I’ve suggested that committee members’ contact information be made available to receive input from the public regarding accessibility concerns. Committees may not always be representative of persons with a range of disabilities.
as council’s new rep to the accessibility advisory committee, you may not be fully aware of the committee’s mandate. as i’ve mentioned before, i was not given the accessibility training materials that members of council received on november 29 but i’ve submitted an FOI request for them.
given the controversy of the proposed hotel, and accessibility/safety concerns affecting persons with disabilities involving the back stairs, i would urge the committee to select the site plans and drawings for the project.
also, as i’ve repeatedly raised the issue about the lack of reports included on the committee’s agenda, you should know that there are several empty links in tomorrow’s meeting agenda. I’ve also mentioned before that verbal reports, instead of attached reports, may pose a barrier. wouldn’t it be ironic if the committee that is supposed to remove barriers creates them?
The agenda for the first meeting of this year/term is now posted on the town’s website and contains empty links which to me indicates a lack of transparency and accountability.
I have suggested training in procedure and have raised the issue of empty agenda links with no attachments. I advised then-CAO Simmons of a recurring problem that i previously mentioned. The agenda contains links to no attachments; for those who are interested in observing the meetings, having to rely on audio without being able to read any documents is a barrier to participation and accountability.
Simmons responded, thank you for bringing them to our attention and we will endeavour to make improvements including not leaving links devoid of information.
And it continues with this agenda: I counted 14 empty links.
The public agenda is available to preview and, according to the Windsor Police Services Board website, meetings can be viewed online at the board’s Facebook page.
It would be so much more enjoyable, and less time consuming, if council meetings were conducted with more decorum – less speeches, personal anecdotes and repetitive comments and my pet peeve – staff appreciation. I understand the importance of council/staff relations, but offering kudos and thanking staff for a report? applauding staff for reading comments into the record?
As recently as the March 14 post, Open Air Post Review To Council, copied to council, I offered kudos to Councillor Pouget for consistently acknowledging the town’s legal obligation to comply with provincial legislation, specifically, the AODA and Human Rights Code.
At the April 17 meeting, Short Term Rentals, Councillor Pouget raised a concern regarding the accessibility issues: According to the provincial government guidelines do mention accessibility legislation, including the Human Rights Code for short term rentals. Pouget asked Mr. Tetler has that been taken into consideration?
Mr. Tetler said these properties would need to be brought into compliance with the Fire Code and the Ontario Building Code so he couldn’t speak to what each property would have at this time.
Councillor Pouget said she was basically referring to the Accessibility Act, according to the provincial government,
CAO Crtichley explained the Building Code has specifications for what has to be in properties to comply with AODA so these homes will need to be in compliance with the Building Code.
As I mentioned on March 13, the Human Rights Code has primacy over all other Ontario legislation.
I repeat today, kudos to Councillor Pouget for consistently acknowledging the town’s legal obligation to comply with provincial legislation, specifically, the AODA and Human Rights Code.
On March 14, Deputy Mayor Gibb spoke about his in-laws, as he did yesterday, in reference to where family members live, in Blue Mountain, and when they come to Amherstburg to visit his in laws.
As council’s rep on the Accessibility Advisory committee, Councillor McArthur should have advocated for the removal of barriers.
Councillor McArthur offered kudos to the bylaw department while Councillor Crain wanted to thank staff for their work on this. A staff member listed about twelve municipalities that were looked at. Shouldn’t all of the research been included in a ‘fulsome’ report so council was more informed?
Councillor Allaire shared her personal experience of what she prefers as a renter and was in favour of Option C.
I counted four members of council who encouraged people to continue contacting authorities to report disturbances.
The provincial guide for municipalities that are considering regulating home-sharing in their communities does mention accessibility and provincial legislation.
There is one delegation, Peggy Thompson, to provide some well researched input on Short Term Rentals.
Some Boblo Island residents have submitted a petition requesting any and all short term rentals be prohibited on the island.
A committee is recommended ‘to address any appeals’ but the report continues that the committee would have full authority to make decisions on applications and appeals relating to licensing matters.
The provincial guide for municipalities that are considering regulating home-sharing in their communities does mention accessibility and provincial legislation.
Ontario has laws to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a law that sets out a process for developing and enforcing accessibility standards.
Accessibility standards are laws under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation that government, businesses, non-profits and public sector organizations must follow to become more accessible. They help organizations identify and remove barriers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in 5 areas of daily life in the areas of transportation, customer service, employment, information and communications and in the design of public spaces.
Application
The AODA and its related accessibility standards applies to every person or organization that provides goods, services or facilities to the public or other third parties and that has at least one employee in Ontario. Accessibility requirements and deadlines depend on the type and size of your organization.
If an organization has one or more employees, the organization must adhere to the accessibility requirements under the AODA and its standards. Sole proprietors or self-employed individuals who do not have employees are exempt from having to comply with the AODA and its accessibility standards.
There also seemed to be some confusion regarding the Notices sent out for the Black Dog Entertainment application.
Councillor Pouget thanked Mr. Parks for his appearance and summarized their March 27 conversation and how she attempted to obtain answers, She asked if he received a letter from the town as he was supposed to regarding this?
Mr. Parks said he had not. It was Councillor Pouget’s understanding that three letters were mailed by Canada Post to the owners of all properties within 120 meters of the proposed development on March 15 2023; yet none of them have received it and they live immediately next door.
Mayor Prue then referred to a list showing every single one that was mailed out to, including every single unit in the Salmoni building.
Councillor McArthur asked if they could hear from staff and Mayor Prue wondered if the planner could explain and verify that these letters were sent out.
Chris Aspila, Dr. Planner, as he called himself, confirmed letters were mailed out March 15, 2023 by staff.
A member of the audience asked how many to 252 were mailed out?
Mayor Michael Prue said it was a reasonable question, how many went to the Salmoni building?
Dr. Planner said all of the letters that are indicated in the appendix showed the roll numbers and the information of who was notified by the staff; it’s attached to the report. Aspila then said the Planning Act notices were required to go to the condo Corporation rather than the individual property owners.
I found one on the list sent to 252 Dalhousie Street.
(a) by personal service or ordinary mail, to every owner of land within 120 metres of the subject land, subject to subsections (5) and (6); and
(b) by posting a notice, clearly visible and legible from a public highway or other place to which the public has access, at every separately assessed property within the subject land or, if posting on the property is impractical, at a nearby location chosen by the clerk of the municipality or the secretary-treasurer of the planning board. O. Reg. 545/06, s. 5 (4).
(6) For the purposes of clause (4) (a), if a condominium development is located within 120 metres of the subject land, notice may be given to the condominium corporation, according to its most recent address for service or mailing address as registered under section 7 of the Condominium Act, 1998, instead of being given to all owners assessed in respect of the condominium development. O. Reg. 545/06, s. 5 (6).
(7) Notice shall be given by publishing a notice in a newspaper that, in the opinion of the clerk of the municipality or the secretary-treasurer of the planning board, is of sufficiently general circulation in the area to which the proposed by-law would apply that it would give the public reasonable notice of the public meeting or open house, as the case may be. O. Reg. 545/06, s. 5 (7).
(8) Every person and public body that has given the clerk of the municipality or the secretary-treasurer of the planning board a written request for a notice to which this section applies (including the person’s or public body’s address, fax number or email address) shall be given notice by personal service, ordinary mail, fax or email. O. Reg. 545/06, s. 5 (8); O. Reg. 179/16, s. 2 (1).
There seemed to be some confusion at the April 11, 2023 Special Council Meeting regarding the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment for 256 Dalhousie Street.
The Notice stated that comments had to be submitted by Thursday, April 6, 2023 before the meeting and would be read aloud prior to the application being heard by Council.
Mr. Robert Brown, a professional planner, spoke at the April 11 meeting on behalf of some Salmoni building residents. Brown said he provided some information to council and wanted to summarize it. He referred to the town report that included several pages of support but it seemed to not include comprehensive feedback that he submitted on behalf of his clients on April 3.
Councillor Pouget asked about Mr. Brown’s submission; listen to the audio recording.
Brown said he sent a separate submission to planning on April 3. Councillor Pouget asked if council received his entire submission. Councillor Linden Crain said he trusted the clerk, that it’s in Sharepoint.
I requested, and received, a copy of Robert Brown’s report. I deleted personal information.
I requested the Windsor Police report regarding the proposed zoning by-law amendment for 256 Dalhousie Street, which CAO Critchley provided.
On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 3:06 PM, Renee Guthrie, Town of Amherstburg, emailed the following to local agencies, including Barry Horrobin, Windsor Police Service:
As per Planning Act regulations please find attached for your information and comment the circulation of a notice of public meeting and supporting documents for;
Proposed ZBA at 256 Dalhousie St.
Proposed ZBA and OPA for 320 Richmond St.
We will be holding the statutory public meeting on April 11th and would like to request you provide the Town with any comments you may have by March 22nd, 2023.
On March 17, 2023, 9:32 AM, Barry Horrobin emailed:
My comments for these two applications are as follows:
256 Dalhousie Street
The Windsor Police Service has no concerns or objections with the proposed Zoning By-law amendment for this property. The end result from this will not inhibit emergency response or police service delivery capability and is not anticipated to create any negative public safety consequences.
320 Richmond Street
The Windsor Police Service has no concerns or objections with the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments for this property. The end result from this will not inhibit emergency response or police service delivery capability and is not anticipated to create any negative public safety consequences.
I have requested a copy of the Windsor Police report by Barry Horrobin that formed the basis for his comments.
t’s now been one week since I requested a comment for my blog regarding Emails to council read by Administration about the history of this: For how long has this practice been occurring? When and why was it initiated and by whom?
it’s now been four weeks since I requested a description of the undue hardship the town would endure if all the Open Air barriers were to be removed so everyone could equally participate in the community, on and in publicly owned public spaces, as i explained on Monday, March 13, 2023.
