traditional lands of the Inishabek, Hodnosoni, Lenopoic, and Adawandrin. We honor and respect the history, languages, and culture of the diverse indigenous people who call this territory home. The city of London is currently home to many First Nation, Matei, and Inuit. today as representatives of the people of the city of London we are grateful to have the opportunity to live work and and live and work in this territory. Uh with that I will also share a communication disclosure. The city of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternate formats and communication supports for meetings upon request. To make a request specific to this meeting, please contact cpscllondon.ca CA or 519-661-2489 extension2425. And with that, we're on item one, which is disclosures of precinary interest. Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to our consent items. Uh we have a number of items under consent. So far, I've received requests to pull 2.7 2.9 uh to be dealt with at an upcoming meeting. Um, as is there any other requests to pull items? Okay, seeing none, I will look for a mover and seconder for the items that are on consent. I have councelor Ferrer and councelor Prible. Thank you for everything but 2.7 and 2.9. We will begin discussion and looking for speakers. I'll start with councelor Traso. Go ahead. Um, thank you very much. This was an unusually packed agenda for this uh for this committee. Um, there are a number of things on here I would like to uh comment on, but I'm I'm not going to pull. I don't have any amendments. I'm I'm thrilled to see uh 2.2. I think uh establishing a tree nursery feasibility study would be an excellent point. Um very much in favor of that. My only comment is before we go letting out a a consultant's contract, I really hope that we'll be looking at some of the local nonprofits and academic units that have expertise in this in this area. I've I've raised this before with respect to consultant reports. I don't know if this is going to come back to us uh as as a as as a RFP that we have to um approve or or a contract that we have to approve. But I'll be I'll I'll I'll have much more to say about this if I find out that we're we've let this out to a you know for-profit tree company instead of an academic unit. So I don't know. Do you have any any any plans regarding uh regarding what you're going to do? Thank you. I'll go to Miss Chair. Uh >> thank you, Madam Chair. And this is actually a good opportunity for me introdu to introduce our relatively new manager of urban for forestry to me Filer to me. If you could join me, she can provide some insight into the direction we're going. I will say as she's taking a spot that this is a very unique type of research uh or feasibility study we need done. Uh there's certainly an aspect to laying out a site, but really a lot of it's around the economics of uh growing nursery stock from an agricultural and egg economics perspective. So very few qualified uh consulting firms would do this work that we are looking for partnerships with some potentially unique organizations. So I'll flip it over to Miss Filer. >> Um thank you through the chair. That's that's good to know and and and welcome. This is a very interesting uh portfolio that the public has a lot of interest in. Um, so I don't get five minutes for each one. I get five minutes in the aggregate. So I better I better get moving. >> Thank you. Yes. >> I I have um the comment I want to make on 2.6. Well, I think there are a lot of problems in terms of how London Middle Sex Community Housing has been maintaining their units. So I'm not surprised to see this. And uh once again once again I feel that much more attention needs to be given by this agency and I'm not dealing with the tenant selection issues here. I know others are maybe will raise that but I'm concerned about the uh the improvements and the maintenance on the premises. I will save my substantive comments and questions and motions for the uh upcoming shareholders meeting. But this is one of the reasons why I was so disappointed with the with the plan that was recently uh submitted to to council. Now, um I I have a number of uh questions about 2.5. I don't want to pull it because I think what's in front of us right now is is a good framework and I'd like to see that passed. But I think there I think there are a number of questions that still need to be worked out on an operational level and and rather than than pull this and and and have uh debate over um amendments which I think might not be necessary, I think a lot of this is just a question of understanding um what staff uh plans to do about certain oper how to operationalize this. Um, I I think that we really badly need to do this. I think I think the bylaw is a good framework bylaw. So, I don't want to delay that, but I I do have a um number of questions and I'm wondering if it might be expeditious for me to just privately meet with with somebody between now and council to just see if I can get um answers answers uh answers to that. We received a another inquiry today um from Mr. Hopcraftoft, familiar name to uh many of us. And uh we we have quite a few other uh I've received quite a few other uh requests for uh clar clarification. Nothing that would rise to the level of me wanting to um oppose this uh bylaw at this point. So can I can I do that between now and council? Um, would I would I would I talk directly to? Um, who would you prefer I talk directly to? Yes. Okay, that's that's that's that that's done. Um, finally, I better make this quick. I am I was just so pleased to see the uh report on community grants. Th this this is such a successful program and I really want to I really want to commend uh not only the authors of this report but your whole department for the for the manner in which you've conducted this this very difficult and and should I say in my opinion underfunded >> 30 seconds >> uh area area area of of work. My only problem with this report is, and I've I asked this last year, um I'd love to know what the nature of the unsuccessful applicants has has been. I know I can't ask you who they are, but it just seems as if we're doing a great job here. We're filling many unmet needs. And u maybe I should talk offline again to staff about um what are some of the things what are some of the opportunities? >> Thank you, counselor. That's your time missed. So, I'm out of time and that's that's that. But great great work on that. Uh, thank you. >> Thank you. I will look to committee for other speakers before going to visiting counselors. >> Councelor Ferrer. >> Uh, thank you, Chair. Uh, I wanted to I guess um ask about 2.4 first. That's the building Canada home um application uh that we are seeking to submit. I just wanted to get some information on um how this uh the monies would go if we know that information at the moment. And I know that we're looking at like mixed units where we have uh a mix of market rent and affordable housing units. I wanted to know um for the money that we'd be potentially receiving on a successful application, will that money go towards capital bills on the affordable unit side? Will it go for both for the mix between the two? >> Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Felberg. Uh >> thank you, Madam Chair. Miss Espinosa will take that one. >> Thank you. Please go ahead. Thank you through the chair. Uh it would only be for the affordable units counselor. >> Okay. Thank you for that. So if it goes to only the affordable units and we have let's say an apartment or a mixed kind of unit uh complex and we're doing we're incentivizing the capital build the market rate side depending on I guess the builder would be paying for the capital cost requirements for the market rate and then the affordable units would be uh the gap would be covered with the build Canada home side. Um so when it comes I guess on the operational side I would assume that marker rents would have some type of surplus um in their rents. Would that surplus be used to cover the operational gap on the affordable unit side? >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Espinosa. >> Pardon me. Through the chair technically yes. So the reason why they have to have a mix of market and affordable is because some of the the market would help offset some of the capital costs for the affordable side and could assist in some operating. >> Councelor Ferrer. >> Okay. Thank you for that. And uh I guess and a follow-up question uh I guess a little bit different for the type of housing providers that may be sought out. So I understand that um LMCH has a regeneration plan. is LMCH potentially would they be part of this um this ask or this submission? >> I'll go to Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you and to you, Madam Chair. Um with the um submission of the regen plan last week at SPC, one of the things that we were looking to do is include the uh LMCH units into our bill canon application. Uh we've also received a number of inquiries from local developers uh in the past few weeks and months that would be in addition to the 1250 that we've identified in the report. So we actually think that we'll be able to increase the number of units. Uh the key part of the application is that Bill Canada Homes wants to actually look at the projects before they make any approvals. So, they'd be assessing each of the individual projects in our portfolio prior to making a decision on which ones they will fund and which gaps they will help us close in order to uh build new affordable housing. >> Councelor Ferrer. >> Okay. Thank you for that. So, I I guess the applications are really kind of focusing on the 12 to 18 months uh portion of applications. Um, so I I also wanted to know if there's any consideration of rentear to income or cooperative housing or anything like that or is it just market or just the affordable uh rental units? >> Mr. Bberg. >> Uh, thank you and to you, Madam Chair. So there's no consideration for rent gear to income. We're not actually looking to increase our uh service level standards from the 5,794 that we have within our service manager area. We are looking to include county projects as well. So, it's not just the city of London, it's everything within our service manager area. Uh, if a co-op is providing affordable units and they're eligible for that type of housing, then yes, they would be considered. So, it would be nonprofits, co-ops, and then if market developers are eligible under the Build Canada Homes uh rules and criteria, then they could potentially be eligible to close a gap as well. >> Councelor Ferrer. >> Okay, thank you for that. Um I wanted to also touch on 210 uh the community grants update. Um I do I do appreciate the report. I do see that um you know our community our community grants project supports anti-racism, anti-opression, diversity and equity and inclusion. I I did want to ask from what I remember from the uh budget changes um we are now looking into funding that program through the community investment reserve fund. And I'm I do believe that there was a cap a limit on that funds balance that we would need to require uh to be able to continue the program. I was wondering if staff could just tell me what the limit is or just remind me of what that is and tell me where that uh reserve balance is if you can. >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Smith. >> Thank you and through the chair. So we're coming back in July uh with the allocations for 2026 for our annual grant program for capital projects. So next year 2027 based on as of January 1st if there's a minimum of a million dollars in the community investment reserve fund then we will continue with a $250,000 application for our annual capital grants program. >> Councelor Pereira. >> All right. Thank you for that. Um I do understand that those dollars do leverage private dollars on top of that. So I would say you know the more money that we are able to put into that the more leveraging of dollars and the further that those dollars go. So I do appreciate the report and I do um I do wish to see uh the program get expanded if possible in the future. Um for actually I'll leave it there. Actually no one more question. I want to go to the municipal compliance service policy update and online uh public municipal compliance tools review. I appreciate that report. I do see um that this is uh a report coming back with a couple of directions from council in the past. I wanted to follow up on the status update and when would we uh specifically expect or how would we in the immediate term see potential updates on any type of compliance issues and any type of resolutions there. >> I'll go to Miss Pepper. >> Thank you and through the chair. So this is also a multi-stage process. If the policy change is implemented, then you would be able to receive status updates almost immediately. But in terms of the digital tools that you're referring to, that would be subject to strategic planning and then a multi-year uh business case in order to determine whether that is something that council wants to proceed with. >> Counselor. >> Okay. Thank you for that. In the immediate term, if I were to know that there was um a compliance matter going on, um is there any other way other than the IT or the web portal to check? Would I be able to potentially contact staff directly, make a phone call and see if I can get a status update for that? And when would that change be made if this were to be approved here and at council? >> Thank you. I will go to Miss Feffer. Go ahead. through the chair. Yes, of course you could contact staff and we would be ensuring that the entire team is aware of the change in policy and of course you would be able to get those updates directly from the staff person who's in charge of the file. >> I'll go to councelor pray for >> Okay, thank you. I'll end the questions there. I appreciate that report as well. Um I'm happy to support uh everything that I uh moved uh for the consent items. Um so that's those are my questions. Thank you. Thank you. Have councelor Hopkins next. >> Yes, thank you uh Madame Chair and um I guess I'll just uh go through the list here and make comments. Uh 2.1 London's newcomer strategy. Uh thanks to staff for this. It's really good uh information to have. It's really good to know that London's one of a few municipalities where we do the evaluations and the framework and do the measurables and have that information so we can keep track of our strategy. So, great work staff on that. 2.2 uh very supportive of the uh tree uh strategy going forward, the study that's needed uh understanding the benefits and the costs. So, um looking forward to uh further information on that. 2.5 just like to um make a couple comments on the bylaw amendments to reduce rat infestations. I thank the counselors for for bringing that forward. I know uh the advisory group has uh good information on the report as well. I do uh see concerns in the community that I represent, especially when you have residential and uh businesses uh backing on to one another and how we can maybe even provide stickers on some of our bins not to have the bins overflow. I I think um there's a lot of things we can kind of do in the meantime. uh and um so u supportive of the recommendation going forward and I I agree with councelor Trussell too many many questions still to have but I think we can do that as we go uh through the this process uh 2.7 which is the um affordable housing at Duth Crescent really pleased to see >> councelor Hopkins sorry that one's been pulled >> oh is that one thank you for the reminder. Okay. Uh 2.8 uh then uh with the fire department, the source of financing. I'm really pleased that we as a council uh put some funding aside for uh the fire vehicle and that um uh there is funding available for the purchase of um a new truck. I understand 2.9 is also pulled. And just um maybe ending uh my comments with 2.10 on uh the community grants program. I am so glad that we still have this program and uh you could see the benefits uh that we have uh that goes into the community and uh 2.11 which is the uh child care and early years servicing system plan update. I know there's a lot of conversations I hear out um more in with the federal government, but uh I I do think we need to um kind of work together and continue to work together as it's outline as it's outlined by staff in in the report with the sector uh because we do have to respond to the increasing demand and pressures that we see in our area and uh I think it's important that we continue to to work together. So with that, those are my comments. >> Thank you. I'll look for other speakers. I know I have councelor McCallister. Just making sure I cover it off the committee first. Okay, with that, I'll go to Council Mallister. Go ahead. >> Uh thank you. And through the chair. Um I want to start with 2.5. Excuse me. Appreciate um the detail in this report. Uh this was definitely an issue um that in my ward we're really facing a lot of um rat infestation. So I really appreciate um committee council supporting this in the past and bringing this back. Um appreciate all the work the staff have put into this. Um ESAC weighed in as well. They had some good recommendations too. Um so thanks to everyone involved. I know this was a big undertaking when we did this in a relatively quick uh timeline. So again, appreciate that. Uh I do just have some questions regarding it uh just for clarity. Um so people understand in terms of next steps appreciate in terms of the step one, step two, step three that was laid out. I think that it was very succinct in terms of where we're going with it. Um but just um in terms of immediate impacts if um bylaw could just speak to um the changes we'll be making in terms of our response uh in terms of how much time we'll be giving u people who are in violation uh and in terms of the uh the amps that will go along with that. If Block can comment on that. Thanks. >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Feffer. Thank you and through the chair. So, in terms of immediate next steps, we're looking at an increased penalty for yard and lot maintenance violations of $400. We also considered the compliance timeline that we currently operate under. We consistently provide 10 business days once an order has been issued for a property owner to become compliant with the bylaw. And in terms of rat infestations or developing um rat problems, an infestation will definitely occur within that time frame if we give the full 10 days. So we wanted to consider maybe reducing that to 48 to 72 hours depending on the nature of the violation. That would give the we believe that would give the property owner some time for compliance. Keeping in mind that we always work with the property owner too. So, this isn't a hard and fast that we will only get the 48 hours, but it is something that we are going to look at in terms of these conditions that um contribute to infestations. >> Councelor, >> uh thank you through the chair. And just as a follow up to that, I also appreciate the the recognition that this will take coordination between departments. And so my other concern with that is uh I appreciate the reduced timeline, but at what point will we as the city take action to clean it up and then charge back um the property? because where I'm seeing a lot of issues specifically around residential dumpsters is it's left for far too long even if we issue the order to comply um it will get to the point where the rats will come right so what I'm trying to do is have those measures in place to ensure that if there are in violation um yes we might have the amps but we can also take action to clean up the site so we're not dealing with that on an ongoing basis >> thank you Miss Bever >> through the chair that is our process so if we were to issue an order and not receive any indication that the property owner is trying to work toward compliance, we would certainly have to move to bring the property into compliance after the timeline expires by which or the timeline that was listed on that order expires. It doesn't change our process in terms of whether or not we contract someone to come in to clean up. It's really the property owner engagement that we're looking for. >> Council Mallister, >> uh thank you. and through you u in terms of the um changes for dumpsters um specifically too um I know a number of sites where they may have dumpsters dumpsters are in poor shape they're not contained I know there was mention in terms of having um some like um fencing or something around uh the dumpsters to ensure that they're not out in the open uh and even a lot of dumpsters they're not in compliance with just having lids. So, um, you know, addressing those, I'm hoping that'll be part of this as well. >> Miss Feffer, >> through the chair, yes, that's the intent with some of the bylaw improvements as well. >> Council Mallister. >> Uh, thank you. And through you. And I'm also wondering in terms of the reporting, um, I have had some residents, um, in terms of the confusion in terms of where they would report this, whether it's through bylaw or through, um, like garbage collections. Um, I think it would be nice with Service London if we could make some tweaks in terms of what the complaint is, uh, just to save our staff some time on the back end in terms of what they're responding to. So, I'm just wondering what changes we might make with Service London. >> Thank you, Alfer. >> Thank you. And through the chair, we would we are always willing to receive input in relation to improving service London enhancements in reporting options. um immediate in the immediate future there won't be any reporting options changing but certainly if you have that feedback for us we could take that back and work with our service London partners to see if there can be an immediate change made the changes to service London are changes that are proposed in phase two and three of this proposed um project >> uh thank you through you yeah even something as simple as a redirect I think might be helpful not necessarily building out something new But even uh I just find we have when we go to service London the um uh the options are helpful for people. So even if it's a redirect to by law to let them know that's where their complaint would go, not necessarily having to fill out a new form, but um just in the immediate until obviously we get to the multi-year budget and those larger asks. I think that'd be helpful so at least people understand that's where that request would have to go. Uh just to make things easier for folks. Um yeah, and uh I do have some other comments quickly. appreciate um again all the work that bylaw has done on this um uh with the um community g grants. I just wanted to um congratulate everyone who was able to get one. Uh I just want to speak in terms of experience. I've seen a lot of the grants in action. Um really appreciate that this is still an option. Um one of the things I'm seeing a lot of um activity around is food security specifically. Um, I know a lot of uh organizations in my award use the community grant and it's really important in terms of addressing those needs in the community and London at large. Uh, and I'm just wondering if staff could maybe speak to a little bit with the community grants. Um, I appreciate this report, but one of the things I think would be helpful for us as council is um, I know you have the percentage breakdown. Um, but I think that's more tied in terms of our um, um, strategic goals, but I'm finding it interesting in terms of the programs themselves and where we're seeing the largest demand come from. So, I'm wondering if staff as part of this report if in the future we might be able to see which programs or um, organizations what they're um, looking for in terms of uh, the needs in the community. I'll go to Miss Smith. >> Thank you and through the chair. I appreciate you bringing that up. As you know, uh, council has directed us to look at the community grants policy, which will be bringing back a proposed update in 20 uh, early 2027. And we are looking at alignment with the strategic plan, but also alignment with um, community priorities. And you're right, food security is probably one of the top uh, three that that we fund. But that but we're also hearing from too. So uh we can look at this when we do the impact report and talk about those projects or priority areas uh in a bit more detail and also uh we will be bringing something um kind of different and looking at what are those community priorities and maybe aligning our future community grants program with those top three to five uh community priorities. So, thank you for the suggestion, >> Council Mallister. Uh, >> thank you and through you. Appreciate that, Mr. Chair. And then also appreciate again bylaw all the hard work that went into um updating um the amendments for the for the uh reducing the rat infestations. No, it's not a glamorous topic. Uh I have a lot of residents who are very embarrassed obviously when they've come to talk to me, but appreciate all the work that went into this. Thank you. Thank you. Looking for other speakers. I'll go to councelor Stevenson. Go ahead. >> Thank you. Um there's quite a bit in here that I have questions on, but I'll start with uh 2.4 the build Canada homes. The motion says to submit an application to secure capital funds and the executive summary says uh refers to partnerships. So just wondering uh is there going to be more sharing of what that would entail from both sides? Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Felberg. >> Uh, thank you and through you, Madam Chair. So, we have a we have a lot of work to do still with Build Canada Homes to put together the portfolio of different projects and take that um through their process of review. Um once we finished that work and once they've established what projects they will be um they're willing to fund, we'll be bringing back an agreement to council for approval so that they can weigh into what is moving forward and what can be uh funded by the new grants from uh the federal government. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. On page 29 at the bottom, it says that BCH has requested that the city submit a portfolio of projects ensuring municipal support. So, I'm just wondering, don't we need council or public support for that portfolio prior to the application going in? >> I'll go to Mr. Felberg. >> Uh, thank you and through you, Madam Chair. Uh so the projects that we've identified are projects that would be eligible under our CIP our dollars to door CIP which has a certain level of criteria that's required that uh applicants must uh must align with. Additionally uh some additional projects that we've also added recent or will be adding recent um following uh the regener master regeneration plan from LMCH. Those are some additional projects. And then we also have our shovel ready projects. So those are projects that uh through the road map are um have been identified for new affordable housing and those go through um various RFPs and um procurements prior to uh bringing forward to council. As an example, item 2.7 is one of those projects. Uh so we've identified uh generally a portfolio and those are the things that BCH or Bill Canada homes will be evaluating and providing us guidance on. >> Councelor Stevenson. Thank you. I understand, but it's very general. And um when I look at what the city of Ottawa did, their council was given the list of projects, the number of units for each one, whether it was going to be affordable or supportive. There was also a long list on the contribution for that city is going to be $250 million and it gives many exemptions, one of which is exemption of property taxes for 75 years. So, I'm just This just looks very different than the one that we're is before us. So, I'm wondering if we could just get clarification on why theirs has all the specifics and ours doesn't. >> Thank you. I'll go Mr. Felberg. >> Uh, thank you. And through you, Madam Chair. Uh, so I I forget which section in the report, but it talks about a recommendation or a resolution from council for us to report back to council and identify when we'd be submitting an application for new affordable housing uh projects. So theou that Ottawa signed was actually much further down the line uh and the they identified all of the different projects once they'd done that negotiation and actually submitted that portfolio. So that's the stage we're in right now. We're establishing the portfolio. We'll submit it to Build Canada Homes and then we'll bring it back to council for a final approval. >> Councelor Stevenson, I have a lot of concerns about this one. I'm going to leave it uh there for now. So for 122 baseline um it talks about uh arars that uh 30 plus arars notices were sent out this month. There's only 61 units. Can I hear more about that? >> Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Falberg. >> Uh thank you and uh Madam Chair, we have uh our the chief operating officer for MelCh here. She can answer many of the those operational questions. >> Thank you. Please go ahead. uh through the chair. You may have a a a qualifying question as a follow-up. Uh they are generally natured due to uh back payment in rent um or due to uh requests for keys or fobs um chargebacks. Um they do range 80% or under $2,000 uh and 20% are over between the $2,000 and $4,000 mark. >> Councelor Stevenson. Uh thank you. As a followup through you, uh what would be the percentage of tenants on OW or ODSP >> through the chair? >> Go ahead. Sorry. Through the chair. Um I actually don't know specifically. I uh am aware of the numbers associated to supports. Um but the exact number associated to those programs, I couldn't tell you at this time. >> Counselor. >> Uh thank you. than through you. Um, what's the policy for a tenant that's collecting OW or ODSP if they miss a rent payment? >> Go ahead, please. Through the chair. Uh, we do work with OW to help reconcile that. Um, we have a relationship with Ontario Works. Uh, we do communicate with the tenant as well too to help them remedy the situation. um as typically there is a path forward to come to resolution and we do find success generally speaking and the odd time uh we do not >> counselor thank you yeah knowing that there is the option to have rent deducted I would hope that a rears aren't accumulating in that way um the other thing is it says on here that the um the number one or it talks about a 47% decrease in Q1 Q1 2020 2026, but it doesn't talk about the fact that it went up 166% in Q4 of 2025. So, we talk about it getting better, but it got way worse, still not as good as it was before. There's 330% increases there. So, I just wondered if we could hear more about the improvement uh in that. >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Deand through the chair. So that spike from the last quarter of 2025, we do attribute it primarily to the seasonality, this the cold weather temperatures. So that would be a spike that we see from a portfolio perspective across LMCH. It's quite common over the winter months that we do see an uptake there. uh and then going into Q1 uh with the weather improving and we have had uh a different approach as articulated in the transition plan in terms of engaging with tenencies. Uh we do think that there is some parallel with a deeper engagement with tenants and our part and our in their partner their supports and partners uh which are hopefully um contributing to the positive shift in the building in terms of reminders of what being a good neighbor uh looks like. uh and your responsibility uh to ensure that uh you are managing your guests we hope has resonated and we think is seen in the results. Uh that is what we're attributing to. The initial spike is is really a citywide cold weather thing. Uh and then the improvement that we saw in Q1 we do attribute to uh us working more closely with the partners uh in addition to reinforcing certain messaging. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. and through you. It talks about the primary goal being to stabilize complex tenencies by supporting tenants to remain housed where possible. It's a housing stability first, eviction as a last resort. I'm just wondering why uh the safety of the residents in the building that aren't uh you know the more complex ones and the neighborhood isn't the top priority. >> Thank you. uh through the chair. Uh they are equal priorities uh for our for us. Um stabilizing the tenencies we believe uh is possible and we believe that working through with the tenants and our partners. That goal uh is uh in parallel as we work through the safety of the building and the community is equal to us. And so that's really the approach that we're describing in this transition period is we have a window. Um we're opening the conversation to the system, right? Working with city partners uh city administration and our partners. Um we're trying to establish offramps for individuals who may be better supported uh and alternate housing which is now you know really for the first time available to us as a tool. As we have more supportive housing and other types of housing online, we are doing our best to take a balanced approach uh with dignity for tenencies uh while being extremely focused on that community safety piece. The goal is that over a period of time uh both are stabilized and that is the approach that we've been taking. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh on the next page it talks it says that as part of the ongoing implementation RTA aligned processes may be advanced in the upcoming quarter where appropriate to address unresolved high-risk situations. Can you tell me more about that? >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Dandido >> through the chair. So um we do have some tools available to us that that uh in terms of enforcement rears away obviously that um we mentioned in the report initially that we are progressing with. I think the piece that I hope is captured here today is that um there are some are challenges uh with complex tenencies and some complex tenencies don't have challenges. We are really trying to take an approach uh that does stabilize tenencies, protects community safety and well-being. We are just having our initial conversations. So in January is when we started to communicate around this framework that we are trying to work through. We are trying to let the process take time. Uh we're hoping that for some individuals that there may be an opportunity for them to uh have an off-ramp that is more aligned with maybe you know we'll create some housing stability and wellness pieces. And these different pieces take a little bit of time. So we're trying to allow the system to do its work while we are organizing ourselves uh to prioritize um those who would move forward in the LTB process. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. One last question was around the um it talked about there was some difficulties moving people into the supportive housing or the highly supportive housing. Could we hear more about that? >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Dando >> through the chair. Uh that piece uh isn't led by LMCH. uh we put forward uh through the framework a recommendation to um our city partners on those who we felt based on a multitude of factors would benefit most for this opportunity to potentially trans be transitioned. Those conversations with the tenants and the partners uh are not held by LMCH. We are the uh property managers. We are the landlords and so that would be out of scope for what is within uh our our obligation. Thank you, Mr. Dickens. >> Uh thank you and through you, Chair. Yeah, those conversations are absolutely ongoing between the the housing provider and the supportive housing providers. Uh looking at um uh program capacity, so who has vacancy in supportive housing spaces? Are there any um uh issues or barriers that emerge in terms of uh the tenant actually wishing to do that? We can't force people. We can't come into baseline and say uh we've deemed that you should be in support of housing out you go. Uh there is an element of trying to uh coax convince uh demonstrate the effectiveness and value of moving into a different housing type. Uh where it's fully staffed with lots of supports and and so we are still doing that work through the supportive housing providers and their assessments of the tenants as well as working directly with the tenants. >> Councelor Stevenson. Thank you very much. I'll move to the newcomer strategy. It says that uh strategic priority one is attraction. That there was a digital marketing campaign launched throughout 2025 promoting London as an ideal uh destination attracting secondary migration. Could I just hear more about that? >> Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Ta whenever he's available. Thank you for joining us. Please go ahead. >> Thank you and through you madam chair. Um the campaign was launched last year throughout the calendar year to attract secondary migrant to London Ontario because of the cuts to direct migration from overseas to Canada while there are still some chronic labor shortages in the area that we need to address. So this is part of the um bigger attraction campaign that is tied to newcomer strategy. Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. And maybe a bit more about the key economic sectors that are being uh focused on. >> Yes. And thank you and through you madam chair. The key economic sectors are manufacturing, construction, IT and um healthcare and life sciences. Those are the key sectors that we focus on in the campaign. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. Uh and another followup uh how is the uh high unemployment rate that we've are seeing now highest in the country. How does that impact this at all? >> Mr. T. >> Um thank you. And um so the newcomer strategy work in concert with other city's approved initiative to address the full range labor force needs including high skill, midskll and low skills. So while without um without downplaying the significance of the unemployment rate, there are still chronic shortages in key sectors that we still need to address because um general labor availability does not ne necessarily translate into offdrift or specialized skills availability in the area. Thank you, >> councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. And it mentions that it's funded within existing resources, but I can't remember what was the what is the budget for the newcomer strategy? Thank you. The budget is spent under immigration services um under immigration services but I will have to go back and double check the exact amount. >> Thank you. And if you could provide that in between now and council if that's possible. Thank you. >> Uh councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. Um for the municipal compliance services it mentions um that at this stage civic administration can't determine the preferred solution imple implementation approach cost timeline or operational impact until council has provided direction on the scope and the nature of public disclosure to be authorized under the policy. And I just wonder does this enough of that >> for them to go forward because we're authorizing a business case but I I'm not seeing exactly where uh we're providing direction or scope unless it's in included in that bylaw amendment. >> Go to Miss Feffer. >> Thank you and through the chair. Yes, that's exactly it counselor. It's it's provided within that bylaw amendment. So if that bylaw amendment is passed then we can look to the next steps would be which would be the strategic planning process. >> Council you've got about 17 seconds. >> Okay thanks. The last one is just about it being uh it's meant to shift from a blanket non-disclosure approach to a more transparent approach and it refers to 2023 and previously. How long have we had this blanket non-disclosure approach? Was that a change in recent times? >> Thank you. Okay. I'll go to Miss Feffer and that's your time counselor. You have 3 seconds remaining, but if you want to try to squeeze something in. Okay, I'll go to Miss Feffer >> through the chair. This policy has been in effect since 2023. That's why that time was listed as when we first began operating under that policy. >> Thank you. The next speaker on my list is councelor Pribble. >> Thank you, chair. And I'm going to start with 2.3. And I want to thank the staff because when I look at that report, it's truly uh meaningful, conceptual with a vision and uh uh I certainly hope the next council will supported into multi-year budget and it's also very meaningful because honestly I don't think that there is one single week that I wouldn't have at least one call, one comment, one text regarding asking for additional information and I we all of us here on the side we do understand regarding the privacy but on the other hand. We believe that there is some additional information that we could be sharing and this is the step forward. So, thank you very much to you and your entire team very positive and as I said the only thing would be for me would be timeline because I would love if we could introduce it tomorrow. Uh two point uh regarding 2.6 six I do have a question and uh it's the followup on the baseline and uh when I look at the number of units and number of 30 plus areas uh it was kind of worrying me as well when I read that then when it was stated kind of potentially what it could be for then it's kind of some potentially minor items minor things minor reasons could you provide us because as I said this actually in the report looks more negative quite negative 30 plus just in 3 months. Uh could you provide us or share with us before the council with additional information what these 30 plus are or potentially amounts or reasoning? Are you able to share more information? >> Miss Decandito >> through the chair. Um so we provided uh a most recent in time of date of report but if we're looking at last quarter when we were at 26 units so close enough I think um so four were related to chargeback um two um just received outstanding balance reminders which would mean it'd be a very recent type of um uh someone already came forward to for a repayment plan and uh 19 were issued uh enforce >> councelor Prebble. >> Okay, thank you for that. That certainly is very much helpful. So, thank you for providing that. And I do know that these reports are not uh they weren't completed yesterday. But any additional information or the most current one would be helpful so we are more at peace. So we don't see these kind of potentially huge numbers behind and huge you know since the beginning etc. So thank you for that clarification. Uh 2.10 10. Uh I really want to highlight this uh impact report. What a great report and how it again kudos to the entire team because I love when these plans and when these reports they come to the big picture and strategic plan. So when I look at the pie chart, when I look at the percentages and our areas of focus, we are and as I always say, we can always be better, we can deliver more. Absolutely. But when I look at the percentages, how it fits into our implementation plan, it absolutely makes sense on the corporate level. So thank you for that because I always look at these reports. Are they fitting into our strategic plan, implementation plan? The answer for this one is yes. And I love not just the organizations, the feedback from the parents, the feedback from the participants much more beneficial. Uh don't get me wrong, the organizations that receive it, I do want their feedback as well. But when we go directly to the source, it's even much more meaningful. Uh so thank you for that. And uh I believe I hope I didn't miss anything, but uh thank you. >> Thank you. Looking for other speakers. Okay, seeing none, councelor approval. Can you take the chair? >> I have the chair and I recognize councelor Ramen. >> Thank you. Um, I wanted to start on item 2.1 uh the London newcomer strategy. Uh, first I want to thank uh staff for the report. Uh really appreciate the update and the welcoming franophhone community initiative that's also outlined. Um I just wanted to follow up uh on the newcomer strategy and just ask a question uh around participation of those with lived experience. So I know that we have a panel it's mentioned in the report. We have chairs that have been involved for quite some time. I'm just wondering how does lived experience enter into the discussion? Um thank you and um we have four newcomer champions with lift experience on the panel and they are selected through community recommendation and also based on the portfolio and their expertise in different area to make sure there's a meaningful contribution and representative voices on the panel that represent newcomers. >> Thank you. Yes, I'm grateful for the work of the committee and it's uh wonderful to see the involvement that we have. Um, one of the things I hear quite often, um, is around the some of the significant challenges, uh, faced by newcomers to our community, especially around employment, and the fact that they feel like the strategies that they're presented with and the strategies that they're trying are um, aren't working for them. And so, they're looking for new ways to uh, engage and find opportunity. And um so I I'm pleased to see that we continue to update our programs, that we continue to look for new ways to engage folks. Um what I like to see about some of our programming as it's been evolving and changing is that we've been moving it around the city. Um so we we've had some programming um out at South London Community Center. We've had it at Fanshaw College um and we've had it at other locations um as well as the resources that we have available throughout the community through our resource centers, through our libraries and other partners. So uh I think that that's great and uh very helpful. Um I'm very pleased to see that that we continue to work on these strategies, but I agree that there's, you know, a a new um a newer realization around our unemployment rate that we have to take into consideration and how that may affect uh newcomer communities differently. So I'm just wondering if you can speak to that a bit more. >> Going to the staff. >> Thank you. and through you. Uh we do recognize the unemployment rate is impacting almost everyone including the newcomers population in the city and we do recognize there's a growing trend that because of the unemployment rate more and more newcomers are being pushed to entrepreneurship. So there have been some work dedicated to this area to ensure that they can succeed if they decide to choose on the entrepreneurial venture and this is something that we'll continue to work on with um community partners. >> Thank you. >> Thank you councelor Follow. >> Uh thank you. I'll move on to 2.2. very pleased to see the tree strategy supportive of uh looking at the feasibility of uh this nursery 2.3. Um I want to thank staff for the compliance service policy update. I do think the update will be meaningful and it will require some business um process changes uh in not just the counselor's office but in service London and elsewhere. Um I am hopeful that we can uh smooth that out as we we go forward. Um, I know for instance, oftentimes when someone contacts uh the counselor's office, we have kind of some standard language that we say around this policy that will need to be tweaked and updated now that we're able to give address disclosure information. Um, so I'm pleased to see that. And I know um with these types of updates, I just want to get some clarity around if somebody filed a bylaw complaint, let's say before the date of this policy, does that mean they're not eligible for the address disclosure information? Uh does it only apply after the date that the policy takes effect? >> Thank you. Going to the staff. >> Good question. through the presiding officer. I would definitely want to get a legal opinion on that. I don't feel comfortable saying that it would or wouldn't apply at this point in time, but I could come back to you before council with that answer. >> Thank you, counselor. >> Thank you. That would be very helpful. Um because I know I have a number of probably everybody does has a list of uh outstanding complaints that people would like more information on. Um, with respect to, uh, kind of the the summary of what other municipalities are doing, uh, I'm really thankful for the information on Bmpton and Toronto and their standards and what they're using uh, as as disclosures to the public. Um, I really do think Bmpton's um, approach and the tool they're using is is quite robust and I'd like to see us do that. So, I'm hoping that future council supports a strategy that enables that. Um, in the meantime though, uh, I'm just wondering what will the public be able to ask of city staff in terms of an update on any of these types of disclosure information that would be in something similar to the the Bmpton system. and and with this update in policy, should we pass it? What kind of information can the public request of staff >> going through the staff? >> Thank you. And through the presiding officer. So, uh, much like the counselor's offices receive complaints about a lack of information coming back in relation to service requests. We also receive similar complaints from complainants who have filed a service request and are left wondering what's become of that service request. This is going to come with some growing pains admittedly and we will have to work through a process to identify what the best or who the best person is to contact to enable that information sharing piece until we explore some of these digital tools during the strategic planning uh process. But we can commit to having something identified so that they can access that information and they would be able to access the information and receive the same information as the counselors are able to receive that uh doesn't change. So the members of the public to answer your question directly would be able to get information related to the status of their complaint and any um outcomes as a result of an investigation conducted. >> Thank you counselor. >> Thank you. So would that look like they just would email the bylaw office. They would provide the date and the um the address for the the particular complaint and then they would receive the information back. And going back to the staff, >> thank you. It could look like that. Yes, I think it would make more sense to have a central um or a defined process in place whereby they're emailing one specific email address to obtain that information instead of individual staff members. Uh but certainly that process will be identified going forward. >> Thank you, councelor. >> Thank you. That's very helpful. Um, I want to thank staff for the report on 122 baseline as well. Um, it's very much appreciated to get this level of detail in this report. Uh, and uh, continue the discussion. I'm glad to see that we'll get a report back in Q4 202 or there will be a report back in Q4 2026. And lastly, just want to thank staff for the community um, uh, with the with the update from I'm getting the time. Sorry, with community uh, updates. Thank you. Um, glad to see community grants moving forward. Really appreciate the level of detail and the participant numbers included. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor. Returning to chair and I do have one follow-up question for our staff. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll go to councelor Purple. Go ahead. >> Thank you, sir chair. And if I can have uh on the 2.1 the newcomer strategy when we talked and uh it was mentioned the the economic sectors uh they are really matching the ones with lec and I just want to ask you if you can for in terms of the sectors newcomers same as lec how is our cooperation coordination with lec in in terms of these in various initiatives >> thank you again ma >> thank Thank you and through you. So LEDC is part of the membership on the nondukmer advisory body and they do have regular um input to help us navigate and understand the trends in the local workforce issues including how to better attract um newcomers to address some of the chronic shortages in key sectors especially in those um economic se um key sectors in London area. >> Thank you >> councelor PBO. >> Okay. So uh which is great in terms of the concept and strategy and then they come specific initiatives. Are they still involved on the kind of what I call ground level or is it really they are not involved on the ground level initiatives. >> Thank you Mr. Ch. >> Thank you and through you madam chair. So there are multiple um layers in the involvement and um we do have some partnership with LED especially and with um small business center in helping newcomers entrepreneurs to set up their businesses and this is one of the few examples of how we work together. So depending on the the areas of focus we may switch and um adjust appropriately. >> Councelor Perval. >> Thank you very much. No more questions. >> Okay. Thank you. I'll look for any final speakers on these items under consent. Okay, seeing none, we will open the vote on everything but 2.7 and 2.9. Councelor Hopkins votes yes. Closing the vote. The motion carries 5 to zero. >> Thank you. That moves us on to item 3.1 which is our scheduled item. Um we have first uh the fifth report of the environmental stewardship and action community advisory committee where we have a delegation from Mr. Samuels. Mr. Samuels, excuse me, I'll invite you to the microphone. Thank you very much. and you have five minutes. Welcome. >> Good afternoon, counselors, uh, staff, community folks here and watching online. Uh, my name is Brendan Samuels and I'm here today as a member of the environmental stewardship and action community advisory committee. I led the working groups that developed the reports attached to your agenda. I realize it's a lot of content, so I wanted to be here today to try and help break it down. Not given a lot of time to talk about these. I'm going to try and be brief and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them afterwards. I just want to state clearly for the record why we're providing these reports. Um, we are a volunteer community advisory committee that serves at the discretion of council. We do not provide direction. What we hope to see is for our report to be received and discussed by your committee and we would of course look to council to provide for the direction as you see fit. Our first report begins on page three of the attachment to your agenda. This is relating to proactive measures to help limit the spread of invasive species of plants and animals associated with the horiculture and pet trades in London. Uh if you want a great example of this, you can step behind city hall and I just pulled out a long strand of English ivy which has formed a carpet and to taken over all of the garden beds back there. Um, in summary, um, we suggest the city explore how it can use business licensing to ensure consumers are provided with information about purchasing specific invasive species that can cause significant environmental and property damage. We believe this cost-saving measure could be set up in a way that would pay for itself in terms of recouping costs. And our report suggests using mechanisms that are already present in the business licensing bylaw schedules for pet shops and businesses selling fireworks. We hope to continue our productive dialogue with the staff and support them to develop information materials to be provided to consumers by licensed businesses. Again, we already have a flyer just like this in every shop selling fireworks, which looks like this and can be downloaded um by the vendors from the city's website. When our committee previously collaborated with staff to update the yard and lot maintenance bylaw, we provided technical guidance on selecting specific prohibited plants now listed under a bylaw schedule. Our second report relates to the transition of the bluebox recycling program that started in January and some concerns we're bringing from community for your attention. The current program seems to be facing some friction locally as Londoners are not all aware of the changes such as the expanded types of materials now accepted in their blue box and what cannot be recycled. We're not sure about how residents are receiving communication from circular materials or Miller waste about sorting and we believe that the roll out of communication has been uneven. We suggest the city collects additional feedback from Londoners about recycling issues they are experiencing while also appropriately referring them to the program provider. For instance, if you visit the service London portal, there's already buttons for green bin and garbage, but nothing referring people for recycling. Because the city has long-standing communication channels used for communicating with residents about waste, we think it would be worthwhile to reach out to the new bluebox provider and ask them how the city can collaborate to support their communication efforts locally. While this is no longer the city's responsibility, uptake of the program is still relevant to our environmental goals like reducing waste sent to landfill. Our third and final report responds to council's request for feedback on rat infestations and property standards. We are generally supportive of the staff recommendation. I'm going to briefly highlight a few areas where our report provides guidance beyond the staff report. People need to know how to use waste facilities correctly, how to identify non-compliance with property standards, and how to report issues to the city. For this reason, our committee has produced information stickers like these uh service London. And this one says, "Help keep wildlife out." Um, which helps to alert people to how their behavior can influence the risks of pests in buildings and to orient people to the Service London portal. We think dumpsters in the city should be better labeled or at the very least municipal compliance should be able to install a label where a waste container is contravening a bylaw. Second, if a waste facility like a dumpster is deficient, say because it's missing a lid or because it's too small to accommodate the volume of waste being produced by the users, we believe municipal compliance should have the option to compel the owner to increase the volume or quantity of their waste containers. If it makes sense for an enclosure to be installed around the waste containers to prevent animals from getting in or litter from escaping, municipal compliance should have the option to compel the owner to install an enclosure. It's unclear from reading the draft bylaw if that mechanism exists. Lastly, we suggest the city explore discontinuing collection of loose garbage bags for curbside pickup. >> 30 seconds. >> Other cities like Kitchener, Waterlue, Kingston, Barry use waste carts with lids. In summary, these three reports share a common thread. We believe Londoners want to make responsible choices and take care of the environment. But to do so, they need to be provided with the right information in the right places at the right times. Whether that's at a garden center, at their curb, or when depositing garbage in a waste facility. We suggest measures the city could take to improve public awareness, reduce risks, and ultimately lower costs to taxpayers. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh next, uh we will deal with the request for delegation status. So I look for a mover and a seconder. Councelor Choso, Councelor Hopkins. Uh and we will open that request. Closing the vote. The motion carries five to zero. >> Thank you. I'll invite Miss Blake Rose to the microphone. Welcome. You have five minutes. Go ahead. >> Hi, thank you all for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Mary Blake Rose and I live in W 7 here in London and I am here to offer a non-expert opinion on a bit of what Dr. Samuels just talked about. Uh but so I'm here basically as somebody who had the opportunity to buy a property not quite three years ago. And so in those not quite 3 years, I've been doing a lot of learning because there's just a lot of information that goes with being a property owner. And some of the learning I've been doing has to do with taking care of the yard and planting things and removing things that maybe I didn't want planted there. And as I think you can see from the letters that have been submitted with regard to what the community advisory committee submitted, I think that you can see that numerous property owners also have experience with plants on their property that maybe they didn't plant and that are just there for the foreseeable future. Uh so in my personal experience as I said I've been doing a lot of learning and I love that that learning process but there is a lot of information and I think that people have the best of intentions but sometimes maybe they purchase a plant and don't really know what it is but it was recommended or it looked nice and then it creates problems for them or it creates problems for neighbors or it creates problems in an environmentally significant area And so uh I wrote in as did numerous other people about goutweed or agapodium podigaria which is an invasive species that uh can be found in numerous locations in our city. And in my case, I believe that my goutede patch, which I share with at least five other neighbors, I believe it was I I believe it originates from an ornamental patch that had been planted numerous years ago, probably by a previous owner of a neighbor's property. And I don't hold that against that person. I think that they planted something either because they needed something that would grow under a maple tree or they liked the way it looked or somebody recommended it. You know, people people buy plants for many reasons, but uh well, I will have goutede for the foreseeable future because as I mentioned under a maple tree, I could try digging it out, but the roots are mixed up with maple roots. So mostly I have the choice between tall gout weed or short gout weed under that tree and I can live with that. I can continue to uh pull andor weed whack the gout weed and keep it at least at least I can minorly annoy it and try to keep it vaguely under control and keep it from flowering, keep it from spreading more than it already has. Uh, but there's also there's people who maybe have English ivy that's taken over their entire yard or uh or that's growing up a wall or that's destroying a shed they have. I I think that invasive plant species do affect our ability to use our properties in addition to, of course, the fact that they create all kinds of problems when they get into environmentally significant areas. And so I think that that education piece is really important because as I said I believe that people have the best of intentions but there's just a lot to know in the world and we don't all know everything. And so uh using business licensing uh to help to provide information to people at point of sale about a plant they may want to purchase or a pet that they may want to purchase I think is a really powerful tool. And so I support the recommendations of the community advisory committee committee and I support the motion from counselors Trasau and Ferrer and thank you all for your time. >> Thank you. Okay, that takes us back to the motion from councilors uh Traso and Ferrer who would like to introduce the motion. >> Councelor Traso, go ahead. >> Yes, thank you very much. question through the chair. I want to start by thanking the advisory committee. Um it was a very thorough um wellressearched evidence-based report. I'm happy to accept it and uh I'm really I'm really pleased that uh from what from what I'm hearing you were working closely with staff on this. I'm not hearing any significant push back on this. And um while there are more ownorous regulatory approaches that um could be taken, I think that that that would raise some legal issues. I I would look at the what the town of Halton Hills >> Sorry, councelor. Do you want to introduce your motion and then you can speak to it? >> That That's a good idea. Thank you. Um yes. So, um this this was this was submitted in in the um this is in your added agenda packet and it is at page 287 and I just want to uh I'm not going to read the whole thing because this this uh text is largely taken from uh the material in the report. >> What I'm asking for the motion >> so you're putting your motion on the floor. >> Yes. >> Thank you. And I will >> civic administration be directed. Perfect. >> What's in bold there? >> Wonderful. >> Yes. >> Thank you. And I have a secondary and councelor Ferrer. Thank you. And councelor Trasa, would you like to speak to your motion? >> I I think I'm going to um let the report and the recital in the preamble in my motion speak for itself. I'd be very happy to take any questions or try to deal with any concerns that people have. I want to uh first of all clarify once again that this is something that staff would find uh doable and acceptable within within the time frame. Uh actually let me let me just clear that up with staff first. >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Feffer. >> Thank you. and through the through you. I would just like to seek some clarification on the timeline. Actually, I didn't I didn't see the timeline. >> I think uh through the chair uh as as in many other requests for a staff report back um by not putting a time frame in I my intention was to defer that to you. Uh we this committee gives you an exceptionally heavy um workload. My preference would be as soon as possible. Um if you'd like me to say next meeting, I'll say that. But uh I know that how much time do you think you need on this realistically? >> Thank you. Thank you, Miss Feffer. >> Thank you. And through you, just in the context of the the other work that we currently have, I'd really like to take some time to look at this properly and have it ready to go for the next growing season. So, ideally speaking, that would align with early 2027. >> Councelor Trasa. >> Um, that that is fine with me. I would ask the seconder and uh I I think that the uh proponents of this at the advisory committee uh are are really looking towards how we're going to deal with this prospectively. So the next growing growing season would be um would be perfect. Thank you. Do you need something in the motion to uh clarify that or can we just sort of leave that with you? Thank you. >> Through you, chair. Could you please repeat that or could you have him please repeat that question? >> Councelor Duss, do you want to clarify? >> Yes. Do you would would you like a an amendment to the motion or can we leave what you just said uh with you? >> Miss Feffer. >> Thank you. And through you, there's no need for an amendment in relation to the timeline. >> Okay. Thank you, Councelor Trusso. >> Okay. Well, I'll I'll yield to other counselors uh for now. >> Thank you. I'll go to councelor Ferrer. >> Thanks, chair. Uh and thanks to councelor Trusso for moving this motion. I'm happy to second it. I just wanted to say to um the report from the environmental stewardship and action advisory committee. I thought it was very thorough. It was very very well written and I want to say a special thank you to Dr. Samuels. You're very engaged. You're one of the most engaged Londoners that I know and uh you are here quite often and you are informing us and educating us quite often and I think the work that you do is amazing. Also to the delegate, Miss Blake Rose, thank you for coming out and telling us um your experience and uh I agree exactly with everything that you're saying. People have the best intentions, but they may not necessarily know what it is um that they're buying. Um for myself as a homeowner, I have English ivy all over the yard. And and it was growing up the house and doing a lot of things um to the yard and it's probably something that is going to forever be there. Um I just know that combating something like that uh is is going to be a difficult thing and that speaks to the whole uh I guess intent of of the report and the motion that councelor Trusso and I have brought and that is really it's about um prevention. Prevention is the most effective solution. It's the most effective solution environmentally speaking and cost effectively speaking as well. um you know once an invasive species spreads um management e is exponentially more expensive uh than that preventative uh measure. So I think um just the recommendation coming in the report and the motion that we're moving here today when it comes to requiring the business license and I really appreciate how there's a there's a potential cost recovery framework that can be embedded here but also providing that education for individuals who are buying uh somewhat invasive species whether it's a plant or an animal to have that information provided alongside that I think is is a is a really good uh step forward and it's a really good move. So, I I like how we're focusing on the preventative side and not being reactive. That's something that I'm always trying to push here at council, being preventative, being proactive rather than reactive. So, I'm hoping that we can get support um from committee and from council moving forward. And I think this is a a really good approach. I'd like to see more preventative, proactive approaches for other items, too. Um but I will yield to committee and um see what committee has to say. Um but I appreciate the work. So, thank you very much. Thank you. I have councelor Hopkins next and then I will turn the chair over to councelor Perval. >> Thank you uh Madame Chair and um I like to address the advisory group. Uh Dr. Samuels, thank you so much for being here with us and thanks for the uh advisory group's work on uh three main areas. the blue box, the uh uh recommendations on how we can do a better job uh educating the community and uh as well as rat infestation. Speaking to the invasive species though, uh thanks again for uh the suggestions in your report on the motion. It is a report back. I'm glad to see that there are no timelines on this one. I think we have to kind of get it right a little bit and allow staff to um get the information that we need. I do think it is an issue um not only um prevention like councelor Ferrer spoke to but I think again it's that education piece uh good friend of mine gave me beautiful plant 15 years ago and I am still tackling that plant in my yard it hasn't interfered in our friendship but there have been moments um but again it reminded me she didn't know I didn't know. And how do you get rid of? Some plants are very, very difficult to get rid of. I see a lot of dumping in our parks and in our ESAs, in our um conservation areas. People want to get rid of these plants and dumping is a really great way to get rid of it. But guess what? It starts to grow. And I it's an issue that we should try to tackle, educate, and understand. and maybe this through the licing licensing is an opportunity to do that. So for now I am I am supportive of um it going through and uh I think as a city we we should be at least uh trying to do a better job and looking at what other cities are doing. So uh thanks again for um having this conversation here at committee. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll turn the chair over to councelor Pville. >> I have the chair and I recognize councelor Ramen. >> Uh thank you and through you. So um I want to thank uh the committee for the report as well. Uh very helpful to have so much background on this item. Um and uh in looking at the report I saw lots of examples for the native species conversation around plants. Um, but I'm just wondering or sorry, invasive species, sorry, conversation around plants, but I didn't see as much around uh animals and pet shops. Um, I see some references to goldfish, but I'm just wondering how that is determined uh what's an invasive species um for a pet and uh is that determined provincewide? Is it something where there might be some, for instance, determination locally? We're talking about rats at the same meeting. Some people keep rats as pets. Are they considered an invasive species on the pet side? I I'm just wondering if somebody can clarify with me. Other than goldfish, what other pets are we talking about? >> Thank you. And going to the staff for their feedback. >> Thank you. you and through you. We would certainly have to collaborate with community partners, issac in particular, to determine what um could should and could be classified as an invasive species in terms of an animal. That would all be subject to um commentary in the follow-up report, but I don't have that information right now, and I couldn't give you a list of of what would be considered to be an invasive species in terms of an animal. >> Thank you, counselor. >> Thank you. Yeah, in the report uh from the committee, I only see reference to 2023 discussions on goldfish. Um so at this time, I'm not sure how and what we would get back in the report back on uh animal species. Um my question would be because the motion directs that a bylaw come back um and a report back. So, uh, I'm just not wanting to catch folks off guard because we're having a discussion mostly about invasive plants, but yet at the same time it includes plants and animals that could come back in a bylaw. So, I'm just wondering what would be kind of the staging. I know we still have a public participation meeting when it as it relates to this, but um, folks may not realize that we're also talking about invasive species that have to do with things like goldfish. thinking going through staff. >> Yes, that's uh sorry through you. Um that is a concern. We would definitely have to look at um what approach we're going to take in terms of whether we're focusing only on invasive species of plants or whether we're going to look at invasive species and in relation to pets. Uh that would be something that our policy team would have to sit down and and really parse out. Thank you, counselor. >> Thank you. And through you. Um, and also with the invasive species that has to do with plants. Um, those could be sold at pet stores as well, right? Like anything to do with a aquarium or or something of that sort. Um, so how comprehensive of a list and outside of let's say um our environmental stewardship committee, where else would you go to get that information? going to the staff. Please go ahead. >> Thank you. And through you. So we would look to our internal partners as well in parks and forestry uh natural heritage heritage staff um the upper temps uh conservation authority as well. And then of course there are existing provincial and federal lists that we would have to reference as well. >> Thank you councelor. >> Uh thank you and through you. So that sounds to me like a taller order and I know that that's probably a lot more work. Um uh I understand we're we're we're not giving a timeline. I just don't want staff to feel that they have to come back with a a tight timeline with so many um different sources to to connect with. Um really thankful for the report. I'd be uh more inclined to support the invasive plant species at this time and separate the two in the bylaw discussion just so that we could get more clarity around the animal species first um so that I can better understand what we're what we're looking at. I see the list for Ontario for uh pets that that are, you know, considered invasive species. Um, but I'm not sure because it's not all reference there uh with what we're talking about. So, that's just my my thoughts on it at this time. >> Thank you. I don't think there I didn't hear any questions. I think those were all comments. So, thank you. And returning the chair back to you. >> Thank you. I have the chair and I saw a couple of hands go up. Um, so councelor Traso, did you have your hand up? Sorry. And then I have councelor Ferrer. And then I have Deputy Mayor Lewis as well. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Um, I think I'll just um the the the for the only thing I would say um with respect to your comments is I just want to leave it with staff to write the report that they want to write. if they want to write a report saying that this opens a whole another series of issues that's going to delay our report on the plants, I'd be very happy to get them back, but I'd like to at least give them uh the chance to talk about that. From the literature that I've looked at and from from what I take at the report, really it's the goldfish that are the problem. I'm not sure how much research that's going to take. I don't want to hold this up, but I will I will I would prefer to just leave it with staff to tell us what they think about whether this is too much scope for one report. >> Thank you. I'll go to Councelor Ferrer next and then I have Deputy Mayor Lewis. >> Uh thank you, Chair. Uh just to maybe try to answer some of your questions like I do understand I do uh see that the report is referring to the red-eared slider turtles. Um and those are the two kind of main ones between the goldfish and those. And I would also point out uh in in addition to the Ontario's invasive species lists, the upper temp's conservation authority has a very comprehensive list of animal species as well. So the work wouldn't be starting from scratch. Staff would be able to to go to those lists that have already been published and the upper temp's conservation uh lists are directly related to uh to this report. >> Thank you. Uh I will go to Deputy Mayor Lewis. Go ahead. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I will say that uh I I certainly especially on the invasive species plants uh very supportive uh of where we're where it looks like we might be going on this. Uh I I know others have shared their stories. Uh for me, it's periwinkle. Uh I have been pulling that stuff out of the ground at my house since the day I moved in. Very difficult to manage. And I think having some educational material and I think that responsible uh green houses and and plant sellers would be more than open to having information available to people as well. So supportive of that. I do share the chair's concern a little bit about perhaps separating the two. Uh although I hear councelor Trussau uh and councelor Ferrer's comments about the fact that there is some information out there. Uh staff wouldn't be starting from scratch. So, um I I will say I'm I'm sort of with council trusso on I'm okay if staff want to say we need to do a a report A and then a report B later um and separate the two. I do think it's a lot for one report, but um I'm flexible on this. I do I'm very supportive of the native species or the invasive species of plants being, you know, better informed for the public and trying to restrict uh people putting those out because I tremendous frustrations. Um I will also say um coming out of the advisory committee's report um I'm very supportive of of well as well about the idea of uh requiring uh garbage that's going to the curb to be in containers. I I think that that is part of our our issue right now uh that councelor McAllister has raised with rats, but I think there's other uh problem animals, skunks and raccoons among them um that are attracted when garbage is put out in just a plastic bag uh for collection. U and I know other municipalities do have requirements that that actually say you have to put it out in a container. We don't accept loose bags. Um, so I I appreciate the advisory committee raising that and I think that warrants a further discussion from us as well. >> Thank you. Uh, I didn't hear any questions so just comments. So I will look for other speakers on this item. Okay, seeing no other speakers, what's in front of us right now um is uh the motion from councilors and councelor Ferrer as well as the above noted report be received uh and then it includes all the communication that we received on this item as well. Uh, okay. Councelor Traso, >> that's what's on page 288 with the addition of the it being noted in the list because I can't see see. >> Yeah. And receiving the report. Thank you. >> Okay. With that, I will uh open the vote. >> Closing the vote. Motion carries 5 to zero. >> Thank you. We will move back to item 2.7. Uh that was from our consent agenda. That is uh the award of the NRFP 2025 248 municipal lands for affordable housing at 1958 Duth Crescent uh block 6. Um so I had a request to pull this item. I don't know if I have a mover in seconder on this item to begin with. I have councelor Ferrer to move it. Do I have a seconder? Councelor Hopkins. Okay, with that we'll begin discussion and I will go to councelor Purbal. >> Thank you chair and thank you for uh to my colleagues to bring this or to supporting this on the floor. I do I did want to pull this this out because the clause C which states be directed to work with the proponent to submit necessary planning act application to support an increase in density from 71 per hectare to 107 units per hectare. Uh I will not be supporting and what I'm going to do is I'm going to give uh now uh if you can please go to the dep mayor Lewis please. >> Thank you and I have deputy mayor Lewis next. Go ahead. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, uh, I appreciate councelor Prible pulling this. Uh, I do have a real concern with clause C and the applicant seeking increased density here. Um, as it is, they're proposing moving the height of the apartment building from three stories to four stories. I understand from staff that the 12 meters still sits within the zoning bylaws that we approved in the draft plan of subdivision. Um, but that's why I have an issue with this is we have a draft plan of subdivision. The proponent knew exactly what the uh expectations were for an application to come in to develop this block. We already and I supported pushing uh the density a little bit higher on block five where has come in uh to do a senior's build project and we moved from four stories to five stories to accommodate increased density there. I'm concerned that we continue to see throughout this plan of subdivision, every time an application comes forward, there's a push for increased height and density on things. There's another block, block seven, that allows for greater height density if the proponent wanted to uh apply for that block uh instead. Uh there are other blocks with lower density. Um I really think that we need to be keeping to the plan of subdivision that this council approved for this school zone repurposing of the site. I also am against the increased density for a very specific reason and it comes back to the discussions we have around what is appropriate in terms of clustering and putting all the sort of services and everything in in sort of one location. So this project on duth uh is immediately north of trfalger street. If we go to the south side of Trifoger Street, uh we have a considerable amount of affordable and RGI housing already over 250 units actually uh through the Genesis Co-op, Talisman Woods Co-op, LMCH itself has 51 town houses uh that are RGI units as well as LMCH duplexes on Maronei itself between Trafalogar and Null. Uh I'm very concerned that pushing up the density further is starting to cluster what is already a fairly significant um collocation of affordable and RGI units in one part of one neighborhood in the city. Uh I support the ask in terms of the density that was part of the plan of subdivision. I've supported the plan of subdivision since the beginning but I will not be supporting another increase in density uh being put forward here. And I I do understand from staff as well that uh my other concern this would not even come back to us if we moved ahead with this in part C. Uh it would actually go to the committee of adjustment not to council for final decision. Uh I don't think that that's the way we should be handling these when we acquire school lands for redevelopment. As I said I've supported the project throughout. I worked with staff on the plan of subdivision done considerable community consultation. there's no community uh real opposition to the plan that exists, but there is considerable concern that we are seeing yet again another push on another block to increase the density further. So, I'm respectfully asking uh C committee and be asking council to support everything but clause C and ask the proponent balance it to work within the plan of subdivision that was laid out for it. >> Thank you. Uh I don't think I heard any questions in in that. So um I will look to other speakers uh for this item. >> Councelor Hopkins. Thank you. I just have a couple questions for clarification for you, Madam Chair. Uh when as it relates to clause C, we're directing the work um to work with the proponent proponent to submit necessary planning act applications support an increase by supporting C. Are we confirming that we are going to be increasing um the units per hectare in this recommendation or would it just go to planning? I just want clarification on that. >> Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Mr. Felberg. >> Thank you and through you madam chair. Uh so what the intention of clause C is to identify they will work with the proponent to submit the application. So um after we follow up with uh the director of planning and development will determine if it needs to be a minor variance or if it goes to PE. Initial our initial um reviews suggest that it would be a um a minor variance. So it would go to the the committee of adjustment. Uh I want it probably would also be helpful for council to understand that within the contribution agreement itself uh in section three um it requires consent from the city to change the number of units on the property. So the development that's been identified in the contribution agreement is a two is two two-story apartment buildings having combined a combined total of 45 units and then five three-bedroom town houses. So if if the committee of adjustment were to find in favor of that added heightened density, we would need to uh enter into an amending agreement with balance it to change the type of development uh at the property. Additionally, in section six, uh we have some conditions which are precedent to the transfer of the property. So we won't actually transfer the property to balance it until such time as uh they have received site plan approval. So again, for them to be able to add the additional density, add the additional units and create that new development, they would still need to go through that planning act process. And then only after we have that site plan approval would we then consider, uh, transferring the property to them for the building permit and then construction. >> Councelor Hopkins. >> Yeah. So, uh, right now the, uh, the, uh, contribution agreement states two, uh, two stories, nothing more. Do we really need clause C then? Or so in other words, could we just support the contribution agreement, what's in it, and leave it up to the process. >> Mr. Felberg, >> thank you. And through you, Madam Chair. Uh, so the purpose of clause C is to give council some clear idea of how they can approach the the approval of this uh particular development. If council does not wish uh civic administration to explore additional height and density, more not not additional height, additional density uh and more units on the site, uh then we would move forward. If they don't, then you could make a motion to remove uh clause C and then we would just go forward with the um with the concept that you actually see in the report and then what's identified in the contribution agreement >> and question as well uh as it relates to the affordability. I understand it's only 30% that is affordable in this development. I just want confirmation. >> Mr. Mr. Falberg. >> Thank you. And through you, Madam Chair. Just looking in the report, uh, we actually identified the number of units that that relates to. Um, so in section 2.3 where it says, uh, potential for additional units. The very last sentence says the new number of affordable units will increase from 15 to 29. So that's that 30% of the existing development to what could potentially be 40% of of the the new proposed development that the developer proposed in the uh procurement process. >> Councelor Hopkins >> looking for other speakers. Councelor Ferrer. >> Thank you, Chair. Uh I guess uh coming off of councelor Hopkins question. So I was looking at that section of the report as well. Um and it it's um I do see that going from the 15 to 29 is the reason that we are potentially looking to move towards the greater unit per hectar density. And I do see also I was wondering if you could just kind of point out um some of the types of units like I see it says provide more familysiz units uh in the backtoback town homes unit or the townhouse units. I was just wondering if you could maybe tell some details if we were if this d if this increased density were to be approved, what would you see in addition to the number of affordable units? What type of units are we talking about? >> Thank you. I'll go to Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you. And through you, Madam Chair. Uh so by adding uh the additional uh townhouse units, we'd be adding additional familysized units to that. Um, but we'll have to go back and take a look at the specific numbers and we can get that information to committee before council. >> Council Pereira. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Looking for other speakers. Councelor Stevenson. Thank you. Um, when I look at this, I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about the negotiated request for proposal and how that worked for this project. Mr. Felberg. >> Uh, three, Madam Chair. I wonder if councelor could provide a little bit more clarity on what what are you looking for? What information are you looking for? Are you looking for the back and forth? Are you looking for the things that we talked about? >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Yeah. The um the back and forth and and what you guys talked about. But I guess I'm I'm wondering there was only two proponents and you spoke with them and this is a it blends a competitive bidding with a structured negotiation. I know this is relatively new. So I'd just like to understand how uh this proponent was chosen. Uh thank you and three madam chair. So one of the nice things about the negotiated proposal it does allow us flexibility for it to be able to have a conversation. So the developer can come in or the proponents can come in and they can offer different elements depending on what it is uh they're they're specifically looking for. So in this case through the de through the uh through the negotiation they identified an opportunity to add more height and density. So what we said as part of that process was we needed to understand what council's perspective is on that before we advance the project. In the initial uh procurement document uh we had highlighted what the development could be which is what you see in the contribution agreement what I talked about before with the uh the 50 units or the 45 and the um 5unit townhouse. So, it really depends um on what the particular proponent might want to talk about, but all elements of the development and all elements of a contribution agreement can be negotiated as part of that process. >> Councelor Stevenson, thank you. That's helpful. And I guess so what had this one be chosen over the other one? Like >> Mr. Felberg? >> Uh thank you and Madam Chair. So, one of the things that was most appealing about this project was the um the modern methods of construction. So, the modular build that uh balances balance it is offering. As you know, that's a priority for the federal government and also the provincial government in building new housing and getting it uh up and ready and occupied faster. >> Counselor. Okay. Thanks. And just because this is new and I'm wanting to understand it, how how is it I don't even know how to say this, but you know, you negotiate different things. You choose the one that you feel is best for the city. How is the other one um is there any how is fairness maintained, I guess, or how is it clear so that we don't have people who are unhappy potentially with the decision? >> Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you. you and through you madam chair. So there is evaluation criteria built into the RFP very simil and the NRFP it's very similar to any other RFP that we would have. So we identify certain things that are not negotiable they are yes no kind of uh uh components of the proposal and then there are other parts that are things that we can score and then negotiate on. So again, this one because of the speed and the ability to move faster was one of the uh one of the key things for this particular uh proponent in this project. >> Councelor. >> Okay. Thank you. And through the chair. So what I'm understanding is you have a winning person through or proponent through the RFP and then you negotiate with that one to get the specifics that you want. >> Mr. Pelber. Uh thank you and through you madam chair. So yes there is a priority so we negotiate with the highest scoring proponent first uh but we can negotiate with all proponents through the through the process. Some of that is identified as part of the procurement process uh and in the procurement document as well. So there are various options which is nice. It adds flexibility. um it's not as restrictive and as closed as a traditional RFP where uh if certain elements are not uh answered they they may or may not get scored. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> Thank you. And through you. Um I just wanted to know also about the partnership piece of this. Is this something new or have we done this on other projects? >> Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you and through you madam chair. I I assume the council you're referring to the partnership with the city and the proponent. Is that what you're referring to? >> Go ahead, Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you. And three, Madam Chair. Yes, we have done this uh in a few other locations. So, um a really great recent example would be the High Park project where we partnered with um uh uh PI Homes, I forget what the PI stands for, but and also Xarin, which is a nonprofit. Um but those are very similar process that that was our first NRFP uh that we did as a city and um we're finding that it is uh effective especially in the affordable housing world where there's so many different variables that can change through the process. >> Councelor Stevenson. Thank you. And so just to clarify in in the conclusion it says that approval of the recommendations in this report will authorize a project partnership with Balance it Inc. And it might be my accounting background that has me um pay attention to the word partnership. Um and then it also says that uh the city helps secure construction financing, can assist with tendering and contract administration. So that level of partnership has been done before. >> Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. So a really good example would be the 18 Elm Street project. So, uh, that was formerly the HTC, but a very similar model that we've we're undertaking through some of the work that we do. Uh, we partnered with the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services. Uh, we actually took on the design of the building, we went through, uh, site plan approval on behalf of OHS. Uh and then when they were ready, when they had secured their financing and they were ready to move forward with the actual development and get a permit, we then transferred the land to the proponent to OHS and they undertook the construction. So it it varies depending on the proponent and which partner we're working on on how we are going to participate, but that 18 Elm Street project is a really good example of us taking things all the way through the process. And I believe it's actually occupied right now. Uh the child care center will be open in the coming months or weeks. Uh so it's a very exciting project. I encourage you to drive by and check it out. >> Councelor Stevenson. Uh thank you very much for that. and through you another followup is I guess when when taxpayers know that we're contributing the land um you know so they're buying it for $2 and then they're doing it and then we're also contributing you know city land staff expertise all that kind of things. Why do we do that versus doing what we did at 122 baseline where it was our project? How does the city determine what's in the best interests uh long term? Mr. Felberg. >> Thank you. Three, Madam Chair. So, in section three of the report, uh, we try to touch on that a little bit. Um, so the investment that we've made on this particular property in order to get prepared, get a shovel ready is about just a little over a million. So, that the cost per unit for this particular project is about $23,000. Uh now though we have a um a property or a block that has a different uh um appraised value. So that appraised value is actually works out to closer to $68,000 a unit. So we're adding value to the community. We're actually going over and above what our contribution is on the road map by of $45,000 and we're creating that value in the community as far as constructing new buildings. Uh so the baseline Thompson and Silven Street uh projects they were part of a a federal program where the federal government was granting funding specific for construction of new buildings. A big part of that was a COVID response and making sure that um there was construction happening at the time. Um so very different and hard very difficult to compare apples to apples. The road map has given us that structure and council's endorsed the shovel ready projects. It's very similar to LDS where we go out, create value, and then make that available for uh proponents. >> Councelor Stevenson. >> I think that's it for now. Thanks. >> Thank you. Looking for other speakers on this. Oh, sorry. Councelor Hopkins, you had a question. Go ahead. >> Yes, I I do, Madam Chair. And I'm just also thinking how complicated all these funding formulas can be sometimes. And uh my question through you is just to confirm that um any kind of planning application changes will be um the responsibility of the um the um uh applicant not the city. >> Mr. Felberg. >> Uh thank you three madam chair. Yes, it' be their responsibility to undertake those applications. But again, uh in that contribution agreement, we've identified that the transfer of the land. So, they won't actually receive an asset until they've gone through site plan approval. So, we're trying to ensure that the planning approvals are done and complete prior to them um moving forward. They should also have financing in place at that point. So at that point their uh their banks and their financers will have um a commitment from the developer to move forward with a project in a certain way under a certain uh development uh framework >> and again it's through you madam chair it's their responsibility >> Mr. Falberg. >> Uh, three, Madam Chair. That's correct. >> Councelor, any followup? Okay, councelor Ferrer, go ahead. >> Thank you, chair. So, just to follow up on that, so the city total amount invested for the preparation of the land and everything there was about five uh million from the report, is that correct? >> Mr. Falberg. >> Uh, thank you through you, Madam Chair. Yes. all of the uh the money that the city spent to redevelop Duth was $5 million. >> Councelor Pereira. >> Okay. Thank you. And then um like with that investment from the city and especially with our direction of council, we're looking to maximize how as many affordable units as we possibly can for more affordable housing and familysiz units, which I have seen um in the past. We I've have seen a lot of like bachelor and singlebedroom units and I've been advocating for more familysiz units which is why I like this. I understand some of the concerns that I'm hearing, but I do think that this is the best bang for our buck. Do you happen to have and I know this is probably not a fair question, but do you have any numbers on how many single and non-family affordable units that we have um approved as of date compared to family size units? And if not, I I totally get that. I can get that back later. Mr. Felberg. >> Uh, thank you. And three, Madam Chair. Not off the top of our uh off the back of our hand, top of our head, but we'll come back and uh let council know. >> Councelor Ferrer. >> Okay. Thank you. Well, I would say uh you know with the city strategic plan and our goal of creating more affordable units, as many as we can, especially familysiz units, which are needed, and trying to mitigate the affordability needs of Londoners, especially when it comes to families, and stretching our dollar for as much as we can when it comes to affordable units, I would support this um propo project as as it is. I do want to see as many as we can. So when I see increasing the minimum from 30 to 40% of affordable units and I see the type of units that they are and then I see the money that we've invested, we have a chance here to increase that, you know, from 15 to 29. So um I would hope that the committee does support this. >> Thank you. I'll look for other speakers. Councelor Stevenson, go ahead. >> Thank you. I forgot one. Has Balance IT, Inc. um built a building of this size before or was this the first time? Thank you. I'll go to staff. >> Uh, thank you. And through, madam chair. We'll have to get back to you with some of that information, >> counselor. >> That's great. If we could get it before council, that would be great. >> Thank you. Any other questions on item 2.7? Okay, thank you. We will open parts A and B first and then we'll deal with C separately. So this is the opening of A and B. Closing the vote. The motion carries 5 to zero. Thank you. We will open part C. >> Closing the vote. The motion carries 4 to one. >> Thank you. That takes us to item 2.9, which is the B by Byron Veterans uh monument donation to Springbank Park. Uh councelor Privile is uh prepared to move a referral on this item. You would have received a notification today of a special meeting uh on this item coming up uh in the coming weeks. Um and the referral is for the purpose of us to receive additional communications and legal uh on this item. Um, with that I will look to councelor Pribble to move that amendment or referral. Sorry. >> Thank you chair. So I don't know if you want me to uh as stated by the chair I would like to refer this and uh there's a motion in front of us. I don't know if you want me to read it or if it's uh if I if all my colleagues can >> you can read it that'd be great. that on the recommendation of the deput city manager. >> Nope. Sorry. Second one. I see it. that a matter of the Byron Veterans Monument donation to Spring Ben Park as included in the staff report dated June 8th, 2026 be referred to a special meeting of the community community and protective services committee on June 16, 2026. >> Thank you. And I secondary and councelor Ferrer. Okay. Is anyone looking to discuss this matter? Okay. I'll go to councelor Hopkins. Go ahead. >> Yes. Uh definitely this is in uh the ward that I represent and maybe to the mover or the seconder. What would be the reason for the referral? >> Thank you. So uh that we're having a special meeting on this item on June 16th. A follow-up question maybe for you then to staff would be does this delay the um the timing for the Remembrance Day service at this memorial which would be in November. >> Thank you. I'll go to Miss Smith. >> Thank you and for the chair. Thank you for the question. This is why we're uh recommending that we hold a special meeting. We need just to make some minor adjustments to the current the to the uh template agreement attached to the report. So in order to do that um we've asked for a special meeting. So it will still go to the same council meeting that it would have gone to if the report came forward today. So it will not impact anything with respect to the project. It's just some minor amendments to the agreement that um civic administration would like to have in place before council reviews it and approves it. >> Thank you. Councelor Hopkins. Go ahead. >> As long as there are no delays, I'm happy to support. >> Thank you. I'll go to Deputy Mayor Lewis. >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. As as somebody who's been on the uh committee uh working on this project, uh I I will say Councelor Hopkins asked the most important question already, and I'm glad to hear that it's going to come to the same council. Uh staff have answered that it's some minor technical uh amendments, so I'm satisfied with that. Uh this has been a long uh long in the process project. Uh, councelor Hopkins and I have both uh talked multiple times with former mayor Holder and Padre Frank Mance and others involved um eager to get this done in time for remembrance day this year for the people in the Byron community. So when this does come to council because it's coming to the same council, I'm looking forward to supporting it and moving this project forward. >> Thank you. Looking for any final speakers on the referral. Seeing none, we'll open the vote on that matter. Councelor Hopkins. Closing the vote. The motion carries 5 to zero. Thank you. That concludes our deferred matters and I do not have any notice of additional business. So with that we'll move to confidential session uh of which the uh reasons are in the agenda. We will deal with 6.1 and 6.2 looking for a mover and seconder. Councelor Hopkins, councelor Traso, thank you. With that we'll open the vote. Council Hopkins votes yes. >> Closing the vote. The motion carries five to zero. Thank you. We'll just take a moment to prepare the room. Thank you. Uh, councelor Purbble, if I may ask you to report out from close session. >> Thank you, chair. And I would like to report that progress has been made in the two points 6.1 and 6.2 that our committee went into the camera. Thank you. >> Thank you. And with that, I will look for a motion to adjourn. Okay. Councelor Jaso. Councelor Hopkins. Thank you. By hand, all in favor? Motion carries. Thank you everyone.