March 17 Council In Focus

Doubleheader meeting covers old ground

Council members celebrated St. Paddy's Day this year without a single green beer in sight. Instead, they held two meetings open to public participation and one closed, beginning at 6 p.m. and running through until 8:30 p.m.

When the open portion of the first regular meeting began, all Council members were present in person, with the exception of Councillor Michael Broughton. Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell joined members at the table for the marathon session. A gallery that maxed out at seven residents attended, both in person and on line.

The evening's very brief agenda was swiftly adopted, with a single addition by Councillor Jaime Cunliffe.

Portable Water Filtration and Highway Safety

The principal focus of the regular Council meeting was a brief update from Councillor Neville Abbott on the efforts to secure portable water filtration facilities for small communities in emergency situations, such as after a wildfire.

Abbott made reference to the recent news story, covered HERE, that reaffirmed the risk of ground water contamination as a result of chemicals used to fight wildfires, and noted that this has been a concern of the Village Infrastructure Committee (IC) for many years.

Abbott said he had made contact again with the colleagues he spoke to at last year's Union of BC Municipalities meetings. After discussion, it was decided to prepare a letter restating Council's concerns and request an update from the affected provincial Ministries.

Cunliffe asked staff to coordinate a meeting of West Vancouver, Whistler, Squamish, and Lions Bay mayors, along with the Chair of the Squamish Lillooet Regional District with a focus on improving safety standards of Highway 99. Council supported this recommendation.

Committee of the Whole

Committee of the Whole meetings are intended to allow for more fulsome discussion of sometimes complicated issues, and this evening's agenda featured three items for discussion that had all arisen in previous meetings.

Proposed Zoning Bylaw Amendments

Council addressed a number of amendments to the current lot size, zoning and development bylaws (page 8).

These bylaws amendments were first brought forward in January, receiving two readings at the time.

Blackwell suggested that the amendments are required as the language in the current bylaw is not legally compliant, and is establishing a standard that the current bylaws cannot deliver.

After an extensive discussion of minimum lot sizes, Blackwell noted that a number of other issues beyond size can limit the ability to subdivide a lot, including topography, sewage disposal, septic fields, geo-technical soundness, room for a driveway and others.

Discussion addressed the value of creating a Development Cost Charge (DCC) bylaw, a statutory tool set out in the local government act that directs a developer to pay for improvements to local infrastructure. Blackwell noted that at an average rate of $25-30,000 per single-family home, DCCs can have a much greater impact in communities that are regularly building large, multi-family dwellings. In smaller communities such as Lions Bay, DCCs can't generate enough money to gain a significant community benefit, and the funds that are generated are earmarked for a specific purpose and can't be stockpiled toward a larger community benefit.

Council agreed to a resolution to proceed to a public hearing as the next step in the process of amending these bylaws.

Barbara and David Enns Memorial Garden

Blackwell offered a report (page 63) he had brought forward at a February council meeting addressing technical, legal, planning, and operational issues regarding the creation of a small memorial garden near the end of Brunswick Beach Road. He raised concerns that Council needs to address, including inviting public consultation, land-use designation, public safety site assessment, municipal standards and maintenance implications.

Councillor Ron McLaughlin said he will work with staff to complete further due diligence on the project.

'Alternative Means of Publication' options addressed

At the February 17 meeting of council, Deputy Corporate Officer Kristal Kenna introduced the requirment for a new bylaw to establish compliant alternative means of publishing statutory public notices and to provide for optional and emergency notification methods in accordance with the Community Charter.

Council discussed further options for these alternatives, prior to an anticipated third reading at the next regular Council meeting. After extensive discussion, Council recommended approving the Village Update, local online publications and a mail drop as the three alternative options. Berry, stating his strong opposition to the possibility of The Watershed being included among the options, was the sole vote against.

Parking Plan

Director of Operations Eric Villeneuve joined the table for the ongoing discussion of the details and scope of a proposed parking plan for 2026.

Cunliffe stated the extreme need for enhanced parking management and traffic management, and asked for investigation into a permitting process.

Blackwell said that any investigation of this depth is not included in Council's strategic plan, and staff are currently too busy with items that are to undertake a study of this kind.

Nevertheless, staff were asked to take a look at what can be done in terms of increased enforcement and signage and bring the results back to council.

Other Items of Note

• Minutes from the January 26 COW meeting were approved with minor editorial changes.

• In the closing session, long-time resident Dierdre Bain suggested the post office bulletin board as a possible alternate publication location, but Kenna noted that it is already considered one of the two public posting spaces (the other being the bulletin board near the Village Office).

The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for April 7, with the open portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

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