Council
Minutes
February
13, 2017, 7:00 PM
Council
Chamber, Anthony Roman Markham Civic Centre
Alternate
formats for this document are available upon request
Roll
Call
Mayor Frank
Scarpitti, Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, Regional Councillor Jim Jones, Regional
Councillor Joe Li, Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong, Councillor Valerie
Burke, Councillor Alan Ho, Councillor Don Hamilton, Councillor Karen Rea,
Councillor Amanda Collucci, Councillor Logan Kanapathi, Councillor Alex Chiu.
Regrets
Councillor
Colin Campbell.
Staff
Andy Taylor, Chief
Administrative Officer
Catherine Conrad, City
Solicitor and Acting Director of Human Resources
Jim Baird, Commissioner of
Development Services
Trinela Cane, Commissioner
of Corporate Services
Brenda Librecz, Commissioner
of Community and Fire Services
Joel Lustig, Treasurer
Raj Raman, Mayor's Chief of
Staff
Kimberley
Kitteringham, City Clerk
Martha Pettit, Deputy City
Clerk
John Wong, Technology
Support Specialist
The meeting of
Council convened at 7:09 PM on February 13, 2017 in the Council Chamber.
Mayor Frank
Scarpitti presided.
Moved by
Councillor Valerie Burke
Seconded by
Councillor Alan Ho
That Council recess at 10:28 PM and reconvene at 10:38 PM.
Carried
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor
Valerie Burke
1) That the Minutes of the Council Meeting held on January 30, 2017, be adopted.
Carried
There were no presentations.
The following individuals addressed Council and spoke in support of the proposed motion entitled "Request the Government of Ontario to Implement a Foreign Buyer's Tax Across the Province of Ontario Similar to the City of Vancouver":
1.
Donna Dougan
2.
Heather Dougan
3.
Reuben Tang
4.
Geoff Pyne
5.
Ricardo Mashregi
6.
Alena Gotz
7.
Christiane
Bergauer-Free
8.
Tammy Armes
9.
Mayrose Gregorios
10.
Elizabeth Brown
(See Motion Item No. 1 for Council decision on this matter)
There were no petitions.
Moved by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Joe Li
That Report No. 4 - General Committee comprised of 5 items be received and adopted, except Item Nos. 1, 2 and 4. (See following Item Nos. 1, 2, and 4)
Moved by
Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by
Regional Councillor Joe Li
1) That
the report and presentation entitled “Municipal Election Candidate Contribution
Rebate Program” be received; and,
2) That Markham’s Municipal Election Candidate Contribution
Rebate Program be maintained with the following amendments endorsed, in
principle, with:
a) A requirement that all campaign contributors to apply to the City of Markham for the issuance of a contribution rebate and the deadline for all contributors to apply be 90 days after the candidate’s financial filing deadline; and,
b) Confirmation that all contributions made to a candidate between the date on which a candidate files a nomination form and the end of the candidate’s campaign period are eligible for a contribution rebate; and,
3) That the remaining deficit of $116,766 from the 2014 Municipal Election Candidate Contribution Rebate Program be funded from the Corporate Rate Stabilization Reserve; and further,
4) That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
(By-law 2017-4 has been postponed)
Carried by a recorded vote (10:1)
(See following recorded vote)
YEAS: Councillor
Valerie Burke, Councillor Alan Ho, Councillor Karen Rea, Regional Councillor
Nirmala Armstrong, Regional Councillor Jim Jones, Mayor Frank Scarpitti, Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath, Regional Councillor Joe Li, Councillor Amanda Collucci,
Councillor Logan Kanapathi. (10)
NAYS: Councillor
Don Hamilton. (1)
ABSENT: Councillor
Colin Campbell, Councillor Alex Chiu. (2)
Report
Calendar Approved
Calendar
Moved by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
Seconded by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the 2017 Council and Standing Committee Meeting Calendar for September-December be adopted; and,
2) That the February 28, 2017 Council meeting be re-scheduled to March 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM.
Carried as amended
1) That
the report entitled “Award of RFP 239-R-16 Contract Administration and
Construction Inspection Services for West Thornhill Flood Control
Implementation Project – Phases 2B, 2C & 2D” be received; and,
2) That
the contract for Proposal 239-R-16 Contract Administration and Construction
Inspection Services for West Thornhill Flood Control Implementation Projects –
Phases 2B, 2C & 2D be awarded to the highest ranked, lowest priced Bidder,
R.V. Anderson Associates Limited, in the amount of $955,481.64, inclusive of HST;
and,
3) That
a 10% contingency in the amount of $95,548.16, inclusive of HST, be established
to cover any additional construction costs and that authorization to approve
expenditures of this contingency amount up to the specified limit be in
accordance with the Expenditure Control Policy; and,
4) That
the contract administration services award for Phase 2B in the amount of
$314,065.55 as outlined under the financial considerations section of this
report be funded from the capital project 058-6150-17201-005 “West Thornhill
Flood Control Construction - Phase 2B”, and the remaining budget of $124,244.45
will be returned to the original funding source; and,
5) That
Phase 2C in the amount of $403,011.02 and Phase 2D in the amount of $333,953.22
as outlined under the financial considerations section of this report be
requested as part of the 2018 and 2019 Capital budget process, subject to
Council approval; and,
6) That
the Purchase Order for future Phases 2C & 2D be updated to reflect the
actual construction time required based on the final design; and further,
7) That
Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to
this resolution.
Carried
Moved by
Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by
Regional Councillor Joe Li
1) That the attached Procedural By-law be
adopted; and,
2) That
staff be requested to review Schedules "B" and "C" attached
to the Procedural By-law and report back to General Committee.
(By-law
2017-5)
Carried
Council consented to add the
following as Resolution No. 2 to the proposed recommendation regarding the
Procedural By-law:
"2) That staff be requested to review
Schedules "B" and "C" attached to the Procedural By-law and
report back to General Committee."
1) That the memo dated December 21, 2016 from Brenda Librecz,
Commissioner of Community & Fire Services be received; and,
2) That the letter from Alfred Kam, Chair, Markham Public
Library Board be received and endorsed by Council; and,
3) That the Council of the Corporation of the City of Markham supports
the Public Libraries' request to the Province to increase its annual grants to
libraries and to allow adequate operating budget for all libraries no matter
the size or location; and further,
4) That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Premier
of Ontario, the Minister of Culture, Markham's local MP's, MPP's, and the
Markham Library Board.
Carried
Moved by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
Seconded by Councillor
Don Hamilton
That Report No. 5 - Development Services Committee comprised of 3 items be received and adopted, except Item No. 3. (See following Item No. 3)
1) That the staff report entitled “Request for Demolition-Single Detached Dwelling, 30 B Rouge Street, Markham Village,” dated February 13, 2017, be received; and,
2) That Council endorse the proposed demolition of the existing single detached dwelling at 30 B Rouge Street located within the Markham Village Heritage Conservation District; and further,
3) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
1) That the staff report entitled “Eligibility of Reverend Jenkins House for Relocation to Markham Heritage Estates dated February 13, 2017 ” be received; and,
2) That the Heritage Markham Committee recommendation of December 14, 2016 indicating that Heritage Markham does not support the relocation of the Reverend Jenkins House from its current site and the owners are requested to take immediate action to protect and stabilize the building on-site be received; and,
3) That as recommended by Heritage Section Staff, the Reverend Jenkins House at 11022 Kennedy Road be declared eligible for relocation to Markham Heritage Estates, due to its cultural heritage value, its threatened state, the absence of either short or long-term uses by the owner, and the length of time before development will occur in the area; and,
4) That the structure of the Reverend Jenkins House be partially restored and structurally stabilized in its current location so that it may be relocated to Markham Heritage Estates as an intact building; and,
5) That
the Manager of Real Property and Heritage Section Staff investigate potential
means to secure at-risk heritage buildings, including making land available for
the relocation of threatened heritage buildings, and report back to Development
Services Committee as soon as possible, no later than September, 2017; and
further,
6) That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
Moved by
Regional Councillor Jim Jones
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
Whereas
the current boundary between the City of Markham and the Town of Richmond Hill
in the Langstaff area (between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue) corresponds to
the north limit of Highway 7 as it existed on January 1, 1971; and,
Whereas Highway 7 was re-aligned further north to accommodate the Highway 407 right of way;
Now therefore be it resolved:
1) That City staff be directed to consult with the Town of Richmond Hill on a proposed adjustment to the boundary between the City of Markham and the Town of Richmond Hill between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue, to correspond with the centre-line of the current location of Highway 7, north of Highway 407; and,
2) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
Moved by
Councillor Karen Rea
Seconded by
Councillor Alan Ho
Whereas housing prices have
seen a significant increase in the past couple of years;
Whereas residents (especially young
residents) are experiencing difficulty entering the housing
market due to a lack of affordable homes;
Whereas there has been an increase in foreign buyers purchasing properties and upon closing, many of these homes are
unoccupied;
Whereas some
buyers are not living or working in Markham and/or paying Provincial or Federal
income tax;
Whereas Canada
Mortgage and Housing is maintaining its “red warning” for the country’s real
estate market with prices in around Vancouver and Toronto among its top
concerns;
Whereas the City
of Toronto has passed a motion for their City Manager and the Province to examine the possibility
of the City of Toronto levying an additional land transfer tax on purchase
and/or sale of homes to non-Canadian residents (i.e. foreign nationals who are
not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada);
Whereas the City
of Vancouver has approved a 15% property charge on foreign buyers since August
2016;
Whereas the implementation
of a foreign buyer’s tax across the Province would help to cool an overinflated
market and ensure that one problem is not just redirected to another area;
Now therefore be
it hereby resolved:
1) That the City of
Markham Council request the Government of Ontario to implement a foreign buyers
tax across the Province of Ontario similar to the City of Vancouver; and,
2) That a copy of this
motion be sent to the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, the
Honourable Bill Mauro, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; the
Honourable Patrick Brown, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party; the
Honourable Andrea Horwath, Leader of the New Democratic Party; and all MPP’s in
the Province of Ontario; and,
3) That a copy of this
Motion be sent to all Ontario Municipalities for their consideration; and
further,
4) That a copy be sent
to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and Federation of
Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Motion lost by a recorded vote (8:4)
(See following recorded vote)
(See following to consider the matter)
Note: The notice
of this motion was given to Council on January 30, 2017.
NAYS: Councillor
Don Hamilton, Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong, Regional Councillor Jim
Jones, Mayor Frank Scarpitti, Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, Regional Councillor Joe
Li, Councillor Amanda Collucci, Councillor Alex Chiu. (8)
YEAS: Councillor Valerie Burke, Councillor Alan Ho, Councillor Karen Rea, Councillor Logan Kanapathi. (4)
ABSENT: Councillor
Colin Campbell (1)
Moved by Councillor Karen Rea
Seconded by Councillor Alan Ho
That Council
consider the proposed motion entitled "Request the Government of Ontario
to Implement a Foreign Buyer's Tax Across the Province of Ontario Similar to
the City of Vancouver" immediately following the delegations with respect
thereto.
Carried
Moved by
Councillor Alan Ho
Seconded by
Councillor Valerie Burke
Whereas it is estimated that one in eight Canadians struggle to put food on the table, and more than 850,000 Canadians turn to food banks every month - One-third of them children (Food Banks Canada - Hunger Count Report, 2015); and,
Whereas about 170,000 tonnes of edible food - equivalent to about 300 million meals - end up in Canadian landfills every year (National Zero Waste Council, Fall 2015); and,
Whereas the reported cost of Canada's annual food waste is approximately $31 billion (VMC International, 2014); and,
Whereas the City of Markham has already committed to addressing food security for its residents with the Greenprint, Markham’s Community Sustainability Plan’s Food Security Priority and subsequently by adopting the Markham Food Charter. Both of which focus on increasing community and local food production opportunities and supporting education and engagement including food waste issues through the Markham Homegrown Program – Workshops, Community and Allotment Gardens, and increasing the viability of local commercial food growing and processing; and,
Whereas the City of Markham has committed to
expanding the zero waste program in the City's facilities and in the community;
Now
therefore be it hereby resolved:
1) That Council recognize local organizations that have already made a demonstrable effort to reduce food waste and promote local food security in the City of Markham; and,
2) That Council work with the Sustainability and Asset Management Department and Environmental Services under their Waste Management group and other partners such as York Region and local non profit organizations to promote programming/education outreach to achieve two key outcomes:
1) increase food waste awareness through a
comprehensive public education program aimed at Members of Markham Council and
City Staff, members of the public, and local businesses; and,
2) an expansion of the City of Markham's food waste diversion initiatives; and,
3) That Council support the National Zero Waste Council's proposed federal tax incentive for nutritious food donations and urge the Government of Canada to implement tax incentives for local businesses to donate nutritious food to charitable organizations, thereby reducing unnecessary food waste, decreasing disposal costs, reducing the environmental impact of food waste, and addressing the issue of hunger and poverty in our communities; and further,
4) That
a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities (FCM), requesting that FCM urge the Government of Canada to
implement tax incentives for food producers, suppliers, and retailers to donate
unsold edible food.
Carried by a recorded vote (12:0)
(See following recorded vote)
Note: The notice
of this motion was given to Council on January 30, 2017.
Council consented to add the following as Paragraph No. 5 to the proposed motion entitled "Food Waste Reduction":
"Whereas
the City of Markham has committed to expanding the zero waste program in the
City's facilities and in the community;"
YEAS: Councillor
Valerie Burke, Councillor Alan Ho, Councillor Don Hamilton, Councillor Karen Rea,
Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong, Regional Councillor Jim Jones, Mayor
Frank Scarpitti, Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, Regional Councillor Joe Li,
Councillor Amanda Collucci, Councillor Logan Kanapathi, Councillor Alex Chiu.
(12)
ABSENT: Councillor
Colin Campbell. (1)
There were no notices of motions.
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor
Don Hamilton
That Council
receive and consent to the disposition of communications in the following manner:
Forwarding a request for the City of Markham to complete the Municipal
Information Form.
(Change of ownership and application of a liquor licence for indoor
areas not previously licenced).
Carried
Forwarding a request for the City of Markham to complete the Municipal
Information Form.
(Change of ownership and application of a liquor licence for indoor
areas previously licenced).
Carried
(Motion Item No. 1)
Communications Addendum Communications
Communications providing comments regarding the motion entitled "Request the Government of Ontario to implement a foreign buyer's tax across the Province of Ontario similar to the City of Vancouver" received as follows:
1. Rebecca Wu
2. Moshe Dobner
3. Richard Sung
4. Dan Johnstone
5. Mike Gannon
6. Steve Lusk
7. John Stoneman
8. Margaret and Ray Cowan
9. Evelyn Johnston
10. Don Hobson
11. Marg Ferguson
12. Simon Jay
13. Tom and Sharon Little
14. D. Chen
15. Phil
16. Frank and Michelle Perry
17. Susan Keeble
18. David Atherton
19. Sheryl Wright
20. Brian Cloke
21. Yue Zhang
22. Donald Symonds
23. Ina-Marie Dobner
24. Debra Thomson
25. Darlene Marcellus
26. Todd Patterson
27. Jim Walker
28. Mike Winer
29. Yu Fu
30. Anne and Bruce Grubbe
31. Martin Wallace
32. Paul J. Larocque
33. Debbie Reynolds
34. Kamal Lee
35. Barbara and George Trendos
36. Victoria Tomev
37. Shao Sun
38. Sandra Moriarty
39. Ian Vaudry
40.
Jan Hughes
41.
Catherine and
Peter Steele
42.
Stephen Saunders
43.
David Allison
44.
Sturt Young
45.
P. Crisologo
46.
Roger Correia
47.
Angie Karas
48.
Beth & Gunter
Langhorst
49.
Al Eppich
50.
Jackie Sheridan
51.
Patrick Young
52.
Linda G.
53.
Ed Bulgin
54.
Alacoe MacTavish
55.
Tom Ka Leung Chan
56.
David Sweeney
57.
John Campbell
58.
Piat Allison
59.
Jun Liu
60.
Siobhan Covington,
President, Old Markham Village Ratepayers Association.
61.
Comments received
through Councillor Karen Rea's website
62.
Tom Ioannidis
63.
Hans Boehnke
64.
Debbie and Bill
Burton
65.
Michael Hayes
66.
Lee Anne Kuyt
67.
Paul Cicchini Jr.
68.
Elisabeth and
Anthony Tan
69.
Brenda Swenor
70.
Flora Li
71.
Steven Allman
72.
Elenora Pecchia
73.
Larry Cerqua,
President, Toronto Real Estate Board and Ray Ferris, President, Ontario Real
Estate Association
74.
Christiane
Bergauer-Free and Ian Free
75.
Kevin Li
76.
Elizabeth Brown
77.
Luyan (Ryan) Yan
78. Paul Dean
Carried
Forwarding a request for the City of Markham to complete the Municipal
Information Form.
(New premises and application of a new liquor licence for indoor
areas).
Carried
(Item No. 4, Report No. 4)
Communication received from Jobert Sevilleno, providing comments regarding the motion entitled "Procedural By-Law Amendments".
Carried
Moved by Regional
Councillor Nirmala Armstrong
Seconded by Councillor
Logan Kanapathi
1) That the following proclamations, issued by the City Clerk
in accordance with the City of Markham Proclamation Policy, be received for
information purposes:
- Canada Flag Day (February 15, 2017)
- Pakistan National Day
(March 23, 2017); and,
2) That the following new request for proclamation be approved
and added to the Five-Year Proclamations List approved by Council:
- International Women's
Day (March 8, 2017)
3) That the following
requests for flag to be raised at the Anthony Roman Markham Civic Centre
flagpole, approved by the City Clerk in accordance with the City of Markham
Community Flag Raisings & Flag Protocol Policy, be received for information
purposes:
- Flag for Canada Flag Day (February 15, 2017)
- Flag for Pakistan National Day (March 23, 2017).
Carried
There was no new/other business.
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor
Logan Kanapathi
That By-law
2017-4 be postponed; and,
That By-law 2017-5 be given three readings and enacted.
(Clause 1, Report No. 4)
Postponed
(Clause 4, Report No. 4) (Repeals By-law 2001-1)
Carried
Council
consented to add a confidential matter regarding an advice that is subject to
solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose
(Ward 1) as In-Camera Item No. 5.
Moved by Councillor
Don Hamilton
Seconded by Councillor
Karen Rea
That, in accordance with Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, Council resolve into an in-camera session to discuss the following matters (11:07 PM):
(1) MINUTES OF IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
-JANUARY 30, 2017 (16.0)
[Section 239 (2) (b) (c) (e)]
General
Committee - February 6, 2017
(2) ANIMAL
CARE COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES - DECEMBER 14, 2016 (16.0)
[Section 239 (2) (b)]
[Section 239 (2) (c)]
Development
Services Committee - February 13, 2017
(4) LITIGATION OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION, INCLUDING MATTERS BEFORE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS, AFFECTING THE MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL BOARD - CF/OT BUTTONVILLE PROPERTIES (WARD 2) (8.0)
[Section 239 (2) (e)]
Council
- February 13, 2017
(5) ADVICE
THAT IS SUBJECT TO SOLICITOR-CLIENT PRIVILEGE, INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS
NECESSARY FOR THAT PURPOSE (WARD 1) (10.0)
[Section 239 (2) (f)]
Moved by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
Seconded by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
That Council
rise from the in-camera session. (11:50 PM)
Carried
The in-camera
items were approved by Council as follows:
Moved by Councillor
Amanda Collucci
Seconded by Councillor
Logan Kanapathi
1) That the Council In-camera Minutes dated January 30, 2017 be confirmed.
Carried
Moved by Councillor
Valerie Burke
Seconded by Councillor
Alan Ho
1) That
the Animal Care Committee in-camera minutes dated December 14, 2016 be received
for information purposes; and,
2) That
the following recommendation from the December 14, 2016 Animal Care Committee
meeting be endorsed:
"That Council remove Pushprup Brar from the Animal Care
Committee."
Carried
Moved by Councillor
Karen Rea
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Nirmala Armstrong
1) That the confidential staff presentation on the Markham Village Town Square Concept dated January 23, 2017, be received; and,
2) That staff be
authorized to proceed as directed by Council on February 13, 2017.
Carried
Moved by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
Seconded by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
1) That
the confidential report titled “Legal Advice Regarding an Appeal by CF/OT
Buttonville Properties LP of an Application for Official Plan Amendment &
New Secondary Plan for Buttonville Airport Lands, 2833 16th Avenue,
Markham, File OP 11 115381,” be received; and,
2) That
the City Solicitor or her designate be directed to attend the OMB hearing to
support the settlement of the appeal by CF/OT Buttonville Properties LP,
including the approval of an amendment to the 1987 Official Plan, and a draft
Secondary Plan for the Buttonville West Planning District, conditional on
Minutes of Settlement being executed by the Appellant, the Region of York, and
the City; and further,
3) That
staff be authorized to proceed as directed by Council on February 13, 2017.
Carried
Council
consented to not report out on this matter.
Moved by Councillor
Logan Kanapathi
Seconded by Councillor
Karen Rea
That By-law 2017-6
be given three readings and enacted.
Carried
Moved by Councillor
Logan Kanapathi
Seconded by Councillor
Valerie Burke
That the Council Meeting be adjourned at 11:52 PM.
Carried
__________________________________ ________________________________
Kimberley
Kitteringham Frank
Scarpitti
City
Clerk Mayor
(Signed)