GCA Board meeting October 2020

GCA Board Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 p.m.
via Zoom

Chair: Laura Smith

Secretary and Timekeeper: Sheryl Lattimore

Board members present: Laura Smith, Elizabeth Ballard, Bob Brocklebank, Dan Chook Reid, June Creelman, John Crump, Silvia Grandi, Jennifer Humphries, Carol MacLeod, Brenda Perras, Bill Price, Steph Small, Sue Stefko, Caroline Warburton, Sarah Viehbeck, Sheryl Lattimore, Kate Reekie, Angus McCabe, Angela Keller-Herzog, Vaughn Guy, Christina Honeywell, Andrew Marquis, Carolyn Mackenzie, Colette Downie, Rochelle Handelman, Johanna Pershon, Anthony Carricato, Sam Harris

Others present: Jonathan McLeod, Peter Foster, Beatrice Keleher-Raffoul, Robert Monaghan, James Kenny, James Duncan, Jeff Pervett, John Haysom, Rina Young

Opening Remarks

Laura Smith opened the meeting with an Indigenous reconciliation acknowledgment. She said that we will review GCA bylaws this year and that, until then, we will practice one person-one vote.

Approval of the Agenda and Minutes

The approval of the agenda was moved by Bob Brocklebank and seconded by Rochelle Handelman. The approval of the minutes was moved by Bill Price and seconded by Brenda Perras. Both were approved without changes.

Report from the Councillor

Jonathan McLeod provided a report on behalf of Councillor Shawn Menard. In his comments to the GCA he highlighted a number of ongoing initiatives including: public consultations on the Bank Street height and character study would take place on October 28, 2020; public consultations regarding Aberdeen Square were underway and lots of feedback had been received to date; and, consultation with respect to the City budget was also ongoing and early engagement would be key to effecting change.

GCA Positions for the City of Ottawa Budget

Health, Housing and Social Services Committee

Motion 1: Affordable Housing

Whereas Ottawa declared an affordable housing and homelessness emergency in January;

Whereas the GCA advocated for $15 million to go towards affordable housing in the 2019 budget, above and beyond federal and provincial grants.

Whereas the GCA advocated for an inclusionary zoning by-law that makes 10% of new development affordable, with deeply affordable housing within 1 km of rapid transit stations (Feb 2019); and,

Whereas despite significant investments from the City in 2019 and 2020 budgets, there are still 12,000 households on the Centralized Waiting List for affordable housing.

Be it resolved that the GCA, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges the City of Ottawa to:

Commit at least $20 million in Budget 2021 of City funding, over and above federal and provincial grants, to build new affordable housing near rapid transit stations;
Pass a strong citywide inclusionary zoning by-law that ensures 25% of new development is dedicated to affordable housing and places a special emphasis on deeply affordable housing within 1 km of rapid transit stations; and,
Ensure that all available government-owned land within 1 km of current & future rapid transit stations is used for non-profit and co-op housing (and that the City provide land to the newly established Land Trust in Ottawa specifically for affordable housing near rapid transit).

Dan Chook Reid presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Dan Chook Reid and seconded by Angela Keller-Herzog. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Motion 2: Accessible Public Toilets

Whereas a network of safe, clean and accessible public toilets can be seen as part of essential public health infrastructure;

Whereas closures of restaurants and other public spaces due to COVID-19 has made it even more difficult for people to access toilets;

Be it resolved that the GCA, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges the City of Ottawa to:

Put out signage to indicate the toilets that are open in parks or other public spaces;
Provide a small subsidy for businesses that are willing to open their toilets to the public. The subsidy would enable businesses to maintain and supply hygienic and clean toilets with proper signage; and,
Provide permanent public toilets at strategic locations where toilets are not publically located. This can include but not be limited to Park and Ride lots and high pedestrian traffic areas.

Dan Chook Reid presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Dan Chook Reid and seconded by Brenda Perras. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Lansdowne Committee

Motion 3: Aberdeen Pavilion Restoration

Whereas the City of Ottawa is planning to undertake a renewal project of the Aberdeen Pavilion, including urgent repairs to the roof, structural components, and building envelope, in 2022;

Whereas, given the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no events booked in the Aberdeen Pavilion for the foreseeable future; and,

Whereas the repairs are expected to take approximately 1 year.

Be it resolved that the GCA, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submissions and other advocacy efforts, requests that Ottawa City Council move forward with the planned renewal of the Aberdeen Pavilion (estimated at $11 million), including urgent repairs to the roof, structural components, and building envelope, in 2021.

Anthony Carricato presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Anthony Carricato and seconded by June Creelman. Friendly amendments were requested and the motion was amended as below.

Whereas the City of Ottawa is planning to undertake a renewal project of the Aberdeen Pavilion, including urgent repairs to the roof, structural components, and building envelope (which will reduce the environmental footprint of the building) in 2022;

Whereas, given the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no events booked in the Aberdeen Pavilion for the foreseeable future; and,

Whereas the repairs are expected to take approximately 1 year.

All GCA committee members present voted to approve the amended motion, none opposed.

Environment Committee

Motion 4: Tree Protection By-law

Whereas trees are a critical resource for cities and never more so than in this era of accelerating climate change;

Whereas Ottawa’s “green infrastructure” serves a central role in building climate resiliency;

Whereas the new Tree Protection By-law, approved by Council in January and to come into effect in two phases, contains provisions designed to protect and grow our urban forest;

Whereas, due to COVID-19, implementation of phase one was delayed from May 2020 to January 2021 and, in the meantime, trees which could have been protected under the new By-law are being felled to make way for infill and redevelopment

Whereas, as the staff report makes clear, the By-law needs additional staffing to succeed (three additional staff for Phase one, up to five additional staff for Phase two); and,

Whereas without adequate and appropriate resources, the education, monitoring, management and enforcement activities essential to delivering on the promise of the by-law – to retain, protect and grow the urban forest – will be impossible.

Be it resolved that the GCA, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges Ottawa City Council to provide all necessary resources to implement both phases of the Tree Protection By-law, in particular all resources needed to extend protection to urban centre trees of 30cm diameter and up (formerly 50cm).

Jennifer Humphries presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Jennifer Humphries and seconded by John Crump. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Motion 5: Energy Evolution

Whereas the reality of climate change becomes more evident to citizens daily and increasingly affects us all.

Be it resolved that the GCA, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges Ottawa City Council to bring a climate lens to bear on all its operations and all of the multi-year Master Plans now being developed – Transportation, Solid Waste and Greenspace, as well as the Official Plan – and halt all city spending on fossil fuel infrastructure where non-fossil fuel alternatives exist.

Be it also resolved that the GCA supports the Energy Evolution (EE) Strategy and Climate Change Master Plan, and, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges:

that budget 2021 provide sufficient operational resources to begin the process of implementing the 20 EE projects with urgency, including a minimum of 20 FTEs staffing for the Climate Change and Resiliency Unit;
that budget 2021 allocate $5M for implementation of the EE Strategy, representing roughly a doubling of the climate budget in 2020, and move the source of this budget from the surplus Hydro dividends to the budget proper;
that staff be directed to leverage climate and green/clean infrastructure funds from all available sources, including senior governments and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), private and philanthropic, international and community sources to fund EE projects;
that the City develop a chapter in the City’s long-range financial plan for making the capital investments that EE calls for, and devise a financial vehicle for municipal climate project finance; and,
that the City divest the City Endowment Fund (valued at approximately $190M in Sept. 2020) from stock markets that include fossil fuel investments, and re-invest these funds locally, in renewable energy and capitalizing the municipalities’ climate capital corporation for climate investments that have a positive return over the life of the EE Strategy.

Angela Keller-Herzog presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Angela Keller-Herzog and seconded by Jennifer Humphries. Friendly amendments were requested and the motion was amended as below.

Whereas the reality of climate change becomes more evident to citizens daily and increasingly affects us all.

Be it also resolved that the GCA supports the Energy Evolution (EE) Strategy and Climate Change Master Plan, and, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, urges:

that budget 2021 provide sufficient operational resources to begin the process of implementing the 20 EE projects with urgency, including an increase of FTEs staffing the Climate Change and Resiliency Unit;including a minimum of 20 FTEs staffing for the Climate Change and Resiliency Unit;
that budget 2021 allocate $5M for implementation of the EE Strategy, representing roughly a doubling of the climate budget in 2020, and move the source of this budget from the surplus Hydro dividends to the budget proper;
that staff be directed to leverage climate and green/clean infrastructure funds from all available sources, including senior governments and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), private and philanthropic, international and community sources to fund EE projects;
that the City develop a chapter in the City’s long-range financial plan for making the capital investments that EE calls for, and devise a financial vehicle for municipal climate project finance; and,
that the City divest the City Endowment Fund (valued at approximately $190M in Sept. 2020) from stock markets that include fossil fuel investments, and re-invest these funds locally, in renewable energy and capitalizing the municipalities’ climate capital corporation for climate investments that have a positive return over the life of the EE Strategy.

All GCA committee members present voted to approve the amended motion, none opposed.

Parks Committee

Motion 6: Glebe Parks

Be it resolved that the Glebe Community Association, as part of its 2021 municipal budget submission and other advocacy efforts, emphasize the important role that parks have played in enabling residents to get outside for fresh air and exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angus McCabe presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Angus McCabe and seconded by Carolyn Mackenzie. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Other Motions

Motion 7: GCA Budget

Be it resolved that the budget be approved as presented.

Laura Smith presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Caroline Warburton and seconded by Vaughn Guy. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Education Committee

Motion 8: Mutchmor Rink

Be it resolved that the GCA supports and respects Mutchmor’s decisions for the 2020-2021 school year to protect the health and safety of the students and staff and, by extension, the community. If the school would like, we would work with the administration to communicate to the community the reasoning behind the decision, that this will not prevent the rink from returning in a non-pandemic year, and that this decision will be revisited next year.

Sam Harris presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Sam Harris and seconded by Dan Chook Reid. Friendly amendments were requested and the motion was amended as below.

Be it resolved that the GCA acknowledges the support in our community for the Mutchmor Rink;

Be it further resolved that the GCA respects Mutchmor’s decisions for the 2020-2021 school year to protect the health and safety of the students and staff and, by extension, the community. If the school would like, we would work with the administration to communicate to the community the reasoning behind the decision, that this will not prevent the rink from returning in a non-pandemic year, and that this decision will be revisited next year.

And be it further resolved that the GCA will advocate to Councillor Menard and the City of Ottawa that the boards used for the rink last year be retained for our community’s use in future years.

All GCA committee members present voted to approve the amended motion, none opposed.

Lansdowne Committee

Motion 9: Lansdowne

We appreciate the City and OSEG’s willingness to include community feedback to enhance the plans for Aberdeen Square presented during the virtual community consultation held on Monday, October 19. With that spirit of collaboration in mind, we would like to request that the timeframe for consultation be extended until a point in time when the community has had the opportunity to fully explore new ideas and a greater vision for Aberdeen Square and Lansdowne Park more generally. Covid-19 has accentuated the need for greater exploration of longer-term challenges and presented us with an opportunity to make sure we get this right.

Therefore, the GCA is asking for the City and OSEG to take a step back and delay any immediate or short-term decisions on the re-design of Aberdeen Square. While there are several elements we support in the proposal, for example, enhanced space for the use of the public, more seating and a performance area to showcase local talent, there are still several issues that need to be addressed. Most notably, the potential impact of noise, light and traffic on residents, the lack of additional shade and thriving trees, the need for all-season versatility and a more attractive and pedestrian friendly public space where people can gather outside of programming. Furthermore, we would like to ask the City to ensure that there is no charge for community programming in the redesigned Aberdeen Square.

Anthony Carricato presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Anthony Carricato and seconded by Carol MacLeod. Friendly amendments were requested and the motion was amended as below.

We appreciate the City and OSEG’s willingness to include community feedback to enhance the plans for Aberdeen Square presented during the virtual community consultation held on Monday, October 19. With that spirit of collaboration in mind, we would like to request that the timeframe for consultation be extended until a mutually agreeable point in time when the community has had the opportunity to fully explore new ideas and a greater vision for Aberdeen Square and Lansdowne Park more generally. Covid-19 has accentuated the need for greater exploration of longer-term challenges and presented us with an opportunity to make sure we get this right.

All GCA committee members present voted to approve the amended motion, none opposed.

Parks and Transportation Committee

Motion 10: Glebe Area Noise Pollution

Whereas air and noise pollution along major highways has been identified by the city as a recognized public health hazard; and

Whereas Memorial and Chamberlain Parks, along with Glashan Public School, both host active play in close proximity to the 417; and

Whereas there continue to be no barriers in large stretches of the 417 that pass by the Glebe, an area where population is higher than the density in most areas where there are barriers, and will only grow with new developments;

Whereas neighbours west and east of Bank have noticed increased noise pollution from the 417 during recent construction; and

Whereas this includes a short, roughly 100-metre piece from Bronson along Chamberlain removed as part of the old Ottawa Board of Education building demolition, making the issue of highway noise more acute, freeing it to travel down Chamberlain, to Chamberlain Park and then through Central Park; and

Whereas additional sources of noise pollution from the 417 include stretches without barriers from Rochester Street moving east, another stretch from Bank Street going east along Chamberlain along Pretoria to Main Street, and further stretches to Nicholas;

Whereas the Glebe Community Association wishes to reiterate the neighbourhood’s desire to beautify the Chamberlain corridor between Bronson and Bank Streets with well-designed, noise and pollution-mitigating green spaces, particularly in the space currently opened up next to the Kent Street overpass with the newly completed sewage tunnel project as part of the next phase of the Chamberlain Avenue, Catherine Street, and Isabella Street Functional Design Study; and

Whereas the GCA has had a longstanding commitment from the MTO to build barriers along these stretches, tied in part to the bridge replacement projects currently underway, but that could be executed at any time;

Be it resolved that the GCA urges that the costs for suggested new and replacement barriers be included and remain in the budget for improvements to the 417 by the Ministry of Transportation, existing plans for the building of new or replacement barriers be executed as soon as possible, and that similar provincial and city budget considerations are made for well designed green spaces all along the Chamberlain corridor between Bronson and Bank Streets, particularly in the space currently opened up next to the Kent Street overpass with the newly completed sewage tunnel project as part of the next phase of the Chamberlain Avenue, Catherine Street, and Isabella Street Functional Design Study.

Angus McCabe presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Angus McCabe and seconded by John Crump. Friendly amendments were requested and the motion was amended as below.

WHEREAS air and noise pollution along major highways has been identified by the city as a recognized public health hazard; and

WHEREAS Memorial and Chamberlain Parks, along with Glashan Public School, both host active play in close proximity to the 417; and

WHEREAS there continue to be no barriers in large stretches of the 417 that pass by the Glebe, an area where population is higher than the density in most areas where there are barriers, and will only grow with new developments;

WHEREAS neighbours west and east of Bank have noticed increased noise pollution from the 417 during recent construction; and

WHEREAS this includes a short, roughly 100-metre piece from Bronson along Chamberlain removed as part of the old Ottawa Board of Education building demolition, making the issue of highway noise more acute, freeing it to travel down Chamberlain, to Chamberlain Park and then through Central Park; and

WHEREAS additional sources of noise pollution from the 417 include stretches without barriers from Rochester Street moving east, another stretch from Bank Street going east along Chamberlain along Pretoria to Main Street, and further stretches to Nicholas; and

WHEREAS the Glebe Community Association wishes to reiterate the neighbourhood’s desire to beautify the Chamberlain corridor between Bronson and Bank Streets with well-designed, noise and pollution-mitigating green spaces, particularly in the space currently opened up next to the Kent Street overpass with the newly completed sewage tunnel project as part of the next phase of the Chamberlain Avenue, Catherine Street, and Isabella Street Functional Design Study; and

WHEREAS the GCA has had a longstanding commitment from the MTO to build barriers along these stretches, tied in part to the bridge replacement projects currently underway, but that could be executed at any time;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the GCA urges that the costs for suggested new and replacement barriers be included and remain in the budget for improvements to the 417 on both sides of the Queenway by the Ministry of Transportation, existing and needed new plans for the building of new or replacement barriers be executed as soon as possible, and that similar provincial and city budget considerations are made for well designed green spaces all along the Chamberlain corridor between Bronson and Bank Streets, particularly in the space currently opened up next to the Kent Street overpass with the newly completed sewage tunnel project as part of the next phase of the Chamberlain Avenue, Catherine Street, and Isabella Street Functional Design Study.

All GCA committee members present voted to approve the amended motion, none opposed.

Planning Committee

Motion 11: Bronson Avenue Development

Whereas a planning development application for a 28 storey building on Bronson ave at Carling (opposite Glebe High School) has been presented to DLRA, GACA, and GCA reps;

And whereas the above mentioned community associations, as well as Councillor Menard, intend to write to the developer to voice concerns over proposed height impacts as well as potential traffic congestion concerns.

Be it resolved that the GCA become signatory to a proposed letter to register such concerns at this early stage of the development review process.

Carolyn Mackenzie presented the motion for approval. The motion was moved by Carolyn Mackenzie and seconded by Elizabeth Ballard. All GCA committee members present voted to approve, none opposed.

Issues from the Community

No items were raised.

President’s Report

Laura Smith thanked all the GCA volunteers for work in preparation for the meeting. She also informed meeting participants that an exercise to update the GCA’s Bylaws was planned and that strategic planning work for the organization is underway. If Board members had any suggestions for the bylaws, please share with June.

Other Business

Elizabeth Ballard mentioned that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario would hear comments on the proposed liquor license for a bistro at Paterson Creek Inlet on November 3, 2020.

Adjournment

The motion to adjourn was moved by Anthony Caricato and seconded by John Crump.

GCA Board meeting October 2020

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