Back for the UBCM (report soon) and back to your regular Council schedule. Our Monday meeting had a fairly light Agenda, though we first had a presentation from TICorp on progress on the Pattullo Bridge Replacement project. Details here.

Council moved the following items On Consent:

Licence Agreement with BC Transportation Financing Authority for Construction of a Multi-Use Path in Grimston Park
We are building a bike lane in the West End. Don’t panic – this is a short connection between the foot of the Stewardson multi-use overpass and Nanaimo Street beside Grimston park. It’s a small project, but it is on Ministry of Transportation land, so we need a licence agreement to put a path on their land.

Local Government Climate Action Program 2024 Reporting Year and Corporate Emissions Inventory Update
The City is part of the Province’s Local Government Climate Action Program (LGCAP), meaning we get annual funding from the Province (~$300K/year) for our climate action work. We are required to report back on how we spend the money, but also provide reporting on our Greenhouse Gas Emissions and actions towards our Corporate Energy and Emissions Reduction Strategy. This is that annual reporting – all 24 pages of the work we are doing.

Our emissions have been reduced 32% compared to the 2010 baseline, and we are on track to meet our CEERS goal of 45% reduction by 2023. We are not on track to meet our “stretch goal” of Net Zero by 2030 in our Seven Bold Steps, and the path to get there is a body of ongoing work.

Report Back on School Streets and NASSI Opportunity
This NASSI program creates “pop-up” School streets for a week around schools in some communities as a bit of a demonstration of a different way to traffic calm and reclaim road space around schools. We had previously looked at participating in the 2025-26 school year, but Council decided it was not cost-effective, and was not the highest priority for limited resources. At that time, staff received some new info about the program just as the report was coming to Council, and promised a report back. This is that report. In short, the program needs a 9-month lead time, significant City staff time, and the $12,500 available for funding the program would not cover a substantial amount of the cost, and Council have decided that this effort an investment is better spent on existing road safety work.

Temporary Use Permit: 30 Capilano Way (Amusement Arcade)
There is a funky little business in the Braid Industrial Area that fixes and maintains pinball machines and video game consoles, and at the same time operates as an arcade where people can play the games. This doesn’t align with Industrial Zoning, so Council (in a fit of COVID enthusiasm, and in a split vote if I remember) issued a Temporary Use Permit to allow the business to add “amusement” to their industrial designation. We are now considering extending the TUP to mid-2027, which is the longest period we are allowed to grant a TUP without doing a full rezoning.

In 2027, the applicant will need to apply for a rezoning if they want to stay. Before that date, we hope to have a new Industrial Lands Strategy which should help inform the Council of the time on where this kind of niche use fits in our limited job-creation lands.

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The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

Housing and Land Use Planning 2025-2026 Work Program.
This report is an annual staff checking in with Council on the work plan, no doubt as they plan for upcoming budget discussions and Council’s need to know what is included in our existing (budgeted) work plan. Of course, housing and land use planning have been busy files this term, with our Housing accelerator Fund programming, the Provincial housing regulations, and work around the Crises Response Pilot Project that included this department.

There is a lot here for our relatively small but nimble Housing and Land Use Planning staff compliment, including work to address homelessness, to fast-track affordable housing, to build more homes near Public Transit (TOD areas, including the 22nd Street vision), starting the process on a new Downtown Community Plan, Infill and Townhouse programs, Rental replacement and secured market rental policies. There is also liaison work being done to support School planning, and whole lot of tracking and reporting out on progress ot both provide Council transparency, but also to demonstrate to our funding partners that their investments are well made in New West.

Implications of Housing Legislation on Curbside Management
I’ve written about “Curbside Management” before – this is a more comprehensive way to view street parking strategy. The City has 400+km of curbside space, and curbside in some of our neighbourhoods are the most valuable real estate in the City: needed for transit prioritization, for active transportation, for commercial loading zones, for accessible parking, for deliveries and for trash removal, and (if any space is left over), good old fashioned parking. Right now 67% of our curbspace in the City is unregulated (you can park a car there with no cost or restriction).

The new provincial housing regulations have thrown a bit of a wrench on how we manage street parking demand. When we can no longer require off-street parking with new development, and off-street parking being so expansive to build (a single underground parking spot can cost $50,000 or more to build), it is likely there will be more demand for street parking. Of course the changes in new housing form will take years – decades even – to become common, so we have some time to address the anticipated challenges. People who really care might want to spend a bit of that time reading the bible of parking policy, because the plan here is to start talking to the community about curb space priorities, look at changes in waste collection, parking enforcement, and permitting systems to assure we are meeting the community’s expectations regarding curbside use. This is surprisingly complicated policy work, with perverse incentives and unintended consequences on every curb, which is why staff asked Council for the resources to do the background policy development work before bringing recommendations. Council agreed to this.

Alas, a motion came from Council that seemed to undermine a lot of this, proposing a suite of new policies bereft of the background work to understand the implications for the community. Fortunately, Council voted against immediate implementation, and asked staff to report back on the resources required for some of the policy changes, while dismissing others that were clearly more populist than policy.

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We then had the following Bylaws for Adoption:

Construction Noise Bylaw No. 6063, 1992, Amendment Bylaw No. 8491, 2025
This Bylaw that changes how we manage Construction Noise Bylaw exemptions was adopted by Council.

Community Services Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 8529, 2025
Engineering User Fees and Rates Bylaw No. 7553, 2013, Amendment Bylaw No. 8534, 2025
Fire Protection Bylaw No. 6940, 2004, Amendment Bylaw No. 8535, 2025
Planning & Development Fees and Rates Bylaw No. 7683, 2014, Amendment Bylaw No. 8541, 2025
Electrical Utility Bylaw No. 6502, 1998, Amendment Bylaw No. 8546, 2025
These Bylaws that set various fees and rates for 2026 were adopted by Council.

2026 Permissive Property Tax Exemption Bylaw No. 8542, 2025
This Bylaw that designates what properties in the City get an permissive property Tax exemption was adopted by Council.

We had our now-twice-annual Council Meeting in Queensborough, at the always-active Queensborough Community Centre. Items related to the start of our 2026 Budget process dominated our full agenda. However, we started with a bit of Unfinished Business from previous meetings interruptus:

Riverfront Vison Update – Westminster Pier Park to Sapperton Landing Park
Submitted by Councillor Campbell

WHEREAS the Riverfront is the City’s most significant cultural, economic and natural asset, home to vibrant and diverse public spaces, high quality recreation, business and housing, and significant natural features and is an integral component of the local economy, providing employment, services and tourism opportunities while providing a living link to the city’s past; and
WHEREAS the City of New Westminster’s Riverfront vision, as adopted by City Council in February 2016, includes goals to create a continuous network of attractive Greenways and parks, provide connections from all neighborhoods to the river and to programing and animating the riverfront with an active, engaging and dynamic series of experiences compatible with existing industrial uses that entice visitors to explore its many destinations and adjacent amenities; and
WHEREAS the envisioned riverfront pedestrian connection between Westminster Pier Park and Sapperton Landing Park is a vital component of the overall Riverfront vision; and
WHEREAS the imminent completion of Pier Park West and expanded esplanade and the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge is nearing completion;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff provide Council with an update on the implementation status and overview of the logistical considerations, and challenges that need to be addressed in order to complete the riverfront pedestrian connection between Westminster Pier Park and Sapperton Landing Park.

This is a topic that comes up frequently when I am talking to the community – is it possible to connect Pier Park to Sapperton Landing with multi-purpose path? The City did some work a few years ago to look at the feasibility, and the answer was, “probably, but it won’t be easy”. Then we had the Pier Park fire (which made the distance farther), the Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project (which was in the way of doing any significant planning), and the expansion of Pier Park West (which was a higher priority for limited parks planning staff). Council back in October of 2023 agreed unanimously on a more careful path forward on the Pier Park replacement related to some of these challenges.

It’s worth mentioning the many challenges in the way to make this connection work, starting with the City not owning large parts of the land (or water) where the trail would need to go. There are jurisdictional challenges with the Port, the railways, Metro Vancouver, the Province, and First Nations rightsholders. There are engineering challenges with constrained space, a tidal river with significant industrial use, rail proximity and the significant challenge of there being a train bridge that you cannot easily get under or over. See above where I said “it’s not easy”. But with the Experience the Fraser project picking up regional steam, Metro Vancouver looking at parks expansion, and other adjacent projects beginning to wind down, it is time to start the conversations again about this missing link.

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We then moved the following items On Consent:

2026 Permissive Property Tax: Exempt Properties – Review of Application Results
We annually approve a Bylaw that exempts some properties from all or some of their property taxes. This is a provincial regulated process, and most exemptions are regulatory (we are required to provide exemption – like churches) and some are permissive, or at the pleasure of Council (like Honour House and the Sapperton Pensioners Hall). This is the Bylaw that codifies and costs that list.

Construction Noise Bylaw No. 6063, 1992, Amendment Bylaw No. 8491, 2025
Regular readers will recognize we do a lot of Construction Noise Bylaw Exemptions at Council, often multiple for a single project (such as SkyTrain station construction work that must happen when the tracks are closed). Our Current Bylaw says only Council can grant these, and in part that is because Council are often the ones who receive complaints, so they should know what’s happening. That said, it is a lot of work to put a council report together, and construction can be delayed while builders wait for the Council process to unfold. This is one of those “red tape” things people talk about often with Local Government.

Staff are recommending that we delegate the authority to permit these exemptions for “Public regional service Providers”, which essentially means various levels of government building hospitals, transit, and the such. The Bylaw still applies to them, they still need to get an exemption approved, but staff will be able to grant those approvals.

Council Strategic Priorities Plan – Second Semi-Annual Report for 2025
This is our semi-annual report on progress toward Council’s Strategic Priorities Plan, adopted by Council back toward the beginning of the term. I might write a follow-up on this as there is a lot in this report. In short, the work we planned to get done this year (aside from some of the emergent issues that have arisen during the term – like the need to adopt a new OCP because of Provincial Housing Regulations) is coming along for the most part. Of 51 work areas, the dashboard shows we are in the green (completed, or in progress as expected) for 30, are in the orange (progress has been made, but more to do) on 18, and three are in the red (We will be challenged to see them completed). When I look back at the chaos of the last couple of years – Federal and Provincial elections, fundamental regulatory changes, economic uncertainty from inflation, tariffs and likely recession) – I am actually a little surprised and pleased we have met so many goals. There is a theme here –among the chaos, we are just getting the shit done.

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The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

2025 Capital and Operating Quarterly Performance Report
Our quarterly reporting out on finances is generally positive. As one might expect with the global economy now, capital costs are up a bit (1.3%) due to inflation and delay, but staff have found some internal efficiencies and re-allocations to get that down to less than 0.4% impact on our budget. Meanwhile, we are projecting an operational surplus (taking in more money that we budgeted) of about 2.4%, almost all of this utility charges (because more people are hooking up to utility than budgeted) and increased interest earned on our reserves. At the same time our spending is 1.2% below projected, largely because if ongoing vacancies and time it is taking to fill some funded positions. Together, this adds up to about a $11.8M surplus, again mostly in Utility funds.

In short, the finances of the City are being well managed.

Budget 2026: Fees and Rates Review, Amendment Bylaws
One of the early steps of our annual budgeting process is to set next year’s “fees and charges” for everything from parking to building permits to cemetery services. We do this early because it helps finance staff with the modelling that goes into creating next year’s budget. It’s good to have those numbers in our pocket before we start talking tax rates.

These fees are overall meant to approximate the cost of providing the service, though some (like discounts for seniors or parking fees to manage a limited resource) are also set to fit a policy goal. Staff generally recommend that we increase fees every year to keep up with inflation (as measured by CPI), as that is a good proxy for the increased cost to deliver the various services. They also regularly do a regional scan to assure our fees re not out of scale with what other cities are charging. If we are way above or below others, that is probably a sign we are doing something wrong in how we cost the work.

Parking is something that often comes up in these conversations, and without getting into the weeds now (read Don Shoup!), staff are suggesting we do a more comprehensive parking strategy – actually a more comprehensive curbside management strategy – after the new OCP is adopted and we have adoption of the new provincial housing regulations as they relate to off-street parking.

As is typical for a Council with a $300 Million budget to discuss, we spent most of our time talking about a $10,000 item, the fares for the QtoQ. Staff proposed raising the fares by a quarter ($1.25 to $1.50 for concession fares, $2.25 to $2.50 for Adult). This is more than a CPI increase, but is still a pretty modest increase for a service that City taxpayers already subsidize to the tune of $800,000 a year (not including capital costs). In the end the majority of Council agreed to a smaller increase of the Concession fares to $1.30, and the recommended Adult fare increase.

Budget 2026 Process, Schedule, and Baseline Property Tax and Utility Rate Projections
This report does not “project a 5.3% property tax increase”, nor has “staff recommended a 5.3% baseline property tax increase”, despite the misinformation already being circulated by austerity mongers. This report is not setting even a preliminary tax rate; we are way too early in the process for that, and have not even seen the Police Board budget yet. This report is simply setting some groundwork and getting Council to agree to a process of workshops and meetings to work out the 2026 budget.

When staff present a 5.3% tax increase as the “business as usual” baseline, they are simply telling us that if we want a lower increase than that, something will need to be cut from the work we are already committed to doing, and if we want to deliver more to the community, the increase will need to be higher than that. Anyone who has watched this process over the last few years (once again, the most transparent budget decision making of any Council in the Lower Mainland), the reality is that we have yet to know what new commitments Council will agree to, or what savings will be found within the current budget, but almost certainly both will happen over the next three months before we know what the 2026 tax rate will be.

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We had one Bylaw for Adoption:

Title to Highway (Portion of Keary Street) Bylaw No. 8533, 2025
This Bylaw that allows the creation of an air space parcel for the construction of an overhead walkway between Royal Columbian Hospital and the new office building at 230 Keary Street was adopted by Council.

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And after appointing a number of people to City Advisory Committees and panels, that was the work for the evening!