BUILDING DURHAM

On Wednesday, April 21, 2021, the Town of Whitby with their consultants SGL Planning & Design Inc. hosted their first stakeholder session on the comprehensive zoning bylaw review.

The presentation can be viewed here.

Town staff and their consultants are looking for feedback on this file.  You can complete an online survey here between now and May 13, and register to attend their virtual Community Engagement Session on Wednesday, April 28 at 7 p.m.

The goal of the comprehensive zoning bylaw review is to create new Town-wide Zoning Bylaw to manage land use and future development for all types of uses including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural.  Specifically, the Town wants to create a bylaw that:

• Reflects current zoning practices
• Implements provincial and regional policy
• Aligns with the Town's updated Official Plan, and
• Is easy to read and understand

A series of Phase I background reports have been completed and released and can be viewed here.

The Region of Durham is currently undertaking an amendment to their development charge bylaw and has released the Background Study.

The amended rates reflect a $305 increase per single/semi-detached (less than 1%).

The proposed rates are here:

The public meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2021 and the amended bylaw will be considered by council on June 23, 2021.  

The Region has also released the 2021 Regional Transit Development Charge Background Study and the 2021 GO Transit Development Charge Background Study.

If you have any comments or concerns, please contact Stacey.

The Town of Whitby has been reviewing and updating their Development Charge Bylaw and has just released the new proposed rates, which can be found here.

The new rate of $35,815 per single detached represent a 47% ($11,397) increase over their current rate of $24,418.

However, when the Town of Whitby initially released their proposed rates, the charge for a single detached was proposed to be $43,366, a $19,948 increase.  DRHBA has been working with a stakeholder group for several months, and together with consultants, this work has reduced the proposed new rate by $7,551.

The draft DC bylaw is scheduled to be brought to council on Monday, May 17, 2021.

More information on the process and the new development charge bylaw can be found here.

The Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) has released their formal submission on the Greenbelt consultation.  This document includes input and feedback from members, local HBAs, staff and their volunteer board.

OHBA will continue to keep members informed on next steps as the province reviews the feedback they have received as part of this consultation.  

A reminder that the Ministry will continue to accept submissions through this week and OHBA is there to support members who wish to provide comments. OHBA has also created this template that members can use to submit feedback.

In keeping with the resolution passed by Oshawa's Development Services Committee, the City of Oshawa has sent a letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing in response to the posting on the Environmental Registry of Ontario entitled "Consultation on growing the size of the Greenbelt."

Copies of this letter were also sent to the Region of Durham, Durham area municipalities, Durham area MPPs, CLOCA and BILT.

In consultation with Ron Kelusky, Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer (CPO), the following information has been made available for members to consider during this third wave of COVID. We remind members that our industry’s ability to remain designated as an essential workplace requires our strict adherence to provincial guidelines. The government begun a targeted province-wide inspection of construction sites last week and will continue this week. Workplace inspectors, supported by provincial offenses officers, will visit 1,300 construction sites in the coming weeks to enforce safety requirements. 
 
The CPO urged all members as a best practice to:

• Communicate to employees on site and reinforce the need to adhere to strict masking and eye protection protocols where a two-metre separation cannot be maintained. Please review the guide on using masks in the workplace, which is the current guidance. 
   
• Pay specific attention to break and lunch rooms to ensure that a two-metre separation is enforced when people are eating and not masked, and that during breaks, either two-metre separation or masking are strictly enforced.
   
• Where carpooling is occurring, a physical barrier, such as plexiglass, should be used to separate vehicle passengers, or if that is not possible, the passengers and the driver are advised to wear eye protection, such as a face shield, and follow masking protocols.  
   
• Encourage staff to wear masks at all times, even if working outside and maintaining a two-metre distance. A common complaint, often noted in the media, has been construction workers not wearing masks. This is fueling speculation that construction sites are a major source of infection and leading to pressure on officials to take action.
   
• Pay close attention to on-site sanitation procedures, ensuring that tools and common areas are routinely and properly sanitized. Ensure that sanitizer is available.

Beyond the CPO’s advice, the amended construction work hours provide the opportunity for construction sites to adjust schedules to limit worker contact during the work day.  

• Where possible, please schedule one trade in the home at a time and one trade outside the home at a time. The amended construction work hours (6:00 AM – 10:00 PM) provide the opportunity for construction sites to adjust schedules to limit worker contact during the work day.  

Rapid Testing Update
The CPO indicated that rapid testing has been deployed on some large construction sites, to good effect. Members who are interested should consider implementing rapid testing as a voluntary proactive measure. Test kits are free to companies that meet certain thresholds, but the cost of administering the test must be covered by the company. The company must also sign a contract to agree to use the tests for the intended purpose and to report aggregate data. Read more information. Members who are interested should contact Viki Krstev at the MLTSD.

Vaccination Update
The government continues to fine-tune its vaccine plans. As previously indicated, construction workers are to be included in phase 2, subject to availability and exclusive of vaccinations currently happening in hot zones and community-based pop-up clinics.

There is a possibility of employer-sponsored vaccination clinics in hot zones in the future. Interested companies should email the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force to submit requests for vaccinations on-site, shared with the community in hotspot locations. The request should include location and address, facility description, number of employees, if location was subject to an outbreak, willingness to open for community to receive the vaccination and the provision of resources to administer and coordinate the process.

OHBA reminds member companies to revisit and to have COVID-19 safety plans and take all necessary steps to protect workers, clients and members of the public. As a reminder, the Ontario government website has guidance for construction site health and safety. In addition, ensure that any office spaces are also compliant with public health and workplace safety measures. 

We need to work safer in this third wave of COVID, and more information will follow as additional provincial guidance is provided.

Targeted Health & Safety Blitz Focuses on Keeping Workers Safe in Hot-Spot Regions

The Ontario government will begin targeted province-wide inspections of construction sites this Friday, dispatching 200 workplace inspectors, supported by provincial offenses officers, to visit 1,300 constructions sites to enforce safety requirements. Officers will also be visiting over 500 workplaces, including big box stores, food processors, manufacturers and warehouses, in Ottawa, Toronto and York Region, which have been identified as hot spots for COVID-19.

Details were provided today by Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

"Construction workers continue to be needed on the frontlines to build hospitals, testing centres, broadband and other critical infrastructure our province needs," said Minister McNaughton. "We've inspected these worksites regularly throughout the pandemic, but it is more important than ever, with these new variants spreading, that we continue to ensure that construction worksites are following the rules and that workers who still go to work every day are protected."

Inspectors will be checking that employers understand the risks associated with COVID-19, including how to reduce the spread in their workplace, and that measures and procedures are in place to keep workers safe. They will also be ensuring that workers are practising safe work habits both on the clock and on breaks, checking for physical distancing and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment when required.

Hot-spot workplace inspections in Ottawa, Toronto and York Region build on recent intensified inspection campaigns in Peel and Halton Regions last weekend. These campaigns will focus on enforcing the COVID-19 safety requirements and identifying those who are not following the rules. Violations may result in fines of up to $750 for individuals and $1,000 for businesses.

***

It is absolutely critical that members continue to invest in and enhance health, safety and sanitation protocols as new COVID variants are more contagious and require more vigilance on jobsites. Members should review the Ministry of Labour’s guidelines for construction here and implement any infection prevention and control procedures not already in place. Also, please consult other supporting resources including OHBA’s COVID webpage, template COVID workplace health and safety plans (which all workplaces must have) and IHSA resources.

At the April 13th, 2021 Finance & Administration Committee meeting at the Region, Mary Simpson, Director - Financial Planning and Purchasing at the Region of Durham, made a brief presentation on the plans for updating the Region's development charge bylaw.

The amendment will seek to address the following:

• Remove 10% reduction on soft services
• Remove ineligible Social Services development charge as of September 18, 2022
• Include new secondary unit exemptions
• Reflect changes in collection of DCs and freezing of DCs
• Include growth-related costs for new long-term care home
• Planned implementation date - July 1, 2021
• Introduce Regional interest rate policy to address DC deferral and freezing of DCs

It should be noted that the province approved the Regional Application for a new 200-bed Long-Term Care Home in North Pickering, and staff are adapting the planned spring 2021 amendments to the Regional DC bylaw to include the consideration of the inclusion of the growth-related portion of costs for the new LTC home as part of the existing Regional DC charge for LTC.

The following is the planned timeline:

Background studies and proposed bylaws available to the public on the Region's website	April 23, 2021
Public meeting Notice	By May 5, 2021
Public Meeting of Council	May 26, 2021
Final date for public comment	May 28, 2021
Finance & Administration Committee Meeting	June 8, 2021
Regional Council Meeting	June 23, 2021
Implementation of DC Bylaw Amendments	July 1, 2021

After the presentation, several councillors had questions for Mary.

Pickering Regional Councillor Kevin Ashe asked if Mary had any information about a "voluntary development charge" implemented by York Region that funded the local hospitals, and asked if the Region could consider doing something similar.  Mary noted that hospital funding is not deemed an eligible service and she was not familiar with York's policies, but agreed to add the conversation to their policy discussions.

Mary also noted that the use of area-specific development charges (possibly in relation to new GO stations in Oshawa, Courtice and Bowmanville) and affordable housing considerations will be part of the policy discussions.

Councillor Ted Smith asked that in light of the changes to the Development Charges Act, "would you say that development is no longer going to pay for development, which is what development charges were created for?"

Mary's response was, "The methodology in some ways has modified a long standing concern, on the other hand, we are waiting to see what the implications are of the freezing of the rates and the ability to transfer payments out over time for those three classes of development.  I would point out though, for residential, none of the payment options, the deferral over the five or the 20 years applies.  Those are only for non-profit, rental and institutional, and in fact, we have been granted the elimination of the 10% deduction, which we were forced to make as part of the legislative methodology for development charges.  So I think I will be in a better question to answer that question when we come forward with the public meeting in May."

The presentation can be viewed here.

If you have comments, questions or concerns, please contact Stacey.

At today's Development Services Committee meeting in Oshawa, the committee passed staff's recommendation on expanding the Greenbelt.

The full report, DS-21-72 can be viewed here.

Prior to the report being passed, Councillor McConkey attempted to make an amendment to the recommendation, to request that all of the area north of the 407 that is not currently within the urban boundary be included in the Greenbelt.

Her amendment lost 5-1.

The original report passed unanimously.

Highlights of the report include:

1.  That the City of Oshawa supports expanding the existing Urban River Valley designated areas in the Greenbelt Plan to include the Proposed Expansion Areas,as generally outlined in Attachment 1, to the extent that they coincide with associated lands designated as Open Space and Recreation on Schedule ‘A’, Land Use, of the Oshawa Official Plan and as Natural Heritage System and Natural Heritage and/or Hydrologic Features outside of the Natural Heritage System on Schedule “D-1”, Environmental Management, of the Oshawa Official Plan;

2.  That the City of Oshawa supports expanding the existing Urban River Valley designated areas in the Greenbelt Plan to include Corridors 2 and 3 as generally outlined in Attachment 1, given that Corridor 2 is subject to Policy 5.1.9 of the Oshawa Official Plan which, among other matters, supports the maintenance and restoration of a continuous corridor function within the Lake Iroquois Beach area,and given that Corridor 3 coincides with lands already subject to Policy 5.7.2.6 of the Oshawa Official Plan which, among other matters, explicitly recognizes the importance of lands within one (1) kilometre of the Lake Ontario shoreline as wildlife habitat and a regional wildlife movement corridor;

3.  That the Province of Ontario be requested to provide implementing land acquisitionfunding to acquire new public Greenbelt Urban River Valley connection landsincluding Lake Ontario Waterfront lands;

4.  That staff be authorized to forward Item DS-21-72 and any related resolution of the Development Services Committee to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and to provide subsequent follow-up once Council has considered this matter; and,

5.  That a copy of Item DS-21-72 and the related Council resolution be sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in response to the posting on the Environmental Registry of Ontario entitled “Consultation on growing the size of the Greenbelt” (Posting Number ERO 019-3136), with copies also provided to the Region of Durham, Durham area municipalities, Durham area M.P.P.s, the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, and the City’s Building Industry Liaison Team which includes the Durham Chapter of the Durham Region Home Builders’ Association.

At the April 6, 2021 Region of Durham Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting, Ajax Mayor pulled correspondence from the Town of Ajax.

The Town of Ajax has passed a direction to send this letter to the Honorable Jeff Yurek at the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.  The letter outlines the Town of Ajax's objection to having three developers on the Conservation Authorities Working Group.

Initially approved by Ajax Council in February, Mayor Collier was looking for the Region of Durham to endorse this letter instead of simply receiving it for information.

In his comments to the committee, Mayor Collier mentioned that politicians must go through a commenting process to be heard, while developers have seat at the table, and said, "we feel that this is fundamentally wrong."

He continued on to say, "we feel the conservation authorities have already had their powers reduced substantially, and now to put members of the development community on; and I'm not saying anything negative about them, but I'm just saying the conservation authorities are already operating a little under duress as we've seen."

Mayor Collier also said that having developers on the working group was akin to putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

Mayor Collier's motion was seconded by Councillor Lee, but lost.

Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan, also Chair of the committee, moved a motion to receive the correspondence for information, and stated that the working group had been in place since December, and that the 18 individuals in the group included 11 from conservation authorities, 1 politician, AMO and 2 regional staff members, and 3 from the development community.

Chair Ryan's motion to receive for information passed.