City of Waterloo council summary (4)

The council summary below provides a snapshot of the major items presented at this evening’s council meeting. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting.

High Water Adjustment Policy
Council approved a High Water Adjustment Policy that is applied when a customer receives a water bill that is significantly higher than their normal bill. These situations typically occur when the customer has plumbing leaks in toilets, faucets or fixtures and often these issues are not detected for some time. A single high water bill is a financial burden for customers, but also requires a considerable amount of staff time to investigate and follow-up. The new high water bill adjustment policy will provide a consistent approach in responding to high water bill situations; establish a transparent process for city staff and utility customers to follow; establish a clear threshold for high water bill situations; reduce the investigative burden on both operational and administrative staff; and provide relief for customers who experience catastrophic high water bills. The policy is applicable to low density residential water accounts, is limited to once per decade and maximum adjustment is capped at  $2000. A customer needs to apply is they wish their high water bill to be reviewed and adjusted.

City staff review of Bill 108
Council approved two staff reports expressing concerns with the province’s proposed Bill 108 – More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019. The proposed legislation has an impact on both the land use planning system as well as the collection of development charges (DCs) specifically the money collected through DCs that fund numerous municipal assets and services, such as parks, indoor recreation, libraries, parking, cemeteries and studies. Council passed a motion indicating that it shares the Province’s goals of improving access to different types of housing, including more affordable housing, but disagrees that Bill 108 in its current form will achieve this shared goal. Council believes Bill 108 puts at risk the city’s ability to provide parkland and community facilities, including the East Side Library. Council is also opposed to a proposed return to the old Ontario Municipal Board rules for planning appeals as it once again takes decisions out of the hands of municipal councils and is concerned that the new timelines for planning decisions will make it difficult to adequately engage the public and resolve issues collaboratively. Council is requesting that Queen’s Park extend the deadline for comments from June 1 to September 30 and make any proposed regulations associated with Bill 108 available well in advance of the new deadline to allow municipalities adequate time to comment. Further details can be found in staff reports CORP2019-043 and IPPW2019-043.

Informal public meeting
Zone Change Application Z-19-03 and Official Plan Amendment No. 26, Killam Apartment REIT, 50 Westmount Rd. N, 9-15 Dietz Ave N & 192-218 Erb St. W.
The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Official Plan and an amendment to the Zoning By-law to permit a multi-phased, mixed used development that would consist of an 11 storey building, a four storey parking structure, a mixed used structure with two towers (11 storeys and 19 storeys), a second mixed use structure with two towers (23 storeys and 25 storeys), a 22 storey mixed-use building, a five storey commercial building and the creation of a private internal street. The subject lands currently contain nine residential dwelling units, two small apartment buildings and a mixture of commercial uses in a plaza format (Westmount Plaza), including a multi-storey office building.  The existing five-storey office building (Sunlife) and commercial plaza is proposed to be maintained. During an Informal Public Meeting, Council is receiving information about the planning review and proposed amendments for information, and asks questions for clarification. No decisions or opinions of council are shared at this stage.

Media contact:
Tony Iavarone
Director, Corporate Communications 519-747-8513
tony.iavarone@waterloo.ca