REPORT ON COUNCIL
July 14, 2008
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:03 a.m. – 12:41 p.m. and 1:07 p.m. – 5:29 p.m.
Regular Evening Meeting: 7:00 p.m. – 7:27 p.m.
All Members of Council present.
CONFIDENTIAL / CLOSED SESSION: 4:13 p.m. – 5:28 p.m.
NO CHANGE TO NOISE BYLAW: The Township’s Noise Bylaw prohibits noise at any time that causes neighbours to complain. Last summer there were complaints from a neighbour of the Surf Restaurant in Balm Beach about its patio music.
At the June 9 meeting of Council, the owner of the Surf Restaurant asked Council to amend the Noise Bylaw and allow commercial businesses to present outdoor music June 1 – Labour Day, until 10 pm, every day except Sundays. He emphasized that the music would be “quality music.”
On July 14, the Business Association of Balm Beach introduced itself to Council, and spoke in support of patio music. And right after its presentation, a long-time resident of Balm Beach, Diane Leblovic, spoke in opposition to the proposed amendment. She had checked with neighbouring municipalities and learned that all of them have Noise Bylaws similar to that of Tiny. She expressed a range of concerns about the requested withdrawal of the protection of the Noise Bylaw. She also pointed out that a decision about the Noise Bylaw was premature and should be considered in the context of the Balm Beach Secondary Plan discussions.
Although staff would have preferred an amendment to the Noise Bylaw specifying what would be permitted in Balm Beach and what not, four members of Council felt that the current Bylaw that forbids excessive noise and that allows the Bylaw Department to exercise discretion ought to be sufficient. They urged the community to be reasonable regarding noise levels. They were reluctant to remove the protection of the Noise Bylaw and supported the status quo. Mayor Breckenridge seemed to favour an amendment permitting quiet patio music. She volunteered to serve as mediator between the Surf Restaurant and its neighbour should the need arise.
The decision was to have By-law Officers monitor the situation and enforce the current by-law.
PROGRESS AT BLUEWATER PARK: Dawn Lacroix of the Public Works Department and Eugene Chambers, Chair of the Bluewater Dunes Recreation Advisory Committee, reported on encouraging developments at Bluewater Park. The five-year restoration plan, now in its third year, is finally having an impact. Most of the planned walkways and wooden snow fences are now in place. The Township’s Public Works Department has constructed walkways with sturdy high handrails that serve as barriers to snowmobiles and ATVs. Also, once local owners of such vehicles read informative flyers distributed by the Committee, which explained that restoration of a sensitive environment was being attempted, they co-operated. As a result, vegetation has reestablished itself throughout the park and, encouraged by the walkways and snow fencing, a front row of sand dunes has begun to re-grow.
Educative signage is not yet in place. It awaits Strategic Plan decisions about “branding” and “signage.” (See the next entry.) Identification and replacement of non-native trees in the back or upper dune area has still to be undertaken. Fundraising by neighbouring beach associations is proceeding apace, and the Committee has been looking into grants that might be acquired.
More details of the plan are available on the Tiny Township website – tiny.ca – under Public Notices.
VISUAL IDENTITY/BRANDING FOR TINY TOWNSHIP: Niels Bjerno of McKinnon Calderwood showed Council examples of “branding” which promote product or business recognition through consistent use of colours, logos, style and the like. His review of the Township’s signage demonstrated that it is inconsistent in approach, dated in appearance and lacking a common theme.
This presentation is connected to one of Council’s Strategic Objectives – namely setting the Township’s style and creating a consistent look for signage, stationery and the like.
OFFICIAL PLAN PROPOSALS: Only two firms responded to the call for proposals from planning consultants to manage the five-year review of the Official Plan and to guide the Balm Beach Secondary Plan. As the costs suggested for the Secondary Plan were prohibitive, Doug Luker, Tiny’s Clerk/CAO, asked Council to read the Balm Beach Master plan and submit comments to him regarding what should be done next.
WOODLAND BEACH PARK EXPANSION REQUIRES CAREFUL CONSIDERATION: The Minutes for this meeting of Council record that the Public Works Manager’s recommendation that Woodland Beach Park be extended “to include the beach area, owned by the Township from Woodland Beach park to Block F, Plan 725 north of Tamarack Trail pending further discussion with the Woodland Beach Property Owners’ Association and a further report to Council.”
The Minutes say nothing about referring the expanded Park back to the consultant for additional work, though that had been an aspect of Council’s discussion. We note that if the Park’s area is enlarged a number of clauses in the Township’s Official Plan come into play, most notably B3.4.5 “Large Township Parks on the Western Shoreline,” which begins:
“If…additional waterfront land is deemed to be owned by the Township … Council shall carefully consider how the use of these lands should be managed to minimize the impact of that use, and the associated parking, on the environment and adjacent residential areas. On this basis, it is a policy of this plan that Council shall consult with affected residents and other stakeholders to determine how these lands should be planned and used.”
BEACH FENCE ISSUE: Council instructed staff to draft a letter to the Attorney General and the Solicitor General of Ontario “requesting both financial and mediation assistance in resolving current beach issues” in Tiny.
NOTE:
MONDAY, AUGUST 25 MEETING OF COUNCIL CANCELLED: This meeting could not be held as several members of Council are attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference that day.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 9 AM – NOON, WYEBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTRE: Presentation of Council’s Strategic Plans and Objectives followed by break out group reactions and input.
