Burlington Sustainable Development Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:	Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Time:	7:00 P.m. - 9:00 P.m.
Location:	Room 247, Level 2, City Hall

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1.

Members Present:

Tim Park, Jim Feilders, Carolyn Barnes, Susan Mattine, Mathew McCauley, Hashem Hosseini-Mousavi, Herb Lewington, Katie Rauscher, Michelina Longo, Mitchell French, Peter Cookson, Sarah Burjaw, Dave Rokosh Herb Sinnock (7:20 pm) and Councillor Paul Sharman

2.

Others Present:

Dave Bourns (alt), Suzanne Gillies, Fran Fendelet (TEC- observer) & Lynn Robichaud (staff)

3.

Regrets:

Chris Maynard and Glenn Portch (alt)

4.

Declarations of Interest:

None declared.

5.

Introductions- welcome new members (Tim & Lynn)

Members introduced themselves.

6.

Committee Orientation & Training (Suzanne Gillies)

Suzanne Gillies and Lynn Robichaud provided information for new members about the role of the committee, members, council representative and staff liaison. Suzanne noted that a review of the advisory committee structure is underway to obtain feedback whether the current system is working or are there other alternatives to engage the community. For example, some municipalities will create a task force on a specific topic or issue with an end date. Committee members will be invited to participate in a citizen action lab. Following this review process, if the SDC would like to have a workshop on planning related issues and processes, it can be arranged.

Action: New members to read the accessibility guide; detach signature page and return to Lynn, signed.

7.

Approval of Minutes:

7.1

Approve minutes from meeting held January 23, 2019 (Tim)

Minutes from meeting held January 23, 2019 approved.

8.

Election of Chair & Vice Chair for 2019 (Lynn)

2019 Chair: Carolyn Barnes acclaimed

2019 Vice-chair: Jim Feilders

9.

Consent Agenda- no items

10.

Regular Items:

10.1

Updates from previous events

a.

Urban Parks Strategy evening session with Gil Penalosa, LaSalle Park Pavillion – Jan. 31

Carolyn attended this event and provided an overview. She encouraged members to attend future events if Gil is back in town as he is a very engaging speaker. He provided a presentation about the importance of parks that are active and safe, as well as complete streets. The committee would like to review the draft urban parks strategy when it is available.

b.

Rural Burlington Active Transportation Workshops – Feb. 2nd & Mar 7th

10.2

Upcoming events/news (All)

a.

BurlingtonGreen Eco Film – Thurs, Mar 21st @ 6:30 pm (doors open @ 6:00 pm), Central Library

b.

Cities in Action - Climate Change Summit, RBG

• Climate Change Summit Free public event, RBG – Mar 25^th @ 7:00 pm
• Climate & Economy (Mar 26^th)
• Energy & Community (Mar 27^th)
• Transportation & Health (Mar 28^th)

c.

Earth Hour – Mar 30th @ 8:30 pm

d.

8th Annual Electronics Recycling event – Sat, Apr 6th, Tansley Woods United Church – 8:00 am – 2:00 pm

e.

BurlingtonGreen Clean Up event – Sat, Apr 27th

f.

BurlingtonGreen Green Up day, Brant Hills Park – Sat, May 4th

Action: Lynn to register Jim F for day 2 of the Cities in Action climate change summit. Dave R to advise Lynn if he is available to attend the summit.

10.3

Council & Staff Updates

a.

Councillor Sharman

Provided information about the Interim Control Bylaw which was recently approved by council. The by-law restricts development in the downtown core, along Lakeshore to the QEW, and up to the Burlington GO station mobility hub, including the Holland Park Garden Centre property. The by-law cannot be appealed to the LPAT but can be overturned by a Ministerial order or through the courts.

b.

Lynn Robichaud

Membership Update – Glenn Portch accepted a position on the new Agricultural Advisory Committee so had to step down as an alternate member. Sarah Burjaw accepted a position as a full member.

Action: Lynn to circulate the updated membership list with contact information.

2019 Annual SDC Report to Council – the chairs of the sub-committees were reminded to finalize the year end reports and 2019 objectives at the next meetings. Katie noted that the one for Awareness is complete and will send to Carolyn and Lynn.

Action: Drafts should be made available a week before the next COW meeting so Lynn can assemble and circulate to the committee for time to review before the meeting.

10.4

Business arising from the minutes - none

10.5

Awareness sub-committee update (Katie)

A clean-up area has been selected for committee members to participate in BurlingtonGreen’s Community Clean-up day on April 27^th – along the creek behind the No Frills plaza on Brant Street. Meet up in the city parking lot to the south of the plaza. More details to come.

Instead of a library event this spring, it was decided to host an activity for the 100 in 1 day event on June 1^st. They will host a Yellow Fish Road painting activity for people to raise awareness about protecting storm drains that flow into creeks, streams and the lake.

The Take Action Burlington Environment Update is being finalized. Comments are due March 31. Committee members to provide recommendations that will be presented as a separate document by the committee to council. To be finalized at the next Awareness meeting.

The fall library event will be on Living with Wildlife. The fall field trip will be to the new Joseph Brant Museum.

10.6

Policy and Development subcommittee update (Tim)

Roz Minaji, Coordinator of Development, attended the last P&D meeting to provide ‘planning 101’ training.

Hashem is working on a proposal for a centralized drive to organize documents and reports for the P&D sub-committee.

The committee has 4 development applications to review; 1085 Clearview is the priority due to timing.

The interim control by-law was discussed, as well as the annual report. Carolyn provided an update about the Bay Area Climate Change Council.

10.7

Reports from external groups and conferences

a.

Community Energy Plan (Herb/Lynn)

Lynn provided an update about the Community Energy Plan (soon to be community Energy and Climate Action Plan). A meeting was held on March 1^st with the Stakeholder Advisory Committee on results of the interviews with stakeholders and energy/GHG emissions data. Jim F noted that he liked the improved emissions chart. Herb Sinnock is currently the SDC rep on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Lynn enquired whether Mitchell or Dave B might be interested in replacing Herb or sharing the position given their backgrounds in the energy field.

Action: Mitchell and Dave to discuss and advise Lynn.

b.

Bay Area Climate Change Council (Carolyn)

Carolyn provided an update about the council. A draft three year work plan has been developed. Funding is required since the province is no longer funding the initiative. Carolyn will miss the next meeting; Peter Cookson will attend on her behalf which is on April 16^th, 2:00 pm at the Hamilton Conservation Office.

c.

BurlingtonGreen (Jim)

Jim advised that the BG AGM is Thursday evening, March 21^st @ 6:00 pm. BG now has charitable status and the membership fee can be used for a tax credit

d.

Halton Climate Collective (Lynn)

Lynn advised that there is a meeting on Friday, March 22^nd to discuss the future of the collective and governance. Three out of four local municipalities in Halton are participating along with Halton Region, Conservation Halton and the school boards. The initiative is being led by the Halton Environmental Network. Milton is not represented as the town does not have sustainability staff.

11.

Other Business:

11.1

Presentation on Feasibility Studies for Smart Communities in Canada – S2e Technologies, FCM/GMF (Jim)

This item was pulled from the agenda.

11.2

Climate Emergency Declaration

Lynn advised that the City of Hamilton’s Board of Health approved a Climate Emergency Declaration on Monday, which still needs to be approved by city council, likely next week. Correspondence has been received from the Tyandaga Environmental Coalition asking how the Sustainable Development Committee and the City of Burlington will handle this. There was a discussion about what the declaration means and whether it would make a difference. Councillor Sharman noted that the city’s Strategic Plan includes aspirational carbon reduction targets and that the city recognizes that climate change is a significant issue.

Action: Michelina volunteered to do some research on the declaration and report back at the next P&D meeting.

11.3

Upcoming meeting dates

a.

Policy & Development Sub-Committee – April 3, Room 307

b.

Awareness Sub-Committee – April 10, Room 305

c.

Committee of the Whole – April 17, Room 247

12.

Adjournment:

Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m.