SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

4:00 P.m. - 5:00 P.m.

Brantford City Hall, 100 Wellington Square

Please note due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this meeting will be held electronically. To view the livestream of the meeting, please visit: http://brantford.ca/VirtualCouncil.

If technical difficulties arise out of the livestream and the livestream becomes unavailable; members of the public can observe the meeting by calling 1-855-703-8985 or 1-647-374-4685 and entering the Meeting ID: 976 8402 4334.

Alternative formats and communication supports available upon request. For more information, please contact the City of Brantford Municipal Accessibility Coordinator at (519) 759-4150 or by email
at accessibility@brantford.ca.

1.
ROLL CALL

2.
DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

3.
PRESENTATIONS/DELEGATIONS

4.
RESOLUTIONS

4.1
Proposed Amendments to the ConservationAuthorities Act and Planning Act in Bill 229

WHEREAS on November 5, 2020, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 229, Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020, an omnibus bill that proposes limitations to conservation authorities’ permitting, planning and enforcement powers; and

WHEREAS these changes will hinder conservation authorities’ abilities to fulfill their mandates, do not reflect the Provincial Flood Advisor and Auditor General recommendations, and recently updated Provincial Policy Statement land use policies, and are problematic for the partner municipalities that they serve who rely on conservation authorities to help regulate development and illegal activities; and

WHEREAS the Corporation of the City of Brantford and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) have a Memorandum of Understanding for Plan Review Services, last updated on July 24, 2017, wherein the GRCA is responsible to provide technical comments to the City as outlined in the Provincial Policy Statement and the Official Plan; and

WHEREAS the Corporation of the City of Brantford relies on the GRCA for plan review and technical services relating to Planning Act applications and preconsultation meetings at no cost to the City for matters related to Significant Wildlife Habitat, Threatened/Endagered Species, Areas of Natural and Scientific Intererst, Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Significant Woodlands, Significant Valleylands, Natural Heritage Systems, Water, Wetlands, Fish Habitat, Flooding Hazards, Steep Slopes and Erosion, Hazards, Stormwater Management and Hazard Sites; and

WHEREAS if the legislation is amended as proposed by the Province of Ontario, the Corporation of the City of Brantford will not be able to draw upon the expertise from the GRCA on planning matters including matters before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the City will be required to either hire staff with the necessary technical expertise or seek out consultants at a cost to the City or the development industry, resulting in delays in the processing of applications;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
1. THAT the Corporation of the City of Brantford REQUEST that the Government of Ontario remove proposed amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act and Planning Act in Bill 229 relating to planning, permitting and enforcement, and include strengthened provisions related to enforcement, in order to support a balanced approach to development, enable conservation authorities to mitigate natural hazards and protect natural heritage, and to prevent any downloading of permitting and enforcement costs to municipalities; and
2. THAT this resolution BE FORWARDED to the Premier, the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford-Brant, the Grand River Conservation Authority, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.