Richmond Hill, in collaboration with the City of Brampton and the City of Vaughan, developed a set of sustainability metrics to ensure new development helps create healthier, sustainable communities through a project called “Measuring the Sustainability Performance of New Developments.” This project has been awarded the Excellence in Sustainability Award (Sustainable Policy, Law or Plan) by the American Planning Association (APA) and the Excellence in Planning Award (Research and New Directions) from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI). These sustainability metrics were created as a performance tool to quantify the sustainability of new development projects consistently across the three municipalities. With more than 50 potential criteria listed, the sustainability metrics tool is used by applicants to calculate the score of each proposed application, ensuring it meets Richmond Hill’s sustainability standards. Each draft plan or site plan application must include sustainable elements in their plans, such as producing their own energy, conserving water, using environmentally-friendly materials in construction, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging use of sustainable transportation like public transit, and more. A number of other municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have expressed an interest in using the sustainability metrics and the collaboration is continuing to work with the Clean Air Partnership in an effort to “regionalize” the use of sustainability metrics across the Greater Toronto Area. Over time, the sustainability metrics developed by this collaboration may become like LEED and other market-driven sustainability programs have become for green building leaders - a practical route to achieve a more sustainable built form, one planning application at a time. For more information, contact Michelle Dobbie, Senior Planner (Policy) at 905-771-2467.

 

Three of Richmond Hill’s most popular events, Richmond Hill Canada Day Celebrations, Ribfest and Tastes of the Hill were selected as recipients of the Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario designation from Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO). Richmond Hill’s 2015 Canada Day Celebrations is its largest, single-day festival, attracting close to 40,000 visitors. The fourth annual Richmond Hill Ribfest, held July 24 – 26 at Richmond Green Park, is one of the most-anticipated outdoor summer events in the community. Richmond Hill’s Tastes of the Hill has evolved from an indoor food festival into an outdoor multicultural festival celebrating Richmond Hill’s diverse, multicultural community while supporting worthy causes. In the past nine years, the festival raised a total of more than $440,000 which has been redirected to local charities. FEO is the leading professional organization for the festival and events industry, helping members to produce unique, quality festivals and events in all corners of the province through education, professional development and networking. Its membership includes festivals, events, suppliers, municipalities, schools, students, BIAs and more. Richmond Hill has previously been recognized by FEO in 2014 for Richmond Hill Ribfest and for the Canada Day texting competition in 2015. For more information, contact Christine Morgan, Manager of Event Services at 905-771-5507.

 

Weizhen Sheng and Arthur Zhou, co-chairs of Richmond Hill’s Youth Action Committee (YAC), delivered a presentation to Council outlining the group’s recent accomplishments and upcoming event schedule for 2016. YAC is comprised of a group of Richmond Hill residents in grades six to 12 who provide staff and Council with advice and input on issues of concern to youth in the community. Council heard about the many fun events the committee has been involved with over the past year including participating in the Santa Claus Parade and hosting a Halloween Youth Dance as well as partnering with local young artists in Hill After Dark. During this current term, the Committee will offer important youth insights on a number of municipal projects including the youth area at Lake Wilcox Park, the application to PlayWorks: Youth Friendly Communities and have helped to promote Richmond Hill Public Library cards. This year, the Committee will be participating in Youth Week, May 1 to 7, with a host of teen-oriented activities planned. The group also announced that they will be hosting the annual Future Leaders in YACtion (FLY) Leadership Conference this June where students will get the chance to learn from the experiences and stories of renowned speakers with diverse backgrounds, including business, science and human studies. For more information, contact Lauren Steckley, Manager of Recreation Programs, at 905-787-1441, ext. 224.

 

Council approved a transition to an Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) to replace the current system of parking tickets which operates under the Provincial Offences Act. AMPS will use a legally-binding process of screening officers and hearing officers for disputed tickets rather than the court system. The hearing officers will be legally trained individuals, such as retired lawyers and justices of the peace, who will act as neutral decision makers. Their rulings will be final and the provincial court will no longer be an option for ticket disputes. This new system will alleviate pressure on the courts to provide time for parking infraction trials, as the courts are needed for more serious crimes. AMPS will also ensure tickets are not written-off without a hearing, due to unreasonable delays. The AMPS program will allow hearings to be scheduled within one to two months of the infraction date, compared to eight to 12 months in the court system. It could potentially recover as much as $500,000 in lost revenue as well. Several municipalities, including Oshawa, Vaughan, Brampton, Burlington, Mississauga, Markham and Oakville, have already adopted the new system. For more information, contact Alek Antoniuk, Supervisor, Policy, Legislative & Regulatory Services at 905-771-2458.  

 

Council adopted an updated Salt Management Plan, as presented by staff. The Plan details an operational and procedural framework for ensuring that Richmond Hill minimizes the amount of road salt spread to the environment during winter maintenance operations. In 2005, Richmond Hill prepared its first Salt Management Plan (SMP). Five years have passed since the last revision (2011) and there have been a number of changes that warrant an update to the SMP, including an updated road inventory; eliminated the application of winter sand; reduced material application rates; and changed deicing material (from rock salt to Thawrox). Ensuring our roads are clear of ice and snow is a 24-7 job for Richmond Hill’s Public Works Operations staff. Richmond Hill remains committed to preserving the natural environment by reducing the negative effects associated with road salt. The update and implementation of changes to the Salt Management Plan promotes the continuous development of practices and procedures to improve winter maintenance response while striving to reduce the effects of road salt on the environment. For more information about the Salt Management Plan, contact Grant Taylor, Director, Public Works Operations, at 905-780-2966.