Toronto mayor to ask city staff for stormwater flooding solutions | CBC News

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wants city staff to come up with solutions by the end of this year to better prepare the city for stormwater flooding — and those plans will affect homeowners and how the city plans its infrastructure development.

On Friday, the mayor filed a notice of motion in Toronto city council’s July 24 meeting agenda, asking city staff to report on what stormwater mitigation programs the city currently offers, and to identify more ways to help homeowners and businesses avoid flooding.

The notice of motion comes days after an intense rainstorm flooded and damaged roads and properties around the GTA.

The notice of motion is also asking that staff look at discontinued stormwater mitigation and adaptation programs that could be established in the short term. And to consult on policies that would reduce large-scale paved surfaces in the city that lead to flooding.

The city would also seek public input on what programs and incentives would best help residential property owners “to decrease impermeable surfaces and mitigate run-off.”

The city already has a subsidy program that helps people protect their homes from basement flooding. It helps pay for the installation of backwater valves and sump pumps, and offers free front-yard trees and subsidized backyard trees.

Flood mitigation and adaptation “will be a critical component” to the city’s climate resilience strategy, the notice said.

Under the notice of motion, city staff would look at ways to increase green infrastructure on boulevards, streets and parking lots to better absorb rainwater and reduce run-off. Staff would also be directed to find opportunities to include green infrastructure in large-scale “flood mitigation projects.”