We had a full Council day on Monday, the last meeting of 2023. It included daytime workshops where among other things we worked through some details of the operational budget (including our first look at potential tax rates for 2024), but I’m here to write about our evening meeting, as that’s the Agenda where the rubber hits the road. We started my moving the following items on Consent:
Authorization of LTSA Document Signing of Corporate Officer
There are some legal documents we sign as the City, most of them require signature from the Mayor and a Corporate Officer. Which member of staff serves that Corporate Officer duty for specific documents is a decision of Council. This changes that assignment for one type of document because of some recent staff changes in the City.
Multilingual Services for Energy Save New West: Outcomes and 2024 Initiatives
Energy Save New West is our program to provide a one-stop-shop for residents and businesses to access local, provincial, and utility-provided energy-saving and emissions-reducing programs, services, and incentives. Want to upgrade your home, look for rebates and support? ESNW should be your first stop.
This report outlines the success we have had in extending ESNW services to 5 new languages, to increase impact and equity. Through this, we have reached 269 multilingual families, distribute 51 energy saving kits and delivered 34 workshops – and helped 15 non-English-speaking families get access to utility rebate programs. It also incorporates some changes to the program that came from feedback of the participants.
2023 Capital and Operating Quarterly Performance Report
This is our quarterly financial report, and there are no big surprises here. Our annual Capital Budget is being adjusted to recognize some increased costs, but the $900k increase is only about a 0.5% increase, which is not scary considering the inflationary pressures we are facing. Operational revenue is up ($33.4M) but so are costs ($4.4M). Notably. Most of the revenue increase is the insurance settlement for Pier Park, though we will be transferring this to capital reserves at the end of the year. We are also seeing higher than anticipated building permits, and more investment interest, which are good for the books.
Renewal of Uptown New Westminster Business Improvement Area – Results from Notification of Affected Property Owners
Before we adopt the BIA Bylaw that sets their rates and budget, legislation requires we survey the property owners affected. Three of the 54 property owners Uptown (5.5%) were opposed. So we proceed.
Construction Noise Bylaw Exemption Request: 2126 Seventh Avenue (22nd Street SkyTrain Station)
The work TransLink is doing at 22nd Street SkyTrain station is taking longer than anticipated, so TransLink’s contractor is asking to extend the construction noise variance until April (excepting the Christmas season, when no work will be done). We have no received any complaints with the existing work, and the request remains reasonable considering the operational needs of transit, so we approved this extension.
The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:
2024 Council Appointments to Internal Advisory Bodies of Council and External Organizations
This is a review of the list of appointments to various internal and external committees. For the most part there were no changes proposed or approved. are no changes proposed. Councillor Mihas wanted to be on the Tourism Board, and Council moved to support this. There were also several motions to appoint other Councillors to Metro and TransLink positions that were not supported.
Fire Department Strategic Plan
This is the final version of the Fire Department’s new Strategic Plan. It was heartily endorsed by all of Council, as the Fire Department is in a good place right now, and is being pretty proactive at dealing with the many changes in their service and delivery model related to population growth, climate disruption, and their being at times thrust to the front line of the Three Crises response for the City.
It is clear for us all that it is time to make some perhaps overdue investments in Fire and Rescue Services. WE need to start planning the replacement of Hall #2, that is at end of life. We also need to assure we are investing in the resources to address increased health care response, increased density and more complex building forms, and simply the increase in population. If we bring a true Vision Zero approach to road safety forward in the next year or two, there could be an enhanced role for Fire in the investigation and follow-up of traffic incidents, that will be offset in to the longer term by savings in reduced accident calls (road accidents are about half of current fire department calls), but will require up-front and shorter term investment to see those savings.
Fortunately, we do have some new tools from the provincial government to raise funds for fire hall replacement, in the new housing regulations released by the Province, and new support form senior government for climate adaptation, which Fire and Rescue will be at the forefront of. This Strategic Plan will help us get there with a clear path.
Rezoning (408 East Columbia Street) – Preliminary Report
The owner of one of the ground-level retail units in a new building in Sapperton wants to open a dental office. It’s not strictly “retail”, and we don’t want too much office space at ground level as it does not add to the overall activity of the street (we have lots of second-floor office space of this type in New West!), but staff consider this use reasonable and are recommending a rezoning to adapt the zoning language here. This did lead to a longer conversation about how we are incenting better storefront space use, and what tools we may have to support more local small business. After that, Council agreed to advance this application for further considerations once the bylaws are created.
Temporary Amendment to the Vehicle Procurement Process
There appears to be bit of a supply chain problem in new vehicles in Canada. This means low inventory and long lead times for orders. Our procurement policy requires extra steps that is making it hard to acquire any cars (when a vehicle is found, it is commonly sold to other customers before our purchasing folks can get approval). Staff are asking to suspend the usual process for a bit so they can be more nimble in getting new vehicles when needed. Note, there is no request to increase budget for vehicles here, or reduce transparency in our purchases, just a request to temporarily shift to a more nimble purchase process.
We then read several Bylaws, including the following Bylaws for Adoption:
Building Amendment Bylaw No. 8433, 2023
This Bylaw that establishes new Energy Step Code and Zero Carbon Step Code requirements from 2024 to 2027 was adopted by Council.
Electrical Utility Amendment Bylaw No. 8441, 2023
This Bylaw that sets electrical utility rates for 2024 was adopted by Council, but not before all three readings of the Bylaw were challenged (included being voted against by a Councillor who voted to recommend the rates to Council at the Electrical Commission meeting), and a motion to rescind the third reading was defeated. This becomes important further on in the meeting.
Engineering User Fees and Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 8440
This Bylaw that sets the rates for various fees and rates in the City was adopted unanimously by Council.
Heritage Designation (441 Fader Street) Bylaw No. 8407, 2023and
Heritage Revitalization Agreement (441 Fader Street) Bylaw No. 8406, 2023
This Bylaw that permanently protects a heritage home in Sapperton in exchange for building an infill house on the same lot was adopted by Council.
Parks Reserve Fund Bylaw No. 8939, 2023
This Bylaw that creates a reserve fund for the Pier Park insurance settlement was adopted by Council.
Revenue Anticipation Borrowing Amendment Bylaw No. 8438, 2023
This Bylaw that authorizes staff to temporarily borrow up to $3 Million to cover any seasonal cash shortage was adopted by Council.
Uptown Business Improvement Area Bylaw No. 8424, 2023
This Bylaw that renews the Uptown BIA agreement for another 5 years was adopted by Council.
Zoning Amendment Bylaw (808 Royal Avenue) No. 8416, 2023
This Bylaw that finalizes the zoning for a new academic and residence building for Douglas College was adopted by Council.
We then moved onto Motions from Council
Improving affordability for New West residents by temporarily eliminating the 3.5% Climate Action Levy on electrical rates
Councillor Fontaine
BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff incorporate into the City’s 2024 Operating Budget a temporary one-year elimination of the 3.5% Climate Action Levy imposed by the New Westminster Electrical Utility
As is my duty on Council, I ruled this motion out of order. Agreeing on advice from the City Clerk, it was considered a “Motion to Reconsider”. The same effective motion (to suspend the Climate Action Levy) was moved and defeated earlier in the evening under Bylaws, and was moved three separate times in the last meeting as we considered each reading of the empowering Bylaw. Council clearly answered “no” to this request four times over the last two weeks. For practical reasons, there is only so many times a member of Council can ask the same question. Under Roberts Rules and our Procedure Bylaw, a “Motion to Reconsider” is always in order – Council can change its mind once and reconsider a vote – but that motion must come from a member that voted in the majority. No-one at Council who voted with the majority here was willing to put this on the table for reconsideration, so it was out of order.
Creating safer streets for everyone with intersection safety cameras
Councillor Henderson
BE IT RESOLVED that New Westminster City Council direct the Mayor to write a letter to the Provincial Government to request that the Provincial Government install additional speed and red light intersection safety cameras in the City of New Westminster, prioritizing:
• Intersections with a high rate of crashes that resulted in injuries or fatalities as identified in the 2023 New Westminster Intersection Safety Study; and
• Intersections near schools with a high rate of crashes that resulted in injuries or fatalities.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the letter request that the Provincial Government allow BC local governments to install speed and red light cameras at their own cost and collect fines and that the Provincial Government provide all revenue from additional speed and red light cameras to municipalities as grants to be invested in implementing local road safety improvements.
This motion reflects similar motions from other municipalities concerned about road safety, and especially safety around schools. It was endorsed by road safety advocates and the public health officer in town, and council endorsed it. I also added an amendment suggestion that the motion (slightly modified to be broader than just New Westminster) be taken to Lower Mainland LGA and UBCM as a resolution to be endorsed by the members, which amplifies the advocacy level.
Speed and red light cameras work. It has been proven that they reduce dangerous driving behavior and save lives, including those of vulnerable road users. They are also politically popular according to recent polling. There are some technical challenges in rolling them out in bigger numbers, regardless of who holds the management of them, and this motion is not too prescriptive, so we hope the Province can include local governments in development of whatever process works best to get them on the road, because they save lives.
Direct election of Metro Vancouver representatives
Councillor Fontaine
BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council support the concept that voters in our region should be asked by way of a ballot question during the 2026 municipal election whether they want to have the opportunity to directly elect their Metro Vancouver representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council writes a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs requesting they undertake a public consultation regarding a governance review of Metro Vancouver with the goal of establishing an appropriate ballot question to be included in the 2026 municipal election.
This turned out to be an interesting conversation at council, with a diversity of ideas presented, and I think a positive example of all of council working to seek a consensus point. Challenging, because several different ideas pop up in this motion. Again, I’ll just speak to my thinking through this process, and how I feel we got to the end, as I don’t want to speak for anyone else.
I am not particularly opposed to a review of governance at Metro Vancouver, but feel this is an area where New Westminster needs to be strategic and consider whether our voice (as only 3% of the region’s population) will be weakened or strengthened by any change. I am not sure that we want to move to a system where more weight is thrown over to the larger cities, with Vancouver and Surrey having combined the balance of population and vote. Many of the votes at the Board are weighted (imperfectly) by population, but no voted at committee are, and committee is where a lot of the work gets done. I’m not sure if a change would continue to support what I think is a strong voice we currently have at Metro, and it is this uncertainty that made it hard for me to support the first half where New West is effectively endorsing a popular vote referendum.
My other challenge with this wording is that it seems non-collaborative with our 22 partners at Metro Vancouver to go directly to the Province without at least including them in this conversation. The Metro Board is working in a fairly open and collaborative way right now, and I want to respect my colleagues there. I think they need to be engaged first in any discussion of a governance review.
In the end, Council did not support the first “Be it resolved” of this motion but did support the second “be it further resolved” half, with the addition of an amendment asking that Metro Vancouver Mayors Committee be engaged first in this conversation. I think it is an interesting conversation for us as a region to undertake, though I enter it cautiously.
And that ended our last meeting of 2023. We will be back together in January, where our first order of work will be to wrap up the 2024 budget.
Thanks Patrick for this insightful overview of all the housing changes coming down the pike.