Good morning Burlington,
Our annual Festival of Lights at Spencer Smith Park is set to begin this Friday (Nov. 25) and will run until Jan. 8, 2023 from 4 p.m. to midnight (12 a.m.) daily — sure to help get our community in the holiday spirit.
There’s also been quite a bit in terms of provincial government news lately, including the Province announcing last week it is planning on looking to review regional governments in Peel, York, Halton, Durham, Niagara and Waterloo. It introduced its Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, that, if passed, would take decisive action to address the housing supply crisis by assessing how best to extend strong mayor powers and reduce municipal duplication to help in the building of 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years.
We will keep the Burlington community updated as more details and information on this arise.
In addition, last week, the Ontario’s Big City Mayors caucus had a chance to present to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy on the Province’s Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. OBCM Chair and Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie presented to the committee OBCM’s feedback and concerns, stating: “The impacts of proposed changes to development charges (DCs) on municipal revenues have not been fully considered. This revenue is critical to supporting the infrastructure required when building new homes. We are asking the Province to activate the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team, first announced in spring 2022, and that a review of the proposed changes to DCs and Parkland Dedication Rates are the first on their agenda.”
You can read a copy of OBCM’s statement and OBCM Chair Mayor Cam Guthrie’s presentation by click on the respective links.
Burlington City Council also unanimously approved a resolution detailing our significant concerns about Bill 23. In particular, the potential consequences that would be devastating to the environment, to coordinated planning and to taxpayers — downloading the costs of growth from for-profit developers to you, the taxpayer. You can click the link above to learn more.
My full weekly update for Nov. 21-27, 2022 can be found here: Mayor’s Weekly Public Update Nov. 21-27, 2022.
Have a great week!
~ Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
