City hall looks at 'northwest campus'

a public notice from Waterloo City Hall

The City of Waterloo invites you to attend an informal public open house regarding the lands on the north campus of the University of Waterloo, at the Albert McCormick Community Centre (upper lounge), 500 Parkside Drive, Waterloo, on Wednesday, October 8, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The purpose of the Open House is to provide interested persons with the opportunity to discuss the District Plan Process with City staff and the proponent’s consultants and to provide comments to City staff.

For further information regarding the Open House, please contact the City of Waterloo’s Development Services Department, 2nd Floor, Waterloo City Centre, or call 747-8518.

The Terms of reference for the University of Waterloo District Plan can be found on the City of Waterloo website.

Lands on the University of Waterloo North Campus represent an opportunity to provide additional development opportunities within the City. The lands will likely provide a variety of academic, research and potentially university housing as part of the campus.

The City follows a process of community or neighbourhood planning known as District Planning, which is intended to guide and direct the nature of land development within a particular geographic area. District Plans establish a policy framework to guide the type and extent of development and provide direction to plans of subdivision, zoning, site plans, engineering and other municipal approvals. They typically contain more detailed polices and guidance building upon the City Official Plan, the Regional Official Plan and Provincial Policies. The District Plan is to identify and evaluate a range of land use options to be considered for the Northwest Campus lands.

In January 2002 Council approved a District Implementation Plan for a portion of the North Campus lands. It covered the lands that were part of the Research and Technology Park and the lands south to Columbia Street. In addition to preparing a new District Plan for the northwest campus lands, the District Plan for the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park will be reviewed and amendments recommended to incorporate the lands north of the R&T Park.

This district Plan Study will undertake the necessary planning analysis and evaluation, including consideration of a range of land use options, to provide the appropriate direction for urban development of the North Campus lands. It is expected that the Study will proceed to the Formal Public Meeting for City Council decision of the District Plan within ten months.

A district plan is a planning tool that is used to achieve community and neighbourhood development objectives; illustrates the intent of Council for the development of an area and indicates in greater detail how the objectives, policies and land use designations of the Official Plan will be achieved within the district; and is a Guide to direct the future development of an area and is an integral part of the planning process linking the general land use policies of the Official Plan with the more specific zoning and subdivision development approvals process.

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Copyright FAQ: what are the rules?

“Everything you ever wanted to know about copyright but were afraid to ask!” is provided in a long Frequently Asked Questions page aimed mostly at keeping faculty members and graduate students out of trouble.

The document talks about the rules for using materials in the classroom, posting them on the web, getting copies through interlibrary loan, and making photocopies, among other everyday activities. Among other questions considered: “Can I play music in class? . . . Do I need permission to link to a website? . . . Are there special rules for scanning?”

It begins with a basic question: “What are the laws and rules relating to copyright at UW?” Here’s the answer: “Use of copyright materials at UW is covered by both the Canadian Copyright Act and various agreements and licences entered into by the University with copyright owners and representative organizations. The Copyright Act is the legislation in Canada that sets out what you can and can’t do with other people’s copyright materials. In addition to this, the University has special agreements with copyright owners, such as subscriptions to electronic journals, which give you additional rights to certain content.

“In order to determine whether what you want to do is permissible, you therefore need to check that you comply both with the Copyright Act and with any agreements or licences covering that the work in question. You should ask yourself: Is the work in question covered by a licence agreement, such as the Access Copyright licence or licences that the University library has with publishers? If so, is what I want to do permissible under those agreements? If not, is what I want to do covered by the Act, either under the educational exceptions or under the fair dealing exception?”

An FAQ about copyright was recommended by last year’s Academic Integrity Committee, and it’s been created by a group called the Copyright Roundtable that represents the library, the distance education office, UW Graphics, the bookstore, the Centre for Teaching Excellence, the graduate studies office, and information systems and technology. Much of the copyright expertise came from Chabriol Colebatch of the research office.

A few other excerpts from the FAQ:

“The University has a licence with Access Copyright which . . . allows professors, students and staff to make photocopies of print works (books, journal articles etc.) where the copying is not permitted under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act. Taken together, fair dealing, exceptions in the Copyright Act, licences with publishers and the Access Copyright licence generally allow you to photocopy what you need for ordinary educational activities. . . . However, if you are relying on the Access Copyright licence, there are limits to the proportion of a work that may be copied. . . .

“The University has special arrangements relating to copyright ownership and use, set out in Policy 73 – Intellectual Property Rights. Under this policy, faculty, staff and students will generally own the copyright in works they create through teaching and research, with certain exceptions, such as works created as ‘assigned tasks’ to assist the operation, administration and/or management of the University’s affairs. The University retains a non-exclusive, free, irrevocable licence to copy and/or use copyright in scholarly works created in the course of teaching and research activities for the sole purpose of other University teaching and research activities. . . .

“Posting something on your own website means you are making the work available world-wide for free. Wide distribution tends towards the conclusion that the dealing is not ‘fair’ and such uses may not be covered by any University licences. . . .

“Do I need to obtain permission to use copyright material in my course packs? Generally no. Including materials in your course packs is generally covered by the Access Copyright licence so that you don’t need to obtain additional permissions.”

The FAQ lists “a range of contacts with copyright expertise that can help you depending on what your question is”, in the library as well as the distance education office, UW Graphics and the bookstore.

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Diverse drops in the daily drizzle

Celebrations are scheduled tonight at St. Paul's College, the smallest of UW's affiliated colleges, as it officially opens the new Watson Student Centre. The facility is being named in recognition of Bill Watson and his wife Jeanne Elgie-Watson, the major donors to the project. The renovation, at a cost of about $1 million, includes a totally renovated food service, lounge and games area for St. Paul's students. Bill Watson, a 1976 graduate, is co-chair of the Student Facilities Renewal Campaign at St. Paul's and is also president of the UW-wide Alumni Council for 2008. A 5:00 reception and opening celebration tonight will be followed by dinner, says Kelly Deeks of St. Paul's.

UW students, staff and faculty, along with the public at large, are invited to "reThink Waterloo" at an all-day environmental event tomorrow at the downtown Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. The keynote speaker is Sheila Watt-Cloutier, advocate for human rights in the wake of climate change and Nobel Prize nominee. She'll be joined on the day's agenda by a number of UW-based speakers, including dean of environment Deep Saini and mechanical engineering professor Roydon Fraser. The day's sessions will touch on water resources in southern Africa, climate change, trends in environmental education, taking action against plastic bags, alternative energy sources, and reducing energy at home. There is no cost to attend the daytime sessions, but evening tickets are $35 (students $20) for a chance to hear noted American environmental advocate and attorney Robert Kennedy Jr., who was named one of Time magazine's “Heroes for the Planet” for his success helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. The group's achievement helped spawn more than 130 Waterkeeper organizations across the globe. Details of tomorrow's extravaganza, co-sponsored by the environment faculty as well as other agencies, are online.

A list of this term's training and development programs for staff members should be out any day now from the office of Organizational and Human Development. Look for it to include sessions on "effective presentations", "delegating for shared success", "e-mail as a second language", and (this one ought to be popular in the current climate) "defining your financial future". In addition, OHD director Katrina Di Gravio notes, "we are running an orientation session for new employees hired after July 1, 2008. A personal invitation has been issued to this group, but we welcome existing UW staff to take part." The session starts first thing this coming Monday, October 6; anybody interested in being there should get in touch with Mark Lisetto-Smith of OHD.

It’s 2.65 kilometres around the UW ring road (that’s 1.65 miles), and your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to run or walk one lap next Wednesday, October 8. The noontime event — it starts from the Davis Centre at 12:00 — is the second annual “Run/Walk for Excellence” sponsored by the Keystone Campaign. “Join UW faculty, staff, students and retirees for some fresh October air and exercise,” a flyer suggests. “Last year’s Keystone runners (right) are challenged to beat their previous best times!” Winner last year was psychology student Omid Fotuhi, who made it around the loop in 10 minutes 9 seconds. He was followed by computer science faculty member Jeff Orchard (10:32) and applied health sciences staff member Julie Cassaubon (11:48). There is no cost to participate, though organizers suggest a donation of $2 to the Keystone Campaign (to support university-wide undergraduate and graduate scholarships). A registration form is available online, but runners and walkers can also register on the day of the event.

CAR

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