Following the introduction of the 2024 Draft Budget on November 6th, Peterborough City Council convened for General Committee where they provided initial support for the continuation of feasibility studies related to a new Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre, a Community Planning Permit System, and adopted an important motion to recognize Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic.

Council also amended a by-law to extend the period for a temporary tenting encampment beside the soon-to-be-complete Modular Home Community at Wolfe Street.

The presentation from Sierra Planning included a Staff recommendation that Councillors support granting up to $65,000 to the firm to aid in the next phase of planning for the new event centre, which would include analysis of potential sites in the downtown. 

Jon Hack, Director of Sierra Planning and Management, provided an update on the work the firm has done at the request of Council to provide an update on the prospect of bringing a Multi-Use Sport and Event Centre to Peterborough. 

One of the main takeaways from the report is the reality that the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) would be extraordinarily expensive to renovate and bring up to Ontario Hockey League (OHL) standards. 

“Costs to add seating, meet accessibility and building code standards triggered by any large renovation project, and costs to overcome architectural restrictions of the original building are estimated to be $130-140M,” the report from Staff reads, noting that this cost estimate does not include the increased parking required and the need for a parking garage.

The context of the impending 9.59% tax rate increase loomed over the meeting, influencing the discussions Councillors had regarding plans for future development. 

“I literally just heard that, you know, we’re looking down the barrel of a 9.59% tax hike,” Councillor Matt Crowley said towards the end of Council’s discussion. “We need a new centre so badly, but do we need it that badly right now? That’s my only concern. It’s like the roof is on fire and we’re looking at how we can put a Ferrari in the parking lot.”

There is, however, a cost to delaying, which Hack spoke to during the presentation. Put succinctly, “the cost of doing nothing is not nothing.” 

“PMC is not the right venue for putting a wholesale re-investment to try and make it the building you need for the next 50 years,” Hack stated.

“I think that this was a tough one for me,” Councillor Alex Bierk said. “It's frustrating as a Councillor to continuously put a decision off and pay for that through the consultation.”

Since the initial feasibility report in 2018, Council has approved the construction of the twin-pads arena at Morrow Park and the city has seen the completion of the 407 extension to Highway 115. These factors have the effect of both narrowing the options for where the new event centre could be located in the city, while also increasing the market population for the new venue. 

Population growth in the surrounding communities of Bowmanville, Clarington, Oshawa, and Whitby have increased by between 8-16% since 2016. These communities, the Sierra Report notes, fall within a 50-minute driving radius from Peterborough, and contains an estimated population of more than 428,000 people as of 2022.

In the end, Councillors voted unanimously to accept the report which would allow the consultants to begin considering sites in the downtown for the new facility. 

Councillors also heard a report on the possibilities of exploring a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS). A CPPS is a provincially legislated tool which gives Cities the tools to streamline development approvals by combining zoning by-law amendments, site plan approvals, and minor variance requests into a single process

Acting Commissioner of Infrastructure, Michael Papadacos introduced the report by noting that “it represents another opportunity for our community to meaningfully address the housing supply crisis, while accelerating the development of more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable places.”

“We now must put the regulatory tools in place that will implement this vision of a Community Planning Permit System, or CPPS is one such tool,” Papadacos continued before David Riely of SGL Planning and Design, alongside Justine Giancola of Dillon Consulting presented Council with a fulsome overview of how this system might be implemented in Peterborough and the public consultation necessary prior to its being brought into force.

Councillor Keith Riel noted his hesitancy regarding how this would impact public consultation in particular.

“I’m elected by the taxpayers in the City of Peterborough to do a job for them,” he said. “I’m a big stickler that I think when we look at moving the City forward, the public should have a say in how their City should be built and when I was reading this, it looks like it’s taking them out of the equation.”

In response, Giancola noted that this report and the implementation would be in line with Peterborough’s Official Plan which “went through a number of consultations with key stakeholders” representing a number of different community members and representatives.

This sentiment was echoed in the Staff report and expands on it by noting the additional fact that “public consultation is required prior to implementing a CPPS By-Lw and any corresponding Official Plan Ammendment.”

The report goes on to note that “the preparation of a CPP By-law will involve robust/extensive consultation with the development community, public and Indigenous communities in determining the proposed flexibility in land use permissions and regulations intended to reflect Official Plan policies.” 

Ultimately, Councillors voted unanimously to give the go-ahead to the consultants to begin the initial stages of implementing a CPPS in Peterborough. 

The agenda also included a notice of motion from Councillor Joy Lachica concerning the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) across the country and asking for Council’s approval to declare IPV an epidemic.

“Women are 44% more likely to have reported some kind of abuse in the intimate partner relationship,” Lachica stated following the introduction of her motion, which included reading the names of women who were killed by their former partner in Renfrew County in 2015 and a resulting Coroner’s Inquest which urged the Ontario Government to declare IPV an epidemic as part of 86 recommendations.

In June of 2023, the Government of Ontario rejected this call, however since the release of the inquest over 30 municipalities have gone ahead with their own resolutions, including Burlington, Brantford, Timmins, North Bay, and Sudbury.

The motion was adopted unanimously following Mayor Jeff Leal and Councillor Dave Haacke voicing their recognition of the importance of this effort to recognize the impact of violence in the community.

Before the night was up, Council amended a by-Law which would extend the period of time for a temporary tent encampment in a zone located at Alymer and Wolfe Street. Previously, Council had enacted a by-law allowing tenting in the area which was set to expire on November 15th. 

A press release sent to media during the Council session notes that the city still plans to have people move into the modular homes currently being installed at Wolfe Street in November of 2023. 

The reason behind the by-law rests in the idea that “temporarily allowing tenting on the property at Aylmer and Wolfe streets is intended to assist with providing a clear and safe work environment for the construction and installation of the Modular Bridge Housing Community.”

Following the meeting, Mayor Jeff Leal addressed press questions concerning the extension to the period, he responded that this will buy the City more time as they wait to hear back about insurance and as Hydro One works to install electricity to the units. 

“This will give us a bit of latitude given the magnitude of this,” Leal continued before promising that “there will be a roof over everyone’s heads as we head into Winter.”