Kitchener Council to Consider Parks Plan

On August 22, Kitchener City Council will consider the Parks Plan. 

A Green Summit of Kitchener residents was held in May because it became apparent that there is insufficient parks space for residents. The current rush to provide housing would aggravate the situation further.  Kitchener has a proposed plan for Parks Dedication, following consultation with the community.  The following was provided by one resident who wishes to encourage us to comment on the Parks Plan at the meeting.

The Parks Dedication By-law came before council on June 20^th.  It was expected that the by-law would be voted on at that meeting but instead the council voted to defer the decision to the August 22^nd council meeting.  This provides additional time for both the developers and residents to make their case. 

The following concerns remain:

Developers will pressure council to reduce the rates. The proposed cash-in-lieu payment is a significant increase, but it is a correction to a rate base on 2012 land values. Staff are recommending a capped park dedication rate. This is a maximum rate that will not be exceeded regardless of development type and land value. Staff are suggesting the rate be linked to the mid-density threshold at $11,862 per unit. In the highest value land markets and in the highest density development (downtown and midtown Kitchener), this reflects a significant discount from the full, legislated maximum rate of park dedication.

Developers will pressure council to extend the exemption for developments in downtown Kitchener The estimated loss of revenue for funding parks as a result of the proposed 12 month transition period  is $56.8 m.  Developers are advocating for a longer transition period, further delaying the funding of parks in communities in critical need of greenspace.

Developers will ask to increase the 25% credit towards park dedication for privately owned public space. This was strongly supported by some councilors at a previous meeting with the suggestion that the credit be increase to 75%. City staff advised council that privately owned public spaces are not equivalent to public park land and a motion to increase the credit was defeated.  This issue might come up again at the August meeting.

There are several important issues that have been raised by residents but have not engaged the council at either of the previous meetings.   These include:

• Parks and climate change – cooling down island of heat;
• Parks and economic equality – low levels of park provision in Kitchener are related to lower average household income and higher levels of apartment living;
• Parks and social resilience, health and wellbeing;
• Intensification policy along the LRT and the critical need for park land;
• The disparity between the proposed park land targets of 4 square metres per person in areas around the LRT stations and the 10 square metres per person in the suburbs.

It continues to be important that Council hear from residents about the crucial role of parks in a livable city, the value that parks bring to the community and the need for these to be publicly owned, of a reasonable size to allow for a wide array of community activity and in the communities that they serve.

Delegations can register up to two hours prior to the start of the August 22 meeting by completing the online registration form.

If you cannot complete the online form before the meeting starts, please send your written comments to the council at delegation@kitchener.ca.  

Even if you have been a prior delegate or written to council, there is still a need to reiterate to council your concerns. The councillors will be mindful of the October election.

A few of us had an opinion piece on parks funding published in the Record. You could comment on this and add your own thoughts in a letter to the editor. To submit a Letter to the Editor, email:  letters@therecord.com

If you would like to use a draft letter in your response to Council, you can use the letter here.