Apparently, the potential towers on the waterfront are your fault. That was the message coming through at last night’s city council meeting, where Burlington councillors unanimously voted to pass urban design guidelines for the Old Lakeshore Road precinct.
The guidelines are the final step in a long process that started years ago with the Official Plan and zoning bylaws which permit 6-15 storey towers along Old Lakeshore Road. Weren’t around then? Didn’t know this was happening? Your bad.
Councillors blamed the official plan, the zoning bylaws, previous councils, residents for not knowing more, and even the media for not covering this better – essentially everyone but themselves for the situation we now find ourselves in.
I was at the city council meeting last night to formally delegate, asking councillors not to pass the guidelines, and more importantly to begin a process to truly engage the community in a city-wide discussion about what our vision is for the waterfront. Three other residents also spoke against the guidelines, to no avail.
I presented our Save Our Waterfront petition asking council not to put towers on the waterfront, signed by 55 people from across the city in a 24-hour period. An additional 12 people wrote comments on this website opposing towers on the waterfront. Many others privately emailed me comments. Most of you had no idea this was in the works.
The city defended its process, saying it had gone “above and beyond” the legal requirements of public notification. Which begs the question – then why do so many of us not know, until now, that this is happening? The implication here is clear – if the city’s process is fine (which it isn’t) you are to blame for not knowing.
Only one councillor, John Taylor, acknowledged the city’s communication problem. “We still have a ways to go to improve communication,” he said last night. “I believe we could do more to communicate the changes that are coming.” He suggested devoting an issue of City Talk to downtown development, the Old Lakeshore Road precinct and a primer on Places to Grow, the legislation mandating intensification downtown.
I’ve written to thank him for his suggestions, and to offer my services to help.
Meanwhile, downtown councillor Peter Thoem said to those of us who delegated that our “alarmist fears are ill-founded,” and further said the city is “on the right track” with plans to develop the downtown.
Councillor Rick Craven said the downtown has been discussed “a dozen times” and the fact “the news media have just figured it out is an indictment of their process not our process.” (CHCH, the Post and the Spec covered last night’s meeting). Ergo, the media is to blame for not letting us know sooner.
Councillor Carol d’Amelio spoke about protecting the heritage properties (though the city has no formal plan to do so yet). Councillor Jack Dennison spoke about securing a footpath along the water, while acknowledging “we don’t totally control” what happens there. Councillor Rick Goldring said that height can be softened by street-level design. He also defended the city’s communication process.
What I didn’t hear anyone say is, “Yes, I am listening and I share your concerns about towers on the waterfront. Though many steps have already been taken that allow this to happen, I will investigate what can be done to change our course from now on, and to protect our waterfront.”
So that’s what I’m going to do. In the coming days and weeks, I will be talking to city staff, council, and others to determine what our options are going forward, what steps can be taken to set us on a new course to protect what Burlingtonians love about our city, and how to reverse the previous decisions which seem destined to destroy our waterfront.
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8 Comments
To Burlington Councillors, due process means either an increase in revenues, or listening to the lobbyists with the loudest, or most persistent voices, and one would get the impression that the previous precedent is merely old news. Possibly several of them have been offered suites at a preferred rate?
Toronto is now facing a realignment, after the “Tiny Perfect” previous Mayor, David Crombie, bowed to lobby pressure, and allowed condos on the waterfront.
Some, or perhaps all Councillors face replacement after this fiasco, during the next election.
I’m coming to this a little late. Thanks to all who signed the petition. My attention had been taken by the high rise condo to be built on the west side of the lakeshore area, on Maple Ave. – my son lives in the area. Although approved, this project seems to be on hold, so at least we have a reprieve.
Our waterfront area is a jewel. Toronto’s Harbourfront is beautiful too, but many people miss it as it is fronted – and hidden – by high rise condo buildings.
our family has always been very proud of our waterfront and of the way it has been visible to us, we do object to tall buildings blocking a natural asset that cannot be reclaimed.
It becomes clearly evident that the decision makers don’t live near the Downtown or have any concept of the area on a daily basis. The congestion of traffic alone makes it obvious to those who live here that further highrise in the core area simply won’t be viable.
How dare they engage in the same tactics and concepts that did not work elsewhere on the lake front. As our neighbours to the West (Toronto) are discovering undoing these mistakes is impossible.
This has all the makings of the Walmart debacle where we were told by our local Mayor and Council “it’s not our fault, we could not stop it”.
Yes you can and you should!
I have lived in Burlington for 65 years.
I am appalled at what has taken place on the Lakeshore.
Spencer Smith Park is a jewel, but did we need an ugly restaurant taking up space there, run by out of town restauranteurs and spoiling the view to the lake from the Cultural Centre. This restaurant also has free parking privileges in a publicly-owned park while the public pays to park.
The new ‘Pier’ (unfinished after 2 years) is a total waste of public funds. Couldn’t ll million dollars have been better spent on our health facilities.
As far as the highrises on the Lakeshore – what expert decided to have hundreds of units empty onto a two-lane road. Our Lakeshore, as we knew it, will soon be invisible and look like every other lakeside community which has been ruined by highrise buildings
and overdevelopment.
Well put Marianne. It’s so very sad that the people who are making the decisions on our behalf (or at least supposedly on our behalf) want to place blame on everyone else for their lack of responsiveness. Since when is it the media’s ‘responsibility’ to keep the public informed? Isn’t the media merely a medium to use by those who should be doing the informing?
In witnessing our council on other issues affecting Burlington residents, it’s become apparent to me that some major changes need to happen in order for the residents to actually get a voice, a true voice, not just the pointing of fingers.
This council demonstrates clearly why most citizens detest and distrust politicians. If they’d remove the blinkers, they could see examples in waterfronts all over the world of what to avoid – a wall of highrises. They could also see what has worked. Apparently Burlington’s politicians are too small – too ignorant, too stubborn? – to look. Either that or there is no vision or they’re motivated by something we don’t know. Traffic is gridlocked in the area and Burlington’s gimmicky lane arrangements might have been thought up by primary school kids. Finally someone understood the impracticality of putting a university in the downtown and now it seems we’re looking at something much worse in the way of people warehouses. They haven’t learned a thing and they’re using the same steamroller tactics they used before.
My husband and I agree that there has been a lack of communication re the height of buildings on the waterfront. I would like council to supply us with a list of their communications to establish if this is indeed our problem.
We have been residents of Burlington for 27 years and this is the first time that we have felt as though council was seriously trying to pull a serious fast one. Credit to John Taylor for accepting that the blame maybe wasn’t all ours.
Doreen and Les McCulloch