HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 16, 2020
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Minutes/Meeting Summary
Accessibility Advisory Committee
September 16, 2020
Electronic Meeting
7:00 pm
Attendees: Bianca D’Souza
Peter Bashaw
Saima Fatima
Dan Hughes
Glenn Lang
Anthony Lue
Tim Higgins, Staff Representative
Rumali Perera, Recording Secretary
Devin Poole, Clerk - Typist
Guests: Isabelle Janton, Senior Planner - Site Planning, City of Pickering
Vince Plouffe, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects, City of Pickering
Absent: Megan Thorpe Ross
David Wysocki
Sue Wilkinson
Donna Holmes
John McLellan, Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade
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(include deadline as
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1. Welcome & Introductions
T. Higgins welcomed members and guests to the
electronic meeting.
2. Disclosure of Interest
No disclosures of interest were noted.
3. Review and Approval of Agenda
T. Higgins reviewed the agenda items. Agenda
approved.
1. Review and Approval of Minutes
- June 9, 2020 and August 26, 2020
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Item/
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Moved by D. Hughes
Seconded by A. Lue
That the Minutes of the June 9, 2020 meeting of the
Accessibility Advisory Committee be approved
pending minor edits.
Carried
Moved by G. Lang
Seconded by A. Lue
That the Minutes of the August 26, 2020 meeting of
the Accessibility Advisory Committee be approved
pending minor edits.
Carried
4. New Business
5.1 Motion to amend the Accessibility Advisory
Committee meeting schedule
T. Higgins noted that the City is unable to
livestream multiple meetings concurrently with the
current technology in place, and that the
Committee would need to amend the meeting
schedule due to the livestream scheduling conflict
with the City’s Committee of Adjustment.
Moved by A. Lue
Seconded by D. Hughes
That Accessibility Advisory Committee meetings be
rescheduled to the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
Carried
5.2 Site Plans
i) Fire Station #1 Headquarters – Duffin Heights
Isabelle Janton, Senior Planner, Site Planning, and
Vince Plouffe, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects,
appeared before the Committee via electronic
participation and noted:
-
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the proposed Fire Hall is to be located at the
northwest corner of Brock Road and Zents
Drive;
that the land is owned by the City with the
proposed Fire Hall to only occupying part of
the land;
the entrance into the proposed building is
located at the North end;
parking located at the back of the proposed
building and linked to pedestrian walkways;
the lower space is to consist of the Fire Hall,
while the upper floor is to replace the
existing headquarters office space currently
located at Fire Station #5, as the new
proposed Fire Station #1 would be centrally
located in Pickering, it would allow access to
incidents across the City;
the proposed building is to be 2 storeys in
height and consist of an apparatus bay,
garage, shared kitchen, dining area,
workout space, a screened patio, sleeping
quarters, washrooms, training rooms,
showers, walker rooms, storage areas,
maintenance and repair areas, generator,
offices for staff, and a hose tower to be
located along the outside of the building;
large bi-fold doors would be used instead of
standard overhead garage doors, as the bi-
fold doors would open very rapidly, helping
to minimize response time;
the proposed building is to use a
combination of brick and metal cladding;
landscaping features include a flag pole and
an art feature, with a competition being held
to select the art piece;
the architecture of the ground floor has
limited exposure as the proposed Fire Hall
consist of inward facing spaces;
the exterior of the proposed building would
include concrete sidewalks and walkway
surfaces; and,
that the proposed building would have a
towering presence due to the elevations of
the land.
Committee Members noted:
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whether the walkway could be extended to
go beside the benches to allow someone in
a mobile device to be able to sit along the
benches located at the two entrances;
whether there is a bus stop near the
proposed building;
why the renderings of the site plan include
ramps instead of stairs if there is a
possibility for a steep incline as it would not
meet the 12:1 ratio needed for ramps; and,
whether the washrooms are fully accessible.
Vince Plouffe, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects
noted that this project showcases that accessible
design is no longer a secondary consideration or
an afterthought, rather accessible design is an
integral component of the plan and the layout. The
City no longer has to push for its consultants for
compliance with standards that move beyond the
building code, rather it is accepted that accessible
design is good practice.
ii) Mattamy Homes - S 07/20 - 1033 Reflection
Place
Isabelle Janton, Senior Planner, Site Planning,
appeared before the Committee via electronic
participation to provide a high-level overview of the
site plan and noted:
the proposed homes are to be located close
to the corner of Taunton and Sapphire
Drive;
the proposed homes are to consist of 50
standard townhouses and 28 stacked
townhouses;
the site is in the process of an official plan
amendment application to reduce the
density, and a rezoning application to allow
for a medium density development;
duplex units to be located along the edges;
multiple staircases inside the homes;
living space are to be located on one level
and bedrooms to be located on the top level;
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the proposed central landscape feature
includes a playground;
concrete sidewalks through the entire
development connecting to Taunton Road,
Reflection Place, and Sapphire Drive;
accessible parking spaces are proposed as
part of this development; and,
1 parking space per dwelling;
Committee Members suggested the inclusion of an
elevator in the parking garage to be an option to
buyers to ensure accessibility into the homes.
5.3 Website Accessibility
T. Higgins noted that the AODA has raised
Information and Communication Standards across
Ontario and that the new standards would affect
the design, implementation, and content of
websites facing the public. He noted that by
January 1, 2021, all public websites and web
content must meet Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA, meaning public
facing websites must be navigable and its content
accessible. He stated that over time content was
added to the City’s website intending the website to
be informative; however, the content was often not
prepared with accessibility in mind. T. Higgins
noted that Senior Management of the City have
been informed, Staff have formed a steering
committee and a working team to reach out to Staff
who have content on the City’s W ebsite, and an
inventory of content on the Website is being
analyzed to assess accessibility. He stated that
Staff are to consider whether the content is
needed, in the best place, and if so meets the
WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility requirements. He
stated that while software can identify many
accessibility issues, Staff resources are required to
remediate the identified issues if the content is to
remain on the website.
T. Higgins further noted that a software scan of
Pickering.ca produced an inventory of
approximately 1,700 PDF files that had
accessibility compliance issues. The Project
Steering Committee is considering the outsourcing
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of the remediation work, and/or potential hiring of a
Co-Op student to assist Staff in the remediation
work. He advised that Staff are expected to meet
the requirements and report back on whether the
City has met the requirements. There is a risk,
come January 2021, of monetary penalties up to
$100,000 per day for failing to meet these WCAG
2.0 AA requirements. T. Higgins noted that there is
support from Senior Management and Staff in
conducting this work and that Staff are
collaborating with Ontario Network of Accessibility
Professionals (ONAP), Durham Region, and
Durham tier-two municipalities.
Committee members questioned whether there are
specific requirements for content that is not in PDF
format. T. Higgins noted that webpages are
designed in a format that is largely accessible by
its nature, and that the bulk of technical issues are
concerning PDF and other files linked to the
Website. One strategy to remediate PDF files that
are not accessible is to transform their content into
webpages. T. Higgins noted that the City’s website
is quite new in its design, is for the most part
considered accessible and has won several
awards.
5.4 Service & Support Animal Initiative
T. Higgins provided a brief update of the Service &
Support Animal Initiative (SSIA), noting that the
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility had granted
approval in principle to proceed with the Initiative,
approving a grant of $50,000 to be spent by March
2021, and noting that D. Wysocki would be leading
this project. T. Higgins added that changes are
required to the Transfer Payment Agreement (TPA)
with the Province due to the limitations created by
COVID-19. For example, T. Higgins noted that the
proposed Innovation Lab, which was initially to be
held in-person would now, be required to move to a
virtual setting. A Monograph (research study)
would be published to highlight the findings of the
SSIA and would be shared with other municipalities
and businesses to provide clarity around service
and Support animal issues as well as identify and
share best practices. T. Higgins advised that the
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Details & Discussion & Conclusion
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Action Items/Status
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Innovation Lab component of the SSAI is planned
to commence by end of October, the Monograph is
planned for completion in February, and the public
Launch event is scheduled to occur towards the
end of February in the form of a webcast.
T. Higgins advised that, in light of challenging
project timelines, he would be looking for
volunteers from the Accessibility Advisory
Committee to help carry some of the workload of
the Initiative.
T. Higgins noted that he planned to share a draft of
the 5 Year Accessibity Plan with Committee
members by e-mail before the next AAC meeting to
obtain the Committee’s input prior to submitting the
plan for Council approval, possibly in November.
Other Business & Updates
T. Higgins surveyed the members for updates.
P. Bashaw noted that he completed the 6-week
certificate course on Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD).
G. Lang enquired about support available for
seniors in Pickering, with T. Higgins noting that
there is an Age Friendly Initiative underway in the
City.
A. Lue noted that he received news that he has
become a “carded athlete”, noting that carded
athletes receive funding from the Government as a
form of recognition of an individual’s sporting skills
and accomplishments.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 9: 10 pm.