Burlington mayor talks Remembrance Day, condo development, city budget, tourism

Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward covered a wide range of topics during this mornings chat. From Remembrance Day ceremonies taking place around the city-virtually and in person, to the 29-storey condo building that is supposed to go up in Downtown Burlington, she updated us on all that and more.

People can join a virtual Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 11:00 a.m. 

“This is a request from the Burlington Legion and veterans for folks to follow along from the comfort and safety of their home,” said Ward. “We’re not out of COVID yet.”

The Naval Ceremony will be taking place at Spencer Smith park on Nov. 11 at 9:30 a.m. as well. Ward says it is a small ceremony with lots of space for social distancing. 

The Ontario Land Tribunal approved a 29-storey condo development in Burlington, but current zoning only allows for 17-storeys. 

Ward says there is a special council meeting today that is meant to look at options for a refuse. 

“This is, in some ways, a precedent setting decision that the tribunal ignored all the work and the changes that the council had done,” said Ward. “They just looked at the changes the developer wanted, so [we want them to] look at the changes the city and the community wanted…to control overdevelopment in the downtown.” 

Ward said the increase for the city portion of the budget is sitting at 5.5 per cent. The city has time set aside today to have it overviewed. 

“That is too high”, said Ward. “The budget never stays at the rate that is initially proposed because this is a collaborative process with community and staff.”

Ward says the city is looking for ways to save and reduce impact, while also adding services. 

Tourism Burlington is doing a survey to find out what residents think about the city. Ward says the survey asks questions regarding what people love about Burlington and there are prizes involved.

The Halton Chief Medical Officer made an amendment regarding indoor sports. Ward says people who are 12 and older will need to show proof of vaccination, but there is a 12-week grace period to do this. 

Lastly, the application for outdoor rinks is open in Burlington now. Ward said residents need a minimum of six people and can apply to put a rink in their neighbourhood.

The city will put up the boards and get everything installed. Residents are responsible for flooding the rink and clearing it. 

“It’s a partnership with the community and it has been really successful,” said Ward. “[We’ll see them] popping up across the city as soon as we get freezing weather.”