The Waterfront Citizen’s Advisory Committee has recommended that the city explore a future commercial use for the old pump house on the beach strip, for example a coffee house or pub.

The city’s Community Development Committee approved the recommendation last week, which asks city staff report back on the process and timing for issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest to attract a private sector retailer to lease the pump house, to provide additional food and beverage service to visitors to the beach. The process should include recognition of the historic designation of the building, dialogue with neighbours and discussion around the costs associated with any renovations and upgrades to the building.

The recommendation awaits a final vote at the April 30 council meeting, after being approved by the city’s Community Development Committee.

What do you think? Do you support food and beverage service in the pump house? Email your thoughts to me here meedwardm@burlington.ca.

My take: As one of three council members who sit on the waterfront committee, I welcome the addition of appropriate amenties in the beach area, and the preservation of historic buildings. Repurposing this space for food and beverage service can accomplish both.

The park, which includes Spencer Smith and Beachway, is a regional park operated in partnership by the city and region. Current regional policy for Beachway Park is to acquire all the private homes on a willing buyer/willing seller basis, and incorporate the land into the park for roads, parking, openspace, and other amenities.

However, the residents who live in the beach wish to stay, and I’ve heard from a number of residents across Burlington and Halton who believe having a small residential enclave adds vibrancy to the area, and safety through “eyes on the street.”

Currently, the residents have municipal water service, but not sewer hookups. Adding sewer infrastructure could cost up to $80,000 per home, born entirely by residents. A number of residents have installed state of the art waste water solutions for much less cost.

The request for a review of the residential status is the result of motions recently passed by Burlington city council and Regional Council (all Burlington councillors also sit on regional council). The motions ask planning staff at the city and region to work together to explore all options, including a review of whether to continue with an acquisition policy for the residential properties, address coastal safety and the feasibility of servicing the residential area. Planning staff is also requested to work with Conservation Halton to ensure that its land holdings and its regulations pertaining to this area are included and fully accommodated in the planning study.

What do you think? Can the park be developed by including the residential enclave? Email your thoughts to me here meedwardm@burlington.ca.

My take: I’m supportive of allowing residents to remain along the beach strip. The private homes do not impede public access to the waterfront or the trails along Beachway Park, as most of them are located on the West (non water) side of Lakeshore Road. The residents also add eyes on the street to the area, which adds safety and vibrancy to the beach.

The gas tax money is for intended for transit capital costs (for example, new buses) and does not affect operating funds. In making the vote, council heard that the capital dollars are not needed till 2021.

At the budget meeting, council heard from a number of residents who expressed concern about taking money out of transit to fund roads.

What do you think? What is the best split in gas tax funding for roads and transit – the new one, the previous one, or some other ratio? Please comment below or email your thoughts to me meedwardm@burlington.ca.

My Take: I’m a big believer in transit – it’s an investment in our community and a greener future.  However, I did support the shift as a temporary measure to inject much-needed funds into our growing infrastructure gap – and buses use roads as well. We will have an opportunity to review the gas tax ratio at next year’s budget. By that time, we will have the results of the Transit Master Plan review which will provide necessary information on capital needs going forward.

Artist's rendering of the pier, including the wind tubine

The wind turbine planned for the Brant Street pier has been cancelled, after members of the city’s Community Services Committee heard the costs would be prohibitive to proceed, and the benefits negligible.

Discussions with Burlington Hydro staff in January revealed that the transformer station serving the downtown area is not adequately configured to accept feed-in (surplus power) from the pier wind turbine. Upgrading the transformer to accept surplus power is not currently planned, and is fairly expensive. The alternative is to reconfigure the wind turbine to capture excess power in battery backs. The cost for the reconfiguration and batteries is $70,000. The turbine itself is worth another $100,000. It was purchased by the original contractor and it currently in storage.

The turbine was intended to power the LED lights on the pier, for an annual power savings of about $3200. It would take about 53 years to recover the investment of the turbine, the reconfiguration and the batteries through power savings.

Burlington Hydro provided funding for the turbine. In speaking with the head of hydro, he confirmed they will not be requesting that funding back.

What do you think? Should council keep the turbine, or do you support removing it? Please comment below or email your thoughts to me meedwardm@burlington.ca.

My take: I supported cancelling the turbine, given that it was primarily intended to be a demonstration project aimed at raising awareness of renewable energy. More people are aware and talking about renewable energy now than in 2006, when the pier turbine was conceived. We need to focus on projects that deliver renewable energy results, rather than simply serve as showpieces. The city already looks for renewable energy opportunities with new infrastructure projects (most recently the new fire station) and is moving ahead with a Community Energy Plan to identify additional energy saving opportunities. However, the waste of an already purchased turbine is one more casualty of the pier project, and reinforces the need to quickly solve issues as they arise.

The Downtown Restaurant Association brings restaurants together to make downtown entertainment safe and enjoyable for everyone.

You’re invited to a public meeting May 1 at City Hall to learn how the city and its various community partners and agencies are working together to ensure that summer bar and event season in the downtown is enjoyable for visitors and residents alike.

In the past year, I’ve received calls from downtown residents concerned about noise, fights, vandalism, littering, public drunkenness and other behaviour from patrons visiting our bars, restaurants and events in the downtown throughout the year.

In response, I formed a Downtown Hospitality Working Group to join together to tackle these issues, with membership from police, by-law enforcement, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), planning staff, and condo, business and restaurant associations. We meet regularly throughout the year to plan for bar and event season, and share ideas for improvements.

At the public meeting you’ll hear what each organization is doing and how you can get involved to share ideas or report concerns. The meeting will be webcast, and the powerpoint and handouts will also be available online.

Meantime, if you have concerns about noise outside of an establishment (including house parties) contact John Prins, bylaw officer for Ward 2 at 905-971-1886. For noise related to outdoor patios, contact John Hesch of the AGCO at 416-326-5460. To report a crime in progress, call 911.

What do you think? Is there too much noise and related behaviour downtown, or is that the tradeoff of having a vibrant downtown? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below or email me at meedwardm@burlington.ca.

My Take: We want a vibrant downtown, rich with activities and amenities, but vibrant neighbourhoods must also be livable. The goal is to strike a balance. Residents expect and even welcome a certain amount of noise and activity downtown, but we want to work together to reduce unruly, destructive and potentially dangerous behaviour.

Ken Greenberg | Inspire Burlington

Great presentation in Burlington tonight from Ken Greenburg, architect/urban planner/author. Some key thoughts that stood out for me (and members of the community have been saying many of these things, also) -

• on community collaboration: In his neighbourhood, the local councillor, residents, developers and planning staff develop a vision for the community, a neighbourhood checklist of what’s important, and then meet with developers when a development is just an idea, in order to achieve community consensus. It’s working. I will be examining this model to see what we can bring to Burlington.

• on development:  Communities are best developed as a whole, instead of site by site, with consideration of jobs, services, housing, transit, and public spaces. We need to move beyond site by site planning, where each project is considered in isolation from the whole.

• on height:  His observation: Toronto has become overwhelmed with highrises, and that model is spilling into the GTA. More appropriate development, he says, is mid-rise, and that is defined differently in each community:  roughly 7-8 storeys, and in some communities where appropriate (like in his urban Toronto neighbourhood) 11-14 storeys.

• on setting a baseline for height:  It’s best to pick a height and stick to it, otherwise land speculation occurs, and it becomes economically unfeasible to build more community-friendly mid-rise projects – you essentially lose a full range of development options.

• on transportation:  Employment used to be built on transit lines, but is now built on highways, and congestion creates $6billion drag on the economy. We need to bring jobs closer to home, and that’s one of my key focus areas for downtown (plus, we can achieve our intensification targets through jobs – it doesn’t just have to be through housing).

• on Official Plan:  When a community is envisioning its future, it’s important to use visuals, not just words, to give life to the vision.

•  on walkability:  New York City is the healthiest city in the US because it is the most walkable.

•  on economy:  Quality of life is an important economic driver; downtowns can’t always compete on price-per-square foot of office space, but have other assets to attract corporations  – eg. walkability, mixed use, transit.

• on intensification:  There is no “one-size fits all” approach to intensification. Each community must collaboratively decide what’s best for itself.

• on the waterfront:  Our waterfront is a great leveraging opportunity for neighbourhood building:  he envisions more parkspace and walking paths along the waterfront, but also greenspace connecting the waterfront to interior neighbourhoods.

• on arterial roads (like Fairview):  Arterials are another great opportunity for redevelopment and repurposing, to turn single story buildings surrounded by parking into vibrant mixed used corridors that are more people and transit friendly.

• on heritage:  The most successful neighbourhoods are a mix of the old and the new. Your heritage is your  collective memory. When you lose heritage, you lose a piece of yourself.

We have been discussing many of these ideas in the community in recent months. Join the conversation by posting a comment, or emailing your thoughts: meedwardm@burlington.ca Or, attend one of our Citizen Advisory Committee meetings the third Thursday of each month. The next one: Thurs. April 19, 7pm, Rm 247 City Hall.