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Hamilton Committee of Adjustment for September 1, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 27, 2016
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment will hear 24 variance or severance applications during its first meeting of August. Here are some of the applications that drew the attention of The Public Record’s Joey Coleman.
(Note: Variance applications are often vague and without a full history of a project, it is easy for an observer to miss a file of note that is well known to neighbours of the project)
APPROVED
(pg  of 122) scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
The Earth to Table “The Farm” operation at 250 Concession Road 4 is seeking variances “to permit the conversion of the existing dwelling unit located on the second level of a farm storage building to a permanent farm labour residence and to permit the construction of a single detached dwelling which shall be the principal farm dwelling”.
The site is zoned agricultural and officially houses a “agricultural education centre” which in practice serves as a wedding banquet centre. The use was approved by City Council in 2015 after months of contentious debate and much opposition from neighbouring farm properties which complained of impacts to their properties from road traffic dust, water run-off, and waste.
Many attended City Council to voice their complaint that the banquet centre was the primary use of the property and not secondary as required in agricultural zoning areas.
The zoning variance requested may attract neighbouring properties owners if the use as a wedding venue continues to draw complaints.
APPROVED
(pg  of 122) scheduled for 1:40pm
The owner of this house, near McMaster University, is seeking variances to construct a second floor addition to the existing home.
Expansion of homes in Westdale usually attracts neighbourhood opposition due to this allowing for use as student housing where the intended use is single-family housing.
DENIED
(pg 55 of 122) scheduled for 2:00pm
The owner, Recchia Developments Inc, is making their third attempt to develop this Dundas property with spectacular views of the City of Hamilton asking the Committee of Adjustment to approve the development of six single detached homes on the site.
This property’s first two attempts to redevelopment were rejected by Ontario Municipal Board.
The first, for 14 townhouses and a single detached home, was sent to the OMB for “non-decision” after Council did not decide on the application within the 180 requirement. OMB rejected the application finding it was not keeping with the single detached character of the area.
In 2014, staff recommended the approval of a new proposal for 12 semi-detached homes (six buildings) on the site. Council voted against the approval, Recchia appealed to the OMB. Notwithstanding support for the proposal from City planning staff, the OMB sided with Council and nearby residents in rejecting the appeal. The OMB more clearly stated the developer must propose single detached homes.
Now, the developer is asking Committee of Adjustment to approve the development of six single detached homes.
Expect many from the community to attend the hearing. There is an argument to be made that this is not a variance but a Zoning Bylaw Amendment and does not belong at the Committee of Adjustment. (Also worth noting a good write-up on this file by Craig Campbell of Metroland’s Dundas Star)
APPROVED
(pg 59 of 122) scheduled for 2:05 pm
The owner is seeking to legalize an existing conversion of a commercial unit to an apartment with the existing upper floor apartments. Previous term, the CoA rejected a similar application across across the street in the same area of the Barton Street district.
The owner is also building a one storey rear addition to the building without a permit.
The CoA recently approved a storefront conversion on King Street East on the southwest block at Wentworth.
TABLED to September 15 to allow committee site visit
(pg 67 of 122) scheduled for 2:10pm
This will be an interesting application to see how the CoA handles this application to convert first floor commercial to two residential units. The upper floors of the building house two additional existing residential units.
The building is located just south of Main Street, just north of St. Peter’s Hospital (which is chronic care, not full-service, hospital) across from Adelaide Hoodless school.
What makes this application interesting is that the commercial zoning is an extension of the Main Street commercial zoning, and this conversion – if approved – will be part of a potential trend municipalities are monitoring for, as home offices increase, the demand for commercial space is decreasing and tax revenue with it.
APPROVED
The owner of this house, near Princess Point, is seeking variances to construct a second floor addition to the existing home.
Expansion of homes in Westdale usually attracts neighbourhood opposition due to this allowing for use as student housing where the intended use is single-family housing.


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Cancelled: Hamilton Design Review Panel to Consider Gore Buildings Plan at August 2016 Meeting – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 3, 2016
Update: The City of Hamilton posted a notice on August 10 stating this meeting is cancelled. No reason was provided.
What will Hamilton’s Design Review Panel think of the proposed design for the Gore Buildings at 18 to 28 King Street East in the heart of Hamilton’s Central Business District?
DRP will consider the design of the proposal to completely demolish the two easternmost buildings at 24 and 28 King Street East and preservation of the facades at 18 and 22 King Street East with the demolition of the remainder of those buildings.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 11, 2016 starting at 2:00 p.m. The hearing into the Gore Buildings is scheduled for 3:10 p.m.  The meeting is open to the public. (Agenda PDF)
Owners Wilson-Blatchard receive Council approval for their plan in May of this year.
Hamilton’s Municipal Heritage Permit Review Sub-Committee turned down the play two weeks ago at their July meeting. (Minutes not yet available, the sub-committee met at the same time as the LRT sub-committee)
Project architect David Premi will present to DRP. Premi is a member of DRP, he will not be sitting in review of his own project.
Note: The Public Record does not record or broadcast DRP meetings. At present, the process is still fairly new and it is not clear if a camera would diminish the goals of these meetings which is a frank and lively discussion of early renderings and proposals
DISCLOSURE: The Public Record rents office space from one of David Premi’s companies, The Seedworks Urban Offices.

source: news-thepublicrecord

created: August 3, 2016

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Hamilton Port Authority – City of Hamilton Joint Liaison Committee for August 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site
Become a Press Club member today and help TPR grow local journalism here in Hamilton
August 8, 2016
A long dormant liaison committee – conceived in 2009 but never implemented – is holding its first meeting this week as the Hamilton Port Authority and City Council look to improve their relationship following the clash in the previous two years over the Port Fuels waste-to-energy plant proposal.
The City and Port indirectly battled over jurisdiction with the City saying the Port Fuels proposal was not allowed under City bylaws and the Hamilton Port Authority backing the proposal behind the scenes hinting the HPA felt the project was exempt from City bylaws on HPA lands.
With the Liaison Committee, both sides plan to work on a Land Use Plan update and a Community Energy Project.
The meeting is Thursday August 11 at 10:30am in Room 264 of City Hall and is open to the public. (City Council is meeting in Public Works committee at the same time and The Public Record will not able able to cover this Liaison Committee meeting)
Full Agenda PDF

created: August 8, 2016


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Hamilton Truck Route Sub-Committee for September 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 27, 2016
UPDATED post meeting.
The Truck Route Sub-Committee defers discussion of trucks on Centennial Parkway South to a future meeting, amending the truck route schedule of the roads bylaw to allow MTO farm license plated trucks to operate anywhere in the rural area, and added the Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway officially to the City’s truck routes.
The majority of the meeting was devoted to discussing changing the bylaw to allow farm trucks to use any rural road. (This debate is covered in a separate story “Truck Route Sub-Committee Votes for Blanket Exemption for Farm-Plated Trucks in Rural Hamilton“)
Full replay video link
Full agenda:  https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/static/agendas/2016/September-1-2016-Hamilton-Truck-Route-SubCommittee-Agenda.pdf


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Hamilton Veterans Committee for August 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 8, 2016
The Hamilton Veteran’s Committee will discuss improvements to the flag mounts on the Gore Park Cenotaph, have a presentation from Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Bob Bratina – a member of the House of Commons Veterans Committee, and discuss planning for commemoration services of the Dieppe Raid and Remembrance Day.
This meeting is at the same time as Planning Committee and there will be no record.
Full Agenda PDF


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Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas Town Hall on Electoral Reform [Live Blog] – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 23, 2016
I’m at the Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas Town Hall on Electoral Reform hosted by Liberal M.P. Filomena Tassi. The event started at 6:30pm at the Innovation Park in West Hamilton.
I’m using a liveblogging format to cover this meeting. Follow along for updates and observations.


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Hamilton West Harbour Sub-Committee for August 4, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 4, 2016
Hamilton’s West Harbour Sub-Committee receives presentations on the Real Estate Solicitation Process for Pier 8 and the Waterfront Recreation Plan from City staff, and an update from the Hamilton Waterfront Trust on its work on behalf of the City managing the redevelopment of Piers 5, 6, & 7.
Replay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8XhZMrs97A

created: August 4, 2016


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How Can We Make Crossing Highway 6 in Flamborough Safe for Cyclists? – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 3, 2016
The Hamilton Cycling Committee split into working groups during their August meeting, one of the groups discussed cycling routes and infrastructure in the suburban and rural areas of Hamilton.
One of the committee meetings hails from Waterdown and discussed the challenge of crossing Provincial Highway 6 safely in Flamborough. She noted that she must now cross the highway to get to the library after the closing of the Millgrove branch in favour of a much larger and fuller service Waterdown location.
With the increase in population in Flamborough, and the promotion of recreational cycling in the Greenbelt and along the Escarpment, there are more cyclists attempting to cross the ever busier Highway 6.
Presently, Centre Road is the only safe crossing point. The issue is highlighted by the death this weekend of a cyclist on Highway 5 in Waterdown. The cyclist was a season farm worker, and many of these workers rely upon cycling as their primary means of accessing services and shopping.
The committee identified this as an issue for consideration as staff review the Cycling Master Plan.
I ask, could the new Highway 6 & 5 interchange at Clappison’s Corners include a pedestrian and cycling underpass?
Note: Mayor Fred Eisenberger attended the meeting and participated in discussions, including a detailed discussion on Central Avenue cycling, the Mayor uses this road when biking to City Hall.


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Postmedia Opening Digital Development Office in Kitchener, Keeping Ancaster Team in Place – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 2, 2016
Postmedia is the latest company to locate a digital development operation in Downtown Kitchener.
Postmedia’s press statement announcing the new office includes a comforting line at the end:
Postmedia’s innovation lab at the Communitech Hub in Waterloo is expected to launch in the fall. The new team will complement Postmedia’s established network of digital development teams located in Toronto and Ancaster.
This is good news for Hamilton.
The Ancaster digital development office of Postmedia is small – tucked away in a Meadowlands commercial building – but the developers working there are major contributors to grassroots efforts to maintain and grown Hamilton’s digital development economy.
Over the years, they’ve lead presentations at Software Hamilton and participated in coding events.
Hamilton Council needs to create an clear plan and strategy to benefit from the explosive growth in the digital sector in both Waterloo and Toronto. We need to make sure the infrastructure is in place to ensure the gravitational pull of economic clustering does not see Hamilton losing IT jobs.

created: August 2, 2016


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Special Hamilton City Council GIC: Government Infrastructure Funding Lobbying Priorities [August 23, 2016] – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 23, 2016
City Council will debate a staff proposal to prioritize lobbying the Justin Trudeau federal Liberal government infrastructure, transit/transportation and affordable housing.
Live video starts at 9:30am


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Tickets on Sale for Neighbourhood Development "Building Momentum" Fundraiser – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 25, 2016
The City is selling tickets for the neighbourhood development fundraising event “Building Momentum” on Friday, September 16 from 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
This years event is being held outdoors at the East Hamilton McQuesten Urban Farm, previous years have been indoors at LIUNA Station and the civic football stadium.
The $60 tickets can be purchased online and includes craft beer and wine, hors d’oeuvres and food stations, a performance by Tomi Swick, and a tour of the urban farm.
All proceeds will go to the neighbourhood development small grants program.
I attended the event two years ago, it is a great opportunity to network and a great cause.
Tickets can be purchased online.
More information about the event here: https://www.hamilton.ca/city-initiatives/strategies-actions/neighbourhood-action-strategy


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We Need to Focus on Compassion for Drug Addiction And Pass a Good Samaritan Law – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 31, 2016
We’re failing to put compassion above criminalization when dealing with drug overdose situations, it’s time to pass Bill C-224 and save lives.
Today (August 31) is Drug Overdose Awareness Day and Hamilton’s public health department marked the date with an awareness event at City Hall. Over 100 people attended.
Hamilton’s public pealth department is doing good work addressing drug overdoses, addiction, treatment, and disease prevention. Yet, approximately 30 people still die each year in Hamilton from drug overdoses.
The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario says the number of opioid overdose deaths is increase in Hamilton.
These are preventable deaths. We, society, are failing to treat drug addiction with compassion first, putting too many resources into using the criminal code to punish those addicted. This criminal lenses filter leads to unnecessary drug overdose deaths.
A 2012 Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council survey found only 54% of respondents would call 9-1-1 and wait for help to arrive during an overdose situation. Among the other 46%, more than half said the criminal justice system – fear of being arrested – was a barrier to them calling 9-1-1.
Time is of the essence when someone is suffering from a drug overdose. In matters of life and death, seconds matter – every second someone is debating to call 9-1-1 is a second less to save a persons live.
Liberal M.P. Ron McKinnon is pushing a Private Member’s Bill he moved this spring to end this hesitation to call.
Bill C-224, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, will grant amnesty to ensure people call 9-1-1 when someone is suffering a drug overdose. The Bill’s goal is simple – save lives by eliminate the fear of calling for help.
A sponsor of the Bill, Winnipeg MP Doug Eyolfson, an emergency room doctor laid out the argument for C-224 when he rose in the House of Commons to say:
Drawing on my 20 years of experience as an emergency physician, I can say with confidence that, if passed, Bill C-224 would save lives. During my clinical experience, I have witnessed and treated many overdose victims in the poverty-stricken downtown core of Winnipeg.
…
Some may argue that people who routinely ingest harmful drugs are responsible for their outcome and what happens to them is their choice. I disagree. It is almost unanimously accepted by the medical profession that addiction is an illness. Furthermore, it is not widely understood by the public that addiction is highly correlated with underlying mental illness. Someone with an undiagnosed or poorly controlled mental illness may take harmful substances in an attempt to self-medicate. This bill is vital to helping these vulnerable individuals.
Critics of this bill might claim that by preventing legal sanctions against drug users, this bill facilitates and encourages drug use, as is claimed with other forms of harm reduction. On this point, the evidence is also clear. Harm reduction saves lives, improves outcomes, increases access to rehabilitation, and does not increase either the use of drugs or incidence of crime. This is the conclusion of the Canadian Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.
…
When looking at this bill, we should consider the evidence. A Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council study found that fewer than half of respondents would call 911 in an overdose situation, citing potential charges as a major barrier. A study of Washington state, which passed good Samaritan overdose legislation in 2010, found that almost 90% of respondents aware of the law would make the call.
When considering this legislation, it is important to recognize these people are our sons, daughters, friends, and family members. Young people at a house party may be too scared to call for help for their overdosing friend if they fear charges. Too often we have seen this story in the news, how fear caused delay, and there should not be a need for hesitation or a second thought when calling to save a life. If this bill is passed, scared young people at a house party will be more likely to call 911 if their friend is in trouble. A bystander will be more likely to put compassion and conscience before fear and self-interest.
Members from all three official parties spoke in favour of C-224, which now sits in committee awaiting action.
A dozen people stood in front of the crowd at City Hall today, they slowly read the names of people who’ve dead of drug overdoses. The crowd stop quietly as the names were read.
Name after name, each with a story, each life cut short. Some in the crowd sobbed as they thought about loved one lost.
There will be more names next year, drug addiction will claim more lives.
Too often, we lose sight of the people behind the addiction statistics and the reality we see on our streets. Its easier to grasp the big narrative than it is the individual stories.
For the people sobbing in the audience, the individual stories and heartbreak are felt.
We need to decrease the number of drug deaths, we need to save more lives, we need to stop the heartache.
Hamilton’s taking a big step towards this goal by providing opiate drug overdose kits – Naloxone – free of charge to those addicted or with a history of addiction to opiates.
As a country, we need to push our local MPs to pass Bill C-224 and save lives.
We will be measured by how we respond to the explosion of opiate addiction in our society – is compassion our priority? It’s time to stand up and be counted.


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Whitehead's Schtick Fail: Calls for Pedestrian Crosswalks at Upper James and Fennell, Mohawk, Stone Church – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 17, 2016
Ward 8 Hamilton City Councillor Terry Whitehead is turning into a parody of himself in the past few months.
On nearly every major issue, his schtick is that Ward 8 is getting screwed by the City prioritizing the downtown to the exclusion of his ward. Whitehead can only see improvements to the City through his myopic political self-interest.
Often, this results in him embarrassing himself by making claims which are not true while advancing his claims.
The latest episode came last Friday when he lamented that his ward was not receiving pedestrian crosswalks. Ward 8 Councillor Terry
Whitehead is concerned that Upper James is not getting pedestrian crosswalks and that the City is not following “empirical” data installing the crosswalks downtown.
Except that only two of the first five crosswalks is in the Lower City, and the locations he proposes for Upper James are already full signalized intersections.
You can view the full video of Whitehead’s comments at the top of this story.
“I would hope how these are being implemented is based on empirical data and high-risk”, Whitehead began his speech keeping to his schtick of implying staff are not making fact-based findings using empirical to mean a recommendation different than Whitehead’s opinion. “We’ve had several pedestrians hit in the number of years on Upper James, which is a high volume very wide street”, Whitehead continued. “I’m surprised that wasn’t one of the areas of priority, help me understand why Upper James didn’t the first cut”.
Staff explained they received over 200 suggestions for locations and they reviewed they for the best locations to being installing pedestrian crosswalk. The senior manager ended his response saying staff planned to meet with the Councillors to prioritize further installations by Ward.
“I don’t think anyone would dispute that it is one of the widest crosses for pedestrians in the City yet it didn’t make the initial list,” Whitehead chastised staff. “I want it based on empirical information not political information!”
“When I look at this list and Upper James not making the first cut on pilot program, again the Mountain the second [unclear word],” he says. “Help me understand why Upper James … how that could possibly not make the first cut?”
Staff politely asked Whitehead what intersections needed pedestrian crosswalks.
Whitehead: “Fennell Upper James, Mohawk Upper James will be a good start” then added “Stone Church”.
Staff: “These are areas that don’t have existing pedestrian crossways?”
W: “Pardon?”
S: “These are areas that don’t have existing crosswalks?”
W: “They do, but they don’t have it at this level”
Whitehead continued with a closing and the chair moved on with the agenda of the meeting.


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A Shout-Out to City Hall Staffer for Great Work – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 2, 2016
You can’t fight City Hall, but sometimes you can get help there.
Secretary-Treasurer of the Committee of Adjustment Scott Baldry manages one of the more demanding of offices in City Hall, coordinating hundreds of variance applications and a small staff. He’s responsible for a huge swath of work, arriving early each morning and often staying into the evening. He’s a bureaucrat you never hear of.
A family needed variances to build their dream backyard, but due to the drainage of their neighbourhood, the application quickly became complex requiring numerous city departments to become involved, including drainage engineering.
When the application came in front of the committee, members paused due to initial comments against the variance from engineering staff who were seeking studies. Baldry explained that he had gone back and forth with the applicants and city staff, and they had reached a resolution. He explained the situation and the committee was able to approve the application.
The woman owning the house was elated, and almost in tears because her dream was approved. She thanked Baldry and left the room happier than I’ve seen anyone at City Hall in a long time.
Baldry didn’t need to assist her with the application, he could’ve just done his job, and watch as the family was charged for studies and extra fees. Instead, he took time to bridge the citizen-bureaucracy communications barrier to solve this situation.
For that woman, and her family, they witnessed City Hall work – and now the rest of us know City Hall can work for us.

created: September 2, 2016


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Don't Be A Jerk at Hamilton's Committee of Adjustment – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 2, 2016
Don’t Be A Jerk is good advice in life in general, at Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment, it’s important.
During Thursday (Sept 1/16) hearings, being a jerk cost a professional agent the respect of the committee, in the other, by not engaging in a neighbour dispute, a applicant saw their variance unanimously approved without debate.
In one, the developers agent for 231 York Road in Dundas once again proved that being a jerk at Committee of Adjustment is never a good idea.
The developer was seeking a series of variances as the first step towards building six single detached homes. The property has been to two OMB hearings the developer loss, and OMB has provided clear direction for the future development.
The variances were a stretch to begin with – as they were a first step (the committee likes to deal in minor changes after primary approvals or on existing developed properties) and were contentious. The developers agent started his argument, the committee was giving him a hearing … then…
The agent launched into an attack on the character of the neighbours to the property, accusing them of a litany of wrongs and saying they should be ignored because they are “anti-development” and NIMBY.
At this point, the committee’s body language changed and they were done listening to the agent.
The neighbourhood representative followed, she is a professional planner by profession. She addressed the accusations simply and in a very measured polite tone stated ‘I’m disappointed in the accusations, which are not true.’ She then focused on advancing the neighbours planning arguments.
Her professional and proper presentation was well received by committee, which voted unanimously to reject the application.
A later hearing turned into a neighbours dispute complete with a dramatic presentation straight from casting for The People’s Court. The neighbour dispute followed the usual narrative – complaints about noise, property standards, and even “they threatened to kill me”. The applicant neighbour sat quietly during the tirade.
The committee chair asked the committee if they had any questions on the planning matter in front of them. No questions, move to approve, and unanimous approval.
Proving that, at committee of adjustment, decorum matters.


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Hamilton City Council Board of Health for September 19, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 19, 2016
Hamilton’s Board of Health debates drug and substance misuse public health approach, medical marijuana and municipal law, supervised injection sites, sale and display of drug paraphernalia in convenience stores, and more.
Live at 1:30pm

created: September 19, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Capital Projects Work-In-Progress Sub-Committee for September 30, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 24, 2016
Council’s Capital Projects Work-In-Progress Sub-Committee meets September 30th to discuss the status of hundreds of Public Works capital projects.
The City does not make agendas for non-standing committees publicly available on the Internet. Apparently, they haven’t discovered the upload button in their Drupal CMS backend.
The members of this committee are: Collins, Conley, B. Johnson, Partridge, Pearson, and the Whitehead.
The meeting begins at 1:30pm in Room 192 at City Hall.
Gage Park Tropical House renewal project – budgeted at $3-million – is expected to go to tender by end of the year.
Central Park Remediation – this project is supposed to be underway in the next few weeks. Budgeted at $3.16-million, the project will include addressing contamination found in the north portion of the park.
City Hall Renovations – the ongoing renovations of City Hall, caused by cutting corners on the 2010 renovation project to declare that renovation “on-time, on-budget” continue. The later project was making City Hall accessible for persons with wheelchairs. The installation of accessible doors cost approximately $390,000 – $85,000 over the original budget of $305.000.
HSR Customer Service Software – The capital budget lines say the HSR has spent $600,000 on new customer service software with a $720,000 budget for customer service software. The staff report says they will need more than $720,000.
City Hall Structural Rehabilitation – The capital budget lines says the City is budgeting $880,000 for a “City Hall structural rehabilitation tender”.

created: September 24, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Emergency and Community Services Committee for September 12, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 12, 2016
Social Infrastructure Funding, a study of population growth and recreation needs, fire underwriters survey, and computers for the neighbourhood action strategy.
Live video starts at 1:30pm

created: September 12, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Emergency and Community Services for September 26, 2016: St. Matthew's House – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 26, 2016
City Council’s Emergency and Community Services will meet to discuss one item: St. Matthew’s House’s (SMH) complaint about the procurement process for child care services for children with special needs.
In November 2015, City Council voted to go to tender for one provider to coordinate this service.
A competitive bidding process was undertaken in spring 2016, and in July, the winning bid was announced as Community Living Hamilton (CLH). SMH would no longer operate the portion of the program they had.
For SMH, the loss of this City contract represents $2.1-million in annual funding. Of the $2.1-million, $163,000 was directed to administrative functions.
In the end, the City will facilitate the transition of clients to CLH and is requiring CLH to grant employment interviews to all workers presently providing the service at SMH.
For the future of SMH, the city staff say they do not know the finances of SMH, and note that other city funded programs offered by the charity remain funded.

created: September 26, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for September 14, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 14, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to ratify their committee business of the past two weeks.
Live video starts at 5pm

created: September 14, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for September 28, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 28, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to ratify their work of the past two weeks, and approve various motions.
Live video at 5pm.

created: September 28, 2016


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Hamilton City Council GIC for September 21, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 21, 2016
Hamilton City Council GIC for September 21, 2016
Live at 9:30am

created: September 21, 2016


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Hamilton City Council GIC for September 7, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 7, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to discuss the relocation of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, creating a Hamilton Walk of Fame, a closure of the McQuesten High-Level bridge for a fundraising dinner, WiFi at Gage Park, and a delegation from the Beasley Neighbourhood advocating for the John/Rebecca Park.
Live video starts at 9:30am

created: September 7, 2016


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Hamilton City Council: Hamilton Renewable Power Board of Directors for September 28, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 26, 2016
Council’s money-making energy production enterprise company will hold a Board of Directors meeting to “apply to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s Feed-in-Tariff version 5 program”
The agenda for this committee is not publicly available on the City website because, apparently, adding agendas would break the City’s website.
The full agenda package is on The Public Record here:
The meeting begins on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 10:00am in Room 222 of City Hall


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Hamilton City Council Planning Committee for September 20, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 20, 2016
Hamilton City Council’s Planning Committee holds it second meeting of September.
Live video

created: September 20, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Planning Committee for September 6, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 6, 2016
Two OMB appeals filed against the City, a motion for Council to file a OMB appeal against a Committee of Adjustment decision on the Beach Strip, housekeeping changes to the Urban Hamilton Official Plan, changing to the Planning Application process to address road-widening allowance concerns, and the City’s official comments on the Greenbelt Review and Inclusionary Zoning.
Live video starts at 9:30am
Full Agenda on City Website: http://hamilton.siretechnologies.com/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1019&doctype=AGENDA

created: September 6, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Public Works Committee for September 19, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 19, 2016
Full Video of the Hamilton City Council Public Works Committee for September 19, 2016
YouTube Video Link


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Hamilton City Council Rental Housing Sub-Committee for September 15, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 15, 2016
Video of the Hamilton City Council Rental Housing Sub-Committee for September 15, 2016.
YouTube Link

created: September 15, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Truck Route Sub-Committee for September 1, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 1, 2016
Full Video of the Hamilton City Council Truck Route Sub-Committee for September 1, 2016
YouTube Video Link

created: September 1, 2016


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Hamilton City Hall Election Compliance Audit Committee for September 6, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 6, 2016
Hamilton’s City Council appointed Election Compliance Audit Committee will consider two applications for compliance audit regarding Ward 7 By-Election candidates.
The committee, which was recently found by the Ontario Ombudsman to have held an illegal closed meeting, has been forced by citizens in the past to declare violations of election rules, but has never acted on violations.
The complaints, filed by two citizens, are related to campaign in-kind contributing and campaigning expenses for Howard Rabb and the failure to retain an independent auditor by Uzma Qureshi.
Live video starts at 7:00pm, the meeting begins at 7:30pm
Full Agenda: https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/static/agendas/2016/September-6-2016-Hamilton-Hamilton-Election-Compliance-Audit-Committee-Agenda.pdf


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Letter to Ted McMeekin, MPP, Regarding Illegal Closed Meetings by Hamilton Library Board – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 17, 2016
Mr. McMeekin,
I thank you for your quick response to my social media communication to you late Friday evening.
I write you as my local member of the governing party in regards to a loophole between three Acts which provides no mechanism for enforcement of the open meeting requirement by Ontario’s public library boards.
I ask that the government close this loophole by either amending the Municipal Act or the Public Libraries Act to provide for the Ontario Ombudsman to be the closed meeting investigator for library boards the same as other local boards and agencies, while allowing for the maintaining of the exceptions for police boards which are subject to the oversight of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission in regards to closed meetings.
The Hamilton Library Board is governed by both the Municipal Act and the Public Libraries Act.
Section 1 of the Municipal Act defines a public library board as a “local board” for the purposes of the Act.
Section 238 exempts library boards from Section 239 of the Municipal Act.
Section 16 of the Public Libraries Act requires that library board meetings are open to the public, with Section 16(4) providing for exemptions which are the exact same as those provided for municipalities in Section 239 of the Municipal Act.
There is no provision for investigation of closed meetings under the Public Libraries Act. The Ombudsman Act Section 14.1 exempts library boards and police boards from the oversight of the Ontario Ombudsman citing the provision of Section 238 of the Municipal Act.
The following statement is included as part of September 16, 2016 agenda package of the Hamilton Public Library Board:
“That the Hamilton Public Library Board ratifies the electronic vote that took place between August 8 and August 11, 2016 to increase funding to the Binbrook and Dundas projects”
As you are aware as the former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ontario Ombudsman and other jurisprudence have declared that open meeting requirements apply to electronic meetings and votes. Specifically, public notice of the open meeting is required, the meeting must be fully accessible to the public, and votes must be conducted in public.
The Hamilton Public Library Board’s policy 6.0 states “Board meetings are open to the public except for in-camera sessions and individual committee meetings.”
This is a direct violation of Section 16 of the Public Libraries Act which states:
Clearly, the Hamilton Library Board cannot declare that committee meetings are closed to the public, when the Legislative Assembly has specifically directed that board committees are required to be open.
The Hamilton Library Board held illegally closed committee meetings on June 22, 2016, and on September 7, 2016.
I submit to you as my local government MPP, that the Public Libraries Act should be reviewed to include the provision of a closed meeting investigator similar to the Municipal Act and that the Ontario Ombudsman should be assigned the role as exists in the Municipal Act.
Ontario’s public library boards are the stewards of hundreds of millions of dollars per year in funds collected by taxes. They are wonderfully governed by boards which bring passionate citizen volunteers together to advance knowledge in our society, and libraries are at the forefront of many great public initiatives. The boards provide valuable public service at a minimal cost.
Extending closed meeting investigation powers of the Ontario Ombudsman to these bodies will ensure that open meetings are open to the public, and that public confidence in library boards is not diminished by poor practices which can develop in the absence of proper independent oversight.
The violations of Section 16 by the Hamilton Public Library Board on June 22, between August 8 and 11, and on September 7 do not appear to be of ill intent. They appear to be the result of practices which have developed in the absence of the necessary mechanisms of review provided by having an independent body.
Having an closed meeting investigator will ensure Section 16 is not inadvertently violated by Ontario’s public library boards, violations which can undermine the intent of the Legislative Assembly in creating the open meeting requirement of Section 16.
Municipalities benefit from the reports of the Ontario Ombudsman in providing guidance to ensure compliance with open meeting requirements, especially in matters which approach the reasons provided in exceptions to open meeting requirements. With the notable exception of Hamilton and a few others, Ontario’s 444 municipalities have improved their governance procedures to ensure open meetings are open to the public.
From the debates in the Legislative Assembly, the Ombudsman Act Section 14.1 exception was primarily created to avoid an overlap in oversight between the three police accountability agencies (OPIRD, OCPC, SIU) and the Ombudsman. There are no similar accountability agencies for public library boards, creating a glaring loophole in oversight. I’ll note that the City of Toronto Act contains a similar exception for the Toronto library board, indicating that the Legislative Assembly did consider the interaction of oversight with library boards in the past and the 14.1 exception matter was carefully considered in the past.
Please note that I’m cc’ing the office of my local MPP in her role as my representative at Queen’s Park, and not in her role as Leader of the Third Party. I’m also including the secretary of the Hamilton Library Board to ensure this board is aware of the correspondence.
Thank you for your consideration of this correspondence,
Joey Coleman
Journalist, www.thepublicrecord.ca

created: September 17, 2016


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Rural Zoning is Hard and Don't Be a Jerk: The Public Record's Hamilton City Hall Take-Away for September 1, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 2, 2016
Rural zoning is hard, that’s today’s takeaway from City Hall as the truck route sub-committee and committee of adjustment both grappled with challenging wording in rural zoning and truck route bylaws.
The truck route sub-committee voted to recommend City Council create a blanket exception from the truck route by-law for trucks with MTO farm license plates. This codifies a practice that wasn’t written in the bylaw, following a ticket being issued by a police office which couldn’t be cancelled due to a vacation. The complexities the committee debated included trying to keep heavy trucks out of the urbanized areas, making enforcement manageable for police, and defining who is exempt. The rural exemption requires ratification at the September 28 City Council meeting.
The current shortest route requirements will be enforced on all other trucks in the rural area. Councillor Robert Pasuta (Ward 14), a farmer himself, noted that many trucks carrying between farms do not have MTO farm plates and some don’t qualify for them. Noting the complexity of trying to add these trucks to the exception, he said the amendment was the best the City could do in the circumstances.
Over at committee of adjustment, three applications in rural Ward 14 caused lengthy debate as the committee, Councillor Robert Pasuta, and City planning staff negotiated a series of rural severances to split farm houses from farm lands, while merging the farming land with neighbouring farming land – all within the Greenbelt.
The Greenbelt regulations allow for farming families to remain living in their homes while recognizing the now-corporate nature of farming which requires large fields of crops to maximize the benefits from automation and efficiency resulting from economies of scale.
The Greenbelt discourages non-farmers living in the rural area to protect food production. A family cannot build a second home on a farm property, as an example.
In the end, after about 35 minutes for three properties, the committee found agreement among the stakeholders and the severances were approved.
One of the smart decisions in the past year by planning management at the City was hiring specialized rural planners.
In two other CoA hearings saw jerks lose, and those who took the respectful route win. That story is on The Public Record here: Don’t Be A Jerk at Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment
Closing today’s Take-Away, a positive story about a City Hall official going above and beyond to help a resident achieve their dream backyard: A Shout-Out to City Hall Staffer for Great Work
We’re back on Tuesday with Planning Committee as the fall term begins. Take a break this long weekend and enjoy the great weather. (Trust me, Hamilton politics will be busy from Tuesday until the October 25 LRT vote.


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Truck Route Sub-Committee Votes for Blanket Exemption for Farm-Plated Trucks in Rural Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 2, 2016
Don’t let anyone try to convince you the rural way is a simpler way of living, September’s Hamilton truck route sub-committee meeting proved that its complex, just in a different way.
After many meetings of discussions, councillors agreed to amend City’s truck route bylaw to change to allow MTO farm license plated trucks to operate anywhere within the rural boundaries.
(Video Above, debate starts at 5:25 and runs until 21:58)
Councillors Brenda Johnson (Ward 11) and Judi Partridge (Ward 15) lead the discussion at committee, starting with a simple premise – allow farm trucks to move between farms except from the truck route restrictions of the local roads bylaw.
Currently, all trucks in the rural area are required to use the shortest route from each destination to and from designated truck routes when travelling between locations. The councillors sought to make a simple amendment to formally allow for trucks carrying agriculture goods and equipment to use the shortest rural route when travelling between farms.
This sounds simple enough – a truck which needs to access a farm clearly has the need to go off designated truck routes and use the rural concession roads where the farms are located. It makes little logical sense to require trucks to drive extra kilometres to connect to the nearest designated truck route, then back to the next farm to be serviced.
Here’s where it gets complicated – managing the exemption and keeping farm servicing trucks from using urban roads in Binbrook, Waterdown, and the assorted urbanized settlement areas of Flamborough.
The Hamilton Police Service enforces truck route prohibitions, and police officers already have many duties and hundreds of laws to both enforce and understand. Creating a patchwork of rural routes with a patchwork of trucking exemptions will make it impossible for police to reasonably and cost-effectively enforce the truck route bylaw in suburban and rural areas.
The committee had to find a way to make the exemption simple and minimize the length of the amendment.
At present, there is what Councillor Johnson described as a “understanding” that farm trucks are not ticketed for being off truck routes and when they are, the tickets are cancelled by the Hamilton Police.
“In the past when farmers got pulled over and ticketed, we just contact the [Hamilton Police] crime manager and it all get sorted out before it gets to court,” Johnson said at committee.
“The last time this happened to [named farmer], it was an absolute perfect storm. Called the crime manager and the crime manager tried to get a hold of the officer. The officer was on vacation and the ticket couldn’t be rescinded.”
“Thought investigation, we found it [the exception] wasn’t never written.”
Johnson says there is a need to write the practice of allowing farm trucks into the truck bylaw, while at the same time ensuring that farm trucks remain in the rurals.
How do “we reflect that in the bylaw”, Johnson asked staff.
What followed was a substantive discussion of the challenges of codifying the practice to ensure police are able to reasonably enforce a practical bylaw. Granting an exemption to farm trucks must be done city-wide under the current bylaw.
The committee decided to amend the bylaw by adding the rural area to the truck route map as a special exception zone. Any truck with MTO farm license plates will be allowed to operate on any rural road that does not have weight restrictions.
The current shortest route requirements will be enforced on all other trucks in the rural area. Councillor Robert Pasuta (Ward 14), a farmer himself, noted that many trucks carrying between farms do not have MTO farm plates and some don’t qualify for them. Noting the complexity of trying to add these trucks to the exception, he said the amendment was the best the City could do in the circumstances.
The truck-route sub-committee recommendation will go to standing committee in two weeks and be subject to a ratification vote at the September 28, 2016 City Council meeting.


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Accessible Transit Meeting Cancelled Due To Lack of Councillors Showing Up To Work – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 13, 2016
Council’s Accessible Transit Review Committee failed to make quorum this morning, leaving residents who took DARTS to the meeting on the hook for their transit fare and rescheduling their pickup times due to the cancellation.
(NOTE: an earlier version of this story stated people had to wait for scheduled pickups, DARTS responded and picked up as quickly after the meeting as possible.)
Councillors on the committee, Collins, Farr, Merulla, and Whitehead, failed to reach the required three present for quorum. Collins and Whitehead were absent.
The committee was schedule to debate a plan to eliminate DARTS in favour of outsourcing accessible transit to local taxi plate holders operating under the Veterans Taxi and Blue Line banners.
As for the residents who paid DARTS to bring them to today’s meeting? They are out their DARTS fare, the City of Hamilton will not refund them the cost.
A future make-up meeting date has not been set.

created: October 13, 2016


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Fill Bylaws and Normal Farm Practices – Provincial Board Overrules Town Fill Bylaw – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 10, 2016
The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, a provincial quasi-judicial board similar to the Ontario Municipal Board, overruled the Town of New Tecumseth’s anti-fill dumping bylaw in a case involving the owner of a farm property who intends to fill his recently purchased lands to create an apple orchard.
The owner argued that 87,000 cubic metres fill was needed to ‘soften the contours of the land and provide better water and air drainage for the proposed orchard.’ The Town bylaw prohibits the dumping of fill in the municipality except by approval of Council for up to 100 cubic metres of fill.
The Town denied the application, saying the import of the fill was not a normal farm practice.
In its ruling, the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, ruled the proposal of around 100,000 tons of fill is a normal farm practice.
The Respondent [Town] argues that this cannot be a normal farm practice because it is, in fact, a commercial fill operation.  The Applicant answers that a commercial fill operation and a normal farm practice are not mutually exclusive.  We agree.
This precedent setting ruling could impact attempts to regulate fill in other municipalities – including Hamilton – by submitting applications saying they need to level large lots of land using fill for fruit trees.
The construction boom within urban Toronto, especially the Central Business District, is creating thousands of truck loads of fill being poured onto rural properties across Southern Ontario.
Following calls from local citizens, many towns and municipalities have tightened their local by-laws to regulate both the kind and amount of fill to prevent contaminated soil from Toronto from being dumped in their backyards. (The Toronto Star did a great series into the lack of province oversight of contaminated dirt)
These bylaws are in question following this ruling, including Hamilton’s recent bylaw blitz in rural Flamborough.
UPDATE: In January 2017, the Ontario Divisional Court upheld this ruling after the Town appealed.

created: October 10, 2016


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Hamilton City Council: Audit, Finance, Administration Committee for October 24, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 23, 2016
Council’s AF&A Committee meets to decide on the request of a citizen in regards to a “personal property tax concern”, extending $1.67-million in development charge credits for the Centre on Barton, and a legal report on the requirements for a binding municipal referendum.
Live video starts at 9:30am
Full agenda on City website, direct link to The Public Record YouTube video page.

created: October 23, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Emergency and Community Services Committee for October 24, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 24, 2016
Council will decide on a submission to the National Housing Strategy Consultation, a staff plan for the next three years of the early years community plan, a $30,000 increase to City funding of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, granting permission to CityHousing to sell 100 detached and semi units to fund new multi-res units.
The staff paper to the National Housing Strategy Consultation calls for the federal government to empower the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to provide better financing to creating rental housing stock and affordable housing, as well as other suggestions for the federal government to assist municipalities.
Live video starts at 1:30pm
Full agenda on the City website, link to The Public Record YouTube video page for this meeting.

created: October 24, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for October 12, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 12, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to ratify their standing committee work of the past two weeks including their latest culture change plan, performance management at City Hall, Expanding SoBi service area, new zoning in Wards 1 to 4, elevator maintenance bylaw amendments, creation of an affordable housing site selection task force, and more.
Following this, the agenda has a walk-on item saying Council will debate LRT motions in closed session under the “solicitor-client privilege” to the open meeting requirement of the Municipal Act.
Live video starts at 5:00pm

created: October 12, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for October 26, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 26, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to ratify their committee work of the past two weeks. Among the items on the agenda – surveying public opinion on waste collection,  and more.
Live at 5:00pm
Full Agenda // YouTube Video Link

created: October 26, 2016


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Hamilton City Council GIC for October 19, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 19, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to debate the City’s new economic development action plan, dropping the $100 fee for filing a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner.
Live at 9:30am

created: October 19, 2016


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Hamilton City Council Public Works Committee for October 31, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 30, 2016
Hamilton City Councillors meet as the Public Works Committee to decide on PRESTO equipment maintenance contracts, closing an alleyway abutting 131 Ivon Avenue in Ward 4, adding on-street parking (while maintaining bike lanes0 at Stone Church and Upper Paradise, repairs to the Eastern Sanitary Interceptor Sewer on South Service Road at Fruitland Road, expanding floral traffic islands, urgently replacing water servicing on west portion of Scenic Drive and Goulding Avenue, begin City studies on a proposed private-public partnership at Roxborough Park in Ward 4 bordering the Red Hill Valley, and funding a feasibility study to convert Queen Street South to two way traffic.
Live video starts at 9:30am
Agenda on City Website // YouTube Video Page Link

created: October 30, 2016


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Hamilton City Council SPECIAL GIC for October 27, 2016 on Ward Boundaries – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 27, 2016
Hamilton City Council is being forced to discuss ward boundary review based upon a consultants report which finds the current boundaries do not provide fair representation due to extreme population imbalances.
Live video begins at 11am.
Consultants Report // YouTube Video Link

created: October 27, 2016


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Hamilton City Council West Harbour Committee for October 11, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 11, 2016
Council’s West Harbour Committee meets to finalize the solicitation process for the sale of the West Harbour Pier 8 lands.
Live video at 9:30am

created: October 11, 2016


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Hamilton State of Our Neighbourhoods 2016: Conversation with Mayor Fred Eisenberger [Full Video] – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 6, 2016
A coalition of Hamilton neighbourhood associations held a special event entitled “State of Our Neighbourhoods”, a conversation with Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
Eisenberger answered a series of questions he received in advance during a conversation with RaiseTheHammer.org editor Ryan McGreal.
Following this, breakout groups occurred and follow-up questions were posed to the Mayor.
Full Video Replay above.

created: October 6, 2016


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SIU Investigating After Hamilton Police Involved Shooting on James South near Bold Street – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 1, 2016
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is on scene investigating after a Hamilton Police officer shot a person on James Street South between 11:45 and 11:55 p.m. Friday night.
The SIU is only confirming they invoked their mandate, and no confirmation has been provided on the condition of the person shot.
Above how the scene looked between 12:40 a.m. and 1:00am Saturday morning only an hour after the event.
A couple of things of note in the map:
As of 4:40am Saturday, the SIU had not yet issued their initial press statement. They will announce the release on Twitter: @SIUOntario

created: October 1, 2016


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SPECIAL Hamilton City Council GIC Meeting on Light Rail Transit for October 25, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 25, 2016
Hamilton City Council is holding a special Council GIC meeting to discuss the Light Rail Transit B-Line construction.
There are 25 registered delegations today. Officially, there is a “reaffirmation” motion on the agenda, however, due to Council turning the LRT into a fiasco, it’s unclear what will happen with the motion, what other motions will be placed on the table, or even what the meaningful purpose of this meeting is.
Live video starts at 10:30am
YouTube Video Page Link

created: October 25, 2016


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Airport Meeting Cancelled Due To Lack of Councillors Showing Up To Work – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 5, 2016

created: November 5, 2016


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Coleman: Why I Spoke Up About The Trump Hat – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 18, 2016
Like many of you, I wear many proverbial hats in the community. I’m proudly an engaged resident, an independent journalist, volunteer, and a few others things. (And depending who you ask, a few choice words)
Thursday, I spoke up because of an actual hat.
Dave Serwatuk, a quasi-judicial official, proudly displayed a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat while adjudicating matters during Thursday’s Committee of Adjustment hearings.
The Committee of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body which makes decisions on planning variances, including variances needed to start businesses.
It is entirely inappropriate for any person adjudicating on quasi-judicial body to openly display any political paraphernalia.
The reason is simple, in their role as the state, quasi-judicial officials represent all of us and our common ideals of justice and fairness. They must be above the apprehension of bias. Displaying political messaging and paraphernalia creates the appearance of bias.
Myself, I worn two of my ‘hats’ – that of independent journalist covering Committee of Adjustment, and also as representative of the Beasley Neighbourhood Association on an application in our neighbourhood.
I noted Serwatuk’s display and explained its significance as a journalist. After nearly two hours of hearings, as others sat silent – only whispering about the hat -, I sat in front of the Committee representing the Beasley Neighbourhood Association.
Admittedly, I debated if I would say anything about the display.
I considered that I open myself to criticism that I was ‘making the news instead of reporting the news’.
My fellow Beasley residents have entrusted me to speak on minor planning variances – by speaking to the hat, I was taking a position on behalf of the BNA.
Could I?
Yes, the Beasley Neighbourhood Charter’s first goal is “diversity in cultural backgrounds and nationalities”. I fulfilled my duty upholding our community values.
While I debated if I would speak up, I didn’t debate what was the right thing to do.
There are those in our community sincerely frightened and hurt by the statements made by Trump against Mexicans, immigrants, and Muslims.
It doesn’t matter what Serwatuk meant to convey by displaying the hat, what matters is how somebody will feel seeing that message displayed in a quasi-judicial hearing.
The Committee decides on people’s livelihoods. An immigrant – required to ask the Committee of Adjustment for a minor variance to open their new business – has their fate in that hands of this committee, how would they feel with that message in front of them?
The words of Trump during the presidential campaign – and the hatred he unleashed –  have no place in our society.
I stand with my fellow community members, silence is not an option.
The hearing item in Beasley was called. I sat at the table and I asked the Chair:
“Joey Coleman, Beasley Neighbourhood Association. Mr. Chair, is this not a quasi-judicial proceeding under the Planning Act?”
The Chair answered “yes”.
“Could you explain why a political item is being displayed by a member of this body during hearings today?”
The Chair stated he would let the member explained.
Serwatuk stated “I’m a citizen” in explanation.
“Sir, yes you are a citizen. You’re a quasi-judicial official at the present time, and you are here in that role.”
“The Beasley Neighbourhood is proud to be a multicultural community, and as a neighbourhood association, we are proud to support Hamilton being a sanctuary city.”
“Political displays have no place on this committee, the Beasley Neighbourhood Association stands proudly alongside all of our community members.”
Serwatuk declared a conflict of interest and left the room.
Serwatuk says his display was meaningless, that he didn’t know about the incident with Justice Bernd Zabel, and that he had received the hat as a gift from this brother.
He displayed the hat for over two hours before the Beasley Neighbourhood Association objected to a political display at a quasi-judicial body.
It’s a damning indictment of City Hall culture that nobody in power spoke up, and applicants felt they couldn’t.

created: November 18, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for November 23, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 23, 2016
Hamilton City Council meets to ratify committee work of the best two weeks, debate the future of the LRT committee, licensing of cats and dogs, conduct of City quasi-judicial officials, and more.
Live video starts at 5pm
Live YouTube link // City Agenda webpage

created: November 23, 2016


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Hamilton City Council for November 9, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 9, 2016
Hamilton City Council conducts its regular meeting tonight to ratify both the committee work of the past two weeks, but also to ratify the results of its longest-ever meeting on October 25 when they spent 12 hours debating LRT. Following regular business, there are two motions on the table: A Skelly motion to withdrawal her request for “exit ramps” during the West Harbour real estate sale process, and a motion from Partridge to reconsider and disband the LRT sub-committee.
Live video starts at 5pm.
YouTube Video Page // City of Hamilton Agenda Page

created: November 9, 2016


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Hamilton City Council GIC for November 2, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 2, 2016
Hamilton City Councillors meet to finalize the Piers 7 & 8 solicitation (sale) process, vote on interest in purchasing the former Hamilton Psych. Hospital lands on the mountain, and an update on the John/Rebecca Park.
This and more, live video starts at 9:30am.
Agenda on City Website // YouTube Video Link

created: November 2, 2016


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Hamilton City Council – Hamilton Street Railway Corporation Shareholders Meeting for November 22, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 15, 2016
Hamilton’s public transit department, The Hamilton Street Railway, is officially a corporation which requires directors, executives, and the other administrative workings of a corporation. (In practical day-to-day operations, the HSR is just another city department.)
Historically, the HSR was a private company from its incorporation in 1873 until the City of Hamilton acquired it in 1960.
Council must meet to appoint the new Transit Director Debbie Dalle Vedove as a “Vice-President” of the corporation and Ward 7 Councillor Donna Skelly as a “Director” of the corporation.
The meeting starts at 9:30am on Tuesday, November 22.

created: November 15, 2016


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Hamilton Committee of Adjustment for November 17, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 8, 2016
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment will consider 23 applications during their November 17, 2016 hearings. Here are some of the applications that drew the attention of The Public Record’s Joey Coleman.
(Note: Variance applications are often vague and without a full history of a project, it is easy for an observer to miss a file of note that is well known to neighbours of the project)
The full Committee Adjustment agenda is available on the City website here.
Affordable housing provider Indwell’s latest project is converting the well-known George and Mary’s Tavern building at Parkdale and Melvin in East Hamilton to affordable housing.
Indwell is asking the Committee of Adjustment to grant permission for 60 apartments of 24 square metres each, whereas Hamilton’s zoning bylaws only allow for 10 apartments on the site, and requires each apartment be a minimum of 65 square metres.
What does 24 square metres look like? Here’s a YouTube video:
Disclosure: I may be requested to represent the Beasley Neighbourhood Association in this hearing.
Core Urban’s much anticipated redevelopment of three buildings across from Jackson Square on James Street North needs a series of variances due to the higher than allowed quality of the older buildings existing features – the ceilings are too tall, and there are too many windows. [More: Variances Required for 10-14 James Street North Highlight Absurdity of Hamilton’s Downtown Zoning Bylaw]
The developer is proposing to add two stories as part of the retrofit of the building for commercial use.
Expect this to gain the approval of the committee.
The developer of an in-fill mixed residential and commercial project on King Street East ,just east of Tisdale directly beside The Rebel’s Rock bar, is ready to build. having received variance approvals in 2011, and City incentive financing in 2014.
As the development is within the LRT corridor, it is subject to an Interim Control By-law and requires an exception from the Committee of Adjustment to allow the issuance of a building permit.
Taco Bell wants to relocate their Upper James location to the Wal-Mart plaza at Upper James and Fennell.
The owner of the plaza, Calloway REIT, wants exceptions from the requirements of its original approvals for the site from almost a decade ago to allow the restaurant to be closer to the Upper James street than permitted originally. They are asking for a setback of 2.3 metres instead of the 5.0 meters originally agreed to when Mountain Plaza Mall was demolished for the new box store development.
The variance is required to fit the Taco Bell between the Wal-Mart and Upper James.
There are three separate properties asking for variances to allow for conversion to duplexes of single family homes in the Ainslie Wood neighbourhood.
Former Alderman Mary Kiss represents the Ainslie Wood Community Association at Committee of Adjustment and generally the AWCA opposes any expansion to existing homes or conversions to duplexes. They hope to see students living in purpose built housing rather than converted single family homes.
One block west of McMaster University, the owner of this home is asking to build an addition which will serve as a second dwelling on the existing single family dwelling site.
The variances are required primarily for parking on site, as the building will have 15 habitable rooms and this requires six parking spots under the zoning bylaw.
A few blocks south of McMaster University, the owner of this home is asking to convert the existing single family home into a duplex. The conversion requires parking variances and is being measured by dwelling unit – not habitable rooms – requiring two parking spots.
One block west of McMaster University, the owner of this home is asking to build an addition which will serve as a second dwelling on the existing single family dwelling site.
The variance is required to allow for the home to be larger than allowed in the zoning area, and that the external appearance of the dwelling will be altered by the addition – the change of appearance is normally not allowed in duplex conversions under section 19 of the Planning Act.

created: November 8, 2016


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Hamilton Development Industry Liaison Committee for November 21, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 21, 2016
Full video of the November 21, 2016 meeting of Hamilton City Council’s Development Industry Liaison Committee:

created: November 21, 2016


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Highlight: Mayor Eisenberger – Cutting Now Will Cost Us More Later – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 24, 2016
Mayor Eisenberger gave a strong address during last night’s Council meeting in favour of increasing Hamilton’s water rates, saying that a failure to address the infrastructure deficit today – and cutting staff – will result in much higher costs later.
Eventually, after much debate, the 2017 water rates passed Council by a 13-3 vote.
Above is the full video of his address, and below is a transcript:
MAYOR EISENBERGER: The only thing that’s of control is the rhetoric that were trying to listen to many of these topics today.
So one of one of the issues that uh has been in our in our area of responsibility is our infrastructure.
Our infrastructure is a massive deficit in fact that’s the part that’s out of control and have we managed to get on top of that at any level?
I don’t think so, so just to go back to kind of the infrastructure deficit, through you Madame Chair to Dan McKinnon, I mean the overall infrastructure number is some three billion dollars, infrastructure deficit is that in fact?
I mean is it Council’s infrastructure deficit or is it um you know Ward Six or Ward Seven or just all the taxpayers that have this deficit that they have to do deal with at some point their future?
I know the answer but I want to hear from you.
DAN MCKINNON, General Manager of Public Works: Though you Madame Deputy Mayor, certainly with the water system and the sewer system it’s all of the users of that system that own the deficit of that on the deficit.
DEPUTY MAYOR (B. JOHNSON): Thank you
MAYOR: Thank you very much and so you know to suggestion that there this is just that there is that there’s an affordability issue when in fact and I’ll ask you this question, we have one of the lowest rates for water, water and sewer, in fact in the province and so we we had a we had a mapping out you know that mapping that was done.
Out of fourteen out of fifteen I believe but uh maybe Dan [McKinnon] you could confirm that one again?
So out of the major major municipalities we are either not the lowest but close to the lowest in terms of water rates,  is that correct?
DEPUTY MAYOR: Thank you, Mr. McKinnon
MCKINNON: Though you Madame Deputy Mayor, out of fifteen comparator municipalities ranging from Kitchener, Cambridge, Lincoln, Brantford, St. Catharine’s, Halton, Toronto and Peel, we are fourteenth out of fifteen, so we’re second from the bottom, so we’re second.
DEPUTY MAYOR: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
MAYOR:
I’m not so sure that affordabiblity is the issue and I think the more pressing issue is in fact making sure that we have the best water and sewer system available, and we’re a long way from having that – we’re a long way from having that!
And so, at what point does do we take some responsibility for the infrastructure there we’re currently now seeing in deficit?
If it isn’t this year then when are we going to do that? and then you know what – Putting everything in the context of uh you know a budget, which is the sky isn’t falling just yet and you know we’re not at the end of the budget process, we’re at the beginning of the budget process and I think is rather unfair for those that are trying to do that was great soaring rhetoric.
So, lets be mindful of the fact tha we have a responsibility to look after our system and to be in denial about the infrastructure that we currently already not funding to the degree that we should, is, I think a very problematic issue so to have marginal increases as we’ve got done in the past that allows us to actually do the upgrades at our sewage treatment plant, that we’ve done significant benefit to, that has improved not only the water quality in the harbor but has improved the water quality of throughout all the water courses and it has improved water quality we deliver to our residents.
Those are important issues, I don’t know that we back away from those issues.
I was supportive initially of saying let’s look at the identified individuals that were being asked for through the budget process, but at the end of the day I know what’s gonna happen, they’re gonna be a group of people here that are gonna sit and say let’s cut.
Well, what will happen is our contract number’s will go up and we’ll pay more than what we would would’ve done had we maintained the staff that are out there doing the good work that’s out there in the broader community.
I’ve been down this road before as many of you have your as well, and so we we need to be very careful on the kind of rhetoric there are throwing out here in terms of “cut cut cut” ’cause when we “cut cut cut” we also “increase increase increase” in other areas.
So, I just want to be mindful that this is an important issue for our community, the rate is a reasonable number to actually translate over to the consumer.
The consumer is going to get great benefit and we’re still a long way from dealing with our infrastructure issues.
As it stands today and so the last question to our Director of Public Works:
If we were to get on top of our, and this is maybe a finance question, in fact, if we we’re to get on top of our infrastructure, you know let’s say in the next ten years, that three billion dollar deficit, what kind of tax increase would we have to levy today to actually accomplish that? and maintain that over the next ten years?
DEPUTY MAYOR: Mr. Zagarac
MIKE ZEGARAC, General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services: Though you Madame Deputy Mayor, to address our annual infrastructure deficit represents approximately 195 million dollars to address that would require a dedicated three percent levy increase each and every year for the next ten years.
MAYOR: Correct.
DEPUTY MAYOR: Thank you, three percent for the next ten years.
MAYOR: Right, and we’re nowhere near doing that.
So, that’s something that we’ve also backed away from on an annualized basis ’cause we’ve barely managed to stay inflationary, In fact we haven’t been inflationary for many many years.
We’ve been less than inflationary which means that we’re already catching up on some of these things, So, you know what, let’s be careful about the rhetoric and let’s be sure that do be honest and fari with our ratepayers and  our taxpayers’ out there that this is a system that needs to be maintained, I think that rather than having an annual increase of ten percent which we may have to do if we’re back away from it now, so at some point we got to play catch up, let’s stay incrimental on the water and sewer rate and let’s provide our customers out there and our citizens out there the best we can provide today with reasonable rates, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing.
So I support the recommendation.

created: November 24, 2016


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Indwell Converting George and Mary's To Affordable Housing in East Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 8, 2016
It’s an East Hamilton landmark which in its glory days was one of the best establishments in the entire city, George and Mary’s Tavern.
In recent years, numerous fires, a leaky roof, poor management of the residential units above the bar, and the industrial decline of Hamilton have contributed to make the building an eyesore and community nuisance.
Affordable housing provider Indwell recently took ownership of the building and plans to retrofit the building for 60 affordable single units.
Indwell is asking the Committee of Adjustment to grant permission for 60 apartments of 24 square metres each as a multi-residential building, replacing the existing lodging zoning. Hamilton’s multi-residential building zoning only allows for 10 apartments on the site, and requires each apartment be a minimum of 65 square metres.
The Committee of Adjustment hearing is scheduled for 3:25pm on Thursday, November 17 at Hamilton City Hall.
Graham Cubitt, Indwell’s Director of Projects & Development, says the building had an existing 60 rooms under its previous zoning lodging with existing washrooms and kitchenettes. The variances are required to legalize the existing units.
The first floor will remain commercial, the existing variety store will remain and the former tavern and banquet centre will become commercial retail or offices. The upper floors will be completely renovated with new electrical, safety systems, roof, and energy retrofits.
“The building structure is great and sturdy”, says Cubitt. “The inside needs a lot of work”.
Parts of the rear of the building, where there are foundation issues, will be demolished. There will be an outdoor patio and community garden on the roof and common spaces inside the build for residents.
All units will be affordable, and many of the units will come furnished.
Indwell’s well known for its other East Hamilton projects, recently renovating and refitting the Strathearne Suites, Rudy Hulst Commons, and Dr. John M. Perkins Centre.
Pocket housing has been identified as one of many means of addressing affordable housing in Hamilton.
Committee of Adjustment scheduling note: There are three separate variance applications near McMaster University prior to this hearing and CoA could be running behind schedule.
What does 24 square metres look like? Here’s a YouTube video:


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Remembrance Day, Veterans, and Hamilton City Hall – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 11, 2016
As we mark Remembrance Day this year, Hamilton’s veterans are being well served by our municipal government. The Veterans Committee is seeing a passing of the torch to younger veterans, is being heard by municipal politicians, and the public is taking better note of the needs of both our younger and older veterans.
Hamilton’s annual remembrance services are organized by the Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum,  and other community organizations. The service in Hamilton’s Central Business District (Downtown) is organized by the Hamilton Veterans Committee.
Hamilton’s Veterans Committee is the only municipal veterans committee remaining in Canada.
This term of the committee, we are seeing the passing of the torch, as Second World War veterans are fewer due to age, the committee is now comprised of members who served in United Nations peacekeeping, NATO missions, domestically, and in Afghanistan.
This evening, at 294 James Street North, a member of the Veterans Committee is organizing Art Crawl Remembers.
More Afghanistan veterans are getting involved with their local veterans organizations such as the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Association and the North Wall Riders Association Steel City Chapter.
The torch is being passed.
Hamilton gives free parking to veterans, free exemptions to Veteran’s Halls, and continues to fund the only municipal Veterans Committee.
For the limited ability of municipalities to address veterans issues, Hamilton is doing a very good job.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Each year as Remembrance Day passes, these words carry more meaning for me. I think of those who I knew who died serving in Afghanistan, and they are forever frozen in time as the young men they were. We will remember them.
I think of their families and loved ones, knowing that it does not get easier each year. How when friends pay tribute to them, they can see in us what they’ve lost – their loved one will not have children, they will not grow out, they died so we may enjoy this pleasures of a full life.
We have another generation of veterans to carry the torch, and carrying the torch they are.

created: November 11, 2016


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The Public Record Radio Show for November 23, 2016 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 23, 2016


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Variances Required for 10-14 James Street North Highlight Absurdity of Hamilton's Downtown Zoning Bylaw – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

November 5, 2016
Firstly, let me open with a disclosure, the Beasley Neighbourhood Association executive may ask me to delegate to the Committee of Adjustment on their behalf for this file.
Hamilton’s zoning bylaw is overly prescriptive and restrictive. Instead of setting minimum requires for good building forms, it sets restrictions that result in red-tape, delays, and burdensome costs for developers seeking to build anything other than a basic cookie-cutter cheap quality stucco box with a gigantic barren paved parking lot out front.
Core Urban is redeveloping the buildings at 10-14 James Street North directly across from Jackson Square. They plan to fill in the alley to locate an elevator shaft connecting the two buildings, and add two storeys to the building. The plan is for the building to house commercial offices.
The existing buildings do not conform with the City’s current building standards because they are too grand with a higher than allowed ceilings and larger than allowed windows.
The first floor height of 5.5 meters (18 feet) and even higher heights of 5.9 metres (19.5 feet) on the second and third floors. High ceilings – allowing in natural light and other benefits – are a key attraction for many businesses which have been relocating from Toronto to other cities which are open for business.
The other problem the City has with the grand design of these open buildings? Too many windows on the second and third floor.
Thankfully, Core Urban’s brand is high quality retrofits and adaption of older buildings. Otherwise, I doubt any other developer would have the patience for City Hall’s red-tape.
For some reason, Hamilton City Hall still believes that the concrete monstrosities of yesteryear are still the way of the future.
What’s City Council doing about red-tape? Other than talking about addressing it?


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33-Storey Tall Building Approved as Minor Variance, Mosque Allowed to Convert Parking to Commercial Parking Lot – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 20, 2016
Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr won two significant victories at Committee of Adjustment today, gaining two major exceptions to Downtown Zoning Bylaws as “minor variances”.
Farr came to the Committee of Adjustment in support of the Downtown Mosque’s request to operate their parking lot as a commercial surface lot to raise funds to cover their new building debt, and the approval of a 33-storey tall building for Vrancor’s final phase of their King/George/Caroline five tower development.
The “minor” variance was to increase the allowed development height from the present 22 metres to 106 metres. The Committee of Adjustment, at the request of Farr, approved the 500% variance as a “minor variance”.
Traditionally, tall buildings are subject to public hearings, consultations, and public review of studies. The new Ward 2 process of declaring tall buildings to be minor variance developments, means tall buildings can now be built in Ward 2 without public hearings or consultations, no consideration of Section 37 community benefits, or – with recent changes to the Planning Act – inclusionary zoning.
These tall buildings will be subject to a staff review, which is closed to the public. Under the Planning Act, the documents submitted to City staff are public records and can be accessed on request or by access to information requests.
Expect developers to make sure of this new, unique in Canada, process of treating tall buildings as “minor variances”.
This variance can be found on page 23 to 30
The Downtown Mosque took over the 221 York Blvd location in 2014, the building originally being a grocery store with a large ancillary parking lot for customers. The Downtown Mosque asked to change the lot from ancillary to commercial parking to sell parking spots on a monthly basis to raise funds to pay down building purchase debt.
New commercial surface parking lots are prohibited in the downtown area, both in the Downtown Secondary Plan and in the new Urban Hamilton Official Plan.
This was an interesting hearing, because there is overwhelming public support in the downtown for the mosque, and to see them succeed in their new location. While traditionally, there is community outcry over new commercial parking in the downtown.
Only a block away, in 2012, Vrancor created a new parking lot just outside of the Downtown zone. There was a large community outcry.
The mosque commercial parking hearing lasted about 30 minutes, with neighbours primarily concerned that by selling parking, the mosque will be lack parking during Friday prayers and on street parking shortages will result.
A few Committee members suggested this wasn’t a minor variance, and belonged at Council to review the official plans.
The Committee of Adjustment approved the conversion for a two year period with two members opposed.
This variance can be found on pages 17 to 22.

created: December 20, 2016


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City Negligent in Brock Rd/5th Concession Collision Which Left Man Quadriplegic – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 9, 2016
The City of Hamilton is liable for potentially millions of dollars after being found negligent in their maintenance of a suburban intersection identified as high-risk and the scene of numerous collisions.
As Ontario Superior Court of Justice Antonio Skarica writes:
The cost of repainting was a meagre $100, at most, and there is no explanation at all as to why this stop line and the recommendations to repaint it were neglected while the city was aware of the increasing dangerousness of this intersection.
On April 29, 2006, around a blue 1999 Grand Caravan collided with a Buick sedan in the intersection of Brock Road and 5th Concession West in Flamborough.
The collision left Micheal Chiocchio, a passenger in the Caravan, with severe spinal injuries and rendered him quadriplegic.
A decade of legal litigation later, the driver of the Buick and the City of Hamilton have been found equally responsible for the collision.
Justice Antonio Skarica found the City of Hamilton negligent for failing to properly maintain the intersection, especially because it was already known for an above average collision rate.
In a 290-paragraph ruling, Skarica carefully details the evidence, facts, and weights the law. Here are a few key paragraphs:
[224] Having regard to all the circumstances – including the volume of traffic at this intersection, the collision history, the policies of the City of Hamilton, the specific recommendation of Mr. Cooper in 2005 to paint a stop line, the commitment to continue to repaint existing stop lines by the City of Hamilton, the minor cost of repainting the stop line, the TAC and OTM guidelines (acknowledging that these are guidelines are not legally enforceable requirements – see Fordham at paras. 51-53), and the fading of the existing stop line – this intersection, without an effective stop line, provided no guidance to drivers as to where to stop and created a hazard to ordinary reasonable drivers who could safely stop approximately eight metres from the intersection but were in danger if they stopped approximately 8.5 metres back. Maintaining the existing stop line would have removed the required judgment call from ordinary reasonable drivers using reasonable caution and would have ensured that the ordinary reasonable driver would be able to stop with the adequate sight lines in order to proceed safely into the intersection – see Housen at para. 47; Fordham at para. 28; and Deering at paras. 123-125.
[225] In my opinion, the evidence establishes that the condition of the intersection with the faded stop line posed an unreasonable risk of harm to a reasonable driver. Accordingly, I find on a balance of probabilities that the City of Hamilton failed to keep the intersection at 5th Concession West and Brock Road in a reasonable state of repair.
The finding of negligence by the City:
[229] I have found that Mr. Ellis was unable to see the stop line on April 29, 2006 as it had faded and was now an ineffective road marking. Mr. Ellis testified that his normal practice is to stop at the stop line. Being unable to see the stop line, I have found that Mr. Ellis stopped at the stop sign and then proceeded into the intersection when it was not safe to do so.
[230] Mr. Young testified that if Mr. Ellis had stopped at the faded stop line (which I find Mr. Ellis would have done if it was visible given Mr. Ellis’s normal practice to stop at the stop line), he would have been able to see 270 metres south on Brock Road and this sight line would have enabled Mr. Ellis to see the oncoming minivan and the accident would never have happened.
[231] Accordingly, I am satisfied that the plaintiff has satisfied the onus that is on him to prove this accident would not have occurred without the City of Hamilton’s negligence in failing to keep the intersection in a proper state of repair.
Further on:
[259] Despite this carnage and despite the recognized need and recommendations of three separate city staff, this intersection was not repainted until July of 2008 (see Exhibit 10, Tab 33). This repainting was done four years after the last repainting in 2004. Mr. Cooper testified that the intersection should be repainted every six months. The evidence is clear that the stop line had faded and was ineffective by at least the fall of 2005. The city waited almost three years to repaint the stop line. The cost of repainting was a meagre $100, at most, and there is no explanation at all as to why this stop line and the recommendations to repaint it were neglected while the city was aware of the increasing dangerousness of this intersection.
[260] Accordingly, the evidence is overwhelming that the city did not take reasonable steps to repaint the stop line or prevent the default from arising.
[261] I conclude that the city has failed to establish any of the defences outlined in subsection 44(3) of the Municipal Act.
Justice Skarica concluded by declaring the City 50% liable for damages:
[289] Accordingly, the following order is to issue:

created: December 9, 2016


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City Sells 245 Catharine Street North, But Due to Technicality, Force to Disqualify Highest Bid – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 13, 2016
The City of Hamilton finally sold the infamous contaminated property at 245 Catharine Street North, just south of Barton Street.
A brief history of the site from Matt Jelly:
In January 1999, the electroplating company Joyce & Smith Electo-Plating Ltd., filed for bankruptcy upon the death of it’s owner. They had been operating at 245 Catherine Street North for 40 years.
Upon the death of the property’s owner, the property then went into receivership. The Bank Of Montreal took ownership of the property between March 24th, 1999 until November 12, 2002, when the property was transferred to the City of Hamilton in exchange for $148,000 back taxes owing on the site.
…
In 2006, a numbered company, 558154 B.C. limited, bought the Catherine Street site from the City of Hamilton. That numbered company transferred ownership to the current owner, Dave Maden a.k.a. Dave Madden/Baldev Madan for $2. Maden is the President and sole director of the numbered company. Upon transfer, Maden then immediately took out a mortgage for $105,537, and approximately six months later took out a loan from a lender who put a $26,147 lien on the property. The same numbered company bought 249 Hess Street North from the City of Hamilton in October 2005 for $22,245.
After years of neglect and property standards violations, the City seized the property for back taxes from Maden and tried to sell it in 2013. There were no takers.
The City relisted the property earlier this year, with a minimum bid of $290,000.
Larry Friday, the City’s Director of Taxation, says there were two bids for the property, but one was disqualified for using a certified cheque written on a Credit Union Account:
“The Property sold for $300,000. We did have a bid for $440,000 but had to reject it as the certified cheque was written on a Credit union Account. The regulations state accompanied by a deposit of at least 20 per cent of the tender amount, which deposit shall be made by way of money order or by way of bank draft or cheque certified by a bank or trust corporation.”
“The courts have been very strict on these interpretations rejecting highest bids that are 10th’s of a cent short of the 20% deposit as not meeting the 20%. We have inquired with our association to get clarity from the Province whether a Credit Union Certified cheque can be included in the regulation.”
Larry Friday, Director of Taxation, City of Hamilton
Ontario’s Municipal Tax Sales Rules (Ontario Regulation 181/03) says bidders must submit their bid “accompanied by a deposit of at least 20 per cent of the tender amount, which deposit shall be made by way of money order or by way of bank draft or cheque certified by a bank or trust corporation”
With many Hamilton businesses using credit unions, FirstOntario and Meridian are both heavily engaged in commercial banking, this outdated regulation will increasingly become more of a nuisance, and considering it cost the City of Hamilton $140,000 in this one instance, a continuing cost to taxpayers.
Postscript: Following Friday’s statement, I went to CanLII to look up the case law.
In 2004, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in Carrocci v McDougall (Township), 2004 CanLII 15530 (ON SC) that O.Reg 181/03 must be interpreted strictly. In this case, the highest bid was $22,100.99. The bidder submitted a certified cheque for $4,420.19, one cent short of the required 20% deposit of $4,420.20. The court disqualified the bid on the one cent difference.

created: December 13, 2016


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Council Debates More Bylaw Enforcement Around McMaster University – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 6, 2016
During the December 6, 2016 Hamilton City Council Planning Committee, Councillors debated adding more bylaw enforcement around McMaster University.
The motion was tabled pending Councillor Aidan Johnson finding a funding source within his Ward 1 discretionary budgets.
Video Link on YouTube

created: December 6, 2016


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Council Spends Hour on Posturing LRT Debate, Then Debates Why Meetings Took So Long – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 12, 2016
Two more highlight videos from Wednesday’s Council GIC meeting – an hour long LRT debate and then a 12-minute debate on why Council meetings are taking so long.
First, Council had a report from the LRT sub-committee to approve during their meeting. The report contained four items, one of which “Review of Toronto Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project and Operating Maintence Terms (PED16229)” and Councillor Donna Skelly spoke on this item. What followed was an hour discussion of LRT which covered the same arguments as previous LRT meetings.
Youtube Video Link
Second, after nearly 10 hours of meetings, Councillors debated when they meetings are so long. Without any sense of irony, Councillor Terry Whitehead complained about the long meetings, and tried to box the lowest-ranking staff member in the room – The Legislative Assistant – on why the meetings were so long. The Assistant said Council meetings are long because Council makes them long, Councillor Matthew Green said the 5-minute rule should be enforced, and Councillor Chad Collins said the same question shouldn’t be asked three or four times.
The 12-minute debate video is a must-see for regular Council watchers
YouTube Video Link

created: December 12, 2016


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Council to Debate Entertainment on Outdoor Patios on January 17, 2017 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 30, 2016
Hamilton City Council will debate allowing outdoor entertainment on patios during the January 17, 2017 Planning Committee meeting.
Planning staff are bringing forth a temporary use by-law that will enable restaurants with patios in commercial districts to have outdoor entertainment. Presently, all entertainment on patios is forbidden within the zoning bylaws.
This restriction becomes an issue of public attention during World Cup soccer championships – bars are not allowed to have televisions or game audio on patios.
Recently, the Hamilton Waterfront Trust leased space to Sarcoa nightclub, and the Trust granted them permission to have loud music on the waterfront patio. The Hamilton Waterfront Trust claimed to enjoy a full exception to municipal bylaws as the lands were federally owned.
North End residents challenged this novel interpretation, and the City of Burlington intervened after the noise caused disruptions in Aldershot.
The Hamilton Waterfront Trust then applied for a formal exception to the bylaw as a “minor variance”, which was not granted by the Committee of Adjustment in a hearing that brought dozens of residents who make deputations. (Full video of the hearing: Sarcoa and Noise Bylaw – The City Hall Debates)
Sarcoa is now suing the City of Hamilton, claiming the City and its Waterfront Trust misrepresented when signing the lease, and have damaged their business. (The HWT is now distancing itself from its previous positions)

created: December 30, 2016