REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: November 20, 2019 Report No. EPW-19-034
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Jeff Miller, Director of Engineering and Public Works
SUBJECT:
Title
The Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council approves the revised Council Policy E&PW-02 - Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications, November 2019
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Bylaw No,.2860, 2015 - Boulevard Maintenance Bylaw & Council Policy E&PW-02 - Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Local Services and Infrastructure - Identify Infrastructure repair and proactively plan for replacement needs
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, Council Policy E&PW-02 (The Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications) and Bylaw 2860 (Boulevard Maintenance Bylaw) were adopted. The Guide provides a mechanism for non-essential infrastructure to be added to the boulevard by a homeowner while the Bylaw provides an enforcement mechanism.
In May and October of 2019 two reports (EPW-19-015 and EPW-19-033) were brought before the Committee of the Whole (COTW). The purpose of the reports was to determine:
• Standards for what type and size of non-essential infrastructure could be placed within a boulevard,
• Inclusion of a form of public consultation for proposed alternatives
• Inclusion of a dispute mechanism for alterations that have been placed in a boulevard. These alterations could have occurred either by Permit or without Permit.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
Based on these meetings of COTW, Council Policy E&PW-02 - Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications has been revised. See Attachment 1 for the revised Guide. The Bylaw has not been modified as it was not necessary to make any alterations based on the direction set by COTW. See Attachment 2 for the bylaw.
The main changes within the Guide deal with:
• Providing standards to what is or is not acceptable
• Locations for acceptable works
• Neighbourhood engagement
• A dispute mechanism if an alteration is now considered undesirable for the location
With these changes, staff is recommending that the new Guide be adopted by Council.
2. Organizational Implications
Overall the updated Guide will not have significant implications on staff time. Applications and enforcement of the Guide and Bylaw will be carried out by Engineering and Community Safety Services (Bylaw) staff. There will be an increased amount of effort to prepare reports on the public engagement portion by the proponent and staff to gather this information and present it to Council. This work can be accommodated within the work plans of the various members of staff that are involved in these requests.
3. Financial Implications
The implementation and enforcement can be accommodated within the current operational budgets for the various departments that will be involved in the Boulevard Modification process.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There is no sustainability or environmental implications to the proposed amendments.
5. Communication & Engagement
Once approved, the updated Guide will be posted to the Township website with hard copies available at the Engineering counter. Staff will provide an explanation of the
changes between the original and revised Guides. The Bylaw will also be available on the website and as a hard copy.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council approves the revised Council Policy E&PW-02 - Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications, November 2019.
2. That Council not approve the revised Council Policy E&PW-02 - Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications, November 2019.
3. That Council provides additional information/changes to the revised Council Policy E&PW-02- Township Guide to Boulevard Modifications to staff for review and integration into the revised Guide with approval of the Council Policy occuring at a later date.