General Committee Meeting Agenda

-
Council Chambers, City Hall
500 George Street North

1.a
Resolution to meet in Closed Session

 

1.b
Closed Session Minutes for Approval

 

1.b.1
September 12, 2022

 

1.c
Section 239(2)(f) Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose - Legal advice re by-law amendment

 

12.a.1, 12.a.2, 12.a.3, 12.a.4, 12.a.5, 12.a.6, 12.a.7

Whereas an ON DEMAND system creates barriers to accessibility for the elderly, people living with disabilities, or people who do not have a phone.


Whereas the operation of a 40ft bus intended for conventional regular passenger service routes, used on an ON DEMAND call-in basis is counteractive to maximizing the use of mass transit to reduce GHG emissions. 


Whereas efficient and accessible publicly funded public transit systems are based on equitable city coverage and an expected frequency of service routes.


Therefore, be it resolved that the Transit Liaison committee with the full complement of members, including the ATU1320 President, and based on the Terms of Reference, be convened, with a report of committee recommendations to be brought to the April cycle of Meeting for review. 

That the City Transit System return to the Hub and Spoke System effective the 1st of February 2023.

Whereas homelessness is chronic and increasing in the City of Peterborough up to the present time, resulting in increased vulnerability to the unhoused constituents of our municipality.


Whereas the City of Peterborough has recently issued a statement indicating that our municipality is presently applying principles of “Housing First” to support the provision of shelter to unhoused constituents at this time.


Therefore, be it resolved that City Staff study and provide a report at the January 23, 2023 General Committee Meeting on the unconditional shelter, housing as a human right, “Housing First” model as a potential long-term solution to eradicating homelessness in Peterborough, as implemented in global municipalities such as Helsinki, in a national municipality (Medicine Hat) and in an Ontario municipality (Thunder Bay).

Whereas a number of partners in the community, including the Peterborough Police Service, Canadian Mental Health Association – Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA), FourCAST, the Housing Resource Centre, the United Way, and One City Peterborough, have prepared a proposal for an Emergency Winter Response dated November 25, 2022; and


Whereas the proposal has been submitted to the City of Peterborough for a financial contribution in the amount of $100,000 to finalize the funding needed for this program; and


Whereas the City of Peterborough has declared a Homelessness Emergency; and


Whereas there are approximately 326 unhoused individuals in the City and County of Peterborough, according to the Built for Zero monthly data from October 2022; and


Whereas the 2021 Point in Time Count for Peterborough reported a 350% increase in outdoor homelessness, with 47 of 176 respondents (or 27%) indicating they were sleeping outdoors in December; and


Whereas the current shelter system is neither sufficient for nor accessible to all unhoused individuals; and


Whereas we are days away from winter, when temperatures will drop, and an increasing number of unhoused individuals in our community will face imminent risk of injury or death; and


Whereas people who are homeless live half as long as those who are housed – a pattern that is exacerbated by unmitigated exposure to environmental harms (e.g., extreme cold or heat), as well as preventable deaths caused by solitary drug use; and


Whereas the Government of Canada ratified the National Housing Strategy Act, thereby enshrining the right to adequate housing as a fundamental human right;


Therefore, be it resolved that:


The City of Peterborough provide a grant to the aforementioned community partners, through One City, in the amount of $100,000, for an Emergency Winter Response as outlined in the proposal dated November 25, 2022, for the period January 5, 2023 to April 30, 2023, and that the amount be funded from the Social Services Reserve; and that senior City of Peterborough staff develop a sustainable ongoing Winter Respite Plan to be presented to Council for approval by March 31, 2023.

Whereas the City of Peterborough has a declared a Homelessness Emergency; and


Whereas Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) has over the past year developed a detailed Pilot Project to house chronically unhoused individuals in our community; and


Whereas PATH currently has 10 sleeping cabins built and ready for use by unhoused individuals, with an additional 5+ cabins in the process of being built; and


Whereas multiple members of City Council campaigned for election on the promise to address the ongoing Homelessness Emergency with urgency, and made specific commitments to support PATH upon commencement of this Council term;


 Be it resolved that:


The City of Peterborough support PATH: Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes in implementing its Phase One Project by December 21, 2022, by taking the following actions:


1. Support, in principle, a Temporary Use By-Law and potential Site Plan Exemption application to allow PATH to expediently use the land at the west end of the property at 834 Park St. to launch the aforementioned pilot project and house up to 15 chronically homeless individuals with sleeping cabins and supportive buildings, including sanitary and food services, with support services provided by Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough through a Memorandum of Understanding with PATH.


2. Grant approval to waive the application and development fees for the processing of the above applications to establish the proposed use on a temporary basis.


3. Direct staff to expedite the review of the above applications by processing a “pre-consultation” while concurrently reviewing the application, and by putting the applications at the “top of the queue” by bringing the application forward to the first possible public meeting and Council date for a decision after submission – thereby enabling the establishment of the pilot project this winter, should the applications ultimately be approved.


4. Allocate $100,000 for start-up funding immediately for Winter 2022–23.

Whereas the More Homes Built Faster Act, Bill 23, lacks language which guarantees that truly affordable housing to address the most vulnerable will be built within existing urban boundaries where there are plenty of development opportunities, and instead would negatively impact communities by allowing expensive sprawling development and windfall profits within environmentally protected areas and by transferring increased costs from private developers to taxpayers;


Whereas Bill 23 policies threaten to seriously reduce protection of the number and extent of significant wetlands, and also the mandate of Conservation Authorities to manage watersheds, provide natural heritage and pollution information and advice to municipalities, and conserve natural resources for economic, social and environmental benefits; 


Whereas Bill 23 includes cuts to provisions for green building standards, heritage protection, rental replacement standards, inclusionary zoning, and citizens’ rights to information, public meetings, and participation in appeals of planning decisions; 


Whereas the Bill’s accelerated review timelines, Ontario Land Tribunal cost awards, and the loss of parkland dedication, development charges and community benefits, which are ordinarily levied on homebuilders to help pay for infrastructure and services, would result in significant revenue loss and increased staffing costs all around for municipalities while they are attending to the unprecedented crises of the unhoused, rising inflation, climate change, biodiversity loss, and a time of increasing financial instability. 


Therefore be it resolved: 


That in solidarity with the Association of Ontario Municipalities and the City of Kawartha Lakes, that Peterborough City Council stand in opposition to Bill 23,  and that Council demand a repeal of Bill 23 due to the lack of an adequate timeframe to allow for fulsome and collaborative consultation with the City, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, First Nations, Conservation Ontario and other community organizations; 


That City staff work with local conservation authorities and others to identify impacts in the City and watershed and provide formal commentary on Bill 23 and associated changes as opportunities arise; and,


That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Parm Gill, Minister of Red Tape Reduction, the Honourable David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Honourable Laurie Scott, Chair of the Legislative Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, MPP Dave Smith, Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Ontario Green Party and MPP Guelph, John Fraser, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and MPP Ottawa South, Peter Tabuns, Interim Leader Ontario NDP Party and MPP Toronto-Danforth, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Rural Ontario Municipal Association, Ontario Big City Mayors Caucus, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, County of Peterborough and its Townships, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and neighbouring counties and townships.