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Council Highlights
Archive
June 2006 |
New governance model for the
City
Council approved a series of changes to the City’s
Council and committees, including the creation of an
executive committee responsible for setting policy
directions. The reforms are intended to improve the
decision-making structure and neighbourhood involvement,
and prepare the City for powers resulting from new City
of Toronto Act. The new governance model will be
implemented when the new Council takes office in
December. Under the most controversial provision, the
mayor gained the right to appoint the deputy mayor and
the chairs of Council’s standing committees. I agree
with the position expressed by many ratepayer and
community organizations - that this new power will
disempower citizens who have traditionally advocated on
policy through their local councillors.
Other
highlights of the changes:
• The
13-member executive committee, which replaces the
current policy and finance committee, will consist of
the mayor (as chair), the deputy mayor, the chairs of
standing committees, and four other members of Council.
•
Council will select a speaker and deputy speaker from
among its members to help conduct its monthly meetings.
• A
revised structure for standing committees will be
implemented, with seven policy-focused committees
reporting to Council.
• The
four community councils will take on more responsibility
for decisions on local neighbourhood issues, including
planning applications. The City will also be reviewing
the number and boundaries of community councils.
• The
City will launch a community dialogue initiative in the
new term of Council aimed at reconnecting Torontonians
with their local government.
Review
of City programs
Council adopted a program review framework designed to
complement the City administration's existing management
and accountability systems. Program reviews will look
at the major programs and services the City delivers to
ensure that they respond to the community’s needs, and
to ensure that the services continue to be relevant and
are delivered effectively and efficiently. Major
programs and services will be independently reviewed in
a five-year cycle in the context of the new City of
Toronto Act, services provided by other governments, the
non-profit and private sectors, and other emerging
legislation or financial considerations. In my view,
this is long overdue. I will be watching it closely to
determine what efficiencies and savings it delivers.
Front
yard parking
Council adopted a comprehensive set of policies and
regulations to harmonize the City’s management of
residential front yard and boulevard parking across
Toronto. The regulatory package covers matters such as
the dimensions of parking pads and driveways,
landscaping requirements, number and location of parking
spaces in front yards, and parking on the public
boulevard. In Ward 25, residents in the North York
portion will find that front yard parking is still
prohibited and residents in the former City of Toronto
will find that front yard parking continues to be
available under certain administrative provisions.
Panhandling
Council adopted a motion directing City staff to report
back on the possibility of creating a quality-of-life
bylaw designed to stop people from “panhandling” when
their soliciting of pedestrians for money interferes
with the public's day-to-day activities. In addition,
staff will look into measures that would discourage
panhandling in places such as Nathan Phillips Square and
other civic squares.
Street
furniture
Council authorized staff to begin the process of issuing
a request for proposals to the private sector for
supplying the City of Toronto with street furniture for
the next 20 years. Included are items such as litter
and recycling bins, transit shelters, public benches,
bicycle stands and newspaper vending boxes. The
supplier will be able to recover costs by having the
right to sell advertising on some of the street
furniture. The City will continue to receive a portion
of the advertising revenues – which are currently
running at about $6 million per year.
Pilot
project for design panel
Council approved a pilot project to test the feasibility
of incorporating a Design Review Panel into the
development approvals process in order to help meet the
objectives of the City’s Official Plan and the Beautiful
City initiative. The two-year pilot project will be
carried out in several areas of Toronto – none in Ward
25. Design review panels provide professional advice on
matters of design that affect the public realm. The aim
is to achieve high standards of design for buildings,
streets, parks and open spaces.
Social
assistance in Toronto
Council endorsed a broad policy document with reforms to
the City’s delivery of social assistance and related
supports to low-income, vulnerable residents. The
action plan, called Systems of Survival, Systems of
Support, was prepared by the Social Services Division
after extensive consultation and research. The goal is
to ensure that adequate benefits, services and supports
are provided to low-income people. According to the
report, the social safety net in Toronto and beyond has
been eroding in recent years because of changes in the
labour market and reduced access to government-supported
programs such as employment insurance and adult
education.
Disposal
of sewage biosolids
City
Council directed staff to pursue legal remedies and seek
alternative sites, if required, for the disposal of
Toronto’s biosolids. The action responds to recent
notification from Republic Services that it will not
accept biosolids from Toronto or other municipalities
for disposal after August 1. Toronto’s shipment of
other solid waste to Republic’s Carleton Farms Landfill
in Michigan is not affected.
Garbage
collection in Etobicoke and York
After
a fractious debate, Council voted 19-17 in favour of
proceeding with a call for bids on picking up curbside
household garbage and recycling in the York and
Etobicoke communities. The current contracts are about
to expire. The former cities of York and Etobicoke
contracted out their garbage collection before
amalgamation in 1998 and that arrangement continued
after amalgamation. Curbside collection is handled by
the City’s own municipal workers in the rest of
Toronto. With Council’s latest decision, it is not
entirely clear whether the city’s union will be able to
“bid” on the York and Etobicoke business – despite
having expressed interest in doing so. In my view, the
previous “garbage strike” caused such disruption to the
City that we should NOT be contemplating insourcing this
service further.
Support
for community groups
Council agreed to look into establishing a policy
promoting the allocation of surplus City-owned space for
use by community organizations in vulnerable
neighbourhoods. Community use would be the second
priority (after the development of affordable housing)
in allocating surplus City-owned space. In addition,
the City might waive its usual building permit fees on
certain projects that include space for community use.
Council directed a committee to work on the new
policy.
By-law
to Prohibit Construction Noise on Sundays in Residential
Neighbourhoods
Council adopted a by-law to prohibit the operation of
construction equipment on Sundays and statutory
holidays, in residential neighbourhoods. The
prohibited period will now run from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00
a.m. weekdays and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on
Saturdays, and all day Sundays and holidays.
Importantly, the owner of land upon which construction
equipment is being operated or any construction is
taking place will be required to post and maintain a
sign setting out the time restrictions of the by-law and
including contact information for an individual
representative who may be contacted during all on-site
working hours. I have received a great many complaints
about construction noise – this by-law should help.
Non-Council
Items:
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OMB Decision –
1000 Mt. Pleasant. The Ontario
Municipal Board has permitted a 176-unit, 13-storey
apartment building – overturning City Council’s
earlier refusal. The proposed development, on the
site of a former service station, will also
eliminate a treed greenspace area to the south.
Sherwood Park Residents Association and nearby
residents proposed several alternatives to minimize
the oversight and loss of privacy of the adjacent
two-storey family homes and retention of greenspace.
And, based on the City’s Official Plan and sound
planning principles, City planning staff were also
opposed. But the applicant, confident of eventual
success at the OMB, persisted. In my view, this is
another regrettable OMB decision – an unelected,
unaccountable body overturning a decision, based on
sound planning principles, of a responsible, elected
Council. The provincial government has proposed
reforms of the OMB in Bill 51 which are currently
before the legislature. These reforms are
inadequate, in my view, and would not have prevented
this unfortunate decision on 1000 Mt. Pleasant.
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Licensing of
Builders. Councillor John Filion
proposed that the City consider the licensing of
builders, based on a litany of complaints that many
Councillors have received for many years on some
builders – e.g. persistent failure to maintain a
clean and orderly site, trespass and other
disruptions of neighbours, etc. This proposal
failed at the Planning & Transportation Committee
stage, on a tie vote. Some opposing Councillors
argued that it would merely be another business cost
that would be passed on to home buyers. I supported
this proposal and I am interested in your views.
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Property
Assessments – Frozen for Two Years.
After the Ombudsman reported that the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation had systemic
problems which must be corrected in order to improve
the consistency and transparency of the property
assessment process, the Provincial Government
decided to cancel the next two reassessments –
effectively freezing assessments at their current
level. This will permit the provincial government
to determine what reforms it will introduce to
improve the consistency, transparency and stability
of the property assessment system.
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