It was a relatively short and decisive city council meeting at Thunder Bay City Hall.

Zoning by-laws:

Council approved more in-city building of residential units. This will allow more homes to be constructed within city limits (including on already developed property with the appropriate amount of space) that could also provide more affordable rentals down the road. There was a reduction in parking space size down to a single vehicle space, down from 1.5. Projects that are already in development will be grandfathered in, these changes would only apply to future builds once the by-law has been ratified.

Ward/Town Hall Meetings During Municipal Elections:

At Large Councillor, Trevor Giertuga, tabled the idea that during the municipal election campaign season this summer, current councillors won’t be holding any ward meeting or Town Hall sessions. He piggy-backed the idea after the election rules were expanded regarding media mentions of councillors. As of May 2nd, any press release from the City will only mention councillors by their title and not their name.

Giertuga, wanted to expand that to include ward/town hall meetings. This was voted down. He amended his motion to have it be in effect for next year, that was also voted down.

More details regaring the municipal election can be found here.