What Happened at Council - November 23rd, 2022

2 min to read

A brief overview. Click HERE for the YouTube recording.

There was pomp and ceremony for the inauguration of the new Richmond Hill council on Monday November 21st but their first real council meeting was on Wednesday November 23rd.

Here are some highlights:

Ontario Bill 23 More Homes Built Faster Act 2022

Although not the first item on the agenda, it might be regarded as the most important and pressing.

The province brought this forward on October 25, 2022, the day after municipalities had their elections. As David West said, he was occupied with taking down signs. Motion to be able to work in partnership with the provincial government so all in all this is going to be – collaborative, collaborative and consultive.

This piece of provincial legislation affects all municipalities.

It proposed that 15,000 homes be built in 10 years. This is in response to an existing housing crisis and one that is expected to worsen with many new immigrants expected to arrive here.

BUT

Financially - Millions of dollars will be lost to the municipality with the proposed changes to the developmental fees which impacts how a municipality can pay for growth.

Environmental concerns- The opening up of the Greenbelt affects are far reaching. This bill proposes to diminish the role of the Conservation Authorities. The play a very important role in flood control, a real concern with the weather and climate changes that have been happening

Heritage – restrictions on preserving heritage

Mayor David West used the analogy of “Cutting an onion with a chainsaw.”

The council members did express the desire to work in partnership with the provincial government – to be collaborative, collaborative and consultive.

A motion passed unanimously, endorsing York Region Council’s Decision, requesting the Province to halt consideration of Bill 23 More Homes Built Faster Act 2022 to enable the opportunity for greater consultation with all stakeholders.

Committee of the Whole (COW) will come back

COW is an extra chance to discuss issues on the agenda that will be coming forward to counsel the following week’s Council Meeting. The last term of council had eliminated the COW meetings.

As was the situation with COW meetings before, they will a rotating schedule of councillors chairing the meeting.

Making it a bit easier to be a delegate at council

All delegations will be at the beginning of the council meetings. The meetings will still be in the morning rather than being moved to the evening. It was noted that having staff work in the evenings cost tens of thousands of dollars.

You have a choice of being in person or by Zoom.

Please click HERE for more information and to ask to be a delegate.

Cultural Grant Program

This program gave a small amount of money to a large number of really worthy cultural and arts-based groups. It was seen as a great value for money. There will be money in the budget for next 2023. The last term of council had rescinded this grant program.

Reinstating the Community Bulletin Pages in the Liberal

These announcements were regarded as having a vital and responsible role in informing our residents and our community. They provided an opportunity to engage and educate. There will be further discussion about advertising in ethnic newspapers and social media. The last term of council revoked these bulleting pages in the local paper.

Council Members Assigned to City’s Various Committees

Accessibility Advisory Committee