The final council meeting of January is shaping up to be a busy day for members of New Westminster city council.
The day begins at 9 a.m. with a special council workshop dedicated to the 2023 budget, including service enhancements that are being requested by various departments. It will also include a look at the potential property tax impact. (The agenda for this meeting is not yet online.)
At 1 p.m., council will have a closed meeting.
A public hearing is set for 6 p.m., when one item is on the agenda: an application to protect the 1911 G.R. Speck House at 109 Third Ave. with a heritage designation bylaw. If approved, any future changes to the exterior of the house and some interior features would require a heritage permit and approval from the city.
Following the public hearing, council will reconvene – and deal with a hefty agenda that includes consideration of the heritage designation bylaw from the public hearing, a number of reports from staff and motions from members of council.
Items on the consent agenda – which are approved in one motion unless a council members pull an item out of the consent agenda and deal with it separately – include:
* Changes to the terms of reference of the accessibility advisory committee (increasing the number of committee members to 13 voting members) and to the community heritage commission (increasing the number of members by one)
* A construction noise bylaw exemption request related to the Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment project at 330 East Columbia St. EllisDon Design Build is requesting an exemption to the bylaw from 8 to 11 p.m. an average of three times per month, Monday to Friday, from Feb. 2 to Oct. 31, 2023, as well as from 7 to 9 a.m. on Saturdays from May 6, 2023 to May 4, 2024, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays. The exemptions are requests so it can pour and surface concrete slabs at the site.
* A development cost charge (DCC) expenditure bylaw, which authorizes the expenditure of $1,138,654 from the city’s DCC reserves for Queensborough drainage, sanitary sewer and parkland development, as well as mainland transportation and parkland development. A staff report states “the city incurred expenditure on a number of DCC projects provided for the five-year financial plan” in 2022, and in accordance with legislation, a bylaw is required to expend funds from DCC reserves.
“Although the total balance of DCCs is a net positive, it should be noted that the Queensborough (QB) drainage DCC will now be at $0 and the QB transportation DCC is at an overdrawn position of $2 million,” said the report. With the adoption of the new DCC rates bylaw last August, the city anticipate more DCC charges will be collected, which helps bringing the balance back to a positive position. In the interim, payment from the QB transportation DCC and QB drainage DCC is paused and will resume when the balance returns to a surplus position.”
* Appointments of community members to the city’s accessibility advisory committee, the advisory planning commission, the community heritage commission and the New Westminster design panel.
* Rozzini’s Restaurant on Ewen Avenue in Queensborough is seeking support for its application to amend its food primary liquor licence by including patron participation. It hopes to provide entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m., which is a change from the 6 to 11 p.m. hours it had previously proposed. After receiving feedback about the proposal – including some concerns about potential noise impacts on neighbours – the applicant proposed the new reduced hours for the entertainment.
Child care, recovery and homelessness
Monday’s agenda also includes a report about a renewed child care protocol between the City of New Westminster and the New Westminster School District, which would “set a framework for closer collaboration” regarding the development of new and the retention of exiting child care spaces. The report includes a recommendation that council direct staff to forward a letter to the school district formally inviting them to jointly develop a renewed child care protocol (updating the original protocol that was developed in 2009).
The staff report stated that several recent events have precipitated the need to renew the protocol, including the school district’s announcement that it needed to reclaim space in downtown schools, currently used by two non-profit child care facilities, for classroom spaces.
“The rationale for a renewed child care protocol would be to re-establish a commitment between the city and school district towards collaborative planning, efficient use of resources, and responsiveness to community needs, related to licensed child-care spaces within their control,” said the report.
On the development front, council will consider a zoning amendment bylaw for 228 Seventh St., where the Westminster House Society hopes to build a two-storey detached accessory building. The first floor would contain lobby and office space, food storage and laundry and washroom facilities, while the second floor would contain additional office and administrative space and a non-commercial staff kitchen.
Westminster House Society has operated a residential substance treatment and recovery centre in the Brow of the Hill for decades. No public hearing is required to be held as part of this application.
Information items
Council’s agenda also includes two reports for information – and update on plans to address homelessness and a status update on the city’s public engagement strategy.
Monday’s agenda also includes a report for council’s information about work on 24 actions that is proposed in 2023 as part of the Homelessness Action Plan. The plan, adopted in July 2022, included 46 actions the city could take on a number of fronts, such as meeting the diverse needs of the unsheltered and precariously housed, ensuring that facilities, programs, services and supports are responsive to those needs, and eliminating or significantly reducing barriers to access.
The staff report outlined a number of items that are proposed as part of this year’s action plan, including: $32,800 for Homelessness Coalition coordination services; $20,000 to advance “social benefit” zoning; $10,000 for an anti-stigma campaign; and $3,000 for tenant education and information sessions; $35,000 to cover administrative costs of the New Westminster rent bank program; $27,000 for enhanced outreach services.
“Additionally, $650,000 has been allocated for a 24/7 free-standing, prefabricated toilet; and this expense is contained in the 2023 capital budget,” said the report. “All funding is to be approved by council as part of the 2023 budget approvals process, and any actions requiring funding that are not approved by council will not proceed.”
A status report on the public engagement strategy said all but three of the 35 actions included in the public engagement strategy, adopted in late 2016, have been complete or are underway or ongoing.
“The work of authentic, equitable public engagement is never finished, and many of the actions outlined in the strategy require sustained effort,” said the report. “In addition to the actions outlined in the strategy, there are opportunities for continual growth and improvement of the city’s engagement activities, such as working to include more community voices, and trying new/different engagement techniques.”
Motions abound
Six motions being put forward by councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas are being presented for discussion at Monday’s meeting:
* Mitigating traffic and transportation issues and improving pedestrian safety on Ewen Avenue. The motion is to have staff seek feedback, as part of the Queensborough transportation plan, from local residents and businesses regarding their interest in the installation of a new pedestrian-activated crossing at the corner of Wood Street and Ewen Avenue.
* Increasing year-round usage of city park spaces through the installation of additional all-weather tracks as part of the capital plan. The motion is to have staff identify the funds necessary to undertake a planning and community consultation process to determine the feasibility of prioritizing an all-weather field in Ryall Park in Queensborough.
* Requesting an update from local MLAs regarding a 2020 election commitment to provide a free bus service to Queensborough students. The motion is to have Mayor Patrick Johnstone write to Richmond-Queensborough MLA Aman Singh and New Westminster MLA Jennifer Whiteside to request a meeting with councillors Tasha Henderson, Nadine Nakagawa and Fontaine (school board liaisons) regarding the status of the provincial government’s 2020 campaign commitment for a free bus service to New Westminster Secondary School for students in Queensborough.
* Halting the city’s rebranding exercise. This motion is to have staff cease work on any corporate-wide rebranding projects, through to Dec. 31, 2024, to “reduce the potential burden to residential and commercial taxpayers.” It’s related to the previous council’s approval of a motion to begin the process of updating the city’s logo and phasing out the use of the “Royal City” moniker in its branding.
* Clarifying matters related to notice of motion in the council procedure bylaw. This motion would have staff report back on the practice of “notice of motions” put forward by council – suggesting there has been an “apparent discrepancy” between how the bylaw is interpreted and how it had been applied by the past council.
* Investments in new pedestrian infrastructure to support the city’s active transportation network in Queensborough and reduce our carbon footprint: The motion asks staff to incorporate a new two-year, 50/50 matching grant pedestrian improvement pilot program into the 2023 budget that will support Queensborough residents wishing to accelerate the covering up of ditches with sidewalks. The motion also calls on the city to use $300,000 from the city’s climate action reserve fund to fund this pilot project and to have staff seek funds from senior levels of government to offset or match the city’s contribution to the proposed pilot program.
In addition to these motions from council, three “notices of motions” are included on the agenda and intended to be considered at the following council meeting.
*Coun. Ruby Campbell is putting forward a motion concern partnership opportunities with the Gurdwara Sahib Sagar, noting it has been proven to be willing to assist in times when emergency issues arise. The motion is that New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services explore emergency management partnership opportunities with the Gurdwara Sahib Sagar to support the emergent needs in Queensborough.
* Councillors Fontaine and Minhas have presented a motion about increasing safe access to the Fraser River for residents and tourists. The motion includes several components, including: asking staff to report back to council on opportunities to provide increased direct access and connectivity to the Fraser River; identifying opportunities and possible funding sources to plan and develop additional user-pay pleasure craft moorage on the waterfront; having staff identify the costs, challenges and opportunities of establishing a walkable link along the waterfront between Sapperton and Westminster Pier Park; and having staff report to council on the budget and possible sources of funding and resources that would be required to undertake this work.
* Councillors Fontaine and Minhas are proposing a motion related to improving the local economy by better connecting Douglas College students, faculty and staff with New Westminster’s business districts. The motion is that council refer a “Study and Stay” campaign to the economic development advisory committee for discussion and action as appropriate.
