Accessible parking, The Bradford Barn, integrity commissioners, and a pregnancy leave policy are all on the agenda for discussion at Tuesday evening’s Bradford West Gwillimbury council meeting.
Members of the public are welcome to attend all BWG council meetings, which take place in the Zima Room at the BWG Public Library at 7 p.m.
There will also be an open forum, during which residents can speak to council about any concerns they have in the community at this time.
Closed session
BWG council will start with a session closed to the public to address two items: advisory committee appointments and an appeal of a Committee of Adjustment decision.
If any decisions are made in the session, council will make a motion in the regular meeting open to the public.
Public meeting
Jennifer and Nick Johannessen have applied to the Town of BWG for a zoning bylaw amendment for 3287 Line 9, which is the location of The Bradford Barn, a wedding and events venue.
The property is zoned agricultural, which does not permit a banquet hall.
“The Applicant proposes to legalize a Wedding Events Venue that is currently operating on the
subject property while also preserving the agricultural use permissions,” read a town staff report.
Integrity commissioner
BWG council will vote on whether to pass a bylaw appointing Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski as the town’s integrity commissioner.
The lawyers from Principles Integrity were selected by the County of Simcoe, which offered to pay the $1,000 annual retainer cost of them for all county municipalities.
Individual municipalities are in charge of covering all other costs, such as getting advice from the integrity commissioners, conducting investigations, or providing training.
Accessible parking bylaw
In response to increased complaints in the last year about private parking lots and inadequate accessible parking space signage, the town’s Committee of the Whole, which is made up of council members, will consider updating its accessible parking bylaw.
The town’s current bylaws do not include a few provincial requirements, including larger parking spaces for van accessibility and standard accessible parking, as well as access aisles, which cannot be parked on, for people with mobility devices to move around the spaces.
Updating the bylaw would allow the town’s enforcement staff to better respond to complaints “with the principle of compliance as the goal,” read the report.
Council will make a final vote at a later date.
Road limits
The standard legal load limit for vehicles under the Highway Traffic Act is 10 tonnes per axle, but the town’s Committee of the Whole will consider whether to lower that to five tonnes per axle during the spring thaw to protect local roads.
“Spring weight restrictions are necessary to help protect various roadways from sustaining
damage that can cause the road to deteriorate rapidly resulting in higher maintenance cost
and requiring premature rehabilitation or reconstruction,” read a town staff report.
Several roads are recommended to be exempt, including existing truck routes through or around town, industrial locations, and employment land.
Council will make a final vote at a later date.
Pregnancy leave
The Municipal Act now requires municipalities to adopt and maintain a policy about pregnancy and parental leave, and the town’s Committee of the Whole is expected to vote on whether to do so.
Previously, under the act, a member of council loses his or her seat if it has been vacant for three successive months without authorization.
An exemption was added that the seat is “not vacated if the member is absent for 20 consecutive weeks or less if the absence is a result of the member's pregnancy, the birth of the member's child or the adoption of a child by the member,” read a town staff report.
Council will make a final vote at a later date.
Run for Southlake
Two representatives from Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation are expected to make a deputation to council about the annual Run for Southlake event, which is scheduled for April 28.
South Innisfil Creek Drain
BWG council is expected to appointment someone to the court of revision for the South Innisfil Creek Drain, which covers Innisfil and BWG.
A final engineer’s report on improvements to the drain is expected mid-February, with Town of Innisfil council to possibly consider the report at a meeting next week, according to a letter from Innisfil Manager of Legal and Clerk Services Lee Parkin.
The court of revision requires one appointed member from BWG to sit on a five-member panel.
