2007 Highlights & Hot Topics

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Highlights & Hot Topics
Pickering’s Official Plan Review & Public Consultation
A spirit of collaboration will get the most proactive results.

Over the past year, I’ve been discussing with staff new ideas on what I’ve always referred to as “window dressing public consultation”. Basically, “thank you for your comments, good-bye”.
City staff are in the process of developing a work plan that sets out some new ideas on gaining meaningful input from our residents in our Official Plan Review. They’ve already begun by engaging citizens through Sustainable Pickering Day and focus groups assisted by “Evergreen” for the City’s Downtown Study. This study will look for ways to intensify and enhance the area around City Hall, to create a vibrant and sustainable downtown core. This is in keeping with the Provincial Government’s Places to Grow Plan, which identifies Downtown Pickering as a “growth centre”. During the course of the Downtown Study, there will be a number of opportunities for comments and input from residents and businesses.
We need various public consultation processes that don’t dictate - that are flexible and go out to the public - not always expecting residents to come to City Hall. Consultation needs to be as diverse as our population, creative, interesting and appeal to all ages.
I’m looking forward to hear what further ideas staff have come up with. In the meantime, residents can start by attending my Idea Exchange on Smart Growth and Sustainability - don’t forget to bring your ideas on what you’d like to see in our City!

Energy from Waste Facility
(aka incineration)How do you want the Region to handle your waste?
Since shipping our waste to Michigan will no longer be an option and it’s already been determined that residents didn’t want more landfill - Taxpayers will have to decide how and how much they want to spend to deal with it.
Most certainly, we could start by improving our waste diversion and recycling. We could ask the province to enact legislation to make manufacturers more responsible for the waste created in the first place. If it cost money, incentive would exist to produce less packaging and more re-usable products.
European countries have been incinerating for years with various technologies. Some older operations have closed. Some have consolidated all their utilities and make a profit from the energy produced. The newest technologies which claim the best health and environmental protection are of course hugely expensive. So, what are the risks? The site and actual technology hasn’t been determined as yet - so neither can the risk.
Stay tuned for more - this is one HOT topic! (FYI: Halton Region recently voted down options for a EFW facility.)

Seaton
“the greenest community in Canada??”
The history of Seaton and the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) is so long I’m sure one day someone will write a book or two on the subject - so, I’ll try to be brief.
It all started in 1972 when the federal government expropriated 18,000 acres for a federal airport - the province then expropriated 25,000 acres between the Rouge & Duffins for a City to go with it! (Many citizens are still involved that worked on the original urban plan called Cedarwood back in the 70's)
In 1999, the Province, Region, City, and citizen groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding to sell back land on the west side of Duffins Creek in Pickering as agricultural land in perpetuity held by easements on title - known as the DRAP.
2001, the province announces a swap for provincially owned land in Seaton with developers to protect land in the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The City lost it’s planning rights to the province when it recommended developing both Seaton and more than 1000 acres of the DRAP in the City’s Growth Management Study (GMS)- hence, the Central Pickering Development Plan was born. The final version released May 2006.
In the 2003 provincial election the Liberal government promised 2/3rds of Seaton would be included into the Greenbelt - none has to date. The Ontario Greenbelt Alliance gave the province a grade “D” in their Greenbelt Report Card.
“Positively, the Central Pickering Development Plan may be Canada’s most aggressive attempt to secure green space and Natural Heritage System (NHS) planning, however, the current NHS still does not adequately protect the Duffins Creek.” (Although much larger than in the City’s GMS - this is a hotly debated issue.)
Now that lawsuits launched by development interests in the DRAP lost in court, public consultation has now resumed for the 54% that is to remain as a Natural Heritage System and in public ownership The land swap is now complete and the City is left with the daunting task of implementing the provincial plan.
All that being said, I'm concerned that all of us should turn our focus to the inevitable urban plan for Seaton. To maintain the spirit and intent of the Central Pickering Plan we need to make Seaton the greenest urban community possible and everyone needs to participate proactively to make sure it is.
However, I see two problems. Will the developers step up to the plate? The same old sprawl subdivisions are not going to fly with the public this time and the devil will be in the details. Also, Council failed to uphold principles of our planning dept's "Sustainable Neighbourhood Design Guidelines" for the Downtown West Plan, so will they cave on the details of various development applications coming down the pipe for Seaton? Having an Office of Sustainability or a committee for that matter won’t mean much if Council doesn't uphold the principles. Council collaboration rather than political grandstanding will go a long way toward the success of Seaton. Maybe we’ll do better by the next newsletter? We’ll see.
Southeast Collector Sanitary Trunk Sewer Project (aka The Big Pipe)
Purpose of the project is to accommodate sanitary sewer flows from future growth in York Region; Environmental Assessment underway; Regions released recommended route in June/07. This is still a hot topic. York Region is criticized for not developing within-Region sewage treatment and tunneling raw sewage through the Oak Ridges Moraine aquifers, Bob Hunter Memorial Park, the Rouge Park and Pickering’s DRAP. Future public meetings to be held on recommended route. More information available at: sec.cenet.ca

Airport Update
In April, City Council passed a resolution confirming its opposition to an airport and requesting once again an independent peer review of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority’s (GTAA) Draft Plan for North Pickering. May 9th, Transport Canada announced the contract was awarded to GTAA to complete the previously announced Needs Assessment Study. These findings will become part of Transport Canada’s comprehensive due diligence review that will independently check and verify assumptions and conclusions in all related planning studies. (Doesn’t that make the GTAA doing a review of their own studies? How’s that for due diligence!)
Greenbelt Update
In January, Regional Council backed away (for now) from including maps of Greenbelt lands they want removed in the Regional Official Plan. (Pickering’s Greenbelt lands in the DRAP are considered)

Rouge Park
The Provincial government announced the headwaters of Petticoat creek in Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) and the still provincially owned Markham side of the DRAP have been dedicated to the Rouge Park. Jointly, the Rouge Park Alliance and TRCA plan future pilot projects for “near-urban agriculture” in the Rouge Park.

Provincial Plans keep winning awardsT
he Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006 has been recognized by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) with the Leonard Gertler Award of Distinction. The newly-established award recognizes the importance that the Growth Plan will have on the future of planning in Ontario. Gary Davidson, OPPI president, noted that it represents “work of such significance that it substantially impacts people in the Province of Ontario and merits special recognition.”
The Ontario Government’s Greenbelt Plan was also named as a recipient of the award.

Electoral Reform
The Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform has recommended a new way to vote. They recommend that a Mixed Member Proportional system as the best voting system for Ontario – you’ll get two votes - one for the party of your choice, another for the candidate of your choice. In the provincial election, October 10th, look for a referendum question.