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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-20 Minutes SUSTAINABLE CLARINGTON COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of Meeting of March 20, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Library Mezzanine Room Present: Michael Patrick, Chair Mike Dymarski Suzanne Elston Allan Hewitt Lorraine Jones Ian Kruis Kerry Meydam Kira Nowick Councillor Ron Hooper Absent: Mayor Adrian Foster Also Present: Curry Clifford, Corporate Initiatives Officer Linda Coutu, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Guests: Clarington Agricultural Advisory Committee members Eric Bowman, Don Rickard, Jenny Knox and Staff Liaison Faye Langmaid, Special Projects Manager, Planning Services David Crome, Director of Planning Services Department Erica Mittag, Community Development Co-ordinator, Community Services Department 1. WELCOME Committee Chair Michael Patrick welcomed the Committee, and welcomed Suzanne Elston back after her absence due to surgery. He advised that the next two committee meetings would start at 6:00 p.m. 2.APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Moved by Ron Hooper, seconded by Mike Dymarski THAT the minutes of the February 13, 2013 meeting be approved. CARRIED. 3. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES th Curry Clifford advised that Council, on March 17, approved the Committee’s th recommendation regarding trails and paths as reported in the minutes of the February 13 Committee meeting. 4. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF UPDATED WORKPLAN The Committee had before them an updated work plan with a schedule of upcoming meeting topics and guests. Mr. Patrick advised that the revisions are mainly to accommodate the large number of guests (some 20) that would be invited to the April and May meetings. 5. GOAL #9: STRONG, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL BASE “ The Committee had before them:a publication,The Real Dirt on Farming”; the Clarington Agricultural Advisory Subcommittee’s suggested five goals for the SCCAC to consider; measures for this goal that are currently reported through the Municipal Performance Measures Program. Mr. Patrick welcomed the representatives from the Clarington Agricultural Advisory Committee. Faye Langmaid circulated the Clarington Agricultural Advisory Committee’s membership list showing the diversity of agricultural (commodity groups) represented along with a brochure listing some of their accomplishments. Don Rickard indicated that his Committee appreciated the opportunity to present and is pleased that the Sustainability Committee has identified agriculture as one of their nine goals. Mr. Rickard advised that agricultural is a larger business in this area than OPG and St. Marys Cement. Jenny Knox identified the need for agricultural education and explained the partnerships with UOIT, Durham College and Farm Connections amongst other relationships. Eric Bowman advised that he was also a representative on the Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee and that Don Rickard was also a representative on the Clarington Board of Trade. The delegation explained the five actions they would suggest the Committee endorse, including: 1.Agricultural education of the general populous – as demonstrated by partnerships with UOIT, Durham College, Farm Connections, 4-H, Maple and Aggie, etc. 2.Rural Economic Development – geared towards promoting farms as businesses, creating an attractive business environment, on farm markets, value-added, advisory role with CBOT. 3.Protection of agricultural land – through Official Plan policies, new Provincial Policy Statement, Greenbelt review and what to do with the whitebelt in Clarington to keep it in agricultural production. 4.Encourage/Support of agriculturally lead initiatives for best practices – On Trac, Environmental Farm Plans, ties back to economic development and creating a favourable business climate for farm businesses (not introducing additional hurdles to overcome at a municipal level). 5.Support for local food movement – Clarington Farmer’s Market, encouragement of buy-local, ties back to economic development on farm markets, restaurant supply and promotion of local. There was a general discussion about the five actions and the measures. Mr. Patrick thanked the delegation for the discussion and noted that a strong sustainable agricultural base is key to fostering a sustainable Clarington. 6. GOALS #1 SELF-SUFFICIENT NEIGHBOURHOODS, #3 UNIQUE, VIBRANT DOWNTOWNS, #4 GREEN, EFFEICIENT PEOPLE FRIENDLY TRANSPORTATION, #5 NATURAL GREEN SPACE, #6 ACCESSIBLE AND INTEGRATED TRAILS, #7 AN ATTRACTIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, #8 HEALTHY, ACCESSIBLE WATERFRONTS, #9 STRONG SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL BASE The Committee had before them an Official Plan Review schematic and table of what policies would be dealt with in the review. Mr. Patrick welcomed David Crome. Mr. Crome distributed a chart outlining how the Official Plan Review and the nine goals identified by this Committee overlap and noted that these would be discussed in detail at the Committee’s April and May meetings. He advised that the Official Plan Review document will be released in May, with public meetings scheduled to be held in June and the document will be referred back to Council with recommendations in the fall of 2014. Mr. Patrick thanked Mr. Crome for his presentation. 7. GOAL #2: AN ENGAGED COMMUNITY The Committee had before them: Trends in Voter Turnout in Clarington in the last three municipal elections; Statistics on the number of Clarington Community Advisory Committees over the last three council terms and trends in applicants to sit on these committees; the International Association for Public Participation’s Public Participation continuum of five types of consultation; MASS LBP report to City of Pickering on public engagement using this approach; Database on Clarington community organizations; Results of Imagine Canada’s surveys of volunteering and of charitable donations; Measures used in other jurisdictions to measure this goal and earlier suggestions from the Committee about measures. Curry Clifford noted that there are two elements to this topic: engagement with the municipality and engagement with the community. Mr. Patrick noted that the purpose of the information and brief presentation is to prepare the Committee to have an effective meeting with community representatives who will be invited to a subsequent meeting to discuss this goal. Mr. Patrick welcomed and introduced Erica Mittag. Ms. Mittag gave a brief overview of: her role; the extensive community engagement currently existing in Clarington; barriers to volunteering (including that many residents are commuters and the movement from one full-time to two or more part-time jobs); strategies that community organizations are finding effective to address barriers to volunteering including breaking tasks into more manageable chunks and spreading the required effort around. Ms. Mittag distributed a copy of an article by Jim Diers entitled “Five Keys to Broad and Inclusive Community Engagement” for information purposes. She also brought the Committee’s attention to the database of Clarington Community Organizations, which include numerous volunteers. Mr. Patrick thanked Ms. Mittag for her presentation. 8. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Kerry Meydam, seconded by Lorraine Jones THAT the meeting adjourn at 8:55 p.m. CARRIED.