December 12, 2023, City Council Meeting
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Agreement Renewal - Niagara SPCA & Humane Society
Council approved the renewal of a 5-year single-source contractual agreement with the City of Niagara Falls SPCA & Humane Society.
The Niagara Falls SPCA Humane Society is a full-service provider for the City of Niagara Falls. Their highly trained animal control enforcement staff handles all animal-related calls, including wildlife and exotic pet calls.
Many typical calls include the barking of animals, animals at loose in the community and animal bite occurrences. The Society will also conduct kennel inspections and enforce muzzle orders on dangerous dogs in the community.
The Society continues to enforce all provisions of the new 2019 Council-approved animal control by-law. This includes all inspections and investigations and any potential court action taken. The Society’s responsibility also includes the removal, impounding, euthanasia and disposal of animals.
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Planning Services Fee Review
Under the Planning Act, Municipalities are permitted to collect fees only for the anticipated cost of processing each type of application. To determine these costs, the City has been conducting its first comprehensive review of Planning fees in 15 years.
A comprehensive analysis, including detailed efforts estimates, and a consideration of direct, indirect and capital costs incurred by the City in processing applications, has been completed to determine the recommended fees to ensure full cost recovery.
Council approved the recommendation that the fees indicated in the Planning Fee Study be incorporated into the 2024 Schedule of Fees By-law, along with a recommended cost of living increase of 3% to ensure full cost recovery for processing development applications is achieved.
View the report here. View the presentation here.
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Mayor's Proposed Draft 2024 Water and Wastewater Budgets
Council approved the 2024 Mayor's Proposed Draft Water and Wastewater Budgets and the use of reserve funding, as presented by Tiffany Clark, Director of Finance. The budgets and associated rates will take effect on January 1, 2024.
The presentation included details of:
- 2024 Utility Budget, which includes Water and Wastewater
- Two-tiered service delivery (Niagara Region/City of Niagara Falls)
- Breakdown of the City and Region expenditures for 2024
- Highlights and summaries of rebate programs included in the budget
- Proposed 2024 rates and impacts on users
The budget reflected revenues and expenses totalling $27,941,206 and $33,812,027 respectively.
You can view the details of the 2023 Water and Wastewater Budgets in the presentation. View the report.
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2024 Schedule of Fees
Council approved the 2024 Schedule of Fees, a consolidated list of fees charged by City departments to fund service delivery, effective January 1, 2024.
Fees are an essential revenue source for the City as they reduce the property tax revenue required to fund service delivery. To maintain a sustainable service delivery funding structure, fees must be indexed annually for budget pressures, considering labour contracts, legislative changes, inflationary pressures and service level expectations.
View the report.
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Moving Towards an Administrative Monetary Penalties System (AMPS) for Non-Parking Matters
Council approved implementing an Administrative Monetary Penalties System (AMPS) to by-law infractions outside parking.
Administrative monetary penalties ("AMPS") for by-law infractions, by nature, are easier and faster to process from inception to conclusion compared to prosecution through the traditional court process.
As a starting point for the City's first iteration of AMPS for non-parking matters, the following by-laws have been added:
- Noise Control By-law
- Clean Yard By-law
- Vacation Rental Units and Bed and Breakfast Establishments By-law
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Zoning By-law Amendment Application:
7769, 7735, 7751 Thorold Stone Road
Thorowest Construction Ltd. has applied for a Zoning By-law amendment to permit the development of 44 townhouse dwelling units in 9 blocks, together with one detached and two semi-detached dwellings (a total of 49 dwelling units) at 7769, 7735, and 7751 Thorold Stone Road.
Staff recommended the amendment for the following reasons:
- The proposed development conforms to Provincial, Regional, and City policies as it will contribute to the minimum intensification rate of 50% of all residential units constructed in the City, will contribute to the diversification of housing supply within the urban area and ensure the protection of fish habitat associated with Shriner’s Creek; and,
- The requested and recommended regulations are appropriate to regulate the proposed use and ensure the proposed development will be compatible with the surrounding properties.
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Zoning By-law Amendment Application:
3151 Montrose Road and a vacant parcel to the north
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Zoning By-law Amendment Application:
3090 Montrose Road
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Zoning By-law Amendment Application:
5809, 5821 and 5829 McLeod Road
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Zoning By-law Amendment Application:
North of Lyon’s Parkway, between Ort Road and Lyon’s
Creek, partially known municipally as 4949 Lyon’s Parkway
Council approved a Zoning By-law amendment to rezone lands North of Lyon’s Parkway, between Ort Road and Lyon’s Creek, partially known municipally as 4949 Lyon’s Parkway, with several recommendations.
View the recommended modifications in the report and Staff presentation.
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Zoning By-law Amendment Hawkins Street
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Official Plan & Zoning By-law Amendment:
8004 Lundy’s Lane
Council approved the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment with modifications to permit 87 dwelling units within two existing buildings, subject to several regulations.
View the report. View the Staff presentation.
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- Debenture Financing For Adopted 2024 Capital Budget
- Council approved Debenture Financing for the adopted 2024 Budget. With the final capital budget established, staff wanted to formalize the debt approvals for future debt issuance and refer the debt obligations to the tax levy-supported operating budget process to be phased in accordingly.
- Council also adopted a guiding principle to reserve debt approvals to projects greater than $1M and swap some of the existing more minor debt approvals to OLG funding and other reserve funding accordingly.
- Draft Plan of Vacant Land Condominium Approval: 5500 Marineland Parkway & Abutting Vacant Lands
- Council approved the Draft Plan of Vacant Land Condominium for 5500 Marineland Parkway and abutting vacant lands, submitted by NPG Planning Solutions Inc. on behalf of Marina (Thundering Waters) Developments Inc.
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Proclamations, Flag-Raising and Illumination Requests
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Proclamation Request | December 2023
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Council approved a request to proclaim December 2023 as Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in Canada, accounting for more deaths than colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined. Organizations working in Canada, such as the Canadian Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, are committed to educating about lung cancer and lung cancer screening and working to increase lung cancer screening rates.
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Flag-Raising Request | March 4, 2024
National Day of Bulgaria
Council approved a flag-raising ceremony on Monday, March 4, 2024, to recognize Bulgaria's National Day.
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Upcoming Proclamations, Flag-Raising and Illuminations
(approved at Previous Council Meetings)
Flag Raising Request | Crime Stoppers Awareness Month (January 2024)
Proclamation Request | Wear Red Canada Day (February 13, 2024)
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Next Council Meeting: Tuesday, January 16 at 4:00 pm
The next Niagara Falls City Council meeting will be open to the public and held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 4:00 pm. For more information, please visit niagarafalls.ca/council.
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