Reflections on a Deputation to City Council

Today, I presented my first deputation to the City of Kawartha Lakes Council. It concerned my objections to a proposed new Rural Zoning By-law that has been in the making for four years.

Some background.

The City of Kawartha Lakes signed a contract in 2019 with WSP, an international consulting company, to undertake the tedious work of studying 14 legacy rural zoning bylaws that have remained in use for over 20 years since 17 counties were amalgomated into one city under the Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes.

A Final Draft of the Rural Zoning By-law Consolidation project was released to the public in July 2023. It contains 380 pages of rules, charts, tables,  policies, updated terms & language, and more. The public was given until September 1 to study, digest and weigh its implications, and to provide feedback.

Many concerned constituents felt this was insufficient time for property owners to complete this task. Understandably,  “the devil is in the details” and it's the unforeseen risks lurking in these details that concern us.

This Final Draft is described as a “consolidated”, “harmonized”, and “modernized” version of the 14 legacy rural zoning by-laws. Nice words often hide ugliness and deception beneath.

My Reflections.

I am proud of the message I presented today. As my own worst critic, I wish I was a better public speaker and hope that the Mayor and 8 Ward Councillors took the contents of my verbal presentation, plus the 8 page supporting document, seriously.

City Council allows only 5 minutes for a deputation. They allowed me 7 minutes. I really needed 30 minutes to present my full set of concerns and proposals to do proper justice to the topic. All levels of government are in full control of the ways that citizens can interact with their public authorities. The restricted allotment of time for my deputation is yet another example of the one-sided nature of government control in managing their interaction with citizens. The result is they are often out of touch with what matters to their constituents, interests and priorities.

If governments find it too taxing to deal with the public, the best solution is to take on less responsibility. If they reduce the size, cost and scope of authority, they will be better able to serve the public in the domains of responsibility that matter most.

Q & A is fun

I enjoyed answering the Councillors’ questions the most. It was easy to do so because I know my subject well and their questions were somewhat lame and unimaginative.

I would relish a two-hour discussion with all City Council members to flesh out the entire rural zoning topic and how best to address it to the satisfaction of everyone.

My expectations.

I presented the deputation expecting that Council will proceed to passing the Final Draft into a By-Law sometime before mid-December without seriously considering my message. There are too many vested stakeholders in favour of passing this into law who will exert their influence in getting it passed for the 2024 calendar year.

However, my deputation COW2023-08.4.3 is now a matter of public record and can be useful in future political election campaigns. Enough said.