Minutes of Committee of the Whole - City Council

Council Chambers, 4th Floor, City Hall

Wednesday, December 09, 2020 at 9:00 A.m. - 12:00 P.m.

4th Floor City Hall

Present:

• Mayor Danny Breen
• Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary
• Councillor Maggie Burton
• Councillor Sandy Hickman
• Councillor Debbie Hanlon
• Councillor Deanne Stapleton
• Councillor Jamie Korab
• Councillor Ian Froude
• Councillor Wally Collins
• Councillor Shawn Skinner

Regrets:

• Councillor Dave Lane

Staff:

• Kevin Breen, City Manager
• Derek Coffey, Deputy City Manager of Finance & Administration
• Tanya Haywood, Deputy City Manager of Community Services
• Jason Sinyard, Deputy City Manager of Planning, Engineering & Regulatory Services
• Lynnann Winsor, Deputy City Manager of Public Works
• Cheryl Mullett, City Solicitor
• Elaine Henley, City Clerk
• Ken O'Brien, Chief Municipal Planner
• Shanna Fitzgerald, Legislative Assistant
• Kelly Maguire, Communications & PR Officer

Others

• Edmundo Fausto, Sustainability Coordinator
  Ryan Crewe, Operations Engineer
  David Crowe, Manager - Roads
  Garrett Donaher, Transportation Engineer
  Krista Gladney, Affordable Housing and Development Facilitator
  Judy Tobin, Manager - Housing

---

1.

Call to Order

2.

Approval of the Agenda

• Recommendation
  Moved By Councillor Stapleton
  Seconded By Councillor Korab

  That the agenda be adopted as presented.

  
  
  
  MOTION CARRIED (9 to 0)

3.

Adoption of the Minutes

3.1

Adoption of Minutes - November 25, 2020

• Recommendation
  Moved By Councillor Skinner
  Seconded By Councillor Hickman

  That the minutes of the meeting held on November 25, 2020 be adopted as presented. 

  
  
  
  MOTION CARRIED (9 to 0)

4.

Presentations/Delegations

5.

Finance & Administration - Councillor Dave Lane

6.

Public Works & Sustainability - Councillor Ian Froude

6.1

Regional Water Reserve Fund Purchase – Replacement Southlands Pump

It was requested that the Regional Water Equipment Replacement Reserve Fund be used for the purchase of a replacement Southlands pump at the Ruby Line Pump Station. The existing pump failed and must be replaced. The total estimated cost to supply and deliver a replacement Southlands pump is $84,650.00 (HST Extra).

• Recommendation
  Moved By Councillor Froude
  Seconded By Councillor Collins

  That Council approve access to funding from the Regional Water Equipment Replacement Reserve Fund to support the purchase of this equipment.

  
  
  
  MOTION CARRIED (9 to 0)

6.2

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Host Application

The City of St. John’s is applying to Newfoundland Power for locations to place Electric Vehicle rapid (Level 3) charging stations through a land lease agreement. Next steps include submission of the proposal for Newfoundland Power to consider placing EV Charging stations at Bowring Park and Bannerman Park parking lots.

It was questioned if there were other locations available for placement of the charging stations. Alternative sites were reviewed which included parks and City recreation sites and the best possible scenarios were chosen for this application.

For a site to be suitable, it must meet the following criteria:

1. Be located no further than 150 meters from a three-phase distribution line with sufficient excess capacity. Available excess capacity will be determined by Newfoundland Power;
2. Be located directly adjacent to a major route;
3. Be visible and accessible from the road;
4. Be large enough to allow for two designated parking spots for EVs (approximately 2.75 meters by 6 meters each); and
5. Have ample land adjacent to the parking spots for equipment (approximately 4 meters by 10 meters long).

A review of available City properties that match these criteria resulted in a proposal for Newfoundland Power to consider placing EV Charging stations at Bowring Park and Bannerman Park parking lots.

Federal funding opportunities may be available, and more information will follow later.

6.3

Winter Design Standards for Residential Developments

Council was presented information about the new Winter Design Division for residential developments as outlined in the Development Design Manual as per the attached decision note.

The new Winter Design Division was developed to address the limitations of the Snow Volume Calculation. It accounts for items such as elevation, road width, community mailboxes, fire hydrants, and more closely represents winter conditions. This design process combines the City’s snow storage requirements with the residential homeowner’s snow storage requirements to provide an adequately spaced shared snow storage area in the homeowner’s front yard. This design standard is applicable to all elevations and snow volumes and is intended for use city-wide.

This design standard may result in less building lots or larger building lots than the developer initially proposes. However, City staff feel that by adhering to this design standard for new developments both the City and the eventual homeowner will have adequate space to satisfactorily store snow. This will lead to less frustration and complaints from residents and less cost to the City’s snow clearing operations. Councillor Burton requested that a document with alternatives for snow storage be offered to developers to advise them of creative ways to store snow. 

The full Winter Design Division will be reviewed for full adoption with the new Envision Regulations. 

7.

Community Services - Councillor Jamie Korab

8.

Special Events - Councillor Shawn Skinner

9.

Housing - Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary

10.

Economic Development - Mayor Danny Breen

11.

Tourism and Culture - Councillor Debbie Hanlon

12.

Governance & Strategic Priorities - Mayor Danny Breen

13.

Planning & Development - Councillor Maggie Burton

13.1

28 Eric Street - REZ1900015

The City has received an application from Habitat for Humanity NL for three Townhouses at 28 Eric Street. The property is zoned Open Space (O), where Townhouses are not a listed use. The applicant has asked to rezone the property to the Residential High Density (R3) Zone which allows Townhousing as a Permitted Use. A Municipal Plan amendment is not required because the land is already designated as Residential Medium Density. The rezoning is proposed only for the land where the Townhouses will be developed. The community gardens will remain zoned as Open Space (O). The subject property is a grassed area with some trees and shrubs, rising up from Eric Street toward the rear yard of the commercial property at 301 Hamilton Avenue. The property at 28 Eric Street is owned by the City of St. John’s, which acquired it from Laurier Club Limited in December 1978. It was originally the rear yard of what is now 301 Hamilton. To the west side is an area being used as a community garden.

The City’s Affordable Housing Strategy seeks to identify land for affordable housing and to support partners to develop it. As part of that, Council approved the subject property for potential redevelopment as affordable housing. A letter of intent was signed with Habitat for Humanity NL on September 23, 2019, outlining Council’s intent to gift the property to them, subject to successful rezoning, development approval, and collaboration with the Eric Street Community Garden. The City will retain ownership of the community garden land.

There have been many stages of engagement prior to this application coming to Council but area residents felt they were not involved in the initial consultations. Council was advised of concerns that have been raised by area residents including preexisting ground water issues. After considerable discussion, it was determined that the ground water issues are located on City owned land that is not part of the development and a project would be required fix those issues. Further information is needed, and public engagement is necessary. 

• Recommendation
  Moved By Councillor Burton
  Seconded By Deputy Mayor O'Leary

  That Council consider a proposed rezoning of the eastern portion of 28 Eric Street from the Open Space (O) Zone to the Residential High Density (R3) Zone, and that the application be advertised and referred to a virtual Public Meeting chaired by an independent facilitator.

  
  
  
  MOTION CARRIED (10 to 0)

14.

Transportation and Regulatory Services - Councillor Sandy Hickman

14.1

Traffic Calming Policy - Discussion on Review

A review of the City’s Traffic Calming Policy is underway. Prior to preparing a public engagement strategy, staff are seeking commentary from Council on several key areas of the policy to better understand the broad goals and outcomes Council are interested in exploring.

The discussions outlined in the attached information note outline a variety of areas under which change may be made to the current policy. Changes in these areas could express different values and lead to different projects being prioritized and completed. New or different considerations will be incorporated in the process of policy review as they are identified.

During discussion, the following points were raised:

• Concern was raised about the exclusion of non-local traffic. Shortcutting leads to speeding and there are areas around the City that have been identified in the past as problematic. Removing this as a factor will impact being able to identify speeding as a problem.
• There are locations with high traffic due to schools in the area or activities that take place nearby. 
• Road designs must be considered in the development stage of roadways. Roads that are widely built encourage speeding.
• Concern was raised about the appropriate timeframe involved in speed calming trials and the engagement and education of the public during implementation of those projects. 
• Education should be provided to residents who request traffic calming to address the expectations surrounding traffic calming and enforcement of speed within the City.
• All speeds within the City should be 30-40 km/hr. Public consultation should include asking people what the goal or purpose of the policy is.
• The City should consider redesigning streets to create a safer environment as funding allows. The City should make it difficult to speed on wide/long roads to ensure the safety of residents. 
• This policy provides a good avenue and a good medium for community driven concerns to be considered on technical merit.
• If an outside body is hired to do part of this work, it should be done post engagement to allow review of the allocation of funds required.
• Concern was raised around traffic calming creating a false sense of security/safety to people. People drive fast and do not obey speed limits or follow the rules of the road. There is no guarantee with traffic calming measures in place that streets are going to be safer.
• Traffic calming measures can create safety issues in the City. For example, there is concern around the width of the street when snow falls at the intersection of Garrison Hill and Queen's Road.

Council members will email staff with their comments by the end of the next week. A subsequent meeting will follow to discuss the feedback received from Council before public engagement is pursued.

15.

Other Business

16.

Adjournment

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:48 am.