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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCL 03-04 REPORT TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 32 Report Number: Cl 03-04 Date: January 2,2004 From: Bruce Taylor, AMCT, CMM City Clerk Subject: Appointment to Rouge Watershed Plan Task Force Recommendation: 1. That Clerk's Report Cl 03-04 regarding the appointment of a Member of Council and an alternate to the Rouge Watershed Plan Task Force be received. 2. That Councillor Task Force and that be appointed to the Rouge Watershed Plan be appointed as the alternate. Executive Summary: Not applicable Financial Implications: Not applicable Background: Please find attached to this Report correspondence jointly signed by the CAO of the TRCA and the General Manager of the Rouge Park Alliance regarding the establishment of a Task Force to oversee the preparation and implementation of a Watershed Plan for the Rouge River. The TRCA and the Rouge Park Alliance will be preparing a strategic plan for the Rouge River Watershed. It will be the mandate of the Task Force to focus on developing a watershed management plan and ensuring the interests of all watershed stakeholders are considered. The Terms of Reference for the Rouge Watershed Task Force are attached for information. The TRCA and the Rouge Park Alliance are requesting that one Member of Council and an alternate be appointed to the Task Force for a period to expire on December 30, 2005. 33 Report CL 03-04 Subject: Appointment to the Rouge Watershed Task Force January 2, 2004 Page 2 Attachments: 1. 2. Letter from TRCA and Rouge Park Alliance dated December 22, 2003 Terms of Reference of Rouge Watershed Task Force Prepared By: 17...... ///'/ ,/ ". A,'~' - Bfuce Taylor City Clerk ~. Attachments Copy: Division Head, Corporate Projects & Policy Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council CORPO227-07/01 r~ Rouge Park Wild in the City! 50 Bloomington Road West Aurora,Ontario L4G 3G8 Phone 905.713.7426 Fax 905.713.6028 rougepark@rougepark.com www.rougepark.com ATTACH M ENT # í. TO REPORT #...!:!:.. ó s - oV ~70RONTO AND REGfONt;V- Ø'\-onserva Ion for The Living City 5 Shoreham Drive, Downsview, Ontario M3N 184 Phone 416.661.6600 Fax 416.661.6898 www.trca.on.ca ".""'~ïJ~~~.~tc::~..,c. Strategic Plan for the. Rouge Watershed 34 December 22, 2003 Mr. Bruce J. Taylor City Clerk City of Pickering One The Esplanade Pickering, ON L 1V 6K7 ~~~~~~!~ CITY OF PICKERING PICKERING, ONTARIO Dear Mr. Taylor: The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the Rouge Park Alliance are establishing a Task Force to oversee the preparation and implementation of a Watershed Plan for the Rouge River. Members of this Task Force will include municipal and government politicians and staff, community groups, business and industry, and watershed residents. The Plan will recommend effective management strategies that will, in concert with existing Rouge Park management plans, guide land use and resource use decisions throughout the watershed. The mandate does not include formal commenting on ongoing activities and development proposals. We request that the City of Pickering provide one Task Force member from your Council, and an alternate. The term would extend from February 2004 to December 30, 2005. Meetings will be held every four to six weeks within the watershed at a mutually agreed time. Members unable to attend three consecutive meetings will be replaced. Attached are initial Terms of Reference for this study that have been approved by the TRCAand the Rouge Park Alliance. We look forward to your participation in this vital initiative. Please feel free to contact Patricia Mohr, Project Manager, at (416) 661-6600, extension 5624, if you require additional information. Sincerely, Brian Denney Chief Administrative Officer/Secretary Treasurer Toronto and Region Conservation Authority ¿~ ~l~ Lewis Yeager General Manager Rouge Park ~ ß4VN-1 Att. <Ð ¡\TTACHMEf\!1 #_~ TO REPORT#...::.:.. ¿;ì 3 -- elf 35 Attachment 1 THE ROUGE WATERSHED TASK FORCE TERMS OF REFERENCE Draft - October 24, 2003 ¡ r , , ;)'"-~ TO REPORT # C'L ð 3-- otf - 36 THE ROUGE WATERSHED TASK FORCE TERMS OF REFERENCE 1.0 GOAL The goal of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the Rouge Park Alliance in establishing the Rouge Watershed Task Force is to provide a venue for all stakeholder groups to work together in directing and having input to the development of a strategic plan for the Rouge River Watershed. Task Force members will be sought from municipal and agency politicians and staff; community groups; business and industry; watershed residents; and the general public. Development of the Rouge Watershed Plan will raise awareness of watershed issues and detennine an effective, proactive strategy for managing the watershed. It will also promote stewardship activities by bringing together communities and their watersheds. Through participation in the development of this plan, all watershed stakeholders should share a sense of responsibility for its implementation. Figure 1 outlines the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's Watershed Planning Process and the roles served by a watershed task force. 2.0 T ASK FORCE MANDATE The mandate of the Task Force is to focus on developing a watershed management plan and ensuring the interests of all watershed stakeholders are considered. The goal of the plan is to recommend effective management strategies that will guide land use and resource use decisions, such that the overall health of the Rouge Watershed is protected and enhanced. A draft workplan (October, 2003) outlines a proposed scope of work for this initiative. The Task Force mandate does not include formal commenting on ongoing activities and development proposals in the watersheds. To develop the watershed plan, the Task Force will: set watershed management goals, objectives, and targets define issues and management approaches for analysis evaluate alternative management approaches recommend effective management approaches and set priorities for protection, enhancement, and regeneration review and comment on draft Task Force documents (e.g. State of the Watershed Report including a baseline Report Card on watershed health, technical analysis summaries, watershed plan, implementation plan and model policy) participate on subcommittees, or working groups, of the Task Force to discuss specific issues in more detail follow the Authority's Policies and Procedures with respect to purchasing provide a draft watershed plan to the Authority by June 30, 2005. To ensure the interests of all stakeholders are considered and to foster the plan's implementation, Task Force members will, throughout the process: keep members of the broader group that he/she represents (e.g. municipal council, industry, environmental group, etc.) informed of the study progress and solicit input from :¡ .J ¡iIJ.' h~,!¡'< ¡'... ++ C'L c.1"J - Û v , .. n.,_l....." "--,. J , 2 37 the broader group in addition to representing their own constituency, the individual Task Force member must be committed to achieving a consensus in the development of a management plan that is in the best interests of the overall watershed attend community group/service club meetings with TRCA and Rouge Park staff and make presentations on behalf of the Task Force attend community open houses and focus group meetings to assist in consulting and involving individuals, technical experts, interest groups, business and industry. Figure 1 - TRCA's Watershed Planning Process ~ ons êFílif fro n for The Living City - Establ ish Implementation T ask Force. -SecUré',fRêsöUrces -DevéIJ>peártnerships - F oster~Ctiori -Monitoring WA TERSHED Q' -Data collection and analysis -Constituency building PLANNING PROCESS -Constituency building -Broad corrnrnjhity anq , , stakehOldé'Fiq~~r;r;:"',::r'}'; " . ".'. , . .. " ... -Establish Planning Task Force -Issue assessment -Visioning. ). ~ :tt f\ ¡,... Q. ~ c> -{:.. w ~ 00 39 ~ þ,;~¿ä3-()'I 4 3.0 TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP 3.1 Membership and Term Members of the Task Force will be appointed by the Authority for a term beginning in February, 2004 and ending December 30, 2005. With the exception of the watershed residents, each of the following stakeholder groups will be invited to identify one representative and one alternate to fonn the Task Force membership: Municipal government One elected representative and one alternate (elected or senior staff) from each of the four local and three regional municipalities within the watershed, including: Industry 17. Urban Development Institue (UD!) 18. Agricultural sector 19. Golf Courses 20. Greater Toronto Airports Authority 21. Aggregate industry 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Town of Markham Town ofWhitchurch-Stouffville Town of Richmond Hill City of Pickering City of Toronto York Region Durham Region Federal and Provincial Government 22. Transport Canada 23. Environment Canada 24. Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans 25. MNR 26. MOE 27. MMAH 28. OMAF 29. MTO Other government 8. Aboriginal community 9. Toronto Zoo 10. Rouge Park Alliance 11. TRCA Watershed residents 30. _from Toronto 31. from Markham 32. _from Richmond Hill 33. _from Whitchurch-Stouffville 34. _from Pickering Environmental Groups 12. Save the Rouge Valley System 13. Friends of the Rouge 14. Richmond Hill Naturalists 15. Rouge Valley Foundation 16. Milne Park Conservation Assoc. Task Force meetings will be held approximately every 4-6 weeks, at a mutually agreed upon time, and will be held at locations within the watershed. ;z . C'l... () 3 ~ a.l 3.2 Selection, Appointment, and Replacement Process Except for the citizen members, a letter will be sent to each of the stakeholder groups requesting the appointment ofa Task Force representative. Citizen members will be selected through an application and interview process. Advertisements for citizen applicants will be posted in local newspapers and distributed at the November Community Open House meetings. A selection committee, consisting of the Rouge Park Alliance Chair, Rouge Park General Manager, a TRC.'\. Board Member, and a TRCA staff person will review the applications and conduct interviews. Selection criteria will include consideration for: residency within the Rouge watershed, demonstrated interest in watershed management, and previous volunteer experience, with an attempt to ensure geographic representation from throughout the watershed study area from among the citizen members. Resignations may be filled by the Authority and Rouge Park on the recommendation of the selection committee, described above, and the Task Force. Task Force members or their alternates are required to attend all Task Force meetings on a regular basis. Members unable to fulfill this commitment will be replaced after missing three consecutive meetings to ensure broad and effective representation on watershed issues. 4.0 TASK FORCE REPORTING RELATIONSHIP The Task Force will report to the Rouge Park Alliance and ultimately to the TRCA' s Full Authority through the Watershed Management Advisory Board, according to the reporting relationship shown in Figure 2. It is the intent of the TRCA and the Rouge Park Alliance that a consensus position be developed to the extent possible among all stakeholders on all decisions, before a report is taken to the Full Authority. The Task Force will report at least semi-annually on its progress. Municipal Task Force members are responsible for taking reports ofthe Rouge Watershed Task Force back to their respective municipal councils. Likewise, provincial and federal government members are responsible for taking reports to senior Ministry officials. Authority staff will assist in providing information for reports. Municipal, provincial and federal staff will be invited to attend all meetings, and may effectively participate on working group committees. The Task Force may establish sub-committees, or "working groups", as issues dictate to allow for more in-depth discussion than time would allow at Task Force meetings and to engage additional expertise. The Chair of each working group will be a Task Force member. At such time as provincial source protection planning legislation is introduced, the Task Force's reporting relationship with any designated source protection planning committee will be clarified and amended, as necessary. 5 40 41 ;¡ ¡ .ft. :.."~. ö 3- 0 'I 6 5.0 RULES OF CONDUCT The Task Force will follow the Rules of Conduct of the Authority (The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority), as adopted by Resolution #3 of the Authority Meeting #2/86, or as may be amended. A quorum will consist of a majority of the members of the Task Force. Under the Authority's Rules of Conduct, final decisions are made by vote. Only Task Force members or alternates can vote. It is the intent that adequate time wìll be provided for a thorough discussion of issues and development of a consensus position, to the extent possible, before any vote is called. Depending on the subject at hand, the services of a professional facilitator may be contracted to assist in meetings and workshops. A Chair and Vice Chair of the Task Force will be nominated from among the Task Force membership, and will be elected by the Task Force at their second meeting. The TRCA Chair wìll chair the first two Task Force meetings, until a Task Force Chair is elected. All subsequent meetings will be chaired by the Task Force Chair or Vice Chair. All meeting agendas will be set by TRCA and Rouge Park staff, with input and approval of the Task Force Chair. The Chair and Vice Chair will be ex-officio members of all working groups. Municipal Task Force members are responsible for keeping their alternate municipal representatives informed of Task Force business, and for ensuring the alternate attends meetings in the Task Force member's absence. Task Force meetings are open to the public. Members of the public may make deputations to the Task Force, but only based upon a prior written request that is approved by the Chair. Figure 2 Rouge Watershed Task Force Reporting Structure TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY BOARD WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ADVISORY BOARD ~ ',"" C ;¡¡;., -: .ROUGE .WATERSHED TASK FORCE :J:i:' If\ ¡I' i C') VI C'\ " -{:., WORKING GROUP, (as needed) '" ~ ¡....:;) 41 6.0 "". J. 8 Ci.. ÚS-C)¥ RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THE TASKFORCE The Task Force are charged with creating a Watershed Plan by June of 2005. In order to assist in meeting this deadline, the following resources are available. 6.1 6.2 6.3 Project Management Team and Support Staff A Project Management Team consisting of a TRCA senior staff person, a project manager, and the Rouge Park General Manager will meet regularly, in consultation with the Task Force Chair, to ensure the planning process is fulfilling the agreed-upon objectives. Administrative assistance and communications expertise will be available to assist in Task Force meeting arrangements, record keeping, and consultation. Technical Study Coordination TRCA staff will be responsible for coordination of the integrated watershed planning process and supporting technical studies, under the direction of the Task Force. Individual technical studies will be either be conducted by in-house staff at the TRCA, partner municipalities, or consultants. Funding A number of funding sources have been pursued. The primary funding requests for plan development have been made by the Authority to their regional municipal members, namely York Region and the City of Toronto. Funding needs are also being discussed with local municipal governments as well as provincial and federal agencies. These funds would be used to undertake project specific work, and may be pursued to initiate priority projects that are identified as the plan is developed.