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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLD-034-11 Clarbgton REPORT MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: November 28, 2011 Resolution#: ► By-law#: 11-°11 Report#: CLD-034-11 File#: Subject: SCHEDULING OF STATUTORY PUBLIC MEETINGS RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report CLD-034-11 be received; 2. THAT direction be provided as to scheduling public meetings, based on the options identified in Section 3.4 of Report CLD-034-11; and 3. THAT the Procedural By-law be amended to provide for Public Meetings and Delegations to be heard prior to Presentations during General Purpose and Administration Committee meetings and that the ability to schedule Presentations at the GPA meeting for specific times be provided to the Municipal Clerk. Submitted by: Reviewed by: ^ at � B 1e Franklin Wu, Municipal Clerk Chief Administrative Officer Initials CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 2 1. BACKGROUND At the Council meeting held on October 3, 2011, Resolution #GPA-575-11 was approved, which reads as follows: "THAT Staff prepare a report regarding the possibility of holding Public Meetings during the evening; and THAT the report include the possibility of altering the order of the agenda at General Purpose and Administration to hear delegations before presentations." 2. PUBLIC MEETINGS 2.1 Public Meetings under the Planning Act have been heard by the General Purpose and Administration Committee (GPA) since 1983 when the requirement for public meetings was introduced. More recently, an amendment to the procedural by-law provides that statutory public meetings under any legislation are to be heard by GPA. The GPA meetings have been held in the daytime since the Committee's inception in 1981. 2.2 Practices in Other Municipalities The following chart indicates the practices for holding Public Meetings in other municipalities within the Region of Durham: Municipality When Held Where Held Ajax Evening, twice/month Council Chambers Brock Evening Council Chambers, but may be held in Community Centres Oshawa Evening, Every 3 weeks or as Council Chambers needed Pickering' Evenings prior to Planning Council Chambers Committee meeting, once/month Scugog Evening as part of Council meeting Council Chambers Uxbridge Same evening as Council meeting Council Chambers (Council commences at 7:00, Public Meeting commences at approximately 7:30 following which Council reconvenes) Whitby Evening, part of Planning Council Chambers Committee meeting Region Morning, part of Planning Committee Meeting Room Committee meeting REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 3 3. CONSIDERATIONS 3.1 Public Participation The Public Meeting is a statutory requirement of the Planning Act to provide an opportunity for those individuals who may be affected by an application to receive more detailed information and to make their views known to the members of Council. It is not, however, the only opportunity for the public to gain information or to voice their opinions. The PowerPoint presentations which staff make at the Public Meeting and the detailed staff report is available through the Planning Services Department, the Municipal Clerk's Department and also on-line. Should an individual not be able to attend the Public Meeting, they are able to attend the following Council meeting as a delegation or they are able to make a written submission to Council. This is outlined in the standard public notice. As well, staff is available during regular office hours to speak to anyone with respect to an application. Staffing Should it be Council's desire to change the format of the public meetings such that they are held in the evening, it will be necessary for the unionized staff to be compensated at their overtime rate of pay and to receive a meal allowance for their extended work day. In addition, it is often beneficial to managers to attend the meeting to hear the public concerns that were raised, particularly on large or contentious projects. Between 2008 and 2011, Planning Services has held 92 public meetings, or an average of 23 public meetings annually. Two of those years, there were 28 and 29 meetings respectively; much less during the recession year of 2009. It is estimated that the incremental cost for evening meetings for Planning Services would be $4,000 to $5,000 per annum. The estimated cost for Municipal Clerk's Department staff is approximately $3,000 per annum. 3.2 Location During the discussion at the GPA meeting, the suggestion of holding the Public Meetings in various venues throughout the municipality in order to have the meetings held in close proximity to those who are potentially most affected by the application, was also raised. The logistics of moving the Public Meetings to different venues is problematic. Audio/video equipment that is required is not always available in the various locations, necessitating staff bringing screens, projectors, computers, microphones, etc. which will be required. The set-up and takedown of the equipment will have to be completed by staff, at their overtime REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 4 rate. Also, the capability of recording the meetings as is our new practice, will be lost by moving to a different venue. Should a municipal facility not be available in the area of the application, it will also be necessary for the Municipality to rent a community hall. These rents range anywhere from $40 to $320. Another issue to be taken into account when considering location of the meetings is the fact that the meeting may be held for the purpose of considering more than one application. These applications could affect different areas of the municipality, ie, one in Courtice and one in Newcastle. For the above-noted reasons, Staff recommend that the Public Meetings be held in the Council Chambers within the Municipal Administrative Centre, unless otherwise directed by Council. 3.3 Public Meeting Options The following options for the holding of Public Meetings are provided: 1. Continue with Present Procedure Continuing with the present procedure of holding Public Meetings at GPA, commencing at 9:30 a.m. allows the public the option of appearing at either the daytime meeting or at the evening Council meeting the following week. This procedure provides individuals the opportunity to address the members of Council according to their schedule (working during the day or working shift work). As well, if an individual did not speak at the GPA meeting, but decided following the meeting that they do want to make their opinions known, the additional opportunity to do so is available to them. 2. Hold Public Meetings at Council The Public Meetings could be scheduled to be held at the commencement of regular Council meetings (7:00 p.m.). This option would fit into the current schedule of meetings for members of Council and staff and would allow for those individuals who work during the day to be able to address the issue. Public Meetings vary widely in the time required and, where required, up to four applications could be heard at a meeting. This will result in longer Council meetings, in many cases resulting in the meeting having to be extended beyond the 11:00 p.m. curfew or continuing on a subsequent day. A Planning Services staff report is submitted at all public meetings. Should it be Council's wish to hold the public meetings during a Council meeting, this report would be included on the Council agenda under the heading of"Staff Report(s)". Occasionally the staff report does recommend approval of the REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 5 application at this point. In this case, the opportunity for individuals who did not speak at the Public Meeting to address Council is lost as the matter will not be reported on at a later date. 3. Hold Public Meetings Prior to Council The public meetings could be scheduled to be held the same night as Council, commencing at 5:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., thereby most often being completed in time for Council to commence at 7:00 p.m. This option would not impact the length of the Council meeting and having to extend the adjournment hour past 11:00 p.m. or continue at another time, except in rare circumstances when a lengthy public meeting is held. It may, however, make it difficult for members of the public to arrive home from work and make it to the Public Meeting on time. To allow for the occasion when a public meeting cannot be completed within a 1.5 or 2 hour timeframe, the Procedural By-law could be amended to allow for the Council meeting to commence immediately following the public meeting. As noted with Option 2. above, the staff report regarding the public meeting would be included on the Council agenda under the "Staff Report(s)" section. 4. Hold Public Meetings Separately from GPA and Council The Public Meetings could be scheduled to be held during a GPA meeting held on a night separate from regularly scheduled GPA and Council meeting dates. This option allows members of the public to address the members of Council at either the public meeting or the following Council meeting when the recommendation is being ratified. It does not, however, provide the opportunity for individuals who are working shift work to address the matter during the daytime. Should a separate meeting be held, there would be additional Building Services staff costs of approximately $1,200 per annum to have staff at the entrance and for securing the building. A consideration with this option is finding an evening that members of Council are available, given the various board and committee meetings which they are required to attend. Should it be Council's desire to hold public meetings in the evening, an amendment to the Procedural By-law will be required. REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 6 4. ORDER OF AGENDA The resolution passed at GPA also requested that staff report on the possibility of altering the order of the GPA agenda to hear delegations prior to the presentations. Presumably, if Public Meetings were to be maintained at the GPA, both the Public Meeting and the Delegation portion of the agenda would be moved ahead of Presentations. This was prompted by the fact that many times citizens attend at a meeting to appear as a delegation and must sit through what can potentially be lengthy presentations prior to being able to address Committee. Often times these individuals have made arrangements to go to work following their delegation and do not realize the amount of time that is going to be taken up by the Presentations. The Presentations, on the other hand, are municipal staff, consultants retained by the Municipality, senior levels of government or other municipal governments. These individuals are attending in a professional capacity as part of their work related duties. In order to alleviate this concern, it is recommended that the Procedural By-law be amended such that the Public Meetings and Delegations are heard prior to the Presentations at the GPA meetings. When consultants are attending on behalf of the Municipality, there would an additional cost if their attendance is prolonged. An alternative would be to provide the Clerk with some flexibility in putting together the agenda so that where longer presentations or a series of presentations are lined up, the Presentation could be scheduled for a specific time, ie, regardless of where the Committee is at in the agenda, the Presentation would be heard (e.g., 10:30 a.m.). 6. CONCURRENCE This report has been reviewed by David Crome, Director of Planning Services who concurs with the recommendations. REPORT NO.: CLD-034-11 PAGE 7 6. CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing information, it is respectfully recommended that direction be provided as to scheduling public meetings, based on the options identified in Section 3.4 of Report CLD-034-11, and that the Procedural By-law be amended such that Public Meetings and Delegations are heard prior to Presentations at GPA and to provide the Municipal Clerk with the ability to schedule specific times for Presentations. CONFORMITY WITH STRATEGIC PLAN — Not Applicable Staff Contact: Patti L. Barrie, Municipal Clerk