Below are the 3 design options and location options for the Northwood Business Park $800,000 sign  project being Report ED-23-118
pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=12568 

Below is location may where staff recommend the temporary public art photograph display be located in Ed Broadbent Waterfront Park
Report ED-23-125 pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=12573

This evening's Planning Act public meeting had two pretty smart looking 22 and 21 story apartment building proposals for the downtown.

The 22 story one is at 88 King St West (former roller derby site) with 220 condo apartments  Picture renderings of the building are below.

The application submitted by GHD on behalf of 2702758 Ontario Ltd. for lands at 88 King Street W.  is for a mixed-use building containing 220 residential apartment units ( 142 one bedroom units - 72 two-bedroom units - 6 three-bedroom units) 180 bicycle spaces and commercial space in two ground floor retail units.  (There is an error in the report (ED-23-120) where it states 200 parking spaces - the GHD consultant told the Committee the parking space number should read 176.)

The request is to amend the Oshawa Official Plan to add a site specific policy to permit a proposed residential density of 1,467 units per net hectare; and to amend Zoning By-law 60-94 by rezoning the lands from CBD-A.T25 (Central Business District) to an appropriate site specific CBD-A (Central Business District) Zone, to implement the proposed development with site specific conditions to permit certain performance standards such as, but not necessarily limited to, increased residential density and building height and reduced parking and building setbacks to street lines above 12m in height.

HIGHER DENSITY
The Oshawa Official Plan guideline indicates that High Density II in the Residential category generally permits 150 to 550 units per hectare (60 to 223 u/ac.) within the Downtown Oshawa Urban Growth Centre.
However, the density for this project is proposed to have a net residential density of 1,467 units per hectare (593 u/ac.) which is greater than the High Density II Residential classification.

HIGHER BUILDING HEIGHT
The current zoning would permit a new mixed use building with a maximum height of 25 metres (82 ft.) (generally 8 storeys)
The application is for 22 storeys.
The proposed building includes parking on three aboveground levels and a mezzanine
incorporated into the podium of the building with driveway access from McMillan Drive.
The proposed building also includes the following features:
 A rooftop garden/amenity area on the fifth floor;
 A rooftop amenity area on the roof of the tower;
 Private balconies along the east, west and south elevations for each apartment unit;
 Communal indoor amenity spaces; and,
 Storage lockers.

The Applicant is proposing to install and utilize an automated parking system. 
To park their vehicle using the automated system, drivers would first drive their vehicle into an elevator device, then exit the vehicle and use a control panel to automatically park the vehicle on the mezzanine level and floors 2 to 4 in a stacking system.

To retrieve their vehicle, drivers would use a control panel and their vehicle will be automatically retrieved in an elevator. The driver would then get in the vehicle and drive out.

This feature allows more parking to be provided over the same floor area than a traditional parking structure that utilizes ramps.
Here is a link to the Report: https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx...

__________________________________________________________________

The 2nd proposed apartment building, 21 stories high, 198 units, at 10 Mary St, is behind the 7 storey 70 King St East (former Genosha Hotel). It actually is a revised application to the one made last year, but with an improved 'Smart' new look, one that frames the former Genosha making 70 King St. E. look even more special!

What a turn around! I said previously I was not keen at all on the infill project previously proposed, but now, it seems a much more promising project, one to bring new vibrancy to the downtown streetscape. . Here's a link to the report pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=12577&fbclid=IwAR3oQhK27WMG803jCkmawbugqE7BLyxE5rV-mJWnfie-OjUXszLnz6kRiu0

This, imo, is unfortunate. "Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch called it “disturbing” that the provincial government shot down legislation that would have allowed municipalities to essentially fire city council for bad behaviour. The province decided not to do anything at all,” he said.

This bill has come forward for the second time, the exact same bill. It was passed unanimously in the Legislature previously. But Wednesday, he said “all the Conservatives voted against it — all the other parties spoke in favour of, spoke about the need for it.”

“We’ve seen time and again in this province councillors get away with absolutely disgusting and egregious behaviour...When councillors who commit such acts are not held to account, it denies justice for those who’ve been harassed and creates an environment that prevents others from coming forward. He said without that legislation, local leaders can operate by a different set of rules when they should be held to a much higher standard...when councillors who have harassed municipal staff or their fellow councillors can retain their positions, no matter how serious, it creates and protects toxic workplaces; which in turn has an adverse effect on mental health in the workplace and throughout the community.”

But, go figure, the majority of Oshawa Council REFERRED IT TO STAFF (which I commented on previously on my blog) —it is not the sort of matter to refer to staff, it is like a confidence vote, a personal, subjective matter specifically for those in municipal elected office...

imo the referral to staff was like ducking going on record making a decision to support or not support, which was odd considering
1) that 156 municipal Councils in Ontario gave their endorsement of Bill 5 including Oshawa's neighbouring municipalities, the City of Pickering, Town of Ajax and Town of Whitby; and
2) Oshawa's 6 Regional Councillors (who make up a majority of Oshawa's 11 member Council) gave their unanimous support at Region Council in April, but less than a week later would not confirm their support when I asked at the May 1st Oshawa Council meeting.
​
www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2023/06/02/failed-legislation-would-have-defended-the-defenceless-from-abuse-by-elected-officials-says-proponents.html?fbclid=IwAR2YU-euzix2jUwRmEz7VkYvtN3oxWBqupWo6mYeyQXZHZ7cAXH3JwKoWgk

The rainbow pride flag was launched in 1977 when gay politician Harvey Milk had activist Gilbert Baker design "something positive that celebrated queer love. Inspired by Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow," each color has symbolism: Hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic/art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit".  

Pink and turquoise were removed for production purposes, and the six-band version, simply known as the “Gay Pride” flag, has been the most well-recognized symbol of the LGBT movement since 1979.  As the original designer advocated for its evolution over the years there have been some redesigns. Today, there are over 50 flags representing various subgroups among the 2S+LGBTQI community.

​In 2017, Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs introduced black and brown stripes to the Pride flag to recognize queer and trans people of color. One year later, the Oregon-based graphic designer Daniel Quasar added the trans flag’s stripes as a horizontal chevron to make the Progress Pride Flag.  2021 brought another version from Intersex Equality Rights UK, featuring a yellow triangle and purple circle to represent the intersex community, or people born with a reproductive anatomy that doesn’t fit typical male or female definitions.
​(from 2021 article in The Atlantic").

THE ACRONYM  2SLGBTQI+
from the Canadian government website on gender equality — " 2SLGBTQI+ is the acronym used by the Government of Canada to refer to the Canadian community.
2S: at the front, recognizes Two-Spirit people as the first 2SLGBTQI+ communities;
L: Lesbian;
G: Gay;
B: Bisexual;
T: Transgender;
Q: Queer;
I: Intersex, considers sex characteristics beyond sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression;
+: is inclusive of people who identify as part of sexual and gender diverse communities, who use additional terminologies."

This June 5th 6:30 p.m. Economic and Development Committee Planning Act public meeting will take place in the Council Chamber, Oshawa City Hall, 50 Centre Street S.  It is also available to view on-line from the link on the Council & Committee meetings Calendar

The application submitted by GHD on behalf of 2702758 Ontario Ltd. is for lands at 88 King Street W. The proposed development of the site is for a new 22 storey mixed-use building containing 220 residential apartment units ( 142 one bedroom units - 72 two-bedroom units - 6 three-bedroom units)  200 parking spaces, 180 bicycle spaces and commercial space in two ground floor retail units.

The request is to:

1. Amend the Oshawa Official Plan to add a site specific policy to permit a proposed residential density of 1,467 units per net hectare; and,
2. Amend Zoning By-law 60-94 by rezoning the lands from CBD-A.T25 (Central Business District) to an appropriate site specific CBD-A (Central Busines District) Zone, to implement the proposed development with site specific conditions to permit certain performance standards such as, but not necessarily limited to, increased residential density and building height and reduced parking and building setbacks to street lines above 12m in height.
   
   HIGHER DENSITY
   The Oshawa Official Plan guideline indicates that High Density II in the Residential category generally permits 150 to 550 units per hectare (60 to 223 u/ac.) within the Downtown Oshawa Urban Growth Centre.
   However, the density for this project is proposed to have a net residential density of 1,467 units per hectare (593 u/ac.) which is greater than the High Density II Residential classification.
   
   HIGHER BUILDING HEIGHT
   The current zoning would permit a new mixed use building with a maximum height of 25 metres (82 ft.) (generally 8 storeys)
   The application is for 22 storeys.
   
   The proposed building includes parking on three aboveground levels and a mezzanine incorporated into the podium of the building with driveway access from McMillan Drive.
   
   

The proposed building also includes the following features:

• A rooftop garden/amenity area on the fifth floor;
•  A rooftop amenity area on the roof of the tower;
•  Private balconies along the east, west and south elevations for each apartment unit;
•  Communal indoor amenity spaces; and,
•  Storage lockers.
  
  The Applicant is proposing to install and utilize an automated parking system for 186 parking spaces out of the 200 spaces being provided for the residential component of the development.
  
  To park their vehicle using the automated system, drivers would first drive their vehicle into an elevator device, then exit the vehicle and use a control panel to automatically park the vehicle on the mezzanine level and floors 2 to 4 in a stacking system.
  To retrieve their vehicle, drivers would use a control panel and their vehicle will be automatically retrieved in an elevator. The driver would then get in the vehicle and drive out.
  
  This feature allows more parking to be provided over the same floor area than a traditional parking structure that utilizes ramps.
  
  Here is a link to the Report: https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=12576

 

At Council Monday May 29th, the City announced the upcoming retirement of Oshawa Fire Chief Derrick Clark and appointment of Deputy Chief Stephen Barkwell effective August 1, 2023

​Pictured: Chief Clark on left, middle is Deputy Chief Barkwell with his wife and mother, on right is Deputy Chief Todd Wood.

The Columbus Report ED-23- 117 is now on the City's website. It contains the "Columbus Part II Plan" which staff want added to the City's Official Plan for the redevelopment of the Columbus area.

Anyone wishing to speak or write their comments/objections to the Committee before the Monday meeting must email clerks@oshawa.ca by Friday June 2, 2023 BEFORE NOON.

Since the last public meeting there are many changes. The unfortunate key differences between the proposed Columbus Part II Plan presented a few short weeks ago at the March 6, 2023 Planning Act public meeting and the one this month involves a significant REDUCTION IN PARKLAND!

• The Community Park has been reduced in size from 12.0 hectares (29.6 ac.) to 8.5 hectares (21.0 ac.);
• All Neighbourhood Parks have been reduced from either 4.1 hectares (10.1 ac.) or 2.1 hectares (5.2 ac.) to 2.0 hectares (4.9 ac.) in size; and,
•There is no longer a Neighbourhood Park I and Neighbourhood Park II designation. There is now only one standard Neighbourhood Park designation.
•One public elementary school and one public secondary school have been deleted and replaced with appropriate residential designations.

The pictures (below) show the revisions. Comparing them does not install much confidence.

In the City's Official Plan, the Columbus Part II Plan will follow the other Part II Plans, starting back in the late 1990s when the Taunton Part II Plan was added, then in the early 2010s the Windfields Part II Plan, and in 2022 the Kedron Part II Plan, and now, more rushed, with more densification and regrettably now with 2 school sites removed and PARKS that are SMALLER AND FEWER.

The Report is 212 pages and on the Economic Development Services Committee meeting Agenda for Monday, June 5, 2023 at 1:30 pm
If you have any questions the City is directing you to ask planner Laura Moebs 905 436-3311 Ext 2818

Again, anyyone wishing to speak or write their comments/objections to the Committee before the Monday meeting must email clerks@oshawa.ca by Friday June 2, 2023 BEFORE NOON.

When one area resident wrote me that although she has objections and contacted planning, her "objections seem irrelevant as are all these meeting." I wrote back to please keep trying and that it would be helpful if the Council Chamber was full with residents saying it doesn't really seem public interest is being best advanced here.

I added that in my opinion this Part II plan should be done in a very improved way from all the other Oshawa Part II Plans. but unfortunately they involve the same players, who are comfortable continuing on their same path.

Besides, why rush with the lands north of the 407, given the MEGA NUMBER of new projects percolating in the background, and planned in the downtown with the large number of high rise residentials, in south Oshawa with 2 MAJOR PROJECT APPROVALS, and with all kinds of infill sites else-where in the City, plus the 11 KEDRON PLANS OF SUBDIVISION, and the Windfields projects underway where you can see 5 cranes on Simcoe St. N. just south of Costco.

What seems very telling recently across Durham Region was the number of developer contributions to election candidates in 2022. They more than doubled from the 2018 election. Who wonders why that occurred...maybe because this 1st half of 2023 has been when the Region was approving its new Official Plan 'Envision Durham' and various tracts of lands instantly became more valuable with approval by the elected.

This, imo, is not as simple as saying the government and developers are 'planning for future growth needs' and anyone questioning is a nimby or has their head in the sand. Those may be handy marketing phrases that set up a dichotomy but ignore the old adage 'follow the money'. 

Recap of yesterday's Oshawa Council Meeting - the ask was to waive the rules and introduce a motion CONCERNING the E-SCOOTER PROGRAM. The Votes were: Councillor McConkey Yes, Councillor Neal Yes, and then No and No and No and No and No and No and No and No.

To me, the issue was improving safety. But the Council Procedural Rules for a reconsideration of a previous Council decision do not allow the matter to be spoken to until a reconsideration vote passes.

It ended with the public having no way of finding out what the motion stated and what objections the Mayor and other Council members had against looking into ways to make the e-scooter pilot program safer. The Mayor didn't read the motion out loud, and I was not permitted to  read it. 

How does the public interpret two member of Council saying yes to opening the discussion and 8 saying no.

The 8 Nos from the Mayor and Councillors (one Councillor missed the meeting) imo amount to a convenient way to keep a lid on things, it's like on the Mayor's signal they were all chiming in unison, saying "we are not having this conversation".

Some of the public may have read the comments in the paper that the Mayor wont say anything because there is an ongoing police investigation.

But really, having the City investigate the program for ways to make it safer is separate and distinct from the police investigation of the fatality.

... and what exactly is the problem with asking for a TIME OUT, a PAUSE,...to those who are afraid of a ban, this program wasn't even active in Oshawa 6 weeks ago so who is over-reacting? and when did a PILOT PROGRAM become something you can't suspend for time to answer pertinent questions and try to fix.

If the shared e-scooter program is 'potentially dangerous' the faster it is improved the more responsible the City is by doing what is right, protecting others in a timely way...because increasing safety reduces liability. Elected representatives should never resort to a CYA process when there is a choice between safety and liability. A choice that continues to risk public safety increases liability. I think this is risk management 101. Respond, analyze, plan for uncertainty.

Below is the motion I placed in front of each Council member before the May 29th, 2023 Council meeting commenced:

Picture taken today of Bird Canada e-scooters available to rent at the N/E corner of Harmony Rd. E (60km) & Taunton Rd. E. (60 km )
Note e-scooters in Oshawa are prohibited both from being driven on sidewalks, and on roads over 50km, so why are they placed here?

For Council to investigate the shared e-scooter pilot program, a 2/3rds vote of Oshawa Council is required.
The motion below hopefully can be heard tomorrow, if the vote to waive the rules to allow it is approved:

"Whereas in June 2022 Council approved a shared e-scooter pilot program in the City of Oshawa, which was launched with Bird Canada and Neuron on April 25, 2023;

Whereas a tragedy occurred May 17, 2023 with the death of a young Oshawa woman while driving a shared e-scooter in the Taunton Rd. E and Harmony Rd. N area;

Whereas many public safety questions of the pilot project are being raised, regarding the preparedness of the e-scooter drivers and vehicle drivers; the wearing of helmets, the high risk areas in the City that should be marked or geofenced; and the enforcement of the program rules and regulation by the vendor/city and Durham Region Police;

Now therefore Council suspend the e-scooter pilot program while City staff, the Vendors and Durham Region Police investigate whether the program can be made safer."

Obituary Information here: 
www.makfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=27967148&fbclid=IwAR3lnoGINvJEGLs3g_WCqj9t8zIMgjo9oaNqFOfeuSU-8aqMdc_IFlk9O9Y#/celebrationWall 

Concerning the missing pedestrian walkway from Coldstream Dr. into the north east Oshawa SmartCentres plaza,
it seems time to involve some key people in this public safety issue.

I am hopeful Oshawa staff can arrange a virtual meeting with representatives from SmartCentres, Fieldgate, the Bloom, Maxwell Heights Secondary School, the Durham District School Board, Oshawa Mayor Carter, CAO Adams, and the Ward 1 Councillors, myself and John Neal to address this issue as soon as possible.

The timing is important as Oshawa’s 11 member Council will soon be voting on choosing between the 2 options contained in Report CO-23-28  whether to:

1. Not install a Pedestrian Cross Over at the Bloom Senior Residence; or
2. Install a new Pedestrian Cross Over (PXO) with push buttons and flashing beacons on Coldstream Drive near the Bloom Senior Residence (1224 Coldstream Drive). The estimated cost to install the new PXO would be $85,000.

​
The proposed new PXO would be installed near the new Region Transit bus stops on both sides of Coldstream Dr. in front of the Bloom Residence and near the SmartCentres driveway.

There is a well-worn ‘desire path’ made by foot travel along the east side of the SmartCentres Coldstream Dr. driveway. Over the past decade with the record breaking growth in North East Oshawa each year the vehicle traffic and number of pedestrians crossing Coldstream Dr. at the Smart Centre driveway continues to increase.
​
Google map pictures below show the driveway in 2009 and in 2018. It seems SmartCentres would be aware pedestrians are using the area around the driveway for access to and from the plaza. 

Local governments, land planners and developers today in Ontario are to support the development of walkable and transit-friendly communities.

Yet at the Community & Operations Committee meeting this past Monday, May 15th, when City staff made a presentation concerning the 4 page attached Report CO-23-28, Oshawa Mayor Carter and the City Councillors in attendance were told that “SmartCentres does not want to install a pedestrian walkway along this driveway”.  It seems this information was persuasive, as the Mayor and 4 Committee members then voted no to installing a new PXO at the Bloom Residence.

Before full Council votes on the PXO at the Bloom I believe it important a fulsome discussion takes place with the right officials concerning the missing pedestrian walkway along the Coldstream driveway.​

On Thursday I spoke with Oshawa Mayor and separately with 4 other Councillors asking for support to put an immediate pause on the shared e-scooter pilot program. They all said the same thing, they want to wait until the police investigation is completed.

​However I don't see how the police report affects a Council decision to take a second look at its pilot program. Is Council to wait for the police to say the City should or should not reconsider the e-scooter program???

A couple Council members opined that the 'accident' was no different than a bicycle or other fatal traffic accident. Several have been saying this on social media too. I don’t accept that view.

A young Oshawa woman, Kaitlyn Pollock, driving a shared e-scooter, was killed in our City Wednesday May 17, 2023.

The City sanctioned the shared e-scooter pilot project. Although the accident could have happened in another way, like any accident know that, first at the Provincial level and then at the Region, the shared e-scooter program was approved as a PILOT project -like an experiment. Then at the City of Oshawa it was approved in June 2023 by Report DS-22-163 https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx... Lastly on April 25 2023 Oshawa became the 1st municipality in Durham Region to launch an e-scooter pilot. Therefore, in my opinion now all 3 levels of government have a shared responsibility to investigate if there has been adequate due diligence to ensure public safety given how the vulnerability of participants in the program has been made horribly clear.

Those Oshawans who have concerns and suggestions for improvement, PLEASE VOICE THEM TO THE CITY by emailing clerks@oshawa.ca and council@oshawa.ca because right now it seems unless the public speaks more forcefully the program will continue unchanged.

In order to have a second look at the shared e-scooter program in Oshawa, a 2/3rds vote of the 11 member Council is necessary. This is the Council procedure to reconsider a previous Council decision.

5 members of Council have indicated to me they are not in support of putting a halt to the program at this time, so public pressure may be the only way to make it clear the public expects a review.

This is not a question of whether either driver made errors or had equipment malfunction and I find it disgraceful that that keeps cropping up. Pointing fingers does not mitigate the onus on the City to ensure its streets, boulevards, lines of sight, speed limits and shared space for the new micromobility devices have been set so they adhere to the Vision Zero policy to achieve zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Durham Region municipalities have agreed to support bringing urgency and accountability to ensuring transparency on the progress and challenges with respect to attaining Vision Zero’s 9 goals.

”Vision Zero starts with the ethical belief that everyone has the right to move safely in their communities, and that system designers and policy makers share the responsibility to ensure safe systems for travel.

The Vision Zero approach recognizes that people will sometimes make mistakes, so the
road system and related policies should be designed to ensure those inevitable mistakes
do not result in severe injuries or fatalities.

This means that system designers and policymakers are expected to improve the roadway environment, policies (such as speed management), and other related systems to lessen the severity of crashes."

Mindful of the above, Council should not delay taking a second look at the e-scooter pilot program and ensuring measures are in place that will work.

People are emailing, messaging and phoning me with serious concerns.

Even a first responder in the know about what happened May 17, 2023 wrote he cannot believe the City ever approved the pilot program.

I know many who have purchased private e-scooters or have used the shared Neuron/Bird ones are against pausing the program for a reconsideration.

Obviously the reconsideration would only apply to the shared program.

The City of Oshawa suddenly late last month was saturated with a seemingly ‘fun’ product, without the public having been adequately informed and educated about its risks.

I put up the post 'Oshawans care and have a voice' on my Facebook page and here too, in the hope that the public voice is raised high enough in emails sent to the City requesting changes at this time, if not asking for an immediate halt or pause, in the very least then, asking the City to 
1) mandate helmets for all e-scooter users
2) mandate no go zones and mark them for the public to see where they are located
3) mandate a user license signed, not on the e-scooter app (who really reads the text closely when loading an app) but acknowledging acceptance and understanding of the e- scooter program rules in writing at city hall before operating a shared e-scooter
4) mandate designated parking zones (end the 'free floating' and ensure return to 'identified docking stations')
5) have the vendors liable for non-compliance of the above, and
6) publish a weekly report on the city’s website for transparency of all e-scooter complaints data made to the city & to the vendors.

​

With sincere sympathy on the tragic loss of life of a young 20 year old Oshawa resident.  https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-pollock-family

Awful. More than sad, horrific considering how many vulnerable inexperienced e-scooter drivers are in Oshawa since the shared micromobility pilot project was launched 3 weeks ago. Imo Council should end it without delay. Too much risk with too little preparation. ​

It is too clear to me that Oshawa does not have the infrastructure for this program at this time.

I was in Montreal last weekend and it does. 100% But to pretend Oshawa is suitably equipped for this is a harmful pretense. Elected representatives have a duty to ensure public safety and I have sent this message to Mayor Carter and my colleagues.

Although I can picture all the e-bike drivers and the clearly very efficient BIKEWAYS in Montreal, I now realize  I can only see in my minds eye the blue shared e-bikes... looking up Montreal's e-scooter program and it seems they banned LIME and BIRD in 2020 after a short pilot project in 2019 that created a lot of problems when riders kept breaking the rules.

But before the e-scooters in Montreal were banned, unlike in Oshawa, the City of Montreal required the e-scooter drivers "to wear a helmet, be 18 or older and be licensed to drive a moped." and be parked in designed parking spots.  www.mtlblog.com/montreal/montreal-lime-and-bird-scooters-officially-banned-after-riders-kept-breaking-rules?fbclid=IwAR2qVHmK817uU1Ya4m5QGdy5fsLkDHlCAgkA5XTlswd5irTh4QJ1qu0WLTQ

​At this Monday's 9:30 a.m. Community & Operations Committee meeting there is a report on adding a pedestrian crosswalk on Coldstream in front of the Bloom Senior Residence, where Durham Region Transit has installed two bus stops. The options to the Committee are to install, or not install a Pedestrian crosswalk at a cost of $85,000.

DO IT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY!

In my opinion the option is clear, INSTALL THE CROSSWALK!

Thank you to R Small, a resident in The BLOOM, which opened last year on Coldstream adjacent to Maxwell Heights Secondary School. Mr. Small has been strongly advocating for this and the public has been voicing their support!!

​Below is the Staff slide deck presentation and 7 page report.

All agenda items from the 3 City Committee meetings Monday May 8th will be before full Council on May 29. The agendas for the 2 Committee meetings this Monday May 15 (Community & Operations) at 9:30 a.m. is here https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx... and (Safety & Facilities) at 1:30 p.m. is here https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx...

MEANWHILE PLEASE NOTE there is an important and possibly polarizing new by-law change coming to a SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETING NEXT THURSDAY, MAY 18th at 1:30 PM.  Imo it is one that many Oshawans hopefully will take the time to review and give feedback.

It concerns proposed new policy Options for the RESIDENTIAL RENTAL HOUSING LICENSING PROGRAM and Other Rental Housing Regulatory Considerations. The options are whether to expand the current residential rental licensing program from just the area around the COLLEGE UNIVERSTIY to CITYWIDE. See map of current area below.

Originally Oshawa's residential licensing program set up in 2008 around the College/University was modelled after the City of London's program which is City Wide.

I see Pros and Cons on both sides. At this point I am undecided. and would appreciate if, after reading the description of the 4 proposed options and what an expansion will entail, how it will be enforced and the costs, hopefully Oshawans interested will share their opinions. Email me at RMcconkey@oshawa.ca or call 905-436-5615

​Here is the link to the 114 page Report SF-23-18 : https://pub-oshawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx..