Whitby Council Highlights - June 2026

Council has approved a new Traffic Calming Policy and Guidelines aimed at creating a standardized, transparent process for addressing concerns about speeding, excessive traffic volumes, and other road safety concerns on neighbourhood streets in Whitby.

To date, streets for traffic calming have been chosen based on requests from the community, discussions with ward Councillors and input from Fire Services. A staff report notes the current approach “has led to dissatisfaction among some residents regarding the placement of traffic calming measures with requests for removal at some locations.”

The new policy will guide Town staff in assessing and responding to requests and set out the method and criteria to identify and prioritize locations for traffic calming measures.

Examples of traffic calming measures include lower speed limits, speed humps, flexible bollards and raised crosswalks.

The new policy and guidelines were developed based on a scan of current traffic calming practices in Ontario municipalities, as well as feedback from the community, with over 650 residents taking part in the first phase of engagement. 

Council has voted for the Town of Whitby to opt into the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build – Development Charges Reduction Program (DCRP). Council has voted for the Town of Whitby to opt into the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build – Development Charges Reduction Program. Announced in March 2026, the program is an $8.8 billion federal-provincial partnership that will deliver housing infrastructure funding. The funding will be prioritized for municipalities that reduce development charges for all residential types by 30 per cent to 50 per cent or greater. Whitby has committed to a 30 per cent residential development charges reduction for a period of three years and is requesting pver $100 million in DCRP grant funding for three priority projects:

• Fire Hall 6
• Phases 2 and 3 of the Columbus Road expansion
• Operations Centre expansion

A Town report recommends that Whitby participate in the project to help increase housing supply by incentivizing developers and builders to proceed with local residential construction projects, as well as incentivizing possible price reductions for homebuyers.

The report notes participation in the project will also support local jobs in residential construction and municipal infrastructure delivery.

Subject to approval of the Town’s three projects at the 90 per cent grant funding level, Town staff will be given the authority to amend the Town’s Development Charges By-law to implement the proposed 30 per cent residential development charge reduction, retroactive to March 30, 2026.

Council also directed the mayor to send a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford requesting dialogue between all three levels of government around refining the program framework to ensure municipalities do not face financial strain as a result of the development charge reductions.

Council has endorsed the funding framework to complete a preliminary design of the Durham Meadoway at a cost of $335,000 funded from the Growth Capital Reserve Fund.

The Meadoway is a regional trail network proposed to link Greater Toronto Area communities between the Don River and the City of Oshawa. The Region of Durham Planning Division is coordinating the project in partnership with the City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Town of Whitby and the City of Oshawa.

The Meadoway will create a key east–west active transportation route in Whitby, strengthening connections between existing Town trails, parks, neighbourhoods, and the waterfront while addressing network gaps under Highway 412 and within the hydro corridor.

Council authorized Town staff to enter into a Meadoway Shared Services Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Region. Approval of the memorandum and the associated funding is limited to the completion of a design study and does not commit the Town to construction of the Meadoway, which would be subject to future Council approval through the capital budget process.

Council has directed Town staff to report back on the on the feasibility, legal authority, and potential cost of using sound camera technology in Whitby.

The City of Toronto is currently studying the use of sound camera technology to address excessive vehicle noise. The technology makes it possible to identify and ticket owners of vehicles that are excessively loud, such as those with modified mufflers and exhaust systems.

The motion directs Town staff to monitor and review the findings and outcomes of Toronto’s study.

Whitby Council is formally calling on the Government of Canada to proclaim the month of February as Chinese Canadian Heritage Month. The motion notes Chinese Canadians have played an essential role in shaping Canada’s economic growth, cultural life, and social fabric since the 1800s, and that the Greater Toronto Area is home to one of the largest Chinese populations outside of Asia.

While Canada has proclaimed an Asian Heritage Month, the motion says it “does not fully reflect the distinct history and experiences of Chinese Canadians.” The motion will be sent to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, all Durham Region members of parliament, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. 

Council is calling on the province to review the role and mandate of the Ontario Land Tribunal to ensure greater respect for municipal planning decisions.

The motion supported by Council notes that municipalities rely on extensive public consultation, professional planning advice, engineering studies, and technical reports when making land-use decisions.

The Ontario Land Tribunal has the authority to overturn municipal planning decisions, which can result in municipalities spending taxpayer dollars to defend decisions that have already undergone a thorough local review process.

Council is also calling for the province to require the Ontario Land Tribunal to provide “clear and detailed reasoning” when municipal decisions are overturned, and for measures to be taken to reduce the financial burden on municipalities defending planning decisions before the tribunal.

Following the success of the Town of Whitby’s new Hotel and Conference Centre Attraction Program -- which has enrolled three applicants since launching in late April -- Council has directed Town staff to report back on a potential development charge discount to further incentivize timely construction.

This would include the potential to reduce the Town’s development charges by 50 to 100 per cent, for enrolled applicants that have their building permits issued by the 14-month deadline after program enrollment.