Coun. Josh Matlow has caused a stir by bringing up this CBC story about Coun. Mammoliti’s recent travel expenses. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-giorgio-mammoliti-s-5-star-hotel-stay-1.4415048
Nunziata: Will you withdraw those comments? Matlow: No, I won’t. And then, following some commotion: Matlow: Okay, I will be happy to withdraw those comments I read off cbc dot ca.
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti motion to not spend any money on Rail Deck Park until every existing city park is reviewed and spruced up FAILS 6-33. Tory… votes for it? Oh, it’s a mistake.
Mammoliti loves this development. “Come on, shake my hand!” he says to Tory. But the result won’t stand. Council is re-voting. “This is the first time the mayor has done this,” says Nunziata.
On the re-vote, Coun. Mammoliti’s motion to not spend any money on Rail Deck Park until after every existing city park is fixed up FAILS 4-35.
City Council is meeting this week! Here’s @neville_park’s preview, wherein I learned a Mr. Sub location has applied for a liquor license. https://nevillepark.ca/2017/12/05/the-cheat-sheet-december-2017-city-council/
The confidential report on potential Toronto city hall security measures has been made partially public. Some redactions remain. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2017/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-109719.pdf (PDF)
Toronto Council begins today with councillors rising in sequence to read the names of the 14 women murdered at L'École Polytechnique.
Coun. Michael Thompson has placed a motion on council’s agenda permitting a fireworks display in Nathan Phillips Square, should Toronto FC win the MLS Cup on Saturday. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2017.MM35.31
Coun. Wong-Tam’s motion to add specific target of 1,000 new shelter beds to the Shelter Infrastructure Plan FAILS 17-25.
Coun. Mihevc’s big compromise motion on the Shelter Infrastructure Plan passes 39-3.
Mammoliti motion to look at other providers including AirBnb to provide shelter spaces FAILS 14-28.
Mammoliti motion that city ask the federal government to pay for shelter costs related to refugees passes 32-10. Good luck with all that.
Mammoliti motion that city conduct a homeless count and see how many homeless people have come from outside Toronto FAILS 19-23.
Coun. Fletcher’s motion to get a list of all provincially and federally owned properties (presumably to determine if they can be used as shelters) in time for the January council meeting PASSES 37-5.
Coun. Wong-Tam’s motion to submit a formal request to the federal government to open the Toronto armouries and other federal buildings for shelter use FAILS 17-25.
Response to this vote from a person in the city hall gallery: “Shame on you! Shame on all of you! People are dying on the streets and you can’t even ask for the armouries!”
“Thirty years of watching people die on the streets!”
After that heated debate, Toronto City Council now turns its attention once again to the uncontroversial topic of the Scarborough subway.
Coun. Josh Matlow has a surprise motion! He would like the city’s auditor general to conduct a value-for-money audit of the Scarborough subway.
Coun. Josh Matlow is trying to explain why it’s a good idea to get value-for-money analysis of a $3.5 billion+ project. Many councillors aren’t listening. Coun. Campbell calls the question. They’re trying to end this debate before it starts.
But Campbell’s motion to call the question FAILS 23-15. Needed 30 votes to pass. And so we beat on.
A $3.5 billion subway plan? Eh, haven’t we debated this enough? A $500K bike lane project? WE MUST DEBATE THIS UNTIL THE SUN BURNS OUT
Coun. Carroll points out that councillors were big fans of analysis yesterday when they were voting for more studies on tunnelling the Eglinton West LRT, but now they seem to want no additional analysis of the Scarborough Subway.
The only way this auditor general report could possibly derail the Scarborough Subway is if the AG finds that the subway is a gross and flagrant misuse of public funds.
Coun. Josh Colle offers a defence of voting against this AG report request. He says council should wait until the Scarborough Subway is at 30% design, after which all the facts will come out. “Stick with the process we’ve launched,” he says.
Scarborough councillor Chin Lee says he won’t vote for the subway audit. He says council is the one to decide whether to approve transit projects, not the AG.
“Before we approve any transit project, are we going to send it to the auditor for a value-for-money study?” Coun. Lee asks. Yes?
And Toronto City Council votes against a value-for-money audit of the $3.5 Billion Scarborough Subway. 15-25.
Oh wait, Deputy Mayor Minnan-Wong voted the wrong way on this motion. Re-vote happening now.
On a re-vote, Toronto City Council votes AGAINST Matlow’s request for a value-for-money audit of the Scarborough Subway. 13-27.
I’ll pause here to wave hello to my future self, who will no doubt return to this vote result years from now in order to bring shame upon people.
Coun. Josh Matlow right now.
Coun. Jim Karygiannis moves that all city councillors and staff be required to get police clearance.
Council recesses for the night. Speaker Nunziata informs councillors that Mayor Tory is hosting “Christmas cheer” in his office tonight.
Coun. Crawford wants to remove the regulation that would prohibit listing basement apartments & secondary suites on Airbnb. He’s telling a story of cash-strapped homeowners with a basement apartment who had bad experiences with long-term tenants but love Airbnb. https://x.com/TorontoCouncil/status/938861206529544192
For the record, here’s Toronto’s official definition of secondary suite. If regulations prohibit Airbnb listings, I wonder if some homeowners will do small renovations to skirt the definition.
Quick transcription of part of a question posed by Coun. Mike Layton to Coun. Gary Crawford. Really gives you a flavour for this box-heavy debate.
Toronto Council's Airbnb debate.
Total interactions (emails, phone calls, meetings, written) between Airbnb’s 14 registered city hall lobbyists and councillors & staff over the last year: 1,474.
Coun. De Baeremaeker rises to say he’ll support Crawford’s motion to allow Airbnbing of secondary suites. This is going to be a pretty interesting vote.
Coun. Frank Di Giorgio: “Don’t lock somebody into a long-term agreement where a poor old lady is then taken advantage of. That’s basically what affordable housing in my area is all about.” This draws boos.
Coun. Josh Matlow and Coun. Michael Ford both indicate they’ll vote to NOT allow short-term rental of secondary suites. This vote could go either way.
Coun. Norm Kelly — by appearances NOT too lit to politic today — speaks on Airbnb. He says he’ll support Coun. Bailao’s motion, so I think he’s a “no” on secondary suites.
Coun. Campbell says homeowners can and will get around a restriction on listing secondary suites by removing the fridge and the stove from the units, so they’ll no longer qualify as secondary suites by city definition.
“We cannot be putting forward motions that prevent and block technology and innovation from taking place,” says Coun. Michelle Holland, Mayor Tory’s Advocate for the Innovation Economy. She’ll be supporting Crawford’s motion to allow secondary suites.
This motion is a mess. Now a whole bunch of councillors are trying to add their wards to this hypothetical exclusion list. https://x.com/TorontoCouncil/status/938892362717257728
Speaker Nunziata says Fragedakis’ ward-level exclusion motion is in order, but adds that the chief planner thinks it is bad.
On the exclusion list now, in Coun. Fragedakis’ motion: Wards 23, 29, 39, 7, 9, 1, 10, 12, 24 and 34. Calvinball!
Nunziata calls a ten minute recess. Council is at the level of dysfunction where they may end up accidentally banning condos.
Mayor Tory is the last speaker on this Airbnb/short-term rental item. He’ll support Bailao’s motion. No secondary suites.
Coun. Di Ciano, who is not at council but instead at a Christmas concert, has called Coun. Grimes and asked that his Ward be added to Fragedakis’ ward exclusion list. Literally phoning it in.
Coun. Ana Bailao’s motion to only allow the Airbnb listing of secondary suites by tenants renting those suites PASSES 27-17. Not sure if that kills Crawford’s motion. We’ll see.
Coun. Fragedakis’ motion to exempt a bunch of wards from rules governing secondary suites FAILS 16-28.
And Coun. Crawford’s motion is indeed ruled redundant. So that’s a firm no from Toronto City Council on letting homeowners list their basement apartments/secondary suites on Airbnb.
Coun. Karygiannis motion that Airbnb condo hosts must get consent before listing from all neighbours on the same floor FAILS 11-33.
Short-term rental item from Planning & Growth Management Committee passed 36-8. Licensing & Standards Committee portion passed 40-3. Airbnb now regulated and legal in Toronto.
Summary of passed regulations: - principal residence only - entire home rentals capped at 180 nights per year - room rentals no annual cap - homeowners can’t list secondary suites (e.g. basement apartments) for short-term rental - hosts must register, provide ID, $50 annual fee
Toronto Council is now debating the 2018 rate budgets, which means it’s probably almost time for @m_layton’s annual motion to stop the city subsidy of industrial wastewater. Get hyped.
Here are the results of @m_layton’s last three attempts at getting the city to stop subsidizing industrial wastewater. I got a good feeling about this year.
Hell yeah, it’s the 2018 budget edition of the Councillor Mike Layton “stop subsidizing industrial wastewater!” motion.
Coun. Janet Davis motion to increase water rates to pay for expediting the Wet Weather Flow Master Plan FAILS 16-24.
Coun. Mike Layton’s annual motion to stop subsidizing industrial wastewater FAILS 20-20. A TIE! But tied motions fail. NEXT YEAR.
(That Ward 28 appointment process is looking even more egregious now.)
Council is now debating the 2018 garbage budget. I just learned from a briefing note that next year’s garbage budget includes a pilot of these neat waste diversion programs. (via https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2017/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-109453.pdf [PDF])
But council votes against Coun. McMahon, who wanted to extend tonight’s meeting to finish the debate on the garbage budget. Weird that these people don’t want to talk about garbage at 8 p.m.
Coun. Ainslie stands up to announce that he has sat next to three Fords in his time on City Council, and Councillor Michael Ford is the first to ever pass two unanimous votes in one day.
Council begins today with Coun. Janet Davis congratulating TTC staff for successfully catching a raccoon on a subway train today.
Coun. Karygiannis motion to report on feasibility of requiring all councillors & staff to get police clearance FAILS 3-34.
They are re-voting on this. Re-vote on Karygiannis motion to report on feasibility of requiring councillors/staff to get police clearance FAILS 3-36.
But they are re-voting again. Re-re-vote on Karygiannis motion to report on feasibility of requiring councillors/staff to get police clearance FAILS 2-36.
Coun. Holyday motion that members of the public only be allowed to enter city hall through the front doors FAILS 18-21.
And the city hall security item passes council 39-1, with only Shiner opposed. Vehicle mitigation measures approved, other measures like metal detectors subject to further study/consultation.
Coun. Fragedakis’ motion to keep the Bayview Avenue speed limit (near the Brickworks) at 50 km/h FAILS 16-23.
Coun. Wong-Tam’s motion that they get more reports on Bayview Avenue before increasing the speed limit FAILS 19-20.
Fragedakis’ motion that staff do an operational review of Bayview Avenue reflecting a 50 km/h design speed FAILS 18-21.
Coun. Matlow’s motion that staff implement additional measures to protect pedestrians on Bayview Avenue w/ 60 km/h speed limit CARRIES 32-7. (Some odd company here, Mr. Mayor)
And the Bayview Avenue speed limit item as a whole carries on a voice vote. Speed limit on Bayview south of Pottery Road to River Street ramp will increase to 60 km/h.
New motion on the council agenda asking for a report on the Sidewalk Labs agreement with Waterfront Toronto. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2017.MM35.45
