Minutes
Environment, Transportation & Public Safety Standing Committee
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Councillor Kaschak commends administration for a thorough report.

Councillor McKenzie inquires whether other municipalities are utilizing the green bonds. Ms. Richters indicates that the City of Ottawa utilize it for their LRT system.

Councillor McKenzie inquires about the district energy proposal and the capacity to reach targets. Ms. Richters indicates the next stage will be a City Wide assessment to determine feasibility.

Councillor McKenzie inquires about Bio-solids in partnership with the Solid Waste Authority. Mark Winterton, City Engineer appears before the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee regarding the administrative report, “Acceleration of Climate Change Actions in response to the Climate Change Emergency Declaration – City Wide” and indicates discussions are ongoing with the EWSWA regarding amending the current agreement regarding organics as it will be a mandatory collection in the future Province Wide.

Councillor McKenzie inquires about the cost of the Municipality of doing nothing and the return on investment. Ms. Richters indicates that energy conservation will cost the City and the Community and if we don’t mitigate now, the impact will be even more severe as every dollar invested will save the City utilizing mitigation and adaptation together. Ms. Karina indicates that the flood impacts have been felt in Windsor as per the information received on some surveys and the costs to the community are high and adds that the costs go beyond economic costs and include social costs, mental health costs and others.

Councillor McKenzie inquires about funding. Ms. Richters provides details related to funding and administration hopes to leverage grants to move forward with priority actions.

Councillor McKenzie requests clarification on recommendation 8 related to Delegation of Authority. Ms. Richters indicates some actions can proceed through DOA although some require Council resolutions.

Councillor Costante requests clarification related to Green bonds. Mr. Colucci provides details related to the Green bonds and their favourable interest rates.

Administration provides information related to planning and climate change looking forward to future growth and planning. She adds that the current Official Plan does not include a great deal related to climate change and zoning by-laws are being considered to guide development. Ms. Richters indicates they want to integration climate change and adaptation to make the process better. The future growth of neighbourhoods will be considered to take a more holistic approach and not hamper innovation.

Councillor Francis inquires about an existing template. Ms. Richters indicates they are using best practices that we can learn from and adds that all areas are unique and a local lens must be applied to adaptation and mitigation.