Council Highlights - February 2025

Council highlights gives an overview of important decisions, discussions, and agenda items from Whitby Council meetings. The goal is to give residents a snapshot of the meetings. More information, including Council meeting minutes, can be found at whitby.ca/CouncilCalendar

Second annual progress report on Community Strategic Plan

The second annual progress report on Whitby’s 2023-2026 Community Strategic Plan was received by Council for information on Feb. 3. The report outlines the progress made on 62 action items at the halfway point of the four-year plan. By the end of 2024, more than 95 per cent of actions were underway or complete. That number includes six items complete, 54 in progress, and two that have yet to start but are scheduled to begin in 2025. The Town is on track to complete the identified measures of progress at or before the end of the four years. Council endorsed the Community Strategic Plan in June 2023, after more than 3,000 community members provided input as the plan was being developed.

Report says Town secured “unprecedented” number of grants in 2024

A new report received by Council for information on Feb. 3 says the Town secured an “unprecedented” number of grants in 2024 with over $65 million in grant commitments from the federal and provincial governments. Highlights included $24.9 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, and $5.3 million from the province’s Building Faster Fund. The Town also has over $60 million dollars in pending applications for grant funding with more on the horizon. The report notes that a dedicated staff position overseeing grant submissions has furthered the Town’s capacity to submit competitive applications and complete required reporting and follow up on funding dispersion. “By leveraging available funding programs, the Town can reduce the financial burden on local taxpayers while delivering significant projects that benefit residents,” the report notes.

Work underway to implement new Service Whitby framework

Work is underway to implement a new centralized customer service framework called Service Whitby. A report received for information by Council on Feb. 3 notes the first phase will come into effect on February 3, 2025 and will see the existing tax cashier and legislative services clerk positions transition into new Service Whitby associate roles. The Service Whitby project will be implemented in phases, with roll-out over three years from 2025 to 2027. As Service Whitby evolves, staff will explore the opportunity to partner with the Whitby Public Library and Community Services to offer additional customer service options at library branches and recreation facilities. Town staff will also work closely with the Region of Durham to ensure a seamless handoff for customers between the Region’s 311, Service Whitby, and other Town service desks. A centralized customer service framework was one of the recommendations in Whitby’s Customer Service Strategy, which was finalized in 2021. The report to Council notes this centralized model is becoming more common because it provides “greater transparency, improved productivity, and consistent customer service standards.”

Council approves Official Plan amendment related to Whitby GO Station PMTSA

Council has adopted Amendment 138 to the Whitby Official Plan, in relation to the Whitby GO Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA). The amendment delineates the PMTSA around the Whitby GO station and introduces or updates policies within the PMTSA that increase building heights and remove the cap on maximum density. The changes will help the Town increase housing supply and plan for future population growth through transit-supportive redevelopment and intensification. The changes will also help the Town achieve consistency with provincial legislation and policy, implement the new Envision Durham Regional Official Plan, and meet Whitby’s Municipal Housing Target of 18,000 homes by 2031. Envision Durham sets out a minimum requirement of 50 per cent of growth required to occur in the existing built-up area of the municipality and directs the greatest amount of that intensification to PMTSAs and other Strategic Growth Areas and corridors. Envision Durham requires a minimum density target of 150 people and jobs per hectare across the Whitby GO station PMTSA. The final recommended amendment provides an increase in height north of Victoria Street on lands currently designated as high-density residential mixed-use. These lands currently have a maximum height permission of 18 storeys, which would increase to a maximum of 40 storeys. Heights of up to 36 storeys would be permitted south of Victoria Street on the same land use designation, and height permissions would be increased to 12 storeys for lands currently designated Mid-Rise Residential along Charles Street. Feedback from the public and stakeholders related to preserving existing open space and access to the waterfront has been maintained in the final recommended amendment.

Town staff to investigate bylaws aimed at preventing “renovictions” and protecting rental housing stock

Council has approved a motion that aims to protect rental housing stock in Whitby by making it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants or demolish rental housing units. The motion approved on Feb. 3 directs Town staff to investigate the feasibility, benefits, and cost of adopting a rental unit renovation by-law that would require landlords who issue an eviction notice to a tenant to demolish, repair, or renovate a unit to apply to the Town within a defined timeframe for a renovation licence prior to starting work. The goal is to protect affordable housing units by ensuring tenants understand their right to move back into the unit once renovations are complete and by requiring landlords, for the duration of the renovation, to secure their tenant temporary arrangements that are comparable to the tenant’s current unit or provide the tenant compensation in lieu. The motion also directed staff to investigate a by-law and permitting program related to the demolition or conversion to non-residential rental units of six or more residential rental units. The motion notes Canada is “experiencing a significant housing crisis, characterized by an increasing demand for rental housing and a decreasing availability of affordable housing options for individuals and families” and notes “unscrupulous renovictions” -- a practice where landlords initiate evictions under the guise of major renovations or improvements to rental properties -- have become a “pervasive problem across Ontario, contributing further to housing instability and displacement of vulnerable tenants.”

Council directs staff to seek naming rights for Sports Complex, other facilities

Council has directed Town staff to seek naming rights for the new Whitby Sports Complex and other facilities -- including Iroquois Park Sports Centre -- and report back to Council for approval. A sponsorship and advertising asset study was recently completed and a new staff report outlines the recommendations. The study notes the top priority should be maintaining a strong focus on marketing and selling naming rights for both new and existing high-traffic municipal capital assets, with emphasis on the new Whitby Sports Complex. Naming rights are one of the most lucrative opportunities for municipalities to capitalize on sustained revenue. Local examples include Oshawa’s Delpark Homes Centre, which was named in 2018 for $1.5M for a 10-year term, and Pickering’s Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex, which was named in 2019 for $1.125M for a 15-year term.