That Spaces be approved and recognized as the City’s Parks Plan pursuant to the requirements of the Planning Act, as outlined Infrastructure Services Department staff report INS-2022-224; and,
That the updated Park Dedication By-Law Chapter 273 and Park Dedication Policy be approved, as amended, in the form shown in “Proposed Park Dedication By-Law (2022)” and “Proposed Park Dedication Policy (2022)”, attached to Report INS-2022-224 as Attachment “C” and Attachment “D”; and,
That staff be directed to work with the school boards to explore shared use agreements that provide for a common understanding of where public use can be supported on existing school board lands, and where school board use of public parks may occur; and,
That staff be directed to continue to work with agencies such as Kitchener Wilmot Hydro and Hydro One in managing areas of transmission corridors to support and link a planned park and open space system, and continue to work with partners such as Chicopee Ski Hill and the Grand River Conservation Authority to enhance the City’s parks and open space system; and,
That staff be directed to identify specific properties of interest for acquisition or repurpose (in the event lands are identified that are in public ownership) to address identified Critical Needs Areas and bring these forward when opportunities exist to Council; and,
That staff be directed to incorporate relevant directions from Spaces into the City’s Official Plan through its next review; and,
That staff be directed to consider, prior to the sale of any City-owned property, that such property be considered for use as parkland in any community having a high or critical need for parkland acquisition, in equal consideration with affordable housing and economic development; and,
That staff be directed to remove the downtown exemptions for parkland dedication requirements such that all development within the downtown will be subject to parkland dedication requirements; and,
That staff be directed to investigate and bring a report to Council before the 2024 budget cycle on other ways in which parkland acquisition might be advanced and funded, including exploring tools such as a special tax program that would support the Parkland Reserve fund to acquire parkland above and beyond the tools proposed in Spaces and the Parkland Dedication Bylaw; and further,
That the proposed Places & Spaces report be amended so that no parkland dedication requirements be charged to any supportive or highly subsidized (rent geared to income) affordable housing projects as part of this new plan.