Reopening Vaughan

Aug. 13, 2020 6:00 p.m.
​A disciplined, measured and responsible approach

As Vaughan continues to take a disciplined, measured and responsible approach to reopening the city, citizens are reminded to use caution when visiting recently opened facilities and amenities. Essential services continue uninterrupted and many programs have been introduced through online, teleconference or modified in-person methods. The latest City 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 and the Access Vaughan contact centre at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca.
 
 CITY FACILITIES AND AMENITIES
The following facilities remain closed:
  • Vaughan City Hall (until Jan. 4, 2021, at the earliest)
  • City Playhouse Theatre
  • Community centres (with the exception of registered camp participants and registered Vaughan Fitness members)
  • Joint Operations Centre (until Jan. 4, 2021, at the earliest)
  • Vaughan Animal Shelter (except by appointment, for adoption purposes only)
The following facilities and amenities are under review:
  • Arenas, indoor and theatre permits
  • Indoor and outdoor pools
  • Vaughan Public Libraries 
The following amenities have reopened:
  • Basketball courts
  • Bocce courts
  • Fitness centres (by appointment only)
  • Off-leash dog park
  • Outdoor exercise equipment
  • Outdoor volleyball court
  • Park benches
  • Park public washrooms
  • Parking lots in parks
  • Picnic tables and gazebos
  • Playgrounds
  • Premium/artificial fields and diamonds (by permit only)
  • Skateboard parks
  • Splashpads (hours extended to 9 p.m. daily)
  • Sports fields and baseball diamonds
  • Squash courts (by appointment only)
  • Tennis courts
  • Trails 
 
When using reopened amenities, residents must: stay at least two metres (approximately six feet) away from others not in their social circles; avoid gatherings of more than 100 people outdoors; not share play equipment such as tennis balls and racquets; and keep dogs on a leash if not in a designated off-leash area. Playgrounds are neither supervised nor sanitized and require everyone to take precautions. Premium and artificial fields and diamonds will be 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
The City’s modified on-site summer camp programs for kids are now underway until Friday, Sept. 4. For more information on camp programing, guidelines or registration, visit vaughan.ca/camps. Health and safety measures as dictated by York Region Public Health and the Government of Ontario are in effect.
 
Registration is still open for the Virtual Summer Adventures program, which features weekly camps and daily activities for people of all ages, from preschool to older adults. Family lessons for parents and children to participate in together are available as well. Visit vaughan.ca/RecOnline for registration and more information.
 
Frequent enhancements are also made to the department’s new 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
 Vaughan Public Libraries (VPL) has cancelled all in-library programs until January 2021, including the Ansley Grove Library summer camp. However, annual summer reading programs – including the TD Summer Reading Club and the Teen Summer Reading Challenge – have been enhanced and optimized for at-home, online participation. Registration for the Summer Reading Club is open. In addition, VPL is offering a fully digital public library service 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. VPL’s Wi-Fi has also been extended to reach the parking lot at the Civic Centre Resource Library, Pierre Berton Resource Library and Bathurst Clark Resource Library branches.
 
The Curbside Pickup program has now been extended to every library in Vaughan to provide customers with quick and convenient access. Reserve books and arrange a pickup date at vaughanpl.info/curbside.
 
VPL has also made the decision to eliminate overdue fines (PDF), 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.
 
WASTE COLLECTIONS
Waste collection services have returned to normal operations, as scheduled in the 2020 Waste Calendar (PDF). Residents can receive customized notifications about their collections by downloading the Recycle Coach mobile app. To ensure that waste is collected, be sure to comply with the safe set-out requirements at vaughan.ca/waste. 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
Cleanup efforts are underway. These include street sweeping, litter pickup, boulevard maintenance, grass cutting, tree inspections and pruning, pavement marking and water and wastewater services.
 
Adjustments have been made to some regularly scheduled summer public works operations. Services that are delayed or reduced include tree planting and maintenance, 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. Priority remains on public safety matters including, but not limited to, the Ontario Reopening (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 – formerly the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act – Stage 3 Ontario Regulations and Orders, the City’s Emergency Measures By-law and the regulation of the use of local parks and open spaces in Vaughan. Failure to comply with these regulations is an offence and subject to fines ranging from $500 to $100,000.
 
Event, filming and lottery permits are being assessed on a case-by-case basis. Citizens should direct all permit inquiries to Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca.
 
Online payments of administrative monetary penalties, such as parking tickets, can be made 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.
 
VAUGHAN ANIMAL SERVICES
Vaughan Animal Services continues to serve 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 purchase 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.
 
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.
 
EVENTS
All upcoming in-person events have been postponed or cancelled, including the annual Concerts in the Park series and summer Curbside Giveaway days. Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service fire station tours are also cancelled until further notice. For a complete list of events no longer taking place, visit vaughan.ca/COVID19. Also, continue to check the Event Calendar webpage at vaughan.ca for the latest updates about non-City-led event cancellations.
 
Some events are resuming virtually, including the 2020 Order of Vaughan and Remembrance Day ceremonies. 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 will be released on vaughan.ca once confirmed.
 
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 e-newsletters 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 directory.
  • Access to all events and webinars hosted virtually for businesses across York Region via vaughanbusiness.ca/events.
 
OTHER 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?
Residents looking for more information can visit:
 
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