REPORT APPENDIX A ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: JULY 8, Clerk s Department FROM: DATE: June 18, Ward Boundary Review

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1 APPENDIX A REPORT ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: JULY 8, 2008 FROM: Clerk s Department DATE: June 18, 2008 SUBJECT: Ward Boundary Review LOCATION: Town Wide WARD: Page 1 RECOMMENDATION: That direction be provided as to whether Council wishes to proceed with a Ward Boundary review prior to the 2010 Municipal Election and if so, whether it wishes to identify a preferred option at this time or solicit public and agency comments on the three ward boundary options identified in the Clerk s Department report dated June 18, 2008 BACKGROUND: In 2005 a Citizens Task Force (TF) was established to review the current Ward Structure and Council composition. The TF reviewed data relating to the current ward structure, growth expectations, population distribution, physical features, communities of interest and Regional representation. The findings of the TF were compiled and submitted to Council s Administrative Services Committee. On September 19, 2005, Council approved the Administrative Services Committee recommendation as follows: 1. That the north/south ward boundaries concept proposed for implementation in 2009 be referred to the Council in order that a full public review process may be held early in that term of Council in conjunction with the review of the Regional Council representation; 2. That further information be provided during the future public review regarding the history of ward boundaries in Oakville post amalgamation and post the formation of the Region of Halton and that examples of ward configurations in other municipalities with populations of over 100,000 also be provided;

2 Page 2 3. That staff be requested to initiate a review of Regional Council representation, in coordination with the Halton area municipalities and the Region of Halton in January 2007; 4. That a report, containing the final ward boundary map and the results of the Regional representation review be presented to the Council for approval in 2007; 5. That the Citizens Task Force on Ward Structure and Council Composition be disbanded having completed its Terms of Reference mandate and the members of the Task Force be thanked for their efforts and requested to consider returning to assist in the review of this matter within the next term of Council. A report dated May 30, 2007 addressing Regional Council representation and the ward boundary review was brought before the Administrative Services Committee following which, Council on July 3, 2007 passed the following resolution: 1. That the Region of Halton Council be requested to establish a Task Force comprised of elected representatives of the four local municipalities, to review the issue of Regional representation, and present its recommendations for consideration as soon as possible; and 2. That the review of the ward boundaries in Oakville be postponed until the issue of Regional representation has been determined. Subsequently, on September 19, 2007, Regional Council appointed the Regional Chair and the Mayors of the four area municipalities to a Regional Representation Review Sub-Committee (RRRSC). The resolution also included the provision that the RRRSC report back to the Regions Administration and Finance Committee by March 2008 with its recommendations concerning area municipality representation on Regional Council. The RRRSC met on November 27, 2007 and reported to the Regions Administration and Finance Committee on December 6, Based on the RRRSC recommendation, Regional Council requested that the local municipalities provide their respective council s positions on the desirability of reviewing Regional representation taking into account a number of factors and principles. In response, Oakville Council passed the following resolution on February 26, 2008: 1. That the Region of Halton be advised that the Town of Oakville supports the review of Regional representation based on the Region s established principles; 2. That should Regional representation change, upon completion of the Regional Council s review of this matter, staff report back with proposed options for ward boundary adjustments, as required; and 3. That staff report back on additional options to those proposed in 2005 by the Citizens Task Force regarding ward boundary revisions prior to

3 Page 3 undertaking a public review process addressing potential amendments to ward boundaries for introduction in the 2010 municipal election. On March 26, 2008, the Council of the Regional Municipality of Halton adopted a resolution requesting that additional research be undertaken, and acknowledging that there will be no change in Regional representation prior to the 2014 election. A copy of the full resolution is attached as Appendix A. Staff are now seeking direction as to how Council wishes to proceed with the review of ward boundaries prior to the 2010 Municipal Election. COMMENT/OPTIONS: The information in this report addresses the September 19, 2005 Council resolution and provides an update on the current status of the ward boundary review. Regional Representation There will be no change to Regional Council representation prior to the 2014 municipal election. History of Ward Boundaries The Township of Trafalgar (including the Village of Bronte) and the Town of Oakville were amalgamated to form a new Town of Oakville. At that time four wards were established and described as follows: Ward 1 bounded by the boundary limit to the north, Upper Middle Road to the south, Burloak Drive to the west, and Winston Churchill Boulevard to the Ward 2 bounded by Upper Middle Road to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Burloak Drive to the west, and Fourth Line to the Ward 3 bounded by Upper Middle Road to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Fourth line to the west; and Trafalgar Road to the Ward 4 bounded by Upper Middle Road to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, Trafalgar Road to the west, and Winston Churchill Boulevard to the The County of Halton was replaced by the Region of Halton in accordance with Bill 151. The Region of Halton Act was passed and came into effect on January 1, Land north of Lower Base Line and Burnhamthorpe Road was transferred from the Town of Oakville to the Town of Milton at this time and the Oakville ward boundaries were revised into three wards accordingly. It was determined not to renumber the remaining wards at that time leaving the north/south oriented Wards 2, 3, and 4, which were described as follows:

4 Page 4 Ward 2 - bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, the Town boundary limit to the north, Burloak Drive to the west, and Fourth Line to the QEW, QEW to the 16 mile creek, 16 mile creek to Highway 5, Highway 5 to the old Fourth Line to the Ward 3 - bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, the Town boundary limit to the north, the ward 2 boundary line to the west, and Trafalgar Road to the Ward 4 - was bounded by the Lake Ontario to the south, the Town boundary limit to the north, Trafalgar Road to the west, and Winston Churchill to the The Region of Halton Act (the Act) established that the Town of Oakville Council would be comprised of a mayor, elected by a general vote of the electors of the municipality and twelve members, elected by wards. This resulted in Oakville having four Councillors for each of its three wards. The Act also established that Regional Council consist of twenty-five members as follows: a chairman the mayor of each area municipality (4 Mayors), and the following members of council from each area municipality: Oakville six members elected by wards Burlington eight members elected by wards Milton two members elected by wards Halton Hills four members elected by wards 1987 A review of the ward configurations was undertaken and at that time Council determined to retain the three ward system In May of 1989 staff was requested to review a six ward boundary system for Oakville, with the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) acting as the north/south boundary. In September 1989 Council passed a resolution directing staff to contact all residents associations and other interested parties to obtain comments on the potential of changing to a six ward electoral system, with the QEW being the dividing line between the northerly and southerly wards. Subsequently a public meeting was held on January 10, 1990 and By-law was passed, being a By-law to redivide, alter and vary the composition of wards in the Town of Oakville. On April 4, 1990 the Ontario Municipal Board approved the revised six Ward Boundaries and By-law came into effect. Also in 1989 the Town requested the Region of Halton to review Oakville s representation on Regional Council based on representation by population percentage of the area municipalities, however changes were not introduced at that time.

5 Page 5 In 1996 Regional Council representation changed to its current configuration, in response to the Provincial efforts to streamline municipal governments and reduce Council sizes and the political will of Regional Council at the time. The 1996 Regional Council reconfiguration of 21 members, based on the principle of representation by population, (Regional Chair, 7 Members from Oakville, 7 Members from Burlington, 4 Members from Milton and 3 Members from Halton Hills, inclusive of the Mayors of the four area municipalities), was considered an interim measure as growth and development projections forecast further changes, specifically for Milton. Ward Configurations Other municipalities The municipalities shown in the chart below are all two tier municipalities that have a current population over 100,000. Ward configuration maps are available for review in the Clerk s Department and may be made available upon request. Municipality Number of Wards Size of Council Population Brampton ,806 Burlington ,415 Cambridge ,371 Kitchener ,668 Markham ,573 Mississauga ,549 Oshawa ,590 Richmond Hill ,704 St. Catharines ,989 Vaughan ,866 Ward Boundary Proposal The current six ward boundaries have been reviewed with consideration being given to the following factors and principles: natural physical/geographic boundaries local community areas resident/community group areas equitable representation by population estimated growth projections Three concept maps have been prepared for Council s consideration, one of which is the north/south ward boundary concept recommended by the Citizens Task Force in A second alternative is to make minor revisions to the current ward system for the 2010 Municipal Election. The third alternative introduces a revised ward

6 Page 6 boundary proposal which would continue to be relevant until after the 2018 municipal election, subject to representation at Regional Council remaining as is. The concept maps, attached as Appendix B to this report, include the estimated future population breakdown of the proposed wards for the years 2010, 2014, 2018, and Staff is seeking direction from Council as to how it wishes to proceed. Options for a Ward Boundary review include the following: 1. Maintain the current boundaries (Appendix B) until after the 2010 Municipal Election: This would result in the continuing imbalance of representation by population of electors, specifically with respect to Ward 4. It would however, negate the potential for back to back ward boundary changes to be put into effect for the 2010 and 2014 Municipal Elections, based on the possibility of a shift in Regional Representation after the 2010 election. 2. Make minor adjustments to the current ward system to reallocate some of the Ward 5 population to Wards 1 and 2 respectively. This would address much of the current imbalance but would not be sustainable for future elections after (Appendix C (i)) 3. Select a preferred ward boundary option for the 2010 municipal election in accordance with either the TF proposed linear six ward system or the revised boundary option (Appendix C (ii) and (iii) respectively). Circulate the preferred option to the public and present the results of such input to a future meeting of Council s Administrative Services Committee in late fall. This would result in more specific comments from residents groups and interested parties as to potential improvements to a single option. 4. Circulate all ward boundary options identified in this report for public input and present the results of such input to a future meeting of Council s Administrative Services Committee in late fall. This would result in Council having the benefit of input on all options provided prior to determining a preference, however, once determined, there will be minimal opportunity to effect potential improvements to any revised ward boundary concept, if applicable, unless such revisions have been expressly identified in the full circulation. Any circulation of ward boundary options would include both the Halton District and Halton Catholic District School Boards.

7 Page 7 CONSIDERATIONS: (A) PUBLIC The public will be impacted by any changes to the ward structure and will be notified of any public meetings in accordance with Council s Public Notice policy. (B) FINANCIAL There is no financial impact at this time other than through the allocation of administrative resources. (C) IMPACT ON OTHER DEPARTMENTS & USERS Any future changes to the local ward boundaries will impact all Departments, the school boards, area resident groups and the electoral population at large. (D) CORPORATE AND/OR DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC GOALS This report addresses the Corporate Strategic Goal to: be accountable APPENDICES: Appendix A March 26, 2008 Regional Council Resolution Appendix B Current Ward Boundary Map Appendix C Draft Ward Boundary Concept Maps (Appendices A-C available for review in the Clerk s Department) Prepared by: Kim Galione Election/Special Projects Manager Submitted by: Cathie L. Best Town Clerk Services