Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: Markham Centre Advisory Group – Up-dated Terms of Reference
PREPARED BY:
Extension 6588
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report dated June 23, 2009 and titled Markham Centre Advisory – Up-dated Terms of Reference be received;
2) That Council endorse the up-dated Terms of Reference for the Markham Centre Advisory;
3) That Council endorse the current composition and membership of the Markham Centre Advisory;
4) That Council reserve space on the Advisory for two future members representing Markham Centre residents;
5)
And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all
things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to up-date and seek Council endorsement of revised Terms of Reference, and of the current composition and membership, of the Markham Centre Advisory Group.
BACKGROUND:
In 2002, Council established the Markham Centre Advisory Group to advise and assist Council in the creation of a new sustainable, high-density, pedestrian-friendly, transit supportive, mixed-use Town Centre. It was intended, through the original Terms of Reference, that the Advisory would be familiar with the planning and design principles for an urban Town Centre and assist in creating implementation guidelines to achieve the principles and objectives of the Markham Centre Plan. It was further intended that the Advisory would provide commentary on the implementation of these guidelines through the development review and approval process.
Shortly after their formation, the
Advisory (comprised of a broad
cross-section of
The
workshops focused on five key themes including Greenlands, Transportation,
Built Form, Green Infrastructure and Public/Open Spaces. The Performance Measures, which emerged from
this consultative approach to developing an evaluation framework for
Markham
Centre, synthesized the comments, recommendations and suggestions into a
performance feedback document with a series of checklists relating to the five
key themes.
In April
2003, Council endorsed the Markham Centre Performance Measures and incorporated
them as an Appendix to the Markham Centre Secondary Plan (OPA 21), by Official
Plan Amendment No. 101. Since
adoption, the Performance Measures have been employed by the Advisory and staff
in the evaluation of a variety of development applications, Precinct Plans,
park design and preliminary proposals. The Performance Measures also serve
an on-going role in monitoring development activity within Markham Centre and
in ensuring the delivery of the Markham Centre vision. The
Performance Measures received a Best Practices Award from the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities in 2003.
Subsequent to the adoption
of the Performance Measures, L.E.E.D. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
The Advisory and the Performance
Measures Document are critical components of the review of development
applications in Markham Centre. Since
their inception, this committed group of residents and community
representatives has been instrumental in providing the Town with public
stakeholder input in implementing the shared vision for Markham Centre and monitoring achievement of the objectives for Markham
Centre.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
Composition of the
Advisory
As noted the original Terms of
Reference for the Advisory (Appendix A) were drafted at inception in 2002. Since then, the composition of the Advisory
has evolved, and recently there has been further discussions with the Advisory
and adjacent community regarding membership. The original Terms of Reference contemplated approximately
20 members composed of a variety of representatives from ratepayer
organizations, the
The current membership includes
representatives from ratepayer organizations, the
The changes to the composition of the Advisory, as set out in the Revised Terms of Reference (Appendix B), relate to formalizing the long-standing participation of Markham District Energy and the Markham Accessibility Committee, and addressing the withdrawal of the Mayor’s Youth Task Force in 2005. In addition, York Region Police have never been represented on the Advisory and it was felt by the Advisory that their presence was not required at this time.
The Terms of Reference also propose to revise the status of the Rouge Alliance Chair and VIVA to members ex officio. Stakeholders identified as ex officio would still be considered full members of the Advisory and may attend any meeting or when their input is required on an agenda item. These members will receive all regular correspondence and agendas.
Discussions with the community also sought to ensure an equitable distribution of ratepayer representatives between the Unionville Ratepayers Association (URA), the Unionville Villagers’ Association (UVA) and Unionville residents at large. Presently, the URA has one member, UVA has two members and there are three Unionville residents at large. We have been advised that the formal representatives of these organizations (URA and UVA) has changed and that their appointees need to be reflected in the current Advisory membership. In addition, it was felt more appropriate to have equal representation for both URA and UVA and ultimately the Unionville residents at large (2 members each) as reflected in the revised terms of reference and current composition and membership (Appendix C).
Based on the proposed mix of ratepayer and other representation, the Advisory would consist of 21 members, plus 2 members ex officio. This report seeks Council endorsement of this revised membership and current composition as set out in Appendix C attached. As discussed later in this report, there has been some discussion with the Advisory regarding expanding the membership, over time, to accommodate future Markham Centre residents.
Over the past couple of years the Advisory has struggled to retain representation from local major businesses. IBM and Motorola had been long time members on the Advisory, however personnel and organizational changes within Motorola have severely limited their participation in recent years and work load issues and other commitments appear to have limited IBM’s recent participation. Given the important role the business community will play in the evolution of Markham Centre, staff will continue to seek representatives from one or both of these organizations, but in their absence, will also approach Honeywell who have recently located in Markham Centre on the Remington Group’s lands.
Duration of Appointment
The original Terms of Reference contemplate Council confirming Advisory appointments on an annual basis. As noted in the up-dated Terms of Reference, given the complexity of issues, the history, background and knowledge of the Advisory it is hoped that members would seek to participate for longer periods.
The Town has generally enjoyed longstanding continuity of its Advisory membership but has also been very fortunate to have committed replacements identified by the participating organizations provide new energy and perspective to the discussions as Markham Centre builds out. In this regard and to ensure continuity, it is recommended that the members be appointed for four year terms to coincide with the Term of Council, at which time they could seek re-appointment or the membership composition could be re-evaluated by Council.
Co-chairs to Share Duties
The practice of the Advisory has
been to appoint two co-chairs who would typically alternate the role of Chair
each meeting. The Co-chairs would be
elected by the members for two-year terms, with one position elected annually
to provide continuity and consistency.
This arrangement has successfully worked for the Advisory and the
up-dated Terms of Reference seek to formalize this arrangement. In this regard,
Future Members to be Added to the Advisory
The Up-dated Terms of Reference
were discussed and endorsed by the Advisory at the
Minor Wording and Procedural Changes Reflected in Up-dated Terms of
Reference
The balance of the changes to the Terms of Reference reflect the on-going status of the Advisory, the established Performance Measures Document, the current Markham Centre policy context, and the Council reporting structure. Staff propose to follow-up with the appropriate local businesses to seek stronger representation on the advisory, including approaching Honeywell, if IBM and Motorola are not in a position to continue their participation in the Advisory.
Discussion with the
At
the Markham Centre Sub-committee meeting of
HUMAN
RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The Markham Centre Advisory performs a key role in assisting the Town in ensuring Markham Centre develops as an intense, sustainable, transit supportive and pedestrian friendly downtown, consistent with the Town’s vision and Growth Management policies.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
At their meeting of
RECOMMENDED BY:
_______________________________ ________________________________
Director of
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix A: Original Terms of Reference –
Appendix B: Up-dated Terms of Reference – Markham Centre Advisory
Appendix C: Current Composition and Membership –
Q:\Development\Planning\Teams\Markham
Centre\Advisory Committee\Revised Advisory Terms of Reference - 2009.doc