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Council in Brief: Sept. 20

Thunder Bay's city council tackles abandoned shopping carts, yard maintenance rules, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and more.
Thunder Bay City Hall

, THUNDER BAY – With all eyes on the federal election, Thunder Bay’s city council met Monday night, making stores responsible for abandoned shopping carts and recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (though it will only be a holiday for some city workers).

Councillors also set the scene for future decisions on whether to sell city-owned parkades, and potential loosening of yard maintenance bylaws to allow for naturalization and boulevard gardens.

 

Parkade sale nixed

A scheduled vote on whether to put two city-owned parkades up for sale ended in anti-climax Monday, with many councillors agreeing they lacked enough detailed information to make the decision.

Council is now set to decide the fate of the facilities in October. City staff indicated the parkades, which lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, remained valuable assets and were on a path to cut losses.

Read our full coverage

 

Abandoned shopping carts

Stores will be made responsible for abandoned shopping carts under a new city bylaw, endorsed in principle almost unanimously by city council Monday.

The new rules will require stores to submit plans to prevent theft and recover carts to the city and pay a fee to recover carts picked up by city staff.

Read our full coverage

 

Yard Maintenance By-law

The city will consider allowing residents more leeway to garden on city boulevards and naturalize their yards, following a citizen deputation Monday.

In her detailed presentation, local resident Kyla Moore told councillors the step could help beautify neighbourhoods, improve biodiversity and sequester carbon, and decolonize city bylaws.  

Other cities have adjusted bylaws to allow naturalization and boulevard gardens, while protecting against concerns like neglect, she said.

The proposed bylaw changes were referred to city administration for review.

 

City recognizes National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

A motion passed Monday will see Sept. 30 recognized by the city as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. That will see the city build on its previous recognition of Orange Shirt Day, committing to acknowledge the history of residential schools and share the stories of survivors.

The motion also committed the city to advocate for the provincial government to recognize the day, something Premier Doug Ford has said there are no plans to do after the federal government made it a statutory holiday for federally regulated workers earlier this year.

About half of city staff will be entitled to take it as a statutory holiday, thanks to provisions in their collective bargaining agreements entitling them to federal, as well as provincial, stat days.

City services like transit and recreation will be reduced or closed on Sept. 30.

Read our previous coverage

 

Enforcement bylaws under review

Council approved a plan for a wide-ranging overhaul of the city's enforcement bylaws, from yard maintenance standards and animal services to parking and fireworks.

The process will see the city update and make more publicly accessible a large number of bylaws between now and 2023, with changes coming to council for final approval.

 

Dease Street apartment rezoning approved

A 36-unit apartment is set to go ahead on Dease Street, directly south of the Centennial Botanical Conservatory, after council approved a zoning amendment recommended by city staff.

The change from Major Industrial to Mixed Use Zone 2 zoning will allow developer Frank Iazzolino to build a three- or four-storey building that could accommodate some commercial uses, like a medical office, as well as apartments.

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