Hello and welcome to this special council meeting. Um it's uh August 11th, 1:30 p.m. and uh we have quorum. Uh Mr. Clerk, do we have any regrets? >> We were not receiving any regrets. Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you. Perhaps uh the missing counselor will join us in progress. Uh councelor, are there any declarations of conflict of interest? Mr. Clerk, there are none uh there are no consent items, public or confidential. There are no discussion items, public or confidential, but there is a u by there are a pair of bylaws to consider and read. And I'd like to entertain a motion to consider and approve the bylaws listed in items 7.1 through 7.2. The chair recognizes councelor Adams as the mover and councelor Lchenna as the seconder. Councelor Adams, uh, you have the floor. >> Thanks very much. I will be brief. I just wanted to thank council for approving the study yesterday regarding data centers. Uh, the the study, uh, as I said yesterday is, uh, not only appropriate, it's responsible. Uh Oakville deserves a clear evidence-based understanding of how data centers interact with our electricity, water, wastewater, and telecommunications infrastructure, our environmental goals, our employment lands, the character of our neighborhoods, and most importantly, the health uh and safety of our residents, including impacts from noise and vibration or air emissions. Uh we really can't afford uh I believe to make planning decisions based on assumptions. We need facts, modeling, and expert analysis to be part of our planning. Uh the the motion uh that we passed yesterday was very important in uh moving this forward and the interim control bylaw gives us the breathing room to do this work properly. It ensures that development does not get ahead of our policy. Uh this is a safeguard measure that protects residents, protects our planning framework and ensures that when Oakville does make decisions, they're made uh as informed, deliberate, and aligned with our long-term vision. So by supporting uh all of this, this council is choosing clarity over uncertainty and planning over reaction. It's good governance and as I said yesterday, it's what our community expects from us. So thank you very much in advance for your support. Uh and if u I know it's a little unusual, but could we have a recorded vote on the bylaw, please? >> Yes. Uh councelor China, you have the floor. >> Uh thank you, your worship. Uh, I will also be brief and I do want to thank staff for uh being able to bring uh this uh uh bylaw uh today. Uh I'm pleased to second this motion. Uh at the end of the day, we're here to serve the residents uh of Oakville and to make decisions that protect the community and the quality of life that uh we all value. And part of that responsibility is making sure that decisions we make are informed decisions. uh we need to have the facts in front of us, understand the potential impacts and and make sure that our policies are keeping pace with the rapidly changing industry. Um that's why I see the interim control bylaw as an important tool. It gives us the time to do that work properly. Uh data centers can bring investment and economic benefits, but they can also place significant demands as was noted by councelor Adams. Um this pause is not about prejudging the outcome or saying no to innovation. It's really about saying that before we make uh those important decisions that have uh that could have really long-term consequences for Opel, we need to understand what those consequences are, uh our residents expect us to ask those questions. They expect us to look at the evidence, listen to the community, and make uh thoughtful uh decisions on their behalf. and I think the ICBL gives us that opportunity to do exactly that and that's why I'm pleased to support this motion. >> Thank you, councelor. Are there other speakers? >> Councelor Donuk. >> Thank you through your worship. Um just to uh build on what was said last night at our previous meeting uh regarding the passage of bringing this forward. Um, I concur with your remarks, uh, Mayor Burton, regarding the precautionary principle, and I think that's very prudent here. It's yet another display of how we do business at the town of Oakville. And I also want to uh recognize councelor Hlett Beiel for bringing forward the uh question pertaining to consultation and the CEO providing some insight as to where that placement takes place. Not at this table, not right now, but eventually. So I think that gives everybody the information they need to go forward. Thank you very much. >> Thank you counselor. Uh councelor null. Thank you worship. Um I first of all I want to thank uh councelor Adams and uh councelor Lchenna for taking the leadership role in uh bringing this forward today. I think that this is not only uh the uh best possible uh in initial outcome that we can uh hope for uh but I think that it is actually a great response to what we're also hearing from the community. The concerns um the uh the anxiety uh and frankly a lot of information that's floating around there in the community. this will give us a great opportunity to um have that that ability to sit back and understand exactly what the implications of a potential application uh could look like. And so I really want to say thank you for um uh taking the step and making this happen. I do want to emphasize something I said last night as well that I think it's very important that we recognize that this isn't just an Oakville issue for us. It's an Oakville issue, but this is an issue that's going to crop up again again across municipalities in Ontario and across the country. And I think that it really behooves us to take advantage of this opportunity to really uh like I said last night, crowdsource the uh um uh the gathering of information and the consultation that could take place and really engage uh other our our colleagues in other jurisdictions to learn from them to share the information to get the best and the brightest to advise us on this and share those costs and share that information across municipalities. This is one of those moments that I think Oakville can take a major leadership role uh not just in our community but externally from our community to show that we are helping pave the way for uh factual information about these issues and the development of excellent policy going forward. So thank you for that and I look forward to the vote. >> Thank you councelor councelor Elgar. >> Thank you through Mayor Burton. I'd like to thank our planning and legal staff who were able to turn around a bylaw so fast. I think they've done an awful lot of work and burned a lot an awful lot of midnight oil to do this for us and I think it's very important that we did it and did it when we did it. I'd also like to thank the residents. I wasn't aware we even had any potential data centers coming to Oakville until on two weeks ago on a Saturday night at 11:30 a ward four constituent sent me an email telling me the address where this could might happen. I wasn't even clued into it until that point but I'm certainly up to speed on a little bit more than that now. And uh so thank the thank the residents. They're out in front of it and also for our staff and I look forward to the recorded vote also. >> Thank you councelor. Any other speakers? Um all right. Um before I call the vote um and I'll have the clerk uh call the vote. I just want to say that uh as I said last night, this is us employing the precautionary principle as we have done on our watch for uh 20 years now. And uh the precautionary principle allows us to be sure in advance rather than rely on assumption. And uh our goal here is to be sure that our livable Oakville plan and and zoning are as strong as possible. And uh and we're operating here not out of fear and not in reaction to any one application that we have no applications but not out of opposition to any one particular uh possible uh event. Uh my own uh radar on this was activated more than a month ago uh as the controversy erupted around us in Hamilton and Burlington and Missaga and Toronto and uh and further a field and uh and that's our job to be alert and to take the measures necessary. So, um, with that, uh, I thank everybody for the way we've worked together and, uh, I'll ask, uh, the clerk to call the vote. >> Thank you, Mayor. Councelor Omira, >> yes. >> Councelor Mcnes, >> yes. >> Councelor Dick, >> yes. >> Councelor Chisum, >> yes. >> Councelor Hazitthe, >> yes. >> Councelor Giddings, >> yes. >> Councelor Elgar, >> yes. >> Councelor Longo, >> yes. Mayor Burton, >> yes. >> Councelor Null, >> yes. >> Councelor Adams, >> yes. >> Councelor Lenna, >> yes. >> Councelor Nanda, >> yes. >> Councelor Sh. >> He fell off. >> Was there seconds ago? >> That carries. >> I think it carries. Thank you, council. Um I I should be more definitive. That carries. Thank you, councel. Um uh that actually ends the work of this special meeting and I I want to thank everybody for their attendance and uh briefly we had a full house. Uh and uh we'll see you again at the >> Oh, there he is. Do you want to give them a chance to vote? Yeah. >> Councelor Shei, I did a recorded vote on the interimm control bylaw. Are you in favor or opposed? Yes. >> Yes. You're in favor. >> He's voting yes. >> Got it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, there we go. Technology did not defeat us. May it ever be. So, uh that completing the work of this uh special council meeting. Uh I want to say I always enjoy working with you and I look forward to the next opportunity. And that is the end of the meeting.