Budget

It’s budget time and draft “asks” are being circulated by the various committees. Read the posted committee agendas and find out where your tax dollars are proposed to be spent. Better yet, come to the Committee meetings (they’re open to the public) and hear the discussion – – a lot more is said than gets printed in the minutes.

Lakehouse – 480 Winston Road

The Lakehouse subdivision draft plan of condominium for the “common element” interior roadways was approved. A separate public meeting will be held at a later date for the Winston Road retail mixed-use buildings, which includes the shared residential and visitor parking behind the commercial buildings.The availability of parking and enforcement of visitor parking was noted as a key issue. We asked the question if the commercial units were being sold with a guaranteed number of parking spaces per unit. As this area was approved for shared residential/visitor parking, attaching dedicated spaces to commercial units may have a detrimental impact on availability to visitors of the residential units. The developer stated that they were not aware if the commercial units had dedicated spaces, or how many, although it was stated that almost all of the units had been sold. We will be following up.

Fee Schedule

The Town is reviewing its Fee Structure and the Planning Chair stated that “new development needs to pay for itself”. As well, they are undertaking a Comprehensive Fee Review study that is anticipated to be completed in eight weeks.

Bylaw Enforcement

The Town is no longer sharing its Bylaw Officer with Lincoln and now provides 30 hrs/week enforcement on a rotating schedule. A new Bylaw Officer was hired as of January 1. The Town is undertaking a parking enforcement pilot project in the West End. An officer has agreed to provide assistance and the costs will be covered through contracting services. Results of the pilot project will be shared with the Planning Committee.

Section 37 Height Bonusing

Council approved hiring Sorenson-Gravely-Lowes Planning & Design Inc to provide recommendations on policies and procedures to implement Section 37 of the Planning Act related to height bonusing. This is the “bonus” paid to the Town when a developer exceeds the zoned height in a development. The Town’s implementation of Section 37 has been an issue on our radar for some time and was a factor in the approval of the 15 storey 560 North Service Road (LJM) building. It is also under discussion for 10 Windward (Rosebay) — the 18 and 14 storey buildings approved there. Unfortunately, the timing of the consultants recommendations will not impact that decision.

Agendas and Minutes

Agendas and Minutes of all Committees and Council can be found on the Town’s website under the Town Hall tab at: Town of Grimsby Document Centre.