Housing construction continues to stunt Brampton’s economic development; Conservation authorities present plans for Peel; Bill 23 impacting numerous budget decisions
Brampton Committee of Council
Date: February 1 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Staff report on Brampton’s firework ban over New Years
On December 14, 2022, Council unanimously passed a bylaw strictly prohibiting the use, purchase, possession, and sale of all fireworks in the City of Brampton.
The staff report on Council’s Wednesday agenda follows the City’s enforcement efforts over New Year’s Eve—the first major holiday following the ban’s creation—with 25 complaints investigated by enforcement, five penalty notices issued and one warning. There were 1,194 complaints, an increase from 785 the previous year and 323 two years ago.
View the full report here.
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Brampton economic update presentation
A presentation from Paul Aldunate with the City's Economic Development Office will go over the City’s current status in regards to the real estate market, a labour force survey, total business license issuance data, and current development projects.
Data show that residential development continues to be a major driver of Brampton’s economy, with applications for new subdivisions and other housing units still far ahead of the dollar value of industrial, commercial and institutional applications combined, a major local economy problem (due to the lack of employment and commercial growth) that will only be made worse by the PC government’s hyper-housing plan under Bill 23.
View the full presentation here.
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Staff Report on the State of Local Infrastructure (SOLI) Report - 2021
The State of Local Infrastructure (SOLI) 2021 Report is a comprehensive analysis of the City’s physical infrastructure and provides a roadmap for where councillors should direct investments to maintain the current levels of service and prevent critical failures.
According to the report, of the City’s $7.7 billion worth of assets—which includes everything from roads, to City buildings, to municipal fleet vehicles—approximately 80 percent are listed in “good” to “very good” condition, while 6 percent are considered in “poor” to “very poor” condition. Brampton Library has the largest proportion of assets listed in “very poor” condition.
View the full report here.
Planning and Development Committee - Special Meeting
Date: February 6 - 1 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
2023 Fee Changes for Development and Site Plan Applications
The City is proposing to increase the fees associated with development and site plan applications, and eliminate certain fees, as required by the PCs’ controversial Bill 23.
Despite some fees being eliminated, the City plans to increase all Development and Site Plan application fees by 25 percent, with the exception of Committee of Adjustment (CofA) applications; and increase pre-consultation fees for developers to $2,000 starting this year.
View the full report here.
BILD pushes back against fee increases
The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), the lobby group representing Ontario’s large subdivision developers, is pushing back against the City’s fee increases, stating in a letter “the City does not have the appropriate information to warrant these increases”, and requesting the fee hikes be deferred until next month so a comprehensive analysis can be completed. BILD lobbied aggressively to remove certain traditional development fees builders used to pay to municipalities, but will not in the future, thanks to the PC government’s new housing legislation. As a result, cities and towns across Ontario are scrambling to find other revenue streams to make up for their projected losses, which the Association of Municipalities of Ontario says will be at least $5.1 billion by 2031.
Read the full letter here.
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Mississauga Budget Committee
Date: February 1 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Budget approval
Following two weeks of budget deliberations, Mississauga councillors are set to approve the City’s financial blueprint for 2023. A strict austerity budget with the City facing financial pressure from record high inflation, aging infrastructure and a looming revenue crunch from the PC’s Bill 23, councillors were left with few options for new projects in 2023. The item that received the most discussion during deliberations was the approval of a pilot project to make public transit free for children under the age of 12 and an all day one dollar senior’s fares for a period of one year.
The budget document is set to be immediately ratified and come into effect following a vote at the council meeting scheduled for immediately after the Budget Committee.
The full 2023 Mississauga Budget can be found here.
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Mississauga City Council
Date: February 1 - Immediately following Budget Committee | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
City Manager retiring
Paul Mitcham is stepping down as CAO and City Manager, leading Mississauga to appoint an acting replacement.
Before taking the role in 2020, Mitcham previously held the position of Commissioner, Community Services with the City for over two decades.
The motion appointing interim replacements Shari Lichterman and Geoff Wright can be found here.
Karen Ras litigation update
In closed session, an update will be given to Council on the active legal action launched by former councillor Karen Ras.
Ras resigned in 2022, later making public allegations that former councillor Ron Sarr had repeatedly harassed her and allegedly scratched her car multiple times when it was parked in the City Hall parking lot. In the claim, Ras argues that she was forced to resign because of the toxic environment the City created for her as a result of how it was handled.
Starr, who lost his council seat in the October municipal election, was penalized by council last term following an integrity commissioner’s report ruled “on the balance of probabilities” that he had scratched Ras’s car on one occasion. Starr has denied all the allegations and is currently in the legal process of challenging the integrity commissioner report’s findings.
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Regional Council
Date: February 2 - 9:30 a.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Conservation authorities present plans for 2023
Discussions on the 2023 Operating and Capital Budget continue Thursday with presentations from the conservation authorities with jurisdiction within the Region of Peel
The presentation from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC), which is seeking a 3.3 percent increase to its budget to continue to study the impacts of climate change in Peel as well as to handle a continued growth in the number of visitors to its conservation areas can be found here.
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is seeking a 2.5 percent funding increase from the Region of Peel to support its continued environmental stewardship in the Region. Work planned for 2023 includes: continued water quality monitoring; wetland restoration; the creation of 5 hectares of new forest habitat; delivery of the Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow program to approximately 500 students, and much more. The full TRCA presentation can be found here.
Conservation Halton is not requesting any increase for its 2023 budget. The organization’s full presentation can be found here.
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Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @JessicaRDurling
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