At tonights Town of Milton Council meeting we will be having a public meeting on an upcoming staff report to regulate short term rentals.
Over the last few years, the issue of short term rentals has come up on a number of occasions in both the urban and rural areas. In some cases in ward 3, properties are being used as “Party Houses” in residential areas. I was witness to a full sized bus dropping off close to 75 people to one house and in turn there was local property damage, loud music and a huge disruption in the neighbourhood due to excess noise and “other activities”
Council recently asked staff to come up with guidelines for future uses of short term rentals in Milton to avoid these problems that do come up. Trying to balance the right of the homeowner to rent out their property and the rights of the surrounding neighbourhood is difficult and we’re asking Milton residents what they think.
Ban them? What kinds of restrictions should be put in place? It’s all up for discussion.
Here is a link to the report we have so far and after this meeting tonight, and via Lets Talk Milton website, they will come back to council on June 20th with the final report. There are already some delegations set up but being a public meeting, you can have your say tonight. If you cant make the meeting tonight, please feel free to email me your comments mike.cluett@milton.ca
As we inch closer to the summer months and higher demands for services like Air BNB, Vrbo and others its important we establish some clear guidelines to protect local neighbourhoods and the property owners themselves.
The Town of Milton is asking residents of Milton to take part in a discussion for “Living In Milton” policy to address important community issues from today until June 8th.
The discussion will look at the following topics – affordability and housing choices, climate change, history & culture, parks & recreation, places of worship, rural living, urban design & youth.
There are a series of videos you will find on Let’s Talk Milton that provide more detail on what we are looking for. All feedback received will be complied into a report to be presented to council for June 20, 2022.
This hasn’t been an overnight effort to get to this point. Our council has been working on this plan for the last few years, consulting with businesses & residents alike to hear what you need and want for the future of this town. We are surrounded by some amazing amenities and live a wonderful quality of life and we want to make it better.
This council and future ones need to hear from you on what the best direction forward is going to be. We’ve done a good job so far getting to this point but strong leadership is going to be needed to move forward and not get left behind. This is where your input is so valued.
In addition to finalizing our official plan, we need to ensure going forward this council continues making the investments needed in infrastructure and the delivery of services to make sure the quality of life in Milton improves.
The decisions that will be made going forward regarding future growth, economic development, the environment and the delivery of services to the residents of Milton will have a long term impact on our future prosperity and the ability to become the complete community we desire to be.
We want to hear from you!
Over the last 4 years, I along with other members of both Town and Regional council have been working through literally thousands of pages of documents on growth plans, where we are growing, how to grow, what to build, who to build for, and what we want our community to look like in the next 30 years. To say its been exhausting would be an understatement. Hundreds of hours of consultation with the public, staff, consultants and councillors has occurred over the last 3 years and we are reaching the end of our official plan review and soon be able to set the course for the future.
You’ve told me that you want walkable communities, the ability to live and work in town, better transit connectivity, and access to services provided by the town and region. Im confident that the course we are on is the best one for not only us, but for our children to provide them with a complete community where they can live, work, play, learn and raise their family in comfort and sustainability.
Please register online to Let’s Talk Milton and have your say. As always, Im available for comments via this site, my social media or simply pick up the phone and call/text/WhatsApp me.
This weekend I had the privilege of joining a number of my council colleagues in attending this years Milton Youth Task Force Awards.
It was a great ending to Milton Youth Week which was set up to highlight the activities of our young people in our community. Hearing the stories during the awards of both those who won and others who were nominated, I found myself even more inspired in how Milton’s future will look as we continue to grow.
Later in the weekend, the Youth Task Force had organized a fun event at the Milton Sports Centre with live music, vendors and lots of activities for all. Young entrepreneurs starting up their own businesses whether it be in food, clothing, buttons or even home made stuffies or recipes for slime (its a thing for sure as my daughter LOVES making/playing with slime) setting up their tables to pitch their wares. Again, nothing but inspiring to see young people working hard to make a difference.
It brings me to things that are normally said by politicians at these types of events.
“Our future is in great hands.”
“We need to listen to what our youth have to say.”
“Just looking after mine and our future.”
Looking at what this council has done working with our staff and strategic plans, I am comforted that we are listening to the youth in town. But of course we need to do better.
Speaking with one of those youth over the weekend, we talked about “youth” issues in a general sense but they told me we (as in all politicians and leaders from ALL levels of government) need to do better. I’ve always said, if you want better answers, ask better questions and I was asked. What do YOU think youth issues are?
Youth issues are not just parks and recreation ammenities … its not playgrounds and places to hang out. Youth issues are employment opportunities and economic development issues. Youth issues are environmental & sustainability issues. Youth issues are not just limited to those under the age of 18 and we need to open that discussion up more to the voices of our youth.
For too long, youth issues have been limited to items that just affect their immediate lives and the fact that they want a future in town and build a career here in town and inevitably start a business or family here in town. They need to be at the table more starting NOW and not just after they start paying taxes or looking for a home, taking that leap into opening a business, inventing new items or choosing where they go to university or college.
In the past, many of our political leaders have been misguided when it comes to looking after our future. Some think that as long as we have the lowest tax rate in the region, that we’re “looking after our youth.” In fact there’s enough evidence to prove that isn’t the case. By keeping our property taxes too low, we’ve missed out on opportunities for investment – roads, infrastructure, programming, etc.
The most recent 2016 census shows that Milton has 3 age groups that are increasing rapidly: 5 and under, 75 and up and those 15-19 years old. These are 3 individual waves of groups of people we as a town and region will be servicing in the coming years.
That is why our demands to the provincial government for getting schools built faster and to be able to reduce the ever increasing number of portables at both elementary and secondary schools is vitally important.
That is why our calls to the province and our development industry to move faster in building a variety of housing options; from single family homes/townhomes, low and mid rise condo developments, low and mid rise rental developments and getting major transit station areas more intensified for mid to high rise apartments. When I sit around the table at Halton Region and the Town of Milton to discuss growth plans and responsibly expand our urban boundaries to accommodate this increasing demand for housing and economic development, its THESE concerns that motivate me.
If these issues aren’t addressed moving forward, our young people will have no other option than to leave Milton for other areas. What does that mean? An entrepreneur will move their future business and future job opportunities outside of town. It means another step in the wrong direction in building a complete community and all we will here is “where am I going to move when I finish school?” and we won’t have the answer.
After hearing so many inspirational stories of the work ethic and passion of those young people in our community this past week at the awards and seeing right in front of my face the entrepreneurship at the youth festival, I am convinced we need to listen more. New ideas for housing…new ideas to attract business…new ideas for delivery of municipal services.
Over the last number of years, I have chaired the Milton Economic Development Advisory Committee that the town has put together to bring business owners, industry leaders, educational institutions & government officials in laying the groundwork for Milton’s plan for prosperity. As this term ends and a new one begins, one of the suggestions I’ll be bringing to the table is to expand that committee to have youth representation for much needed input.
The more we hear from our youth in putting forward ideas for Milton’s future, the more secure that future will be as we continue our journey towards being a complete community and the Place of Possibility. This way we can ensure our future is in good hands and politicians at all levels aren’t just providing lip service to “looking after our future”.
And as one of the young people I spoke with over the weekend said to me…we’re doing ok but we need to “Step it up!”
Halton’s mask by-law was originally adopted by Regional Council on July 15, 2020, as an important measure to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and keep the Halton community safe. While the mask by-law is being rescinded in Halton, some Provincial and Federal masking requirements will remain in place.
As of March 21, masking will continue to be required in select settings such as public transit, long-term care homes, retirement homes, and other health care settings, shelters, jails and congregate care and living settings, including homes for individuals with developmental disabilities.
In addition to the settings above, masks will also be required in the following circumstances:
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 are required to wear a mask until day 10 following a positive test result or the onset of symptoms (whichever occurred first).
Close contacts and household contacts of individuals with COVID-19 are required to wear a mask for 10 days after exposure.
Individuals who have recently traveled outside of Canada, have to wear a mask for 14 days upon return.
Halton Region Public Health is also reminding residents that wearing a mask continues to be an effective public health measure for reducing the spread of COVID-19 and to be kind to those who choose to continue wearing a mask to protect themselves and others.
“There is still risk of transmission in Halton and we need to be mindful that the risk of infection and severe disease is greater for some individuals than others, including those who are immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions, and older adults,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health. “Some individuals may choose to keep wearing masks in places where they are not required, and others, such as those who are close contacts of COVID-19 cases, will be required to wear masks for a period of time. Businesses and organizations may also continue to require or encourage mask use based on the risk in their workplaces and to their patrons. I encourage all Halton residents to continue to be kind and respectful to everyone, regardless of their decision to wear a mask or not.”
The Regional Municipality of Halton serves more than 595,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents through the delivery of cost-effective, quality programs and services, including water and wastewater; Regional roads and planning; paramedic services; waste management; public health; social assistance; children’s and seniors’ services; housing services; heritage programs; emergency management and economic development. For more information, call 311 or visit Halton Region’s website at halton.ca.
I would just like to express my disappointment at the Mayor of Oakville’s comments in his recent email newsletter about working on a motion to limit the expansion of the urban boundary that will put at risk Milton’s ability to grow into a complete community.
Halton Region yesterday had a workshop that lasted several hours where Halton planners answered many questions brought forward by my colleagues around the table coming to the conclusion that the only option to move forward on is minimal expansion to the urban boundary.
For the last 10 plus years, Milton residents have worked on a vision they wanted for our town. There has been in person consultations, Milton’s Vision report and a lot of discussion on Lets Talk Milton about what we want Milton to be in the coming years.
Without expansion of the urban boundary, it puts at risk our long term economic development plans and bringing jobs for residents to live, work and learn in our community. A majority of Milton Town Council along with a majority of our Halton Region Councillors agree with the urban boundary expansion.
The sole Milton voice at Halton Region that opposes our vision that we have built is Councillor Best. He feels that all we need to do is “drive around town” and see that we have enough space for development out to 2051. This is a completely uninformed analysis based on anecdotal evidence. He ignores the numerous Region & Town of Milton’s studies and Land Needs Assessments that have come to the conclusion that no urban boundary expansion will work.
The next meeting of Halton Region council will be on February 16th where this and possibly other motions will be entertained to delay the submission for our official plan. If we don’t meet this deadline, there are chances where the province will step in and plan our growth without our plan.
This cannot happen. Its not about saving farmland as they might say…its simply about politics. Let Milton control its own growth and not have outside forces dictate to us what kind of community we should be. We already know what kind we want…a complete community.
