments to the Fees and Charges Bylaw
Following is more information and my take on agenda items.
As always, any mistakes or opinions belong to me and me alone, not to Council or City staff.
While I express my current views below, I always go into meetings ready to listen and with an open mind. I learn new information and participate in debate. This always informs and sometimes changes how I vote on issues.
If you would like to watch the meeting or read any of its supporting material for yourself, you can do so by clicking here. The City will post the highlights of Council’s decisions here.
Trader Ridge Rezoning Request
Council has been asked to rezone land in the Trader Ridge development from Arterial Commercial and General Commercial to Urban Reserve. The purpose of this rezoning is to allow the owner to farm the subject properties.
I’m not sure what reasons the developer has for making this request. I look forward to hearing them, and will be going into the meeting with an open mind. However:
This is going to be a hard sell for me. I have the following concerns:
This land is fully serviced with a storm pond, water, sewer, streetlights, paved roads, sidewalks, and other infrastructure. The City paid for some of this infrastructure using tax dollars, and it needs to maintain this infrastructure using more tax dollars. This investment in infrastructure will be largely wasted if it is just serving agricultural use.
Many types of agricultural activity would have detrimental effects on the nearby houses and businesses.
This is ready-to-build commercial land right in a part of our region that is seeing significant growth. Farming doesn’t seem like a good use of it.
I’m ready to have my mind changed, but I’ll likely be voting against this proposal.
Council Code of Conduct
In May, Council created a new Code of Conduct bylaw to govern the behaviour of Councillors. Its implementation required some additional work. Council will be debating and voting on two pieces of business arising from it:
Terms of Reference for a Complaint Adjudication Committee: this will be a group primarily composed of Public Members which would meet if a complaint is made against a Councillor. It would investigate any allegations and recommend next steps to Council. Click here to read the proposed Terms of Reference.
Independent Legal Advice for Councillors Policy and Procedures: these would lay out if and when a Councillor could access legal advice at the expense of the City. You can see the proposed policy here.
You can click here to learn more about Council’s Code of Conduct.
I intend to vote in favour of everything proposed- I currently see no problems with any of it.
Fees and Charges Bylaw Amendment
In March, Council authorized a number of changes to the fees for City run child care programs. In order for these fees to become effective, the Fees and Charges Bylaw needs to be amended. Administration is bringing forward the necessary recommendations for Council to vote on.
Administration has recommended one additional change to the Fees and Charges Bylaw. It has to do with Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Lot Grading Fees. This work currently has a fee of $220/hectare up to a maximum of $1,100. It has been proposed that Council institute a minimum charge of $220.
I intend to vote in favour of both these amendments.
That’s what is on our agenda for Monday. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.
We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.
After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.
Thanks for reading!
-Dylan