On the agenda: Transit fare gates, affordable housing, tax forgiveness

This week, councillors are set to attend committee meetings and discuss fare gates at select transit stations, grants for affordable housing, and the city's tax forgiveness policy.

There is a community and public services committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 16, an urban planning committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 17, and an executive committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 18.

Here are key items on this week's agenda:

• City staff have designed a two-year pilot program to test fare gates at the Churchill and Belvedere LRT stations. The pilot is aimed to address fare evasion, safety, and security concerns. The cost to install the fare gates — 30 per station — plus CCTV cameras is estimated at $4.2 million. The operating costs for the pilot are estimated to be $3 million. Administration said fare gates would require a staff member to be present during the 20 hours a day the LRT runs. The staff member would help riders navigate the gates, and let through riders who don't use an Arc card, such as children under 12 and riders with paper transfers. Administration said determining if the fare gates increase revenue will be difficult because those evading fares could use nearby stations. Anecdotal evidence from other cities with fare gates suggests they increase riders' perception of safety and fairness, administration said. Fare gates, especially if combined with simple and convenient payment options, can reduce fare evasion, but administration noted people can still climb over fare gates or "tailgate" behind other riders. If council wants to proceed with the pilot program, it will need to identify a funding source, as the pilot would cost more than it would generate in additional revenue, city staff said. Council had asked administration to recommend a way forward when requesting the pilot program, but administration didn't provide one in the report. The pilot is scheduled to be presented to council's urban planning committee on Sept. 17.
• Administration is asking council's executive committee to approve $19 million to fund seven projects that would lead to 275 new units of either affordable, supportive, or transitional housing, and 22 rehabilitated units. The units would be offered at various rental rates, ranging from rent-geared-to-income to 80% of market rents. The proposed developments, which are outlined in a report scheduled to be presented to council's executive committee on Sept. 18, are in Heritage Valley Town Centre, McCauley, Wîhkwêntôwin, downtown, Woodcroft, Parkdale, and Athlone. If the committee approves the funding, council will debate it at a future meeting.
• City staff recommends tightening its tax forgiveness policy so that fewer properties are eligible as part of the OP12 cost-saving exercise. Some properties, such as religious organizations, cancer treatment centres, private schools, arts organizations, and non-profit groups, are exempt from property taxes but the city still requires taxes while the building is under construction. Those organizations can apply to have those taxes forgiven, as the building will become tax-exempt upon completion. The city has forgiven $184,000 of taxes in such cases since 2020. Properties that will be tax-exempt after construction can have up to three years of their taxes forgiven, but administration suggests restricting that time period to one year. This change would have avoided about $73,000 in tax forgiveness per year since 2020. Administration also recommends restricting tax forgiveness to the principal amount, and not to any associated fines for nonpayment. This policy would have avoided about $15,000 in tax forgiveness since 2020, the city said. City staff suggest restricting what types of properties are eligible for tax forgiveness and capping the amount of taxes that can be forgiven. The options are scheduled to be presented at an executive committee meeting on Sept. 18.

Here are some other items on the agenda:

• Administration proposes several actions to improve the experience of people using the city's Dedicated Accessible Transit Service (DATS) in a report scheduled to be presented to council's urban planning committee on Sept. 17. The service operates from 6am to 11pm Sundays through Thursdays, 6am to midnight on Fridays, and 6:30am to midnight on Saturdays. Adminstration suggests that expanding the operating hours by one hour on each side would provide more independence, mobility, and flexibility for DATS users, but may be operationally less efficient. Same-day DATS bookings are currently not guaranteed, as the shared-ride service must coordinate the needs of all users. DATS is able to accommodate all pre-booked trips but only 30% of same-day trips, the city said. Administration suggests increasing the availability of same-day trips could lead to fewer trip cancellations and no-shows, but require additional money. Currently, DATS riders are provided a 30-minute pickup window in which they must be ready for pickup. Shortening the pickup window could lead to a better user experience and decrease trip times, the report said. This change would require additional money from the budget. With all three proposed improvements, the report said taxis could potentially help address the service gaps. Should the committee direct administration to explore funding options for the improvements, the options would be presented at the supplemental budget adjustment.
• The proposed update to the land use bylaw that will govern the river valley designates much of the land as open green space for nature, recreation, and culture according to a report due at council's urban planning committee on Sept. 17. Administration has been reviewing the planning direction for the river valley to guide preservation, access, and development. The revised planning documents are set to be debated at a public hearing sometime before the end of 2024.
• Restricting the sale of knives at corner stores may be difficult as the majority of knives sold in such stores are legal under the Criminal Code, according to a report set to be presented to council's community and public services committee on Sept. 16. In April, concerned residents asked council's urban planning committee to find a way to stop the sale of these knives. Administration suggests the city has four options, three of which would involve the business licence bylaw. The city could create a "convenience store" category for business licences that could prohibit or impose operating requirements on the sale of knives at corner stores. This option could also allow the regulation of other weapons sold at such stores, like bear spray and polymer knuckles. Only stores that are seen as contributing to social disorder would be affected by this change, and not sporting, recreational, or kitchen supply stores, the city said. Another option is to apply operating requirements to all stores that sell knives. The third option is to use the business licence review process to address specific retailers and require them to impose operating requirements on the sale of knives. Administration suggests the operating requirements include prohibiting the sale of knives to minors, requiring retailers to keep knives locked in a display case, and requiring them to post signage that communicates restrictions on the sale of knives. The fourth option is to advocate to other levels of governments for stronger knife regulations. This could include asking the federal government for stronger Criminal Code regulations on the sale and possession of knives. There is no funding allocated for the first three options.
• A council committee is set to recommend which community safety and well-being initiatives it will fund at a meeting on Sept. 16. Administration recommends approving $750,000 each for a violence prevention plan and a plan to create safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The committee will also be asked to approve adding $500,000 to the funding pool for the community safety and well-being grant program, and $300,000 to the truth and reconciliation sponsorship budget. Should council's community and public services committee recommend to approve the funding, the decision will go to city council for consideration.
• Administration suggests amending the derelict property tax subclass to incentivize owners to rehabilitate or demolish such properties sooner. Since the subclass was introduced in early 2024, 20 of 207 derelict properties have been demolished. However, since properties are only assessed once per year, owners must pay the higher tax rate for the whole year, regardless of when the property is remediated. City staff recommends amending the city's tax forgiveness policy so owners would only pay the derelict rate for the part of the year the property is actually derelict. If this policy were to be approved, the 20 demolished properties would be eligible for a total of approximately $55,000 in tax forgiveness. The amendment is scheduled to be presented to council's executive committee on Sept. 18, and if the committee approves it, council will vote on it at a future meeting.
• Council's community and public services committee is scheduled to review an update on the Indigenous Framework, the foundation for city's approach to reconciliation. Administration said it identified more than 70 projects in 2023 and 2024 that advance commitments in the framework. Staff underwent mandatory Indigenous awareness training, participated in Indigenous events, and promoted events that raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people, to name a few actions.

Meetings stream live on YouTube on the Chamber channel and River Valley Room channel.