Committee of the Whole Minutes

Monday, May 01, 2023 at 7:00 P.m. - 9:00 P.m.

Council Chambers

Whitby Town Hall

Present:

• Mayor Roy
• Councillor Bozinovski
• Councillor Cardwell
• Councillor Leahy
• Councillor Lee
• Councillor Lundquist
• Councillor Mulcahy
• Councillor Shahid
• Councillor Yamada

Also Present:

• M. Gaskell, Chief Administrative Officer
• M. Hickey, Fire Chief
• S. Klein, Director of Strategic Initiatives
• J. Romano, Commissioner of Community Services
• F. Santaguida, Commissioner of Legal and Enforcement Services/Town Solicitor
• F. Wong, Commissioner of Financial Services/Treasurer
• R. Saunders, Commissioner of Planning and Development
• M. Dodge, Executive Advisor to the Mayor
• C. Harris, Town Clerk
• K. Narraway, Manager of Legislative Services/Deputy Clerk 
• L. MacDougall, Council and Committee Coordinator (Recording Secretary)

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1.

Call To Order: The Mayor

2.

Call of the Roll: The Clerk

3.

Declarations of Conflict of Interest

There were no declarations of conflict of interest.

4.

Consent Agenda

5.

Planning and Development

Councillor Lee assumed the Chair.

5.1

Presentations

There were no presentations.

5.2

Delegations

5.2.1

Lynn Collins representing Block Andrin (Whitby) Developments Ltd. (Virtual Attendance)

Re: Planning and Development (Planning Services) Department Report
Draft Plan of Condominium Application, Block Andrin (Whitby) Developments Ltd., 1601-1605 Dufferin Street, File Number: DEV-02-23 (CW-2023-01)

Refer to Item 5.4.1, PDP 22-23

Lynn Collins was in attendance, however, she was not called upon to provide a delegation due to Item 5.4.1, Staff Report, PDP 22-23, being approved during the consent agenda portion of the meeting.

5.3

Correspondence

There was no correspondence.

5.4

Staff Reports

5.4.1

PDP 22-23, Planning and Development (Planning Services) Department Report

Re: Draft Plan of Condominium Application, Block Andrin (Whitby) Developments Ltd., 1601-1605 Dufferin Street, File Number: DEV-02-23 (CW-2023-01)

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Lee
  1. That Council approve the Draft Plan of Condominium (File No. CW-2023- 01) subject to the comments included in Planning Report PDP 22-23 and the Conditions of Approval, included in Attachment #4;
  2. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the Condominium Agreement and any other necessary documents; and,
  3. That the Clerk advise the Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development at the Region of Durham, of Council’s decision.
  Carried

5.4.2

PDP 23-23, Planning and Development (Planning Services) Department Report

Re: Draft Plan of Condominium Application, The Inverlynn Estate Ltd., 1300 Giffard Street, File Number: DEV-04-23 (CW-2023-02)

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Lee
  1. That Council approve the Draft Plan of Condominium (File No. CW-2023-02) subject to the comments included in Planning Report PDP 23-23 and the Conditions of Approval, included in Attachment #4;
  2. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute the Condominium Agreement and any other necessary documents; and,
  3. That the Clerk advise the Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development at the Region of Durham, of Council’s decision.
  Carried

5.4.3

PDP 24-23, Planning and Development (Planning Services) Department Report

Re: Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, Stylux Whitby Ventures Inc., 201 Hopkins Street, File Number: DEV-38-21 (SW-2021-13)

A question and answer period ensued between Members of Committee and Staff regarding the location of snow storage, the type and location of waste disposal containers and mitigation measures related to the concerns raised at the Public Meeting held on March 21, 2022.

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Yamada
  1. That Council approve the Draft Plan of Subdivision (File No. SW-2021- 13), subject to the comments included in Planning Report PDP 24-23 and the Conditions of Draft Approval included in Attachment #11;
  2. That Staff be authorized to prepare a Subdivision Agreement;
  3. That the Region of Durham Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development be advised of Council’s decision;
  4. That Williams and Stewart Associates Ltd. be appointed as the Control Architect for the Draft Plan of Subdivision; and,
  5. That the Clerk forward a Notice to those parties and agencies that requested to be notified of Council’s decision.
  Carried

5.4.4

PDP 25-23, Planning and Development (Planning Services) Department Report

Re: Removal of 305 Mary Street East from the Municipal Heritage Register

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Lee
  1. That the property municipally known as 305 Mary Street East be removed from the Town’s Municipal Heritage Register; and,
  2. That a full Heritage Documentation Report be prepared by the applicant at their expense prior to demolition and submitted to the Planning and Development Department, to be deposited at the Archives.
  Carried

5.5

New and Unfinished Business - Planning and Development

5.5.1

New and Unfinished Business - Planning and Development

There was no discussion on the New and Unfinished Business List.

6.

General Government

Councillor Yamada assumed the Chair.

6.1

Presentations

6.1.1

Melissa Weatherbie, Manager, Information and Content Services

Re: Office of the Chief Administrative Officer Report, CAO 14-23
Streamline Development Approval Fund - Final Report

Refer to Item 6.4.1, CAO 14-23

Melissa Weatherbie, Manager, Information and Content Services, provided a PowerPoint presentation about the Streamline Development Approval Fund – Final Report. Highlights of the presentation included:

• the amount of funding received, and the purpose of the Streamline Development Approval Fund (SDAF) from the Province;
• undertaking and completing nine projects directly related to the purpose of the funding and in accordance with the Transfer Payment Agreement with the Province;
• an overview of the disbursement of funds among the nine projects;
• an overview of the Permitting Portals (My Portal, Municipal 511, Builterra, and the distribution of tablets and accessories to inspection related roles throughout the Town), the Electronic Plans Review project, the Whitby Green Standard application portal, and the Lean Process Analysis and Change Management project; and,
• the creation of a foundation for continued developments, streamlining, and modernization to better service the community.

A detailed question and answer period ensued between Members of Committee and Staff regarding:

• challenges related to the selection of and launching the permitting portals;
• whether there was feedback received by end users of the permitting portals and other tools, and the timeline to receive feedback from Staff and end users;
• whether there would be upgrades and improvements to the software and enhancements in terms of the support and needs of the end user;
• how the launch of the tools was communicated to the community;
• confirmation that the tools for all projects were launched and utilized by Staff;
• whether Staff have identified further digitization initiatives to undertake within the next couple of years, and whether the Town would have to cover the cost of additional digitization initiatives;
• the possibility of measuring time savings or other material improvements for digitization and other tools;
• whether the Municipal 511 portal was the only customer/resident facing online platform;
• whether any of the projects would require additional funding that would impact the Town’s budget in the future; and,
• clarification that the projects related to development could be funded on an ongoing basis through the development application approvals process fees review.

6.2

Delegations

There were no delegations.

6.3

Correspondence

There were no presentations.

6.4

Staff Reports

6.4.1

CAO 14-23, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer Report

Re: Streamline Development Approval Fund – Final Report

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Mayor Roy

  That Report CAO 14-23 regarding the Streamline Development Approval Fund be received for information.

  Carried

6.4.2

CAO 11-23, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer Report

Re: 2022 Annual Sustainability and Climate Change Report

A question and answer period ensued between Members of Committee and Staff regarding:

• whether the Town would be able achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by 2025 under the current Zero Carbon Whitby Plan;
• whether the amount of $63 million was an estimated cost for the life of the Zero Carbon Whitby Plan; and,
• whether the amount of $1,050,000 identified in the sustainability capital budget was a one-time allocation of funds or whether funds would be allocated on an annual basis.

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Leahy
  1. That Report CAO 11-23 be received as information; and,
  2. That the Clerk forward a copy of Staff Report CAO 11-23 to the Region of Durham’s Sustainability Department.
  Carried

6.4.3

CAO 13-23, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer Report

Re: Booster Juice Inc. Naming Rights Sponsorship of McKinney Centre Youth Rooms

• Recommendation:

  Moved by Councillor Yamada

  That Council approve entering into another three (3) year sponsorship agreement, effective May 16, 2023, with Booster Juice Inc. for the Youth Room Naming Rights at McKinney Centre, named “McKinney Centre Youth Room Fueled by Booster Juice” based on the sponsorship package and other terms and conditions identified in Report CAO 13-23.

  Carried

6.5

New and Unfinished Business - General Government

6.5.1

New and Unfinished Business - General Government

6.5.2

Gilbert Street Culverts/Ditches

Councillor Lundquist advised that she has received a number of inquiries/concerns from residents on Gilbert Street about the challenges of maintaining the culverts/ditches along the street. She advised that Staff have already initiated a review of the situation and were working on potential solutions for the culvert/ditch issues on Gilbert Street.

R. Saunders, Commissioner of Planning and Development, advised that Engineering and Operations Staff were reviewing potential solutions related to the matter of drainage on Gilbert Street. Mr. Saunders clarified that the issue on Gilbert Street was related to the difficulty in maintaining the ditches due to their depth and not the culverts. He advised that a potential solution would be presented to Council.

A question and answer period ensued between Members of Committee and Staff regarding:

• how the issues with respect to ditches and collapsed culverts across Town would be addressed;
• clarification on the departmental responsibility for culvert and ditch maintenance issues; and,
• the timeline for streets planned for urbanization across the Town. 

7.

Adjournment

7.1

Motion to Adjourn

• Moved by Councillor Lundquist

  That the meeting adjourn.

  Carried

  The meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m.