Council on Cannabis

Posted on February 4, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

My reports on the January 29th regular meeting and Public Hearing are here and here, respectively, but we also had a constructive Workshop session during the early afternoon that you can watch in its videotronic glory here.

Implementation of Cannabis Legislation
The Federal Government have announced that some time in July, 2018, the production, distribution and sale of cannabis for recreational use will be legal in Canada. This has resulted in a bit of a rush (by government standards) to develop appropriate regulatory controls around an industry that will transition from underground to commonplace. This has involved every level of government working at essentially the same time, trying to figure out where the overlaps and gaps are. At a national level, there is no precedence for this, so complications ensue…

What we know right now (and I am simplifying a bit here) is that the feds are going to regulate the commercial production and packaging, and create quality and other standards. The provincial governments are going to be responsible for distribution systems and regulating the retail market. Local governments will do what we always do – regulate local land use (through zoning) and business regulations to manage parochial concerns (business hours, signage standards, buffer zones, etc.).

The pressure on local governments right now is that we can’t really do our job until we have a good understanding of the framework that senior governments will provide. They are putting together laws, but we are not yet certain about what the details will be. In the regulation-as-sausage-making sense, we cannot just create new Bylaws instantly: between doing the drafting work, community consultation, legal review, Council approval, Public Hearings, and implementation, it can take 6 months or more to build an effective bylaw regime. July is 6 months away.

With this in mind, Council held a workshop to give staff guidance on a proposed regime for managing cannabis sales and production locally, within the limits of our regulatory role. Staff prepared some briefs on the ways they see this rolling out, leaving significant wiggle room as we are somewhat reading the tea leaves of semi-complete senior government regulation. It isn’t perfect, but it is a proactive approach.

All ideas were discussed as a set of basic principles to be put together into draft bylaws, with the intention of taking this out to public consultation to get a sense of where the community is on this. Therefore, take my comments and those of Council on this as a set of starting principles, which may change by the time we are finished this process later in the year. The discussion revolved around 5 basic areas:

1) Limiting retail locations (Zoning Bylaw)
The Province has indicated there will be government-run cannabis retailers and private retailers. This looks a bit like the current liquor store model. We can write a zoning bylaw to allow the sale of cannabis as an “add on use” to existing retail-zoned areas. Similar to a liquor retailer, an applicant would come to City Hall with a proposed location, staff would evaluate against a general set of guidelines and process an application that would require some public input. The actual guidelines are currently up in the air. What restrictions to put on these retail stores (if any) are the meat of the public discussion to come. Should there be a 300m buffer to the nearest school? 100m buffer from each other? Should it only be allowed in some retail areas, not others? Should there be a prohibition on selling in neighbourhood corner stores as opposed to retail strips? This is the conversation we need to have right now.

Notably, it does not look like consumption sites will be legal in the short term. There are a bunch of WorkSafe BC and other rules around smoking in work places, and edibles and tinctures will apparently not be legal until 2019, so we are limiting our discussion in the short term on retail sale for off-site consumption (think liquor stores, not pubs, for the alcohol corollary)

2)Production facilities (Zoning Bylaw)
It is anticipated that production will be pretty industrial, and due to security and energy costs, relatively large operations. Whether there will be a smaller “craft” production market is yet to be determined. The Federal Government is regulating this, but the City will need to assure our Zoning Bylaw allows this use in appropriate places. We have larger M2 zoned properties, mostly in Queensborough and the Braid Industrial Area, where staff feel it is most appropriate, and we have smaller M1 zones that are more light industry like in the Braid Triangle and adjacent to Stewardson Way. Which of these is most appropriate?

These industrial operations may smell, and it is a little unclear how prepared Metro Vancouver is to regulate air quality from them. It is not even clear where the proposed federal rules government production will intersect with the air quality bylaws of the regional government. This is something to watch.

3)Business licensing rules (Business License bylaw)
This is where we regulate things around the day-to-day operations of businesses, like hours of operation, staffing, limiting age of customers, and business streetscape. I am generally in favour of making this as similar to liquor stores as a starting point, but am willing to be convinced that either a more rigorous or more lax approach is appropriate. One important aspect is how we regulate the sale of “paraphernalia”: should it be limited to places that sell the product? we currently have (somewhat dated) Bylaws restricting the sale of “drug paraphernalia” in the City – these will need an update.

4)Public Consumption (Smoking Bylaw)
Another challenge that falls somewhat in to local jurisdiction is our public smoking law. Not all marijuana is smoked, but the nuisance and negative health impacts of second hand smoke are as real for pot as for cigarettes. Our current Bylaw does cover all smoking materials, so no big change needed here, though some clarifying language may help. I have other concerns around public education, but will cover that below.

5)Domestic production
The feds are going to make it legal to produce a few plants at home for personal use, and the city may want to create regulations around this, such as requiring that it only be done indoors or in an accessory building. I’m not sure if we need to take these measures, as I suspect much of the negative impact of previous “grow-op” practices were a product of growing under a prohibition regime – the need for intensive lights, hydroponics, etc. People growing a plant in their living room or deck may be no different than growing poinsettias or tomatoes, but I really don’t know. I feel we need some input from our Fire Chief and buildings staff to better understand potential issues.

This, and the smoking bylaw part above, brings up my final concern: New Westminster has a high proportion of people living in Multi-Family Buildings, be they condos or rentals, and I don’t really know how these new rules are going to impact that sector. Will building managers or stratas regulate the growing of plants on decks, the smoking of cannabis on decks, or even within apartments? Does the Strata Act or the Residential Tenancy Act address these issues already? What are the rights of residents (be they owners or renters) and what are their responsibilities? How much can stratas self-regulate this? I am afraid the City will be asked to intervene in this type of conflict between neighbours, and I don’t know if we understand how to manage this.

I want to know from the province about their efforts to educate the general public about the new rules, and where funding will come from to support local governments in addressing conflicts.

The City is initiating a public conversation about all of these issues, in the hopes that we can have a solid framework as soon as we have certainty on senior government regulations. I’m not sure we will have every piece in place by July, but we did emphasize to staff that we don’t want to drag our feet on this, even if it means holding Public Hearings in the summer (which is not a preferred practice).

Staff suggested we need to make a few changes to our existing Bylaws now in order to prevent unanticipated problems leading up to July and the city getting its entire regulatory regime passed. It is still illegal to sell cannabis from a storefront in Canada, and in New Westminster we have taken the approach of not providing business licenses to businesses wanting to engage in illegal activity. Staff recommended updating the language in our Zoning Bylaw to clarify that practice, and bring the language up to date with newer Federal regulations. They are not recommending changing any practices here in the short term, just making sure the language meets the current standard to remove uncertainty. Council agreed to give those Bylaw updates First and Second reading.

So stay tuned, folks, and let us know what you think about this new direction we are taking. I think we are entering with open minds and clear intent, but also aware that there will be some hiccups along the way.

Council – Jan 29, 2018(B)

Posted on February 1, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

I covered the January 29th Public Hearing in this earlier post. Our regular meeting began with Opportunities to be Heard on several development variance permits:

Commercial Vehicle Amendment Bylaw No. 7976, 2018
Queen City Taxi is applying yet again, through the long and complicated process, to get more taxi licenses in order to provide better service in New Westminster. The amendment of our local Bylaw is part of the process. They wish to expand service by three regular cabs and an accessible cab. I’ve ranted about this before.

We have one presentation from a resident who was concerned about lack of accessible cabs, and Council referred her concerns to the Access Ability Advisory Committee.

With no other presentations, Council moved to adopt the Bylaw Amendment.

Development Variance Permit DVP00637 for 430 Boyd Street, 350 and 354 Stanley Street and an unaddressed parcel
There are a couple of variances needed to make this 80-unit townhouse project in Queensborough fit better on the site. Tandem parking spaces allow more flexible layouts and some separation between buildings is slightly smaller than required by the zoning bylaw (on the order of a few feet at most) . We had no-one come to speak to the variances, and received no correspondence. The project was supported by the Residents’ Association and the Design Panel, and fits with the Queensborough Community Plan.

Council moved to approve the Variance and the subsequent Development Permit.

Development Variance Permit DVP00638 for 728 and 734 Ewen Avenue
Similar to the above project, there are a couple of variances needed to make this 37-unit townhouse project in Queensborough work, and again Tandem parking is the big one. We had no written submissions, but had the proponent present in favour. Again, this project is supported by the Residents’ Association, the Advisory Planning Commission, and the Design Panel. It fits the Community Plan and had a public hearing in 2014(!).

Council moved to approve the Variance and the subsequent Development Permit.

Development Variance Permit DVP00639 for 746 Ewen Avenue
This project is directly related to the neighbouring one above, and brings another 30 townhouse units to Queensborough, and had similar approvals from the community and committees. Council moved to approve the Variance and the subsequent Development Permit.

All told, that’s 149 relatively affordable family-friendly homes approved for Queensborough.

Following those Opportunities, we moved onto our regular agenda, starting with the following items Moved on Consent:

2018 New West Grand Prix
The 2017 was by so many measures a success, and we are getting ready to organize year two.

Last year we had few spills, but many thrills. As a cycling fan, the women’s race was particularly exciting, even as the eventual winner absolutely dominated. Kirstie Lay went on a suicide solo break that lasted for way too many laps. Each lap we thought she was surely going to get reeled in, but she kept the gap up in a Merckxian display of strength and determination. It was pretty cool.

Unlike Kirstie, we started a little late last year, and had a few organizational hiccups. They were small, and not really noticed by the fans or the racers, and we have learned a lot about how an event like this fits in New West. We have a head start this year, and things are already lining up. Volunteers and sponsors really made this a success. It was a fun event for the volunteers, many of them had no idea what a professional bicycle race looked like, and were amazed by the speed and the force with which this mass of athletes blasts past (they move a lot of air!). If you want a t-shirt, we always could use more volunteers!

Recruitment 2018: Recommended Appointments to Committees
This City relies on volunteers. They provide time and energy to get so many things done in the City, but they also give City Staff and Council guidance based on their subject matter expertise. Every year we have to sift through a large pile of applicants for Committee appointments. Here are the 179 appointees to 25 committees, commissions, or boards. Thank you all, and to the many others who applied but didn’t get picked – please apply again next year!

We have yet to adopt measures to assure diversity and representation on these committees – that is a work in progress and we will hopefully have an updated process for these appointments next year. I think we have a pretty good gender balance on these committees, 86 (48%) male, 93 (52%) female, but our process does not allow us to screen based on other demographics such as ethnicity or socio economic status. More to come…

Zoning Amendment (Housekeeping) Bylaw No. 7924, 2018: for Minor Updates/Corrections to Zoning Bylaw No. 6680, 2001 – Bylaw for First and Second Readings
There are several “housekeeping” changes required to one of our older but still valid Zoning Bylaws. They range from correcting spelling to updating definitions and fixing now-broken references to changed provincial regulations. These changes do, nonetheless, require a public hearing, so c’mon out on February 19 and let us know what you think.

232 Eleventh Street: Development Variance Permit DVP00640 for Height, Retaining Wall and Front Yard Parking – Notice of Opportunity to be Heard
A landowner want to build a single family house on a small, steeply sloped lot in the Brow Neighboruhood, and has a few challenges involving the roof height and accommodating off-street parking. This will go to an Opportunity to be Heard after reviewing with neighbours. I’ll hold my comments until after that process.

Temporary Use Permit for Amusement Arcade, 457 East Columbia Street
It looks like the arcade is back. Again, I am not sure what the concern is that led to the City restricting them back in 1990, but that was 28 years ago when I spent a little too much time playing Cabal up at Lester’s Arcade in Burnaby…

There will be an Opportunity to be Heard on the required Temporary Use Permit on February 19. C’mon out and let us know what you think!

Investment Report to December 31, 2017
The City has about $159 Million in the bank, mostly in group funds with the Municipal Finance Authority (see rant below). This annual report on our investments isn’t terrible news, but we are slightly behind where we want to be on returns on our investments.

Major Purchases September 1st to December 31st, 2017
This is our ternary report on major purchases. Mostly, this serves as the final step in our transparent procurement process. Bids are open, and the winning bid is reported out to assure that we are justifying purchase decisions.

810 Agnes Street – Rezoning and Special Development Permit for 29 Story Residential High Rise – Preliminary Report
This is a preliminary report on a large proposed residential development in the Downtown “Tower District”. There is a lot of work to do yet on this project, and there will be a public engagement process involving a Public Hearing, so I’ll hold my comments

Proposal to Amend the Terms of Reference of the ACTBiPed Committee
The Advisory Committee for Transit, Bikes, and Pedestrians has always had strong representation from local pedestrian advocates, but there has never been a formal Organizational representation like we have for cyclists (HUB has provided a representative for several years). The Committee wanted to create an opportunity for a pedestrian advocacy organization on the committee.

The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

Capture Photography Festival Public Art Project
You may recognize the large photographic pieces attached to a couple of brick walls in the City last year as part of this program. Our Public Art Advisory Committee is recommending taking part again in 2018, and have identified a priority location for an installation: The ugly fence along East Columbia at Sapperton Park.

In this report, the PAAC has recommended an artist to create the public art piece, which will be funded from our Public Art Reserve Fund. It is a great example of how Public Art doesn’t have to be a stand-alone piece in a square somewhere, but can be adding expression and aesthetic value to boring or dull infrastructure to make our communities nicer places to spend time.

Fire Escape Stairs at 642 Columbia Street Design and Public Art Integration
Speaking of boring or dull infrastructure, the fire escape built on Front Street is not the most elegant structure ever built. Once the rest of Front Street was improved, many noted it is incongruous to the new setting. An engineering marvel built to meet the newest fire escape standards, but ugly.

Luckily, the City has a Public Art Advisory Committee made up of City staff, arts professionals, and members of the public dedicated to bring aesthetics, expression, and creativity to our public spaces and advise us in how to integrate art and design into our community. When many of us see an ugly structure, they see a canvas waiting to be activated.

In this report, the PAAC is suggesting using some of the Public Art Reserve Fund to make this space work and look better. Council approved.

Corporate Record Management Bylaw 7987, 2018
This new proposed Bylaw will codify how the City manages its records. There is a bunch of regulation controlling how we, as a corporate entity, manage information. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act balances the need to make information accessible while protecting privacy where needed. We have staff in City Hall whose job it is to manage these matters and assure all City operations comply with the law.

This Bylaw would formalize that the records management are the responsibility of the City Clerk, and would formalize the process through which old records are made digital and aging records are transferred to the City’s Archives for permanent storage or, if appropriate, destroyed.

1319 Third Avenue (Steel and Oak): Increase in Seating Capacity – Bylaw for First and Second Readings
Steel & Oak have a tasting room attached to their brewery in an industrial area in the Lower 12th area. They want to expand the seating capacity in their tasting room, but our Zoning Bylaw does not allow more than 30 people in an assembly space in our industrial areas. So they need a Zoning Amendment to allow the seat expansion. This will go to Public Hearing on February 19th, so I will hold my comments until then.

Queen’s Park Heritage Conservation Area: Summary of Community Consultation and Proposed Expansion of Incentives Work Plan
The Queens Park Heritage Conservation Area process is ongoing, as the City evaluates different types of incentives to encourage the preservation of heritage assets. The first round of community consultations around incentives discussed zoning-based incentives that may provide more building space entitlement (to build an extension to an existing house or a laneway/carriage house) or stratification of large homes. They were generally appreciated, but some people definitely wanted to see more, and we are giving staff the ability to explore a wider set of incentives and new rounds of public consultation. Here is a lot of good feedback from the neighbourhood and stakeholders here, and work to do!

Metro Vancouver’s Proposed Bylaw: Regional Wood Smoke Emission Regulation
Metro Vancouver is delegated the regulatory authority over Air Quality (smoke, emissions, dust, smells) by the Province, mostly because most of the causes of air quality problems are closely related to Municipal jurisdiction (zoning, business licensing), but the results of bad air quality crosses municipal boundaries. MV has the Bylaws and enforcement staff to manage this issue.

MV is bringing in regulations to reduce wood smoke pollution, and are phasing in these changes starting in 2020. They would ban using fireplaces in the summer (when the air quality impact is higher), and then would move towards requiring all fireplaces be registered and have a low-emission appliance. We had a great discussion with the Manager from Metro Vancouver during the meeting, which I think helped to clarify some of the questions around this proposed change. Metro is doing lots of public consultation on this (and no changes are planned until at least 2020), so let them know what you think!

2018 Spring Freshet and Snow Pack Level
Snow levels are not anomalous, and it is a la Nina season, so there is no increased or decreased risk of flood in the spring. Stay tuned!

Update to Investment Policy
I went on a bit of a rant here, as this is an issue we have talked about in the past, and despite some political will across the Province, we don’t seem to be able to make enough impact that the Provincial level.

We have discussed Divestment in the past, and have taken some action to UBCM and the Municipal Finance Authority, but we have never been successful at getting the MFA to provide ethical investment options to municipalities. Instead, the MFA tells us that divestment is a difficult problem that is really hard to solve. No news there.

When we invest in the oil industry we are investing in the value not of the oil in the ground, but of the value to be extracted when that oil is burned and the carbon released into the atmosphere. We are essentially betting that we can continue to put as much carbon into the atmosphere as we want, as long as it is profitable. We are betting against the continued stability of our climate, and against the same costs we are going to have to suffer as local governments as climate change worsens. I can’t support that.

So here we are, in New Westminster, fighting a bitumen pipeline on the Brunette River, yet our investments are supporting the other side of this fight. I believe it is our duty to divest, and I believe it is in our self-interest to divest.

Instead of supporting an update in our investment strategy that works against our own interest, we are going to take a better look at how we can make progress with the MFA, or what our other investing options are.

319 Ash Street: Development Variance Permit to Permit a Secondary Suite without a Parking Space – Consideration of Opportunity to be Heard
A homeowner in the Brow of the Hill wants to formalize a legal secondary suite, but lack of a back alley and trees up front make it hard to put in more parking, so they need a variance. This request will go to an Opportunity to be Heard on February 19, 2018; C’mon out and tell us what you think!

354 Johnston Street: Development Variance Permit for Minimum Frontage – Notice of Opportunity to be Heard; and
353 Johnston Street: Development Variance Permit for Minimum Frontage – Consideration of Opportunity to be Heard;
There was a bit of confusion about the wording of these two Variances on the agenda, but we got it clear. This is another case in Queensborough where very long lots are being subdivided to typical lot widths, but they run afoul of a requirement that lots can’t be more than 4x deep than they are long. This request will go to an Opportunity to be Heard on February 19, 2018; C’mon out and tell us what you think!

We then went through the Bylaw Readings:

Zoning Amendment (1319 Third Avenue) Bylaw No. 7981, 2018
As discussed above, Steel & Oak wants to expand seating capacity in their tasting room. Council gave this Bylaw amendment first and second reading. A Public Hearing will be held on February 19th, c’mon out and tell us what you think!

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7924, 2018 (Housekeeping Bylaw): To Make Minor Updates/Corrections to Zoning Bylaw No. 6680, 2001
As discussed above, we need to make some minor changes to language of our zoning bylaws. Council gave these amendments first and second reading. A Public Hearing will be held on February 19th, c’mon out and tell us what you think!

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Retail Sale of Cannabis) No. 7966, 2018
We had a long Workshop discussion in the afternoon about how to best approach the pending legalization of recreational cannabis sales. I will do another separate blog post on this topic (Part C!), but we agreed at that workshop to amend our Zoning Bylaw to formalize some of the language and our current approach as a temporary measure to prepare ourselves for July. This is more of a stopgap until July than anything else. It will go to Public Hearing on February 19th, C’mon out and tell us what you think.

Corporate Record Management Bylaw 7987, 2018
As discussed above, we are formalizing our Records Management in a Bylaw. Council Gave this Bylaw three readings.

Heritage Properties Maintenance Standards Bylaw No. 7971, 2018; and
Bylaw Notice Enforcement Housekeeping Amendment Bylaw No. 7973, 2018
These Bylaws in support of the goals of the Queens Park Heritage Conservation Area were given three readings last meeting, and are now Adopted. It’s now the Law of the Land. Adjust your building envelope maintenance schedule accordingly!

We had one late-addition item of New Business:

Restorative Justice for FCM
Councillor Puchmayr brought this item from the Restorative Justice Committee asking that Council support a resolution to FCM calling for the Federal Government to make Restorative Justice part of standard police training across the country. Council unanimously supported this motion.

Then we had a few Notices of Motion for future meetings, and called it a day. Stay tuned, as in the next few days I will write up Part C of this epic council report, talking about our Cannabis Regulation workshop.

Council – Jan 29, 2018 (a)

Posted on January 30, 2018February 1, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

January 29th was a busy day at Council, and I have a lot to say about it, so I am going to stretch this out to three blog posts (a new record!) that are going to trickle out as I find time to write them up. We had a mid-day Workshop on pending Cannabis Regulations, and many items on our Regular Agenda, but I’m going to start by going through our three Public Hearing topics.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7953, 2018: Passive Design Incentives for Single Detached Zones
There is a lot going on in BC on building more energy efficient buildings. The Province has been going through a process of developing a new building code that provides for more efficient buildings as a baseline, and ramping up that baseline over time. They call this the “Step Code”, as in several graduated steps towards higher efficiency. The top step (Step 5) will be buildings approximating the efficiency of a high-level European standard known as Passive House.

These buildings use advanced building techniques to reduce thermal bridging between inner and outer walls, and much higher insulation standards. They also use advanced tech to assure that the air inside the house does not become stale or that moisture doesn’t become an issue by using heat exchangers and air handling units to closely manage indoor air quality. When well executed, a Passive House in our climate wouldn’t need a furnace 99% of the time – the waste heat from bodies, the back of your fridge, and your water heater will be enough to maintain a comfortable temperature. As a bonus, the house will be much more comfortable than an old-tech house because the air will be fresher and you won’t have drafts or big temperature shifts.

Of course, these houses are more expensive to build, and have other design compromises. There is a Passive House on Third Ave that an untrained eye would not be able to tell from the heritage home next door, but the builder definitely experienced some “bleeding edge” hassles and expense getting it built. As it is one of the City’s goals to have more efficient building stock (to reduce GHG and energy use), our staff have looked at what types of incentives we can provide builders and homeowners to make it easier to move up the Step Code steps.

There are limits to what a City can do as far as incentives when it comes to building new homes, for all sorts of Local Government Act reasons. However, we can provide variances to certain zoning requirements. Staff here suggests a Flat Area FSR Exclusion tied to Step code – the higher your “step”, the more FSR you are permitted, up to a 10% increase if you achieve Step 5 (which is Passive House / Net Zero Ready, for you code freaks out there). This makes up for the loss of living space per square foot of building due to the much thicker walls that Step 5 Houses will have.

Staff did a pretty exhaustive analysis to determine the impacts on setbacks, even working with new Laneway/Carriage house guidelines, and don’t think that change to minimum setbacks are required. However, we would permit 2ft higher buildings in some zones to accommodate thicker insulation requirements in the basement and roof.

We received one piece of correspondence that questioned the value of Passive House as opposed to other energy efficiency metrics, but I note our Bylaw does not actually do this. It is more about meeting the advanced building code, which may meet or exceed many efficiency standards that are currently flooding the market. We also had a presenter at the Public Hearing bring some interesting points about how we could encourage more efficient buildings by encouraging smaller buildings, and less articulated designs of Laneway/Carriage houses. These are great ideas, and our staff will be following up. Again, we need to figure out how to “incentivize” smaller houses within our legal limits when it would represent (essentially) taking away zoning entitlement, but I think there is something to his arguments, and I look forward to next steps.

In the end, I think this is a good idea and appreciate the work staff did to develop an evaluate the incentive programs. Council voted to approve giving the Bylaw Third Reading.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7915, 2018 for 229 Eleventh Street
This project will see three living units built on a current single-family lot in the Brow of the Hill – a duplex and a laneway house. The lot is currently vacant, and has been for several years, at least in part because it is a very challenging lot to build on. It is narrow and very steep, with the only road access on the uphill side (which is one of New West’s numerous named laneways).

The project as proposed was generally supported by the Residents’ Association and neighbours. The Advisory Planning Commission approved the design. We had no written submissions, and no-one came to speak to the Public Hearing. Council voted to approve Third Reading of the Bylaw Amendment.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw for 612, 616 and 618 Carnarvon Street; 50 and 36 Sixth Street; and 615 and 637 Clarkson Street (Zoning Amendment Bylaw [618 Carnarvon Street] No. 7949, 2017)
This was the highest-profile Public Hearing of the night, a big project that has been in the works for several years. The project will see a 33-story residential tower with a 3-story mixed-use podium on the corner of Sixth Street and Carnarvon in the “Tower District” of Downtown. The project will include enclosing part of the Skytrain guideway between Sixth Street and MacKenzie Street.

The building supports the Downtown Community Plan for the Tower District, putting higher density development near our Skytrain stations and downtown amenities, while providing street-level retail and public realm improvements. It will have twice the number of “family friendly” units required by our Family Friendly Housing Policy, including several street-level townhouses, and a majority of two- and three-bedroom units. It was approved by the Advisory Planning Commission and Design Panel (after several design and layout changes to accommodate concerns raised by those committees earlier in the process).

The changes being proposed here in the Zoning Amendment are related to overall density and height. The density requested is 6.11 FSR, which is 0.91 above the zoning allowance of 5.20 (with Density Bonus). This is actually lower density than the two immediately adjacent recently-developed properties. The height does, once again, allow the building of a more slender building with less shadowing and view impacts, larger offsets from surrounding buildings, and a better ground form. The design of the tower has shifted somewhat as a result of public consultation and committee input. The tower was made narrower, with a “chamfered” top, and was pushed west and south somewhat to reduce intrusion to existing adjacent buildings.

Council received some written correspondence for this project, both in favour and against. We also had five presenters at the Public Hearing, three against (all concerned about views and sunlight) and two in favour (including the proponent). Neighbours in adjacent high-rise circulated a petition opposing the project for height, view and traffic concerns. I also took note that one of the letters of support was provided by one of the businesses that will be displaced by this project. Overall, I think that the developer has done a good job working with the community through the consultation process, and have put a serious effort into addressing concerns.

The question is always “what does the community get out of developments like this?” and perhaps that needs to be an entire new blog post, as most of the answer is not limited to this single project, but also to most development projects in the City. But here is a one-paragraph answer.

The City gets living spaces, which is part of (not nearly all) of the solution to rising housing prices. This project has a variety of housing types, with City townhouses and apartments that will no doubt range (based on size, side, and story) from somewhat affordable to kind of expensive. We also get density near our retail zones to improve the viability of our businesses. Placing density near SkyTrain stations reduces the traffic impacts of that density, and even reduces the need for people to drive through our City because we are providing more housing options here. This particular project will envelop part of the Skytrain line, which will reduce noise in part of downtown, and will provide a small pocket park on Sixth Street improving the public realm in that area, along with an improved retail strip. Through Density Bonus and Voluntary Amenity Contributions, the City will receive something close to $3Million. Through Council Policy, Density Bonus money all goes into reserves, with 30% going towards our Affordable Housing fund, 10% towards providing capital grants for childcare, 10% to fund our Public Art program, and the remaining 50% towards general amenity fund that goes into improving civic facilities and parks via our 5-year Capital Plan (this is aside from the DCC contributions the builder must make to pay for sewer, water, parks and roads infrastructure in the City).

Council moved to approve Third Reading for the Zoning Amendment.

We then moved on to Opportunities to be Heard, which will be covered in Part 2, coming soon!

Listening

Posted on January 13, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. 1 Comment.

I have already written a slightly-too-long blog post on the City’s burgeoning reconciliation process. If I could summarize the thesis, it is that the community needs to take intentional and careful steps in creating a space for communication. We need to hear each other’s stories.

I was both excited and apprehensive to see the Record name reconciliation as their News Item of the Year. It is great that our sole remaining local paper sees this as an important topic, as their participation in nurturing those conversations will be important. The problem being that their story once again focused attention on a statue – a potentially important issue point, but a relatively minor part of a much larger discussion that has to happen.

The story in the Record has, for good or bad, already started discussion in the letters section of the paper, and associated Social Media.

I disagree with some of what I read in those letters. However, I more strongly disagree with people jumping on Social Media to (with the best of intentions) correct things in that letter they deem as inaccurate or (with less clear intentions) accuse the letter writers of ignorance or ill intent.

One thing I have learned in my first forays into learning about the Truth and Reconciliation process is that we need people to tell their stories, to share their thoughts and experiences. This cannot happen if our default is to immediately question a person’s ideas or impressions. Conversation is different than debate, and on this topic we need much more of the former, much less of the latter. Even when what we hear is uncomfortable. We need to find a way to talk about how our understanding, our experience, may be different or come from a different place without engaging in debate or placing the letter writer in an “others” group.

I wrote last time about trying to understand how we can create spaces where people who lived the Indigenous experience can talk about their truths. I think this is an important early emphasis, if only because we have to get over the hurdles related to 150+ years of systematic efforts to silence those voices. However, we don’t get there by shouting down the voices of the members of our community for whom the entire idea of there being an “Indigenous Experience” is a challenge to their deeply held beliefs.

We all, all of us, have to learn how to listen. It’s only the first step, but it’s an important one. We can use this process to build a stronger, more just and compassionate community. And that is a way better goal than just having a well-debated statue.

Council – Jan 8, 2018

Posted on January 10, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. 1 Comment.

The first meeting of 2018 had that back-to-school feel, with presentations, some interesting public delegations, and some actual work done. We started with a presentation from staff on Innovation Week, which I will probably have to write a whole separate blog post about, because there is a lot of cool stuff happening at the end of February, and you probably want to take part.

2018-2022 Draft Financial Plan – General Fund
This is the first public reporting of the work that has been done up to now on the 2018 budget and Financial Plan through to 2022.

Our General Fund (the money we use for the day-to-day running of the City) is currently budgeting revenue to increase by 3%, mostly from tax increases, with expenses increasing by 2%. We can achieve this with a 2.95% tax increase, and still include the transfer of $4.7 Million into capital reserves to support our long-term Capital Plan.

The Capital Plan for 2018 includes $64 Million spent on buildings and other capital improvements – $50 Million from the reserves we have in the bank, $7 Million from borrowing, and $7 Million from other sources (Grants, DCCs, etc.). This is completely manageable in 2018, but we need to look forward to our entire 5-year Capital Plan, which is (at first blush) pushing the envelope a bit.

We have a great number of capital projects, including some new facilities and ongoing capital maintenance. Over a 5-year plan, it totals more than $240 Million, which will challenge our reserves and our debt tolerance. A big part of this is the proposed replacement of the Canada Games Pool and Centennial Community Centre, but also includes implementation of our MTP, necessary maintenance and upgrades on the Library, City Hall, and other buildings, and meeting community expectations for everything from accessibility to pavement management (there is a great table in the report that outlines all of the items in the draft 2018 Capital budget attached to this report).

The need to invest in closing our infrastructure gap is not unique to New Westminster, and we are in pretty good shape compared to many similarly-sized Cities across Canada, but the gap is real and needs a proactive approach. We have already done some pretty serious prioritization of capital projects, and our staff have done the financial analysis to determine the right balance between drawing down reserves and increasing debt – both options have long-term financial consequences.

Staff are proposing a Capital Levy to be added to our property taxes to help us get over this capital investment bump. A 1% levy for 5 years would help our reserves be maintained at a level that provides financial security long-term. Essentially, that would mean our tax increase in 2018 would be 3.95% (assuming the general budget is approved as it is), but that the extra 1% would be earmarked for tangible capital improvements like the Canada Games Pool.

This is an interesting discussion, and I look forward to hearing from the public about how we should best address the needs identified in our Capital Plan.

The following items were moved on Consent:

Infrastructure Canada Smart Cities Challenge
This Federal Grant program is a pretty exciting opportunity – though it will be a highly competitive grant process. The City has a pretty ambitious Intelligent City program, and has already been recognized as a Smart21 City. Events like the Innovation Forum, our Hackathon and our Open Data, BridgeNet, and other initiatives put us in a good position to put together a bid, either alone or working with regional partners. We need some community help here, though, so look forward to some upcoming community engagement asking you to help us frame a “Challenge Statement”.

Changes to the 2018 Schedule of Regular Council Meetings
Oops, they moved Spring Break on us! Please update your 2018 social calendars so you won’t be disappointed!

Queen City (Bonnie’s) Taxi Ltd: Commercial Vehicle Amendment Bylaw No. 7976, 2018 to Add Vehicles – Bylaw for Three Readings
Once again, taxi operators in the City are asking for an increase in their fleets to meet frequency and timeliness standards their customers expect. This somewhat convoluted process includes the City approving a Bylaw to increase the number of licenses. This is the draft version of the Bylaw, which will go to an Opportunity to be Heard, so I’ll hold off my comments until after that.

Heritage Properties Maintenance Standards Bylaw No. 7971, 2018 and Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw Amendment No. 7973, 2018: Bylaws for Three Readings
The Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) protections for Queens Park are designed to prevent the active destruction of important historical assets in the community. However, these assets can be damaged in a more passive way – through intentional or unintentional neglect or maintenance failures that erode the structural stability or heritage elements of the building. For this reason, HCAs usually include a Bylaw that regulates minimum standards of maintenance for otherwise protected buildings.

This draft Bylaw replaces an existing older Bylaw that protected heritage assets in the City, in order to align with the new HCA. Essentially, it requires owners take reasonable steps to prevent water ingress and rot, infestation, and damage caused by penetration of vegetation into the building. It doesn’t regulate things like fading paint or cosmetic appearances.

Passive Design Incentives for Single Detached Zones – First and Second Readings for Zoning Bylaw No. 7953, 2018
The City has looked at providing some development incentives to homeowners interested in building much more efficient houses. This would help us meet our long-term community energy and emissions reduction targets. Passive House (or, in the native German “Passivhaus”) is an ultra-low-energy standard where a typical residential home can be heated by little more than the waste heat from their fridge coils and domestic water (with a bit of a boost from low-power heaters in extreme conditions).

We have at least one Passive Houses-standard house in the City that I know of (you wouldn’t know looking at it from the street), and as the Province’s Step Code changes advance over the decades ahead, the “leap” to Passive House will be getting smaller and smaller – making it more and more attractive to builders.

However, the thicker walls required for Passive House currently mean a slightly smaller house for a given footprint/allowable zoning, and staff are recommending we change the way we calculate square footage (and concomitantly FSR) for buildings built to Passive House standard to level that playing field a bit. This Bylaw will go to Public Hearing, so aside from describing the intent, I will hold off on comments until after that.

2018 City Partnership Grants – Update
This is a follow-up on a few questions Council had coming out of the Partnership Grant applications and approvals we did back in December.

These items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

2018 Festival Grant Recommendations
This is the last of our Grant approvals for the 2018 season, with the rest being done back in December. Festivals Grants help fund everything from the Hyack Parade to the various cultural festivals and road “closures” across the City. No doubt the Festivals file has been a great news story in New West over the last couple of years, with so many great events happening. This is – I cannot emphasize enough – mostly due to the efforts of armies of volunteers from the many organizations that work to bring people together in New West. They do most of the heavy lifting for these events, but the City’s financial and logistical support can be fundamental to their success.

Our budget was $235,000, and we received 25 applications totaling just a hair under $400,000. So the Festivals Committee was charged with prioritizing funding based on established criteria. In the end, Council approved the recommended $248,100 in funding to 23 organizations – which is $13,000 over budget.

Housing and Social Planning Update and Work Program for 2018/19
This City is regional leader in the Housing and Social Planning departments, because of consistent support from Councils past and present over the last decade, and because of some remarkably strong work done by our social planning staff.

This file has grown (…expanded, …exploded) as the regional housing crisis worsened along with other social issues in the province related to poverty, mental health, and failing senior government social supports . There is so much going on: the development of supportive housing on City lands, expansion of childcare, actions under the Family-friendly housing policy, child and youth friendly city strategy, dementia-friendly City action plan, the Rent Bank, our Tenant Relocation Program… the list goes on.

We have senior governments now that are talking about re-investing in supporting the disenfranchised and marginalized citizens of the province, and there is some light on the horizon, but the City still needs to maintain consistent action, and that means we need to invest in the staff required to do that work. Council moved to support that work, and further made it clear to staff that we don’t want to slow down, but need to know that there are sufficient resources to address emergent issues. This work program is ambitious, but the City is ambitious.

Rental Replacement Policy and Inclusionary Housing Policy: Proposed Work Plan and Consultation Process
Speaking of good work on the affordable housing file, we are looking at how to encourage the development of more affordable housing options. We have been pretty successful at encouraging secured market rental gets built, but need to worry about the affordability of those units, and long-term stability of the lower-cost rental stock (this is where the Demoviction and Renoviction issues come in). We also need some policy guidance on inclusionary housing – assuring there is a reasonable non-market housing component to the new housing growth in the City. That will require some economic analysis of proposed policy changes, for which we would need to hire some consultants. This can be paid for out of our Affordable Housing fund.

There will be some stakeholder and public consultation on this work, and I am interested to see where it is going.

We then performed our normal Bylaws shuffle

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Passive Design Exclusions) No. 7953, 2018
As discussed above, this Bylaw would adjust our zoning to support the building of more energy-efficient buildings. Council gave this Bylaw Amendment two readings, and it will go to Public Hearing on January 29th. C’mon out and let us know what you think.

Commercial Vehicle Amendment Bylaw No. 7976, 2018
As discussed above, this Bylaw which would allow an increase in Taxi licenses in New Westminster was given three readings. There will be an Opportunity to be Heard on this Bylaw Amendment on January 29th. C’mon out and tell us what you think!

Heritage Property Maintenance Standards Bylaw No. 7971, 2018
Bylaw Notice Enforcement Housekeeping Amendment Bylaw No. 7973, 2018
As discussed above, these Bylaw amendments that would help protect heritage homes in Queens Park from intentional neglect were given three readings.

232 Lawrence Street – Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7948, 2017
This Zoning Amendment was given a Public Hearing back on November 27th, and is required to permit a childcare facility to operate on City lands in Queensborough. It was Adopted by Council, and is now the Law of the Land.

Five-Year Financial Plan (2017-2021) Amendment Bylaw No. 7938, 2017
This Amendment to our 2017-2021 Financial Plan was discussed and given three readings back on December 4th. It is an administrative update to adjust for changes that occurred during the year, and was Adopted by Council.

And, again, aside from an interesting Public Delegations session, that was the work for the evening. See you all next week, same time, same channel!

CGP2?

Posted on January 2, 2018. by Patrick Johnstone. 2 Comments.

At the last meeting of 2017, Council received a presentation on the work done by staff, consultants, and the Mayors Task Force on a replacement facility for the Canada Games Pool. Here is my summary of the report, and where we are at on this project (through my eyes, at least).

There is quite a bit of background in the reports presented, but the short version is that Council evaluated refurbishment and replacement options for the Canada Games Pool back in 2015. At that time, the cost for some of the significant mechanical and structural work on the facility was larger than Council was willing to invest in the aged facility. So work began in planning for a replacement and determining if the Centennial Community Centre should be involved in that replacement program, as it was similarly approaching end-of-life for many of its components.

Council and staff worked together on setting some conditions around which future planning should occur. Work was done on a site analysis to determine if the pool should be moved (in the end, the business case did not support changing locations), and how/if to support existing programs during replacement (Council committed to not demolishing the old pool building until the new is built to maintain continuity in programming).

Around the same time, a large public consultation and stakeholder engagement program (“Your Active New West”), engaged the community in discussions around what types of programs the new facility must have, what programs would be nice to have, and what the community was less committed to. The members of Council also toured a number of relatively recent pool and recreation centres around the Lower Mainland, from Coquitlam to West Vancouver, to hear from other communities what worked well and what didn’t in their facilities. A few of us even toured a facility outside Ottawa during last year’s FCM meeting.

There was also a forward-looking needs analysis completed, looking at facility use now (at CGP and other regional aquatic facilities) by the numbers, and projected 30 years into the future. This included demographics on the types of users, facility capacities, and such to provide solid data to back up the expressed desires of the community, and support a business case for operating an expanded recreation facility. “Build it and they will come” is often true, but we need a defensible business case both to demonstrate due diligence, and to bolster our applications for senior government support.

With all of this in hand, the Task Force worked with a team of consultants to develop a proposed program for a new combined Aquatic Centre and Recreation facility. This proposed program is laid out in the detailed Feasibility Study you can read here.

From all of that, the current proposal is to build a natatorium (word of the day!) of similar scale as the Hillcrest Centre build in Vancouver in 2011: a competition-sized tank (8 full-width lanes, 54m long), with a movable floor on one half to provide flexibility of programming, and a separate large (~450 person) leisure pool primarily for family fun, but to also accommodate some (short) lane swimming. The proposal also includes two high-school sized gymnasiums, a fitness/exercise centre more than twice the current capacity, a childcare centre, and 8 very flexible multi-purpose rooms of varying size to accommodate the types of programs the Centennial Centre does now. Throw in change rooms, office space, and common areas, and you have 114,000 square feet of community centre.

Amongst the many issues that the Task Force have worked on is how to fit that much building on a relatively constrained space. Keeping the existing facilities operating was important, and much of the area where the current parking lot and gravel field are cannot be built upon because of a buried Metro Vancouver sewer line and geotechnical concerns. The Firehall (it is almost new) and the Curling Rink (the City doesn’t own the building) aren’t going anywhere, though the recycling yard may me movable. With traffic access, CPTED, and logistics of construction, the site is very constrained.

As I’m making these points, I need to emphasize that the design and layout suggested in the feasibility study are preliminary and diagrammatic. We don’t yet know what this building will look like in any detail, as we simply are not there yet in the iterative process of design, budget, and construction. However, we know what we want to build, and we know we can make it fit, so now is a good time to take this back out to the public and do a check-in before going forward to the next steps.

There will be public consultation happening early in 2018, but this will be somewhat different than the previous community discussion in 2016-2017. This will be more of a check in to assure we have hit the mark from the earlier consultations, not a time to go back to the drawing board that we already spent a year scribbling on. We also need to start the discussion about how we are going to pay for this.

The budget estimates (and yes, these are early estimates suitable to the early part of the iterative design and planning process we are going through, subject to change for various reasons within and outside of the control of Council) is that the entire centre will cost between $85 and $100 Million. When offering a preliminary estimate, we try to include reasonable contingencies, and are budgeting in 2020 dollars to account for some inflation. However, building costs do not necessarily track the CPI, and anyone trying to hire a contractor right now knows it is a crazy hot and expensive building market in Greater Vancouver right now. Needless to say, this will be the single largest capital investment ever made by the City of New Westminster.

Council and staff have reason to be confident that the program proposed will qualify for some senior government grants, and potentially some significant Federal Infrastructure dollars. It ticks all the right boxes that the federal program has outlined (inclusive and accessible community infrastructure, improved recreational and social opportunities, significant energy efficiency gains and reduction in GHGs). That said, we cannot move ahead assuming those monies will arrive. We are required to put together a 5-year capital plan that shows we have demonstrated our ability to pay for this, and that will inevitably involve dipping into reserves, some debt financing, and tax increases. There’s no way around that.

So over to you. Public engagement is coming in January, and in the meantime will be doing some more technical work on things like geotechnical constraints, parking needs, and some sustainability targets for the building (is LEED Gold the right standard?). We will also be preparing to submit grant applications to senior governments when the windows open (if you know anyone in Victoria or Ottawa, put in a good word for us!). This is a big project, and an exciting time for the City. Let’s hear what you think. It is important to let Council know what you like and if you support this project, and to let us know if you have concerns.

Council – Dec 4, 2017

Posted on December 8, 2017December 8, 2017. by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

Wow. What a week. Much to talk about, too much to do, but first things first, my report on the happenings of Monday’s Council.

This meeting started with an Opportunity for Public Comment:

Five Year Financial Plan (2017-2021) Amendment Bylaw No. 7938, 2017
The City operates on a budgeting process that requires all expenditures to be included in a Five-Year Financial Plan. Every once in a while, we vary from that budget enough – because of extenuating circumstances or a shift in policy – that it is appropriate for us to amend it through a Bylaw. The interested public always has an opportunity to ask questions related to this amendment, as they do with the annual 5-Year Plan update.

The Amendments in question here comprise:

The Arenex collapse means we need to spend some money on clean-up, on a replacement structure, and some other ancillary costs (most of this is covered by our insurance)
We got a grant to do some sewer separation work in Sapperton. This is money in (the grant) and money out (we paid for the work to be done) but it still needs to be included in our budget
The Ewen Street work is over budget, and we are pulling money from reserves to cover it (since Queensborough DCCs won’t cover it). There is also some GVRD sewer renewal money here, which again is money we will recover, but it needs to be shown in the budget
The scope for library renovations has expanded somewhat, so we need to allocate some money from our existing borrowing authority to make sure we have enough to cover the project – now underway!

No-one came to speak to these amendments, and we received no correspondence on them. Council moved to give the amendment bylaw three readings.

We then had a Report for Action:

Canada Games Pool/Centennial Community Centre Project – Aquatic and Community Centre Feasibility Study
We haven’t reported out a lot of work from the Canada Games Pool task Force, but there has been quite a bit of work done by Staff and our Consultants on responding to the public consultation that occurred earlier in the year.

I think I need to throw this over to another much longer blog post, as there is a lot here, but the short version is: we have a pretty good idea of what type of program best balances what the community told us they want (thinking ahead a few decades), and what we reasonably think the community can afford given the various funding sources available to us. A little more than 100,000 square feet, a little less than $100 Million.

The steps ahead are to hear back from the community if this is totally the wrong direction, this is, after all, the biggest capital project in the City’s long history. This conversation in the community will begin early in the new year. We also need to do some technical work to provide better cost estimating and firm up the capital plan impacts. More to come!

The following items were then Moved on Consent:

2018 Heritage Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $25,000 for Heritage Grants. We have a Committee appointed by Council to review and make recommendations for these Grants. We received requests totaling $29,905, and the Grant Committee recommended awarding a total of $24,905. Council approved.

2018 Environmental Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $20,000 for Environmental Grants. We have a subcommittee of the Environment Advisory Committee who review and make recommendations to Council on the applications. We received requests totaling $25,090, and the Committee recommended awarding a total of $20,000. Council approved the recommendation.

2018 Community Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $75,000 for Community Grants. We have a Committee appointed by Council to review and make recommendations for these grants. We received requests totaling $86,357, and the Committee recommended awarding a total of $48,286. Council approved the recommendation.

2018 Amateur Sports Fund Committee Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $35,000 to support Amateur Sports through grants. We have a Committee appointed by Council to review and make recommendations for these grants. We received requests totaling $81,939, and the Committee recommended awarding a total of $35,000. Council approved the recommendation.

Heritage Register Update 2017
The City maintains a registry of designated heritage assets, which needs to be updated, usually as new assets are added, but occasionally when assets are removed.
I’m sad to have seen the Beech tree on Third and Ash come down. It is one of three majestic beech trees on that block (all visible from my house!). However, the reality is that trees don’t last forever, and this one was in decline, in what the City arborist deemed was “senescence” – or old age to the point where decline and death were imminent.

Queen’s Park Heritage Conservation Area: Proposed Community Consultation on Zoning Based Incentives for Protected Properties
Since the Heritage conservation Area was formally adopted by the City, staff have been working on various aspects of the implementation plan, including doing some analysis of the impacts (imagined, projected, or realized), and are putting together incentive programs to help reduce the potential burden of heritage protection on some homeowners. It is actually a complicated process, and relies on local data collection and analysis compared to similar regions arounf North America. An early round of public consultation is beginning right now.

Queen’s Park Washroom and Concession Building
The City is replacing the bathrooms and concession stand in Queens Park. The building is at the end of life, and it is a well-used facility. This will be the first time the City builds exclusively gender-neutral bathrooms in a public building, and the accessibility aspects will be at a much higher level than most previous city buildings. This report shows some of the design elements, and gives us an idea of the plans ahead!

City Hall Community Garden
The Community Garden at City Hall has definitely raised a lot of conversation. Parks did a little extra here with some public space enhancements around the Garden, and the Garden was fully subscribed this year, and was an incredible community meeting place all summer. I walked by there regularly, and it was great to see so many people of all ages working the gardens, but mostly meeting, talking, and sharing their time. This is what “community building” looks like.

1002, 1012, 1016 and 1020 Auckland Street: Consideration of Issuance of Development Permit
This was the issuance of a Development Permit for an 88-unit Townhouse and apartment project on a steep site in the Brow of the Hill. It meets the OCP designation for the site, exceeds the “Family Friendly Housing” policy requirements, was supported by the Design Panel, the Advisory Planning Commission, and went through a Zoning Amendment, consultation with the Brow of the hill RA, and Public Hearing.

728 and 734 Ewen Avenue and a Portion of 220 Campbell Street: Development Variance Permit and Development Permit to Allow a 37 Unit Townhouse Development – Issue Notice to Consider Issuance of Development Variance Permit and Issue Development Permit
This is notice that a DVP is required for a proposed Townhouse development in Queensborough. It will go to an Opportunity to be Heard on January 29, 2018. C’mon out and let us know what you think.

746 Ewen Avenue: Development Variance Permit and Development Permit to Allow a Residential Development with 30 Townhouse Units and Two Units in the Restored Heritage House to be Retained as Part of the Development – Issue Notice to Consider Issuance of the Development Variance Permit and Development Permit
This is also notice that a different DVP is required for a different proposed Townhouse development in Queensborough. It will also go to an Opportunity to be Heard on January 29, 2018. While you are here for the last one, you may as well also tell us what you think about this one!

The following items were Removed from Consent for discussion:

2018 Arts & Culture Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $30,000 for Arts & Culture Grants. We have a Committee appointed by Council to review and make recommendations for these Grants. We received requests totaling $33,449, and the Grant Committee recommended awarding a total of $30,000. Council approved.

2018 Child Care Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $40,000 for capital improvements to childcare facilities in the City. We have a Committee appointed by Council to make recommendations for these grants. We received requests totaling $27,386, and the Committee recommended awarding all requests. Council approved this recommendation.

2018 City Partnership Grant Recommendations
The City has a budget of $475,000 for Community Partnership programs. We have a Review Panel that reviews the programs and applications to make recommendations to Council. We received $602,000 in requests, and the Panel recommended $475,010 in grants be provided.

Council moved to approve these, but to also provide a partial grant for the Humane Society, and to give the ACORN application a second review. Both of those will come back to Council after a bit more info is gathered by Staff.

Recruitment 2018 Library Board Appointments
The Library Board exists under Provincial Regulation to make Library operation at arms-length from local government. This report provides the appointments for 2018. So moved (and Thank You to the volunteers who help assure New West has not just the oldest Library in the Province, but one of the most used on a per-capita basis).

New Westminster Urban Solar Garden Project Update and Next Steps
It looks like we have enough interest in the general public for the city to support this program. We are almost sold out of solar panels, but there may be opportunities to expand the program if interest exists. Contact Energy Save New West right away and give your planet some photo-voltaic love!

Mobility Pricing Independent Commission – Perspective Paper
Amongst all of the craziness in the regional transportation file, the Mayor’s Council still has an Independent commission looking at Mobility Pricing models, and collecting public input. The City put together a Policy Position you can read here. Short version: we need to use this tool to drive commuting patterns in the region so our limited road resource is used more efficiently, we need to think about the fairness across the economic spectrum, and we need to assure voices more diverse than represented on the Commission are heard.

We then did the Bylaws dance for the last time in 2017:

Five-Year Financial Plan (2017-2021) Amendment Bylaw No. 7938, 2017
This Bylaw to adopt the amendment to the Five-Year Plan as discussed at the beginning of this report was given three readings.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Accommodation for Youth in Foster Care and Youth Aging out of Foster Care) No. 7937, 2017
This Bylaw to support youth living in care and aging out of care, given Public Hearing in November, was Adopted. It’s the law!

232 Lawrence Street – Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 7956, 2017
This Bylaw to amend the OCP to support a future childcare facility on City land in Queensborough, as was given Public Hearing in November, was Adopted. It’s time to get building!

Development Cost Charge Reserve Funds Expenditure Bylaw No. 7970, 2017
This Bylaw to allow us to spend some of our DCCs on designated projects was adopted. Please adjust your behavior appropriately.

At that point, it was all over, except for some very regretful singing. Council will be back in action in January. Hope the holidays bring peace and relaxation to you and your family!

Council – Nov 27, 2017

Posted on December 2, 2017. by Patrick Johnstone. Leave a comment.

I got so busy reviewing the December 4th Council reports and ranting about roads, I totally forgot I haven’t yet blogged about the last Council meeting! It’s been a busy week…

The following seven (7!) items came to Public Hearing:

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Density Bonus Rates) No. 7947, 2017
Density Bonusing is one way that the City can legally (under the Local Government Act) raise revenue through development. There are varying rates based on the different market rates for development in Queensborough as on the Mainland, and depending on whether townhouses, low-rise apartments or high-rise apartments are being built.

New Westminster has done density bonusing since 2010, and did an update of the policy in 2014. Market conditions have, of course, shifted in the last few years, so it was time for an update in bonus rates based on current market conditions and increases in market value of new construction. Essentially, the City (and by proxy the residents who will benefit from this infrastructure investment) want to get their share of the profits.

This is one of the ways we, as a City, get developers and future residents to pay for amenities in the City, as all of the money collected from developers through this process is (by Council Policy) put into reserves with 30% going towards our Affordable Housing fund, 10% towards providing capital grants for childcare, 10% to fund our Public Art program, and the remaining 50% towards general amenity fund that goes into improving civic facilities and parks (via our 5-year capital plan).

We received no correspondence on this item, and no-one came to speak to Council on the topic. In the Council meeting immediately following the Public Hearing, we gave this Bylaw Third Reading and Adoption

Heritage Designation Bylaw (220 Carnarvon Street) No. 7958, 2017 and
Zoning Amendment Bylaw (220 Carnarvon Street) No. 7959, 2017
The property at 220 Carnarvon is a Romanian Orthodox church, but is listed in the City’s heritage registry as the Nidarose Lutheran Church, built in 1924. This proposal would add a heritage-sensitive addition to the church to put in a caretaker residence and meeting room space. This requires a rezoning and a Heritage Conservation Agreement.

This is a modest change to the building, essentially building over an existing parking area, and allowing for expanded programming by the Church. This project was supported by the Advisory Planning Commission and the Design Panel, and there were no concerns raised by the neighbourhood. Only the Proponent came to speak to the matter. In the Council meeting immediately following the Public Hearing, we gave these Bylaws Third Reading.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (800 Columbia Street Liquor Primary Licensed Premises) No. 7946, 2017
The CPR Station / Keg Building has been undergoing significant renovation, and a new restaurant/bar is planning to open in time for the Christmas Season. The owner’s plan is to have a restaurant (“food primary”) on the main floor, with a smaller pub (“liquor primary”) above. The second use is not compliant with the language of the current zoning, so this zoning amendment is required prior to the Owner going to the Liquor Licensing Board for a change to their license.

The Heritage Commission and the Advisory Planning Commission supported this application. We did not receive any correspondence on the topic, but there were two pieces of correspondence (one in favour, one opposed) earlier in the process that are part of the public record. No-one came to speak to Council on the matter.

In the Council meeting immediately following the Public Hearing, we gave this Bylaw Third Reading and Adoption. We then Moved the Resolution recommending the issuance of a Liquor Primary license.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (Accommodation for Youth in Foster Care and Youth Aging out of Foster Care) No. 7937, 2017
This change in the language of our Zoning law reflects a bit of a shift in how foster care and youth aging out of care are supported in our community. The current law creates a “two tier” system where a family can have as many kids in their house as fit, but if those youth are “in care” or have access to social supports through the Ministry in their residence, no more than 4 can live in a house. The proposed change would bring the zoning in line with other types of supportive housing, where the limit is on number of residents total, which would be limited to 12. That can include adults and youth, those in care and those not in care.

There is a value to levelling this paying field. Youth aging out of care have the highest risk of homeless, and organizations trying to address this issue need to be supported if we are going to make any headway on our regional homelessness crisis. The accommodation here is reasonable, not out of line with current City practice.

This topic was raised by a member of the Youth Advisory Committee at their meeting last week. After a considerable discussion, that committee’s moved the following unanimously (which was entered as correspondence, since it was moved too late to formally be addressed to Council):

“THAT the Youth Advisory Committee endorses the proposed changes to the Zoning Bylaw which would allow for a higher number of youth in foster care.”

We had one other piece of correspondence in favour of this change, and no-one came to Council to address the change. In the Council meeting immediately following the Public Hearing, we gave this Bylaw Third Reading.

232 Lawrence Street – Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 7956, 2017 and
232 Lawrence Street – Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7948, 2017
This project would help increase the number of childcare spaces in Queensborough, where there is an acute need, by offering a City-owned parcel near the Queensborough Community Centre for a not-for-profit to set up a childcare facility in a modular building. We need an OCP amendment and a zoning amendment since the lot is currently residential.

There are fewer than half the child care spaces per capita in Queensborough as in the other neighbourhoods of the City, and this is the place where so much of the new and relatively affordable family-friendly housing is being built in the City. It is great that our staff identified this need, and developed this strategy to help address the need.

(And, to point, this is an example of how the kind of amenity funds raised through Density bonuses mentioned above is used).

This project was supported by the Community Social Issues Committee, and the Advisory Planning Commission. We received no correspondence on the issue, and no-one came to address Council on the item. In the Council meeting immediately following the Public Hearing, we gave these Bylaws Third Reading.

In the Regular Council meeting immediately following, Council moved the following items on Consent:

Renewal of Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Areas – Results from Notification of Affected Property Owners
The City supports BIAs by providing them the process through which they support themselves. The BIA members democratically agree as a community to raise some collective money through a local tax on themselves, and spend that promoting the interests of the business community. The City collects the tax and hands it over to the BIA.

So much of the great things happening in our downtown are supported by this BIA assessment – the summer festivals, the work with Tourism to promote our downtown, and all forms of local business support. They have also recently completed a Strategic Plan which charts their growth into the years ahead.

The existing BIA agreement expires at the end of 2017 (it is 10 years old) and the BIA started the process to renew the agreement. At the same time, they are asking to increase their footprint to include retail spaces in the new developments on the waterfront, and to increase their rates a little bit to keep up with inflation.

The members of the BIA are asked to opine on this and of a total of 207 businesses, 4 expressed opposition.

Recruitment 2018: Appointment of Chairs to 2018 Advisory Bodies and External Organizations
Going in to the last year of our term, we are not making any major shifts of internal committee roles, although my year as alternate at Metro Vancouver is coming to an end.

Recruitment 2017: Economic Development Advisory Committee
We have a bit of a shift on this Council Advisory, as we have had a retirement. We will, however, replace that person as part of our regular recruitment process.

DCC Expenditure Bylaw No. 7970, 2017
Development Cost Charges are another way the City is able to get developers and new residents to pay for the cost of accommodating the growth that comes with development. These are charged based on square footage of new density, and are set aside to specific reserve funds to pay for specific capital needs resulting from the resultant growth.

This Bylaw allows us to release $5.4 Million in DCC money from their respective reserve funds towards specific projects outlined in our 5-year capital plan.

The following item was removed from Consent for a bit of discussion (and mugging to the camera, clearly):

Downtown Dog Relief Station
It appears the community is supportive of the little blue doggy bathrooms on Columbia Street, and it appears to have had some effect reducing the number of doggie bombs dropped on Columbia Street.

I wonder about the bright blue fence – as the vast majority of users are locals living nearby, and everyone with a dog by now knows it is there, can we look at a fence that better matches the surrounding street furniture?

Finally, we discharged with these Bylaws:

Development Cost Charge Reserve Funds Expenditure Bylaw No. 7970, 2017
As discussed above, this bylaw that allows release of DCC funds for capital projects was given third reading.

Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Area (Primary Area) Bylaw No. 7951, 2017 and
Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Area (Secondary Area) Bylaw No. 7952, 2017
As discussed above, these bylaws that expand the BIA area and set new rates for the BIA were adopted. This now being the Law of the Land. please adapt your behavior accordingly, and support the BIA business that support your community!

Engineering User Fees and Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 7968, 2017
As discussed on November 20th, this bylaw that sets rates for our various engineering fees for the year ahead was adopted. It’s now law of the land, at least until next year.

And aside from us formally adopting a request that the Mayor challenge the Mayor of Port Coquitlam to a poetry contest riding on the results of the Hyacks’ Championship game… we were done for the week.

Truth before Reconciliation

Posted on November 23, 2017. by Patrick Johnstone. 2 Comments.

We had a discussion at Council this week on the next steps for Truth and Reconciliation. As I noted in my Council Report, I didn’t support the staff recommendation to launch a Task Force to bring partners together and talk about an implementation strategy. I suggested that we may be headed down the wrong path, and need a bit of a gut check here on how we will engage this process.

First off, I want to make it clear I am not critical of the work staff have done so far, nor do I want this early course-correction to make it look like we are slowing the process or any less committed to it. Quite the opposite, I take to heart requests I have heard from members of our community that we go into this process with intention, and do it right. And that takes some explanation.

Every time we discuss reconciliation, I feel the need to put a big caveat before all of my comments: I am not a person who lived an indigenous experience. I recognize I have a whole bunch to learn about what that experience is, about what reconciliation means to people who have suffered under the residential school system and other forms of cultural repression that fill our history as Canadians.

Yet here we are, and with the best of intentions, I am another settler being asked to provide leadership over a process that is, fundamentally, not about my voice or my community.

Like many of my council colleagues, I attended an event a Douglas College last week where the intersections between local governments and the Truth and Reconciliation process were the topic. Again I left feeling that there is so much I don’t know, that I feel challenged in understanding where we even start. It was actually in discussions with participants after the event that some questions were framed for me in a way that got me to think about our path forward in New Westminster.

First off, we have a staff working group, charged with determining how our City’s internal processes and larger policies may need to change in order to fulfill our community’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. I think that is an important step, and within the structure of a local government, we need to do this. I have faith in our staff’s ability to interface our internal structures and regulatory frameworks with whatever comes out of the reconciliation conversation.

However, the proposed next step, forming a Task Force of internal and external people, first had me asking who would serve on such a task force, and what role does Council have on it. How would we decide on representation? Wait – why am *I* deciding on representation? Ultimately, this led to questioning if a Task Force is really the structure we want to use to answer questions – or even to raise questions.

One thing that has been bothering me since this Council opened the discussion about reconciliation is that every news story, every debate eventually ends up at talking about a statue. It seems that some think we need to deal with the statue, or take a few similar simple (but arguably very symbolic) actions like changing road signs, then the City can say we have done something and move on to worrying about roads and sewers and parks. And of course, the topic of the names of places becomes a rallying point for supporters and opponents of… well I guess what they support or oppose is pretty loosely defined, but “us” and “them” is at the heart of all of those arguments. It’s “their” statue, it’s “our” name, why do “they” not respect our position?

When I was discussing this the other day with a really wise friend, she asked me (and I paraphrase) what is reconciliation before we have truth? We need to first open up respectful discussion, and explore the truth of this community. Not about statues or place names, but about our experiences. To do that, we need to create spaces and opportunities for people to speak their truth. And those conversations may be very difficult.

As I was quoted (and again, I was paraphrasing someone smarter than me), a Task Force that meets once a month in an office and operates by Roberts Rules of Order in relation to a Term of Reference is about as colonial a structure as anyone can imagine. It is actually designed to avoid and get past difficult conversations in the interest of getting business done. The Witness Blanket visiting our community and the resultant conversations that happened at the Anvil and at kitchen tables around that installation, were a beginning to the conversation, but I don’t think the conversation is over. The bigger issue is – I don’t know how to write the continuation of that conversation into a Terms of Reference.

I don’t want to constrain those conversations with the wrong structure. We need know from the indigenous community what space they need to share their truth, and we need to allow settlers here in New Westminster, whether they arrived yesterday or are fourth generation, to equally share their truth. To be offended. To self-reflect. To learn.

We may end up putting together a Task Force at some point to make recommendations to Council, but we are not there yet. To get there, we need to get some people experienced in leading these conversations, preferably someone who has viewed this challenge through a lived indigenous experience, and ask them how best to connect with indigenous communities and the voices we often fail to hear. We need guidance on creating the space for that conversation. It may be here in New West, it may be somewhere else. It may be around a table, it may be around a fire. What is important is that we not ask our partners to fit into our space, or into our structure, The point is, I DON’T KNOW, and I argue few in the City do know.

So I moved that the Staff Working Group on Reconciliation seek an external consulting organization experienced in working on reconciliation dialogues to develop a communication and relationship-building process that all parties are welcomed to share their experience and their vision for reconciliation.

We are starting a journey here, and there is almost guaranteed to be bumpy points along the path, but we believe in the destination, and need to travel together.

Council – Nov. 20, 2017

Posted on November 22, 2017. by Patrick Johnstone. 1 Comment.

Our Council meeting on Monday was an emotional roller-coaster. There was some good news and some great discussions about the future of reconciliation, measuring our OCP, and empowering diversity in the City on the Agenda, but we started with a challenging situation where decisions have real human impacts.

Remedial Action Order – 509 Eleventh Street
This may have been the most emotionally challenging situation I have experienced at Council. A home in the Brow neighbourhood is in a serious state of disrepair, and our Bylaws and Buildings staff are of the opinion that it constitutes a risk to occupants and an offence to the neighbourhood. After almost 5 years of working with the owner and incremental enforcement, staff came to Council to ask for permission to legally Order the owner to take action, or to take action as a City in the owner’s stead to protect human health.

The process here is laid out under the Community Charter, and Council must act rather like a judge in a semi-judicial process: a case is made by staff and the landowner is allowed to respond to that case, and we are able to act based on the evidence we hear.

I was convinced by the evidence that the place is not safe for human occupation, and I was satisfied that staff have taken sufficient, even extraordinary, measures to help this landowner bring his house in to compliance. Unsightly is one thing, but this goes well beyond neighbourhood standards of unsightliness, there is a real human health concerns here, we need to protect our residents, the neighbourhood, and our First Responders if they should need to respond to an emergency here – that is our job as a Council, and as a City. We had to act.

This process brought no joy, and there really is no good outcome except the landowner fixing his house and making it safe for the person who lives in it. There is a real risk here of the person living in the house becoming homeless, but there is also a real risk of the person becoming seriously ill or being killed just by living in this space. I hope our social service agencies can provide the supports necessary to help the resident, and after the Remedial Action Order process was completed here, Council moved to request staff act to assure that the resident and homeowner have access to supports available to them.

The following items were Moved on Consent:

Update on the Downtown Transportation Plan
Our Transportation Group is updating the traffic plan for Downtown. This isn’t about re-writing the Master Transportation Plan, but about finding spot improvements and local strategies to help the goals of the MTP be achieved in the Downtown neighbourhood. These is a public consultation process going on here (including a workshop next week), so if you have opinions about traffic in the Downtown, follow this link.

2018 City Grant Programs – Allocation of Funds
Every year, we give out almost $1 Million to community groups through our various grant programs. Most of this money comes from General Revenue, some comes from dedicated funds (i.e. parking fees and electronic billboard income). The applications for 2018 Grants are already in, but Council needs to approve the grant allocations (up to $950,000 this year, an increase of a little more than 3% over last year) before we start the work of telling most applicants that there isn’t enough money in the kitty for every request to be filled.

Engineering Users Fees and Utility Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 7968, 2017
Back on November 6th, we reviewed Engineering Fees, and the proposed changes for 2018. This is the Bylaw that brings those changes into force. Council moved to approve this Bylaw for various Readings.

229 Eleventh Street: Proposed Rezoning to CD Zone to Permit Construction of a Duplex and Laneway House – Bylaw for First and Second Readings
Council moved to allow this project, which will bring some infill density to Brow of the Hill, to go to Public Hearing, so I will hold my comments until after that hearing.

430 Boyd Street, 350 and 354 Stanley Street and an Unaddressed Parcel of Land Fronting on Boyd Street: Issue Notice to Consider Issuance of Development Variance Permit and Issue Development Permit
Council moved to allow this project, which will bring some more townhouse development to the Queensborough neighbourhood, to go to Public Hearing, so I will hold my comments until after that hearing.

The following items were Removed From Consent for discussion:

Proposal for a Truth and Reconciliation Task Force
Staff proposed setting up a Task Force to guide the Reconciliation process that Council committed to earlier in the year. I moved instead that we take a slightly different path in bringing in some external guidance at this step. I have a bunch to say about this, and will save that for a subsequent blog post, because it isn’t a short discussion.

The short version borrows from ideas expressed by much wiser people in the community than me: we need to do this with intention, and do it right, and that requires us to be very thoughtful about the structures we use for conversation before we engage in conversation.

More to come.

Official Community Plan Implementation: Work Program for Endorsement
This was the first report of two for the evening that discussed the next steps in Official Community Plan implementation. It discusses how staff will track the changes in housing proposed in the new Land Use Plan to determine if we are achieving the goals of housing diversity we set out in the OCP. Staff will track projects for two years, and will track projects that may start but not be achieved, to determine what the barriers are to bringing more mixed density development on tap.

The appendix also reported on some policy work that staff is going to have to defer, simply for staff capacity reasons. This is frustrating, but a good reality check for Council – we are quick to suggest staff should do more things, are not so quick to recognize that we are a relatively small City will limited resources, and every new task delays other tasks.

My only concern (and I expressed this at Council) was the deferral of the development of a Short Term Rentals (read: AirBnB and VRBO) policies. I asked more than a year ago for this work to begin in the city, and I am not happy with waiting until after 2019 to address this issue. This is a fast-moving area, and with Vancouver recently implementing pretty restrictive rules, we are going to feel the force of this in our community sooner than we think.

As this issue is important an emergent, I asked staff to report back on the resources they need to make it happen, so we can have an open discussion about whether we want to spend that money, or are happy waiting.

Official Community Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Program
The other part of the OCP is the long list of policies and actions (aside from Land Use) that will move us towards the City we envision for 2040 and beyond. This report outlines the way we will assure the OCP isn’t another binder on a shelf, but is an active document that drives council and staff towards the goals the community placed the most value on.

Reporting out every 5 years on progress (at a timescale that makes OCP changes appropriate and manageable) and doing annual “updates” will provide accountability and transparency.

My only recommendation is that we think about structuring this reporting around a dashboard model, similar to the ones recently developed by Metro Vancouver. With a regularly-updated web dashboard, we can incorporate new data as it arrives, and make it public. This is also much easier to digest and share than having a report buried in a council package – as riveting as those may be.

Council moved to receive Correspondence:

Letter from Mayor Coté to the Board of Education, School District No. 40 dated November 10, 2017 regarding the Report from the May Day Task Force
The School District is currently engaging in a public consultation process around the May Day program. I have attended a meeting at the School Board, and heard much discussion about the topic in the community. Out of respect for the process the School District is working on, I am holding off on providing comments right now, other than this official correspondence Mayor and Council are sending to the District.

We then addressed the usual raft of Bylaws:

Zoning Amendment Bylaw (229 Eleventh Street) No. 7915, 2017
This Bylaw would make the zoning changes required to facilitate an infill density project in the Brow of the Hill. Council gave the Bylaw two readings. It will go to Public Hearing on January 29, 2018. C’mon out and let us know what you think.

Engineering User Fees and Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 7968, 2017
As discussed on November 6th, this bylaw that codifies the changes in engineering fees was given three readings.

Housekeeping Amendment Bylaw (Sign Bylaw) 7961, 2017
As discussed on November 6th, this bylaw that cleans up some language in our new Sign Bylaw was adopted. It is now the Law of the Land. Haven’t you seen the signs?

Housing Agreement (43 Hastings Street) Bylaw No. 7941, 2017
As discussed on November 6th, this bylaw that codifies the no-market supportive housing nature of the project on City land in the downtown is now the Law of the Land. Adjust your behavior as appropriate.

Engineering User Fees and Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 7964, 2017
Development Services Fees and Rates Amendment Bylaw No. 7967, 2017
Cultural Services Fees and Charges Amendment Bylaw No. 7965, 2017
Electrical Utility Amendment Bylaw No. 7963, 2017
These bylaws that make annual adjustments to various city fees, which were given three readings on November 6th, were adopted. Adjust your budgets accordingly.

Revenue Anticipation Borrowing Amendment Bylaw No. 7962, 2017
As discussed on November 6th, this bylaw that gives staff the flexibility for limited borrowing to cover short-term cash needs is now the Law of the Land.

Finally, we addressed a piece of NEW BUSINESS:

Motion on Notice: Diversity Mandate for City Committees
This initiative, brought forward by Councilor Trentadue and some ass-kicking members of our community, is not timely, it is overdue. At almost every level, our local government is run by people who increasingly don’t live the broader experience of the members of our community. From Residents’ Associations to Council Committees to elected positions, the political voice in our community is dominated by middle class middle aged white guys. Like me.

One way to shift that conversation is to assure we seek diversity on Council Advisory Committees. These committees not only bring ideas and experience to Council, they often provide a “training ground” in how local government works for people interested in running for Council or other levels of government.

So Council moved to support Councillor Trentadue’s motion, and we will be expecting Staff to provide us a Diversity Mandate to assure that Council Advisory Committees reflect the diversity of our community before the next recruitment round.

Patrick Johnstone

Fan of cities; Mayor of a great one.

Tag: New Westminster