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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 21, 2025 Accessibility Advisory Committee Agenda May 21, 2025 Hybrid Electronic Meeting – 7:00 pm Main Committee Room For information related to accessibility requirements please contact: Committee Coordinator 905.420.4611 clerks@pickering.ca Members of the public may observe the meeting proceedings by viewing the livestream. Page 1. Review and Approval of Agenda 2. Disclosure of Interest 3. Approval of Minutes 3.1 April 16, 2025 Meeting Minutes 1 4. Presentations/Delegations None 5. New Business 5.1 Sub Committee Planning C. Rudberg-Chin, B. Ferguson, K. Sullivan 7:10 5.2 National Accessibility Awareness Week (NAAW) T. Higgins 7:40 5.3 Canada Day T. Higgins 8:00 5.4 Durham Region MYAP T. Higgins 8:10 5.5 Recreation Program Registration B. Ferguson 8:20 5.6 ONAP Conference T. Higgins 8:40 6. Correspondence 7. Other Business Accessibility Advisory Committee Agenda May 21, 2025 Hybrid Electronic Meeting – 7:00 pm Main Committee Room For information related to accessibility requirements please contact: Committee Coordinator 905.420.4611 clerks@pickering.ca 8. AAC Member Roundtable Updates 9. Next Meeting – June 18, 2025 10. Adjournment Page 1 of 8 Minutes/Meeting Summary Accessibility Advisory Committee April 16, 2025 Electronic Meeting 7:00 pm Attendees: D. Currie B. Ferguson K. Hale C. Rudberg-Chin M. Shackleton D. Schick S. Snyders K. Sullivan A. Topple, Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade Councillor M. Brenner I. Janton, Senior Planner – Site Planning T. Higgins, Accessibility Coordinator Dennis Yip, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects Sharon Ahimaz, Coordinator, Major Capital Projects A. MacGillivray, Council & Committee Coordinator Absent: S. Azhar A. Khan Councillor M. Nagy Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Review and Approval of Agenda Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin Seconded by D. Schick That the Agenda for the April 16, 2025 Meeting of The Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting be approved. Carried 2. Disclosure of Interest No disclosures of interest were noted. 3. Approval of Minutes Page 2 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin Seconded by K. Sullivan That the Minutes of the February 19, 2025 Meeting of the Accessibility Advisory Committee be approved. Carried 4. Presentations/Delegations 4.1 Accelerating Accessibility Coalition Heela Omarkhail, The Daniels Corporation Ridhima Nayyar, RioCan REIT Michelle Bilek, Canadian Lived Experience Leadership Network H. Omarkhail, The Daniels Corporation, through the aid of a slide deck presentation, spoke to the work of the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition, and highlighted: • the lack of housing supply; • the lack of accessible housing and gaps in the Ontario Building Code; • the vision, mission, and the stakeholders involved in the Coalition; • key achievements of the Coalition to date; and, • ways in which the City could become involved with the Coalition. 5. New Business 5.1 Accessibility Advisory Sub Committee Accelerating Accessibility Coalition Discussion A question and answer period ensued between the Committee and H. Omarkhail regarding: • whether there were examples of what other municipalities are doing to promote or prioritize accessible housing; • the noticeable gap of municipalities not focusing specifically on accessible housing; • the potential for municipalities to use education, awareness, and incentives as tools to encourage accessible housing; • the potential implementation of a symposium for accessible housing for awareness; • the symposium held by York Region and whether there was opportunity to learn from that event; Page 3 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) • the importance of engaging industry stakeholders in potential initiatives; • whether the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition had advocated for provincial legislation or programs to support accessible housing; • whether there was opportunity to engage other municipalities in the Region of Durham to promote accessible housing; • whether the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition had data and research to showcase the business case for accessible housing to developers; • the work of the coalition being unfunded and an informal partnership facilitated through the Urban Land Institute (ULI); and, • whether there was opportunity to present the work of the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition to Pickering Council and the Durham Region Health and Social Services Committee. 5.2 Site Plan Checklist I. Janton, Senior Planner – Site Planning provided an overview of the Site Plan Accessibility Review Checklist and various elements of site plans that are included in the checklist for review. Discussion ensued amongst the Committee regarding: • the next steps to recommending the checklist to Council and whether this checklist should be recommended as a pilot project; • whether there was an opportunity to engage the architects and design firms that are a part of the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition to obtain feedback on the checklist; • whether there was an opportunity to share the final checklist with the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition to be included as part of the Accelerating Accessibility Coalition’s Accessibility Toolbox; • whether builders could be strongly encouraged to exceed the minimum accessibility standards set by the Ontario Building Code (OBC); and, • the checklist serving as a tool to prompt developers to think about the ways in which they could make their projects more accessible. T. Higgins to continue discussions with City staff to determine how the Site Plan Checklist should be escalated for use by the City. Page 4 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) 5.3 Ontario Building Code Accessibility Changes D. Schick, Committee Member provided an overview of the various changes to Part 3 of the Ontario Building Code relating to accessibility. 5.4 Redman House Restoration Project S. Ahimaz, Coordinator, Major Capital Projects and D. Yip, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects provided an overview of the Redman House Restoration Project including: • a brief history of the Redman House and its current uses; • the project scope; • the initial plan and the new project plan proposed due to septic system issues and budget constraints; and, • the new accessibility ramp to be installed. A question and answer period ensued between the Committee, S. Ahimaz, and D. Yip regarding: • clarification that the initial plan to upgrade the ground floor washrooms would have required approximately $170,000.00 in septic system improvements; • the closest accessible public universal washroom would be at the Pickering Heritage and Community Centre (PHCC) which was anticipated to be built by the end of 2026; • whether additional funds could be requested to facilitate the septic system improvements and initial upgrades; • clarification that improvements to the septic system would be explored in a future phase of the project; • clarification that the existing male and female washrooms on the ground floor are currently accessible and barrier- free; • ensuring that mobility devices would not get stuck on the new accessibility ramp that was made of wood; • whether lighting could be incorporated to light the new accessibility ramp; • concerns regarding the odour at the Redman House; • the odour at the Redman House being likely a result of a defunct p-trap system and that the project scope includes work to address that issue; T. Higgins to consult with City staff to determine the next steps in bringing a recommendation report to Council. Page 5 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) • clarification as to when the septic system would be scheduled to be updated and concerns as to whether it was being prioritized properly in the project; • whether the proposed scaling down of accessibility improvements in the project could set a poor example when the City was trying to encourage developers and businesses to exceed accessibility standards; • clarification that the constraint to the septic system lies with the addition of the universal washroom component of the project; and, • whether textures and visual elevation breaks would be incorporated into the new accessibility ramp. Moved by D. Schick Seconded by C. Rudberg-Chin That the Accessibility Advisory Committee supports the need to upgrade the capacity of the septic system as part of the Redman House Restoration Project to accommodate increasing demand and accessibility requirements of the Pickering Museum Village. Carried 5.5 AAC’s 2024 Year End Report & 2025 Proposed Work Plan T. Higgins provide an overview of the 2024 Year End Report and 2025 Work Plan and solicited the Committee for any further feedback. Discussion ensued amongst the Committee regarding: • whether the City could address accessibility concerns before project budgets were determined; • exploring integrations for accessibility services in the City’s website; • clarification regarding what aspects of the Committee’s work may be included in the City’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan; • whether the use of inclusive language for those living with non-visible disabilities would be considered for the City’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan; Page 6 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) • concerns regarding reactive language used in the 2024 Year-End Report and 2025 Work Plan; and, • the need to include the Hidden Disability Sunflower Program in the Committee’s 2024 Year-End Report and 2025 Work Plan. Moved by K. Sullivan Seconded by C. Rudberg-Chin That the 2024 Year End Report & 2025 Proposed Work Plan be approved subject to minor administrative changes. Carried T. Higgins solicited interest from Committee Members regarding making a delegation to Council at the May 26, 2025 meeting at which the Committee’s Year End Report and Work Plan would be presented. 5.6 2025 Accessibility Compliance Report T. Higgins informed the Committee that the City was required to file an Accessibility Compliance Report with the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, and provided an overview of what the Report entailed. 5.7 Canada Day Planning – Tranquility Tent T. Higgins provided an overview of the Tranquility Tent that the Committee facilitates at the City’s Canada Day Event. T. Higgins highlighted the importance of the event in profiling issues and initiatives that the Committee is involved in. T. Higgins provided an overview regarding how Committee Member involvement in the event is organized and requested that Committee Members indicate their availability for participating in the event. Members to confirm with T. Higgins their availability for participating in the Canada Day Event. 5.8 Accessibility Advisory Committee Process Efficiencies B. Ferguson, Committee Member highlighted three outstanding action items from past Committee Meetings, including two matters relating to accessible parking and one matter relating to accessible bridges. Page 7 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) Discussion ensued regarding whether discussion of outstanding action items should be added to meeting agendas as a standing item. 5.9 Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade Update A. Topple, Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade provided an update regarding: • building permits and the need to differentiate between residential developers and small and medium size enterprises; • the opportunities for businesses to provide education and training to staff and implement policies that promote accessibility; and, • whether Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade could implement an accessible business certification program. Discussion ensued regarding: • whether the Site Plan Checklist could be shared with the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade; • whether there was a way to recognize accessibility champions in the community; and, • whether the Hidden Disability Sunflower Program could be promoted to the business community in Ajax- Pickering. 6. Correspondence There were no items of correspondence. 7. Other Business 7.1 Adaptive Golf Month in July B. Ferguson spoke to Adaptive Golf Month in July and the accessible golf sessions available on the Ontario Golf website. B. Ferguson to provide information regarding Adaptive Golf Month to T. Higgins. 8. AAC Member Roundtable Updates Page 8 of 8 Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) 9. Next Meeting – May 21, 2025 10. Adjournment Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin Seconded by B. Ferguson That the meeting be adjourned. Carried Meeting Adjourned: 9:21 pm