As the City continues efforts to address the impacts of short-term rentals on the community, staff are looking to the public for their input.

An online open house is underway, running until Oct. 16, providing the public with a breakdown of proposed amendments to the City’s Zoning By-law related to short-term rentals (STRs). Several concerns related to such property uses were identified in previous public consultation on the topic in late 2019.

On Feb. 24, 2020 City Council directed staff to begin the process of amending the Zoning By-law to address STRs, such as those commonly listed on sites such as AirBnB and Vrbo. Such rentals, where a dwelling is rented and the property owner is not present during the rental period of 28 days or less, have been the source of several concerns including housing stock impacts, noise complaints and property standards issues.

The proposed amendments, which are scheduled to be considered by Council following an in-person public meeting on Nov. 16, will better clarify when and how such STRs should be permitted.

The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment allows for some STR operations in residential areas provided they aren't the primary use of the dwelling. The property must operate first and foremost as a full-time residence, with the resident temporarily renting out the entire dwelling unit on an occasional basis. The property cannot function solely as a STR; ensuring the housing stock is not impacted, while still allowing residents the opportunity to generate supplementary income.

This is proposed to be achieved by:

Residents can visit engagestc.ca/ShortTermRental to learn more about the proposed amendment, ask questions and leave feedback.

St. Catharines City Council has approved a recommendation to match funding from the Rotary Club of St. Catharines to the tune of $95,000, towards making Happy Rolph’s Animal Farm playground the most accessible in St. Catharines.

Nestled along the shore of Lake Ontario, Happy Rolph's Animal Farm is a well-loved spot for locals with its farm animal viewing area, duck and geese ponds, playground, picnic area and pavilion, nature trails, accessible parking, and accessible washrooms, which were upgraded in 2014.

“The City of St. Catharines is proud to partner with the Rotary Club of St. Catharines on this park renewal project,” said Director of Community, Recreation and Culture Services Phil Cristi. “It will result in a new, accessible and inclusive play area for all to enjoy.”

This project continues to demonstrate the City of St. Catharines as a leader in accessibility and inclusivity with playgrounds, which would not have been possible without the significant contribution by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines. Council also approved changing the name of the Happy Rolph’s playground to Rotary Club of St. Catharines Centennial Playground.

In 2019 Council approved additional clauses to the Outdoor Play Spaces Design requirements within the Facilities Accessibility Design Standards (FADS) Policy to enhance the City’s current polices and practices.

Council previously approved $330,000 in the 2020 Capital Budget for the Happy Rolph’s Animal Farm project. The addition of the Rotary Club’s $95,000, plus the $95,000 approved on Monday by Council, will support a list of upgrades including: a new accessibility loop throughout the park linking the play area, accessible washrooms, animal pens and accessible parking spots, a new toddler play area, enhanced picnic area, and additional swings.

Upgrades to the park and playground are expected to begin in Spring 2021.

While winter may still be months away, the City is looking to local volunteer groups to assist in offering up outdoor skating in their communities.

Applications are open for volunteer groups to participate in the City’s Community Outdoor Ice Rink Pilot Project. Now entering its second season, the project allows community volunteer groups to build, operate and maintain outdoor ice rinks in City-owned parks. Volunteer groups are permitted to apply to use any park they wish, provided it offers a reasonably flat surface, sufficient lighting, access for emergency vehicles and adequate parking where volunteer groups can build, operate and maintain outdoor ice rinks.

Last year the Fitzgerald Neighbours resident group operated a rink at St. Patrick’s Park with much success.

Volunteer groups do not have to be incorporated charities or not-for-profit groups to apply but must allow all community members free and equal access to the outdoor ice rinks. Volunteer groups are responsible for acquiring and storing equipment and materials required to build, operate and maintain the outdoor ice rink, including boards, tarps, shovels, scrapers and water.

In addition to the park space for the outdoor rink, the City will provide signage, and training sessions on how to build outdoor ice rinks and complete the reporting requirements. The City also offers grants up to $500 per rink to help cover watering costs.

Applications are due by Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. Successful applicants will be notified by Oct. 19. The community outdoor ice rink season will run from Dec. 1 to March 19.

St. Catharines City Council forges ahead in its support of the arts and culture sector by approving funding in the amount of $93,095 to 16 local artists and arts organizations through its annual St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP).

The arts and culture sector in St. Catharines has been severely affected by COVID-19. Disruption caused by the pandemic has had a significant impact on many artists’ and arts organizations’ abilities to carry out their work, especially in the audience-based performing arts sector.

Previously, at its meeting on June 3, 2020, City Council approved maintaining the 2020 SCCIP budget of $400,000, and that unspent money be used to create a temporary COVID fund for music, arts and cultural activities that support downtown revitalization and enhance public life during the recovery. It also expedited funding to be provided to Sustaining Fund clients in the second round of SCCIP allocations.

With the cancellation of events, performances and production seasons in St. Catharines, revenue for the SCCIP funding did fall short of projections. However, the program was deemed necessary by the City to strengthen cultural vitality, economic prosperity and social health in St. Catharines during recover from the pandemic.

The program was open to artists, arts organizations, artist ad hoc collectives, arts festivals, cultural organizations and other not-for-profit organizations that can engage residents at a local community level.

It aims to support arts and cultural activities in the community that foster downtown revitalization and enhance community life; projects that engage residents through performances, community art experiences, neighbourhood cultural activities, and experiences that encourage participation, creativity and innovation.

For the 2020 funding year only, this program is replacing the Arts Development Fund and the Culture Builds Community Fund. Previous recipients of this funding as well as new eligible applicants were able to apply to the program.

St. Catharines and the Town of Lincoln’s economic development and tourism departments have begun the process of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through formalizing a sub-regional tourism marketing partnership.

The partnership has been finalised through the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of St. Catharines and the Town of Lincoln to expand both municipalities’ capacity to market to a broader audience and combine a shared rural and urban tourism experience.

This partnership will mean complimentary, aligned destination messaging to promote popular tourism offerings such as live events, trails, waterfront access, and a growing craft beer, wine and culinary scene. Whether it’s urban downtown entertainment visitors seek or picturesque open spaces; beaches and bars, hikes and historical architecture, they will find it all in St. Catharines and Lincoln. The MOU will also look at coming together to form a joint Destination Marketing Organization to assist with destination marketing and management.

Hello St. Catharines,

It’s been a busy start to September, and City Council continues its focus on moving our community forward on a path towards recovery.

We’ve progressed in our staged approach to reopening, including some of our City arenas and the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre, even as the City continues to respond to the evolving needs of our community. On Monday, for example, City Council voted to lift the Niagara residents-only restriction on City beaches now that demand has waned. We approved a property tax penalty and interest relief program for non-residential property owners as well – similar what we approved in July for residential property owners.

On Monday, we were also pleased to move forward on a partnership with the Rotary Club which will ensure the playground is even more accessible and inclusive. The playground will be named Rotary Club of St. Catharines’ Centennial Playground in recognition of Rotary’s generous $95,000 contribution.

We have also teamed up with the Niagara Regional Police on a provincial funding request to potentially add more closed-circuit television cameras to priority areas of the downtown core. We hope the NRP is successful in its grant request, knowing the role these cameras can play in assisting police as an investigative tool.

To learn about other City initiatives I want to highlight, alongside community members and organizations I would like to congratulate, see my report on the archived Council video on YouTube, or my bi-weekly Mayor’s Report.

A reminder to continue to do your part to push back against COVID-19 in our community. We have done a great job here in Niagara, but we must continue to be vigilant. Wash your hands, maintain physical distance and wear a face covering. We continue to all be in this together.

All the best,

Police will have more eyes on the downtown should they be successful, in landing grant funding for the installation of closed-circuit television cameras at three intersections in the City core.

On Monday, Council approved a request from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) to participate in a joint submission to the Ontario Closed Circuit Television Grant Program. Should the submission be successful, the Province will match $15,000 in funding from the City, and $60,000 from the NRPS for the installation of 12 new cameras in Niagara.

Six of those cameras would be installed in downtown St. Catharines at the intersections of Queenston Street and Church Street; Niagara Street and Church Street; and Geneva Street and Church Street.

The City is stepping up to provide some relief to businesses hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similar to a residential tax deferral program established earlier this year, a new program is being developed that will allow non-residential property owners impacted by the pandemic to apply for a deferral of payment on their final property tax instalment until Nov. 30, 2020.

The City is looking to the Federal and Provincial Governments to step up assistance for the food and dining industry in Niagara.

On Monday, City Council approved a motion to petition upper-tier governments to dole out greater support for the sector particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the operation of patios has helped some restaurants to offset the impacts of safety requirements surrounding the pandemic cold weather may soon remove the ability to utilize outdoor spaces.

Given the importance of the hospitality industry to the local economy the City will request the Province and Federal Government create a relief stream targeted at the industry, in the form of forgivable grants; long-term, low-interest loans; rent relief; and wage subsidies.

With the weather beginning to cool and in turn limiting demand, City beaches will once again open to outside visitors.

In response to over-crowding, and other issues, City Council voted to limit access to City beaches to Niagara residents only earlier this summer. With crowds dropping off now that weather has cooled, and children have returned to school, that requirement has now been lifted.

With the restriction lifted the City is looking to the future of its beaches through the establishment of a working group to review the 2020 beach season. Building on that review the group will examine possible ways to offset problems that plagued beaches this summer and the possible return of any restrictions.

Downtown businesses looking for help to build their online presence can look forward to some help.

On Monday Council was updated on the return of the Digital Main Street (DMS) program. The program will return this month, after the approval of funding for the Economic Development and Tourism Services Department. The program, which first ran from October 2019 to May 2020, provides one-on-one support and programming for main street businesses, assisting in strengthening their online presence and operations.

As part of the program several streams of support will be offered to small businesses. These include Digital Transformation Grants for businesses to increase their capacity through digital transformation; ShopHERE allowing for independent businesses and artists to build free websites and online stores; and the Future Proof program providing support for business model transformation.