Limit on gatherings reduced in Vaughan
COVID-19 Updates
City of Vaughan news is released on a daily basis and kept on vaughan.ca for reference purposes. For the most recent updates and news as they happen, visit vaughan.ca/COVID19, sign up for the City Update eNewsletter at vaughan.ca/CityUpdate and follow the official corporate channels on and follow the official corporate channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
A disciplined, responsible and measured approach to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, the City of Vaughan continues to follow health and safety directives and advice from York Region Public Health and the Province of Ontario. Effective immediately, the limit on the number of people allowed to attend an unmonitored social gathering or organized public event in Vaughan and York Region is restricted to 10 people indoors (previous limit of 50) and 25 people outdoors (previous limit of 100). This includes functions, parties, dinners, gatherings, barbecues or wedding receptions held in private residences, backyards and parks.
The new
limits will not apply to events or gatherings held in staffed businesses and
facilities, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas, convention centres or banquet
halls, gyms, and recreational sporting or performing art events. Existing
rules, including public health and workplace safety measures, for these
businesses and facilities continue to be in effect.
Indoor
and outdoor events and gatherings cannot be merged together. These are not
accumulative and gatherings of 35 (25 outdoors and 10 indoors) are not
permitted.
Vaughan
has taken a disciplined, responsible and measured approach to reopening the
city. As some restrictions are lifted, other precautionary measures remain in
place to protect everyone in the community from further transmission of the
virus. Citizens are urged to remain vigilant and take precautions when visiting
recently reopened facilities and amenities. Essential services continue
uninterrupted and many programs have been introduced through online,
teleconference or modified in-person methods. The latest updates are available
at vaughan.ca/ReopeningVaughan.
Below is
more information on ongoing services, recent reopenings, continued closures and
programs that have been impacted by COVID-19:
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Essential services remain intact, including fire
and emergency response, waste collection, water/wastewater services, by-law and
enforcement services, building inspections and the Access Vaughan contact
centre at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca, among many others.
CITY FACILITIES AND
AMENITIES
The
following facilities remain closed:
- Vaughan City Hall (until Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, at the earliest)
- City Playhouse Theatre
- Community centres (with the exception of fitness centres by appointment, arenas by permit and select pools by pre-registration)
- Joint Operations Centre (until Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, at the earliest)
- Vaughan Animal Shelter (except by appointment, for adoption purposes only)
- Vaughan Public Libraries (with the exception of Bathurst Clark Resource Library, Civic Centre Resource Library and Pierre Berton Resource Library)
The following amenities have reopened:
- Arenas (by permit only)
- Fitness centres (by appointment only)
- Off-leash dog park
- Outdoor basketball courts
- Outdoor bocce courts
- Outdoor exercise equipment
- Outdoor volleyball courts
- Park benches
- Park public washrooms
- Parking lots in parks
- Picnic tables and gazebos
- Playgrounds
- Premium/artificial fields and diamonds (by permit only)
- Select indoor pools (by registration only)
- Skateboard parks
- Splashpa
- ds
- Sports fields and baseball diamonds
- Squash courts (by appointment only)
- Tennis courts
- Trails
- Vaughan Public Libraries (Bathurst Clark Resource Library, Civic Centre Resource Library and Pierre Berton Resource Library only)
When using reopened amenities, residents must: stay
at least two metres (approximately six feet) away from others not in their
social circles; not share play equipment such as tennis balls and racquets; and
keep dogs on a leash unless it is a designated off-leash area. Playgrounds are neither
supervised nor sanitized and require everyone to take precautions. Premium and
artificial fields and diamonds are available to permit holders only.
All violations can be reported to Access Vaughan at
905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca. Reports of this nature will be referred to the City's
By-law and Compliance, Licensing and Permit Services department for
investigation. Fines in the amount of $105 to $400 under the Parks By-law and $500 to $100,000 under the
Emergency Measures By-law may be laid.
RECREATION SERVICES
Vaughan Fitness Centres are open by appointment only from Monday to
Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6:45
p.m., except for Father E. Bulfon Community Centre, which will close at 5 p.m.
on weekends. Strict measures are in place, including frequent cleaning and
sanitization, controlled access, limited capacity and pre-scheduled 75-minute workout
time blocks. Members can register online at vaughan.ca/RecOnline.
Indoor and outdoor fitness classes are being offered to Vaughan
Fitness members only. Pre-registration for all classes is required and can be
done online at vaughan.ca/RecOnline. Schedules – which have been modified in
response to COVID-19 – and instructors are subject to change. In the event of
inclement weather, outdoor fitness class cancellations will be posted to vaughan.ca/fitness. Refer to the Vaughan
Fitness Class Guidelines (PDF)
for
more information.
Many community centre pools are open for recreational swims, length
swimming and aquafitness, with limited availability to pool plan holders and
Vaughan Fitness members only. Pre-registration is required to use the pool and
can be done at vaughan.ca/RecOnline. View pool
guidelines, the check-in procedure and schedules at vaughan.ca/swim. As of Monday, Sept.
21, the pools at Chancellor, Dufferin Clark and Woodbridge community centres
will also be reopening under strict guidelines.
Frequent enhancements are also made to the Recreation department’s webpage featuring virtual recreation resources
for all ages, abilities and areas of interest. Popular programming includes:
- Vaughan Playschool educational reading, writing, math and science worksheets for children aged three to five years old.
- easy-to-follow at-home workouts from Vaughan Fitness instructors featured on Recreation Services’ Instagram TV. Full-length classes are also posted to the Recreation Vaughan YouTube channel.
- acting, dancing and singing with the City Playhouse Theatre crew.
- learning first-aid basics from certified Vaughan lifeguards.
- general activities such as cooking, arts and crafts, colouring and more.
VAUGHAN
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
As of
Tuesday, Sept. 8, Vaughan Public Libraries (VPL) reopened its three resource
libraries – Bathurst Clark Resource Library,
Civic Centre Resource Library and Pierre Berton Resource Library. Although all
in-library programs remain cancelled until January 2021, the fully digital
library service continues to be enhanced to engage and educate residents of all
ages. The web hub features a variety of free online
resources, including eBooks and audiobooks, films and television programs,
music streaming services, e-learning courses, bilingual materials and more.
Further content, such as virtual story time, is available daily on VPL’s Instagram.
Wi-Fi has been extended to reach the parking lot of VPL’s recently reopened
resource libraries – Bathurst Clark Resource Library, Civic Centre Resource Library
and Pierre Berton Resource Library. The Curbside Pickup program will continue
to operate out of the remaining closed branches to provide customers with quick
and convenient access. Reserve books and arrange a pickup date at vaughanpl.info/curbside.
VPL has
also eliminated overdue
fines,
which are charged for the late return of library materials. No future overdue
fines will be applied and all overdue fines currently on record will be automatically
pardoned.
EVENTS
Some events are resuming virtually,
including the 2020 Order of Vaughan, the annual Remembrance Day ceremony and
the Vaughan Accessibility Champion Awards. The annual Vaughan Culture Days events
are also scheduled to begin on Friday, Sept. 25 with a variety of virtual
cultural programming and limited in-person opportunities across the city.
Event details are
available at vaughan.ca/CultureDays.
Other virtual public engagement
opportunities are also in the works for a variety of other city-building
projects.
COUNCIL MEETINGS
Electronic-participation Committee of the Whole and Council
meetings resumed in September. Upcoming agendas can be viewed at vaughan.ca/CouncilMeetings. While Vaughan City Hall remains closed to the public, visit
vaughan.ca/HaveYourSay to learn more about how to participate virtually,
including live deputations via teleconference or telephone. Email or written
communications are also accepted. Citizens can watch the meetings by tuning in
to the live broadcast at vaughan.ca/LiveCouncil.
WASTE COLLECTIONS
Residents
can receive customized notifications about their collections by downloading the
Recycle Coach mobile
app. To
ensure that waste is collected, comply with the safe set-out requirements at vaughan.ca/waste. Bins containing materials that do not
comply will be tagged and left behind. For one-on-one video coaching on how to
divert more materials into blue boxes and green bins, book a Waste-less Virtual
Visit session by contacting 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca.
While the City’s Joint
Operations Centre remains closed for in-person visits, residents can purchase garbage
tags by calling Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281. A new temporary bin exchange program is also being offered,
which allows residents to replace broken City blue boxes and green bins through
home delivery. To request an exchange and arrange a delivery, call Access
Vaughan.
PUBLIC
WORKS SERVICES
Keeping
Vaughan clean has been an ongoing focus. These include street sweeping, litter
pickup, garbage collection, boulevard maintenance, grass cutting, pavement
marking and water and wastewater services.
Adjustments
have been made to some regularly scheduled public works operations. Tree planting that
was deferred in the spring will resume in September. Other services that have
been delayed or reduced include tree maintenance, shrub bed maintenance,
planting of annuals, weeding and mulching, road and sidewalk repair,
replacement or addition of streetlight and traffic signals, implementation of
new traffic operations and road safety measures, and water trailer event
bookings.
BY-LAW
AND COMPLIANCE, ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
By-law
officers continue to operate, patrol and respond to calls on a priority basis. Online
payments of administrative monetary penalties, such as parking tickets, can be
made online via payvaughanticket.com. To arrange an
alternative method of payment or schedule a dispute appointment, call
905-832-2281 within 15 days of receiving it. Scheduled disputes are being
conducted over the phone until further notice.
Event,
filming and lottery permits continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. These
permit inquiries should be directed to Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca. On-street, visitor
and overnight parking permits can be attained online at vaughan.ca/parking. Permits are also
required for licensed establishments looking to create a patio or expand their
current patio to accommodate physical distancing requirements. To begin the
process, licensed businesses must complete an online
registration (PDF) form.
Further information and eligibility requirements are available on the City’s website.
VAUGHAN
ANIMAL SERVICES
Vaughan
Animal Services continues to serve the Vaughan, Richmond Hill and King
communities through regular patrols and response to service calls. The Vaughan
Animal Services Shelter remains closed, with limited access for adoption and
pet recovery services by appointment only. Book an appointment by contacting
905-832-2281 or animal.services@vaughan.ca. Vaughan pet licensing
and tag purchases are also available online. For general
information, please visit vaughan.ca/AnimalServices.
BUILDING
STANDARDS
The
City’s Building Standards department continues to provide essential
city-building services such as building code enforcement, processing building
permits, conducting inspections and issuing occupancy permits. The department
has also launched a new digital permitting portal enabling citizens and
building industry professionals to apply, track and pay for permits online.
Discover the portal at vaughan.ca/PermitPortal.
Additional
online permitting options launched by the Development Engineering department
for pools, grading for sheds, home additions and more can now be submitted and
approved through the platform at vaughan.ca/DEPermits.
DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
The City’s Development
Planning team has innovated its processes to ensure planning approvals and
shovel-ready projects can move forward throughout the pandemic. These include
digital new development applications, electronic-participation Pre-Application
Consultation and virtual Heritage Vaughan and Design Review Panel meetings.
Several projects are
underway that will guide development for intensification areas, such as the
Vaughan Mills Centre and the Yonge Steeles Corridor, with a focus on
safety, active transportation and sustainability. Work also continues on the Maple
and Kleinburg Nashville Heritage Conservation District Plan Reviews, as well as
a heritage inventory update.
INTEGRITY
COMMISSIONER AND LOBBYIST REGISTRAR
The
Office of the Integrity Commissioner and Lobbyist Registrar will not be taking
in-person meetings while Vaughan City Hall remains closed. To book a virtual
meeting, email integrity.commissioner@vaughan.ca or call 905-832-2281,
ext. 8314 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
BUSINESS SUPPORTS
Virtual programs and new services are being
offered to further support local businesses, including:
- The newly launched vaughanbusiness.ca website with a dedicated COVID-19 information page.
- Virtual business advisory services to support with registering a business, business planning, accessing government assistance programs and more. Local businesses can access these services through this online form.
- Sector-specific eNewsletters to keep businesses up to date on government announcements, funding, and relevant programming. Businesses can subscribe here.
- Online resources such as the #ShopVaughanLocal campaign and the Open For Business webpage
- Access to all events and webinars hosted virtually for businesses across York Region via vaughanbusiness.ca/events.
- Season two of the Vaughan Rising Podcast, which examines the resilience of Vaughan’s businesses community and talks to leaders who are pivoting, innovating and doing what it takes to make it through to the other side of the pandemi
- c.
- The Activa
- te!Vaughan Health Innovation Challenge, in partnership with the Province of Ontario, Mackenzie Health, the Mackenzie Innovation Institute, SE Health, Sterling Industries, The HUB and ventureLAB. Entrepreneurs can register at vaughanbusiness.ca/ActivateVaughan by Monday, Oct. 5 to present innovative business solutions that will deliver high-quality, effective and patient-focused care.
- The next cohort of the Digital Boost Vaughan Small Business Resiliency Program is set to begin. The program provides free training and mentorship to help local businesses adapt to the changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Register by Monday, Sept. 21 at vaughanbusiness.ca/DigitalBoost to secure a spot.
OTHER
SERVICES AND PROGRAMS FOR CITIZENS
Many
services continue to be offered online or via telephone, including:
- Kid-friendly pollinator activities, which include a scavenger hunt, crossword puzzle and Whose Home? interactive game.
- The City’s Art Integration Collection in a digital art gallery on Flickr, which features the 78 art acquisitions by local and GTA-based artists housed permanently in the collection.
- The Service Vaughan reporting tool at vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughan for non-emergency service requests about garbage, roads, traffic lights and more.
- visitvaughan.ca – a new visitor website that offers an exploration of all there is to see and do in Vaughan. The “explore online now, visit later” platform, developed in partnership with the Tourism Vaughan Corporation and Central Counties Tourism, offers interactive content, including museum tours, cooking lessons, educational webinars, roller-coaster rides and more.
LOOKING
FOR MORE INFORMATION?
For more information, contact
Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca. Residents can also visit:
- vaughan.ca/ReopeningVaughan for a complete list of what’s reopened in the city.
- vaughan.ca/CityUpdate to sign up for the City’s eNewsletter and receive news as it is released.
- the City’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels to stay up to date on the latest news.
- york.ca/COVID19 for COVID-19-related resources, online tools and more information from York Region Public Health.
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