Tag Archives: Council

Talk about Trees: Private Tree By-law Study

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March 28, 2013

Spring is coming and soon the trees will be green again and we will be enjoying the outdoors. It is timely now, to talk about trees in Burlington and the City’s review of a private tree by-law.

Some background: Last spring and summer I heard from many residents concerned about the loss of trees and cutting of mature trees in their neighbourhoods. More recently, the potential loss of trees as part of a development proposal in the downtown area has become a concern for many local residents.

Unfortunately, trees are often lost as the result of development and construction. UrbanForest1It is interesting to consider if discussions about development would be framed differently if Burlington had a private tree by-law in effect. As a maturing city, continuing to grow within our urban limits, we can expect this issue to come before us again.

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Working Towards a 22nd Century City

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March 19, 2013

On March 18, City Council approved the City’s 2013 operating budget. We approved a 3.46 % tax rate increase plus a further 1% increase in the levy for the redevelopment of Joseph Brant Hospital.

Combined with the Regional portion and the education portion of the property tax bill, the overall property tax rate increase is 2.07 %.

This year’s budget includes:

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Two memos for Community Services Committee February 27: Recognizing Burl-Oak Naval Veterans and Furthering Transparency

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February 25, 2013

I have submitted two memos to Community Services Committee this week. Both are important, for different reasons:

1. It is my honour to support a request from the Burl-Oak Naval Veterans to Name the Promenade in Spencer Smith Park Naval Veterans Walkway. The Naval Ships Memorial monument in Spencer Smith Park is regarded as one of the 12 best war memorials in Canada, attracting visitors from across the globe. Please have a look at the memo and letter.

2. In the spirit of openness and transparency, I have brought forward a memo listing the Activities Involving the Office of the Mayor during my current term of office. Following some questions from other members of Council regarding these activities, I am providing information regarding my level of participation, the funds raised and their intended purpose.

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December 2012 Progress Report

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December 17, 2012

Last month I began linking both the upcoming committee agendas and the City Committee Highlights to my monthly progress report to facilitate quick access for you to view the issues being addressed and the resulting decisions by Council. I have received good feedback on this and will continue to make this one of the first pieces in my reports.

Council Decisions

December has been another busy month as we completed our final city Council Meeting for 2012 on December 10, and our final Regional Council meeting on December 12.  The last cycle of Committee Meetings for the City addressed many items.

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November 2012 Progress Report

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November 14, 2012

One of the challenges residents have is sorting through the reports generated for Committee and Council to understand what the issues being addressed by Council are and the results of Committee and Council deliberation.

A pilot was started in October to report in a better way the activities of Council. This can be found in the Agenda and Minutes web page on the City Web site. This is an excellent way for residents to view the issues being addressed and the resulting decisions.

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