May 5 Council In Focus

Parking, watercraft, budget issues make for a busy meeting

Resident concerns about potential parking regulation changes and watercraft storage led the large number of issues addressed in the May 5 regular Council meeting.

The first Council meeting of the month offered a 77-page agenda package which can be found HERE.

Council members were all present in person, with Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell attending online. Director of Operations Eric Villeneuve and Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff joined the table as needed.

Parking Concerns

The first public participation session of the evening was dominated by residents both online and in person, who voiced concerns with proposed parking changes.

Sunset Drive residents Judith Jordan, Hugo van Hoogstraten, Eric Ballart and others voiced concerns about selling driveway space as overflow parking for hikers, lack of parking space to accommodate tenants, and excessive traffic in areas where children are playing. Ballart said that as a resident of Sunset Drive he has experienced speeding, trespassing and verbal assault from visitors trying to find parking near the trail head.  

van Hoogstraten, the parent of young children, said he would like to see staff divert visitor parking to the gravel pit, and that he is opposed to increasing parking along residential streets in the Village. "I like to use the analogy of the highway," he said. "Many of you remember the old highway; it was two lanes. Make it four lanes, six lanes, there will always be more traffic."

Online, longtime resident Leslie Nolin compared the challenges Lions Bay is facing with parking to those faced by Deep Cove, and noted that in that case, community-wide discussion helped bring about practical solutions for their community. "I do believe we shouldn't wait until someone's child or pet gets killed before we address this.," she said. "I think we can solve this problem, I just think we've gone a little too far letting visitors deem what our bylaws are when taxpayers are not a part of that conversation."

Bayview Avenue resident Hilary Monfarad, who identified herself as a transportation engineer, spoke about the importance of listening to residents who are directly affected by the problem, and said a solution has to be one that works for the entire community. She noted that Village streets are collectively the largest shared space in the Village, and that a coordinated approach which also considers connectivity is essential.

Stephanie Leavitt said that as a resident of Mountain Drive, she is adamantly opposed to adding more paid parking. "This is one of the few straight streets that residents have for elderly people to walk and kids to learn how to ride their bikes and people walk their dogs," she said. "It feels like we are paving paradise to put up a parking lot."

Later in the meeting when the staff report on Parking Demand Management (page 39) was brought forward, all recommendations regarding increasing parking supply and adjusting parking restrictions were voted down. Council agreed to staff's recommendation to restructure and clarify the towing policy.

Sea-To-Sky rail corridor update

Northern Development Initiative Trust consultant Peter Scholtz returned with updates about changes to the North Vancouver-to-Prince George rail corridor. Scholtz last spoke before Council on February 17, when he addressed the importance of finding a public or private sector partner to take over the rail line from Squamish north to 100 Mile House when CN Rail steps away later this summer.

Scholtz said the process has been clarified, and if no qualified and interested parties are prepared to bid on the line by September, the section of track will be offered to the federal government to purchase.  If they are not interested, the track will revert to the province.

Scholtz also said that after polling all the First Nations with any proximity to the line, six Nations have signed a letter of interest, and one has promised to do so. Two local governments have decided to remain neutral in the process, but he says that all the other local governments have indicated support for keeping the railway. He says the province has indicated a strong support for keeping the railway but is concerned about the tight timelines involved.

Sometime over the next two to three years this section of track is due for upgrades that are expected to cost in the tens of millions, after which costs will go down considerably.

Columbia Rail is in the final stages of its due diligence and is confident on the long-term prospects of the corridor from Williams Lake to the Port of Squamish, as long as interchange functions at either end are fully supported. In addition, Scholtz says a number of other local railway companies have not ruled out future interest.

The outcome of an upcoming truckers mini-conference which will measure tonnages flowing between Prince George and Metro Vancouver will also have bearing on the decision, as drive-on, drive-off options could potentially become a part of the business model. This option offers shippers the opportunity of removing trucks from the road.

As federal funding and cooperation with the province will be essential, Scholtz says he has briefed local MP Patrick Weiler. And, in an interesting side-note, Scholtz says that he has run a "bikeway proof-of-concept ", which supports a 2022 Squamish Lillooet Regional District study calling for a high-level bike route along Howe Sound, with a trail running somewhere between 150 and 200 metres above sea level.

Scholtz closed by noting that the statements being made by local community members and councils are being heard, and he strongly encouraged Council to  clearly state any Village interests in the process.

Delegations

Resident David Udo addressed Council regarding reimbursement for permitted tree work he completed at his own expense last October near the beach park, which was, within a couple of months, completely removed as part of the Beach Park upgrade. (page 4)

Council members offered no contradiction to Udo's explanation, and said the matter would be discussed before a decision could be made. At the end of the meeting it was decided that a discussion would be held at the next Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting.

2026 Budget and Tax Rates

• Councillor Michael Broughton's proposed amendment to the 2026 budget (page 57) asking for a zero percent tax rate increase was voted down.

• When attention turned to discussing the proposed 2026 budget, (page 6) Councillor Neville Abbott noted that when looking at the actuals, there were several places where 2025 budget line numbers were exceeded. He also noted projected numbers were in several cases predicted to be lower than last year, which led him to believe that the same under-budgeting mistakes were being made in 2026. After further discussion, the motion to approve the 2026 budget passed, with Abbott voting against.

• The 2026 Tax Rates were given first, second and third reading. As the May 15 deadline for submission of budget and tax rates is fast approaching, a special council meeting and a COW meeting have been called for May 12 to complete this process.

Staff Reports

• CAO Ross Blackwell reported to Council that Firetruck #61 (the smaller pumper truck) has had recently required some $43,000 worth of repair work, with a further $60,000 needed in order to make it operable. He said the truck is currently out of commission. Because costs are beginning to mount, he said a decision has to be made as to whether to acquire a new truck, buy a used truck, or continue repairing the existing truck. Council agreed that Blackwell should seek out more information on each of these options for the upcoming COW meeting.

• Blackwell then unsuccessfully sought Council’s support on the establishment of a steering committee to help direct the refresh of the Village’s Official Community

Plan (OCP) and associated Zoning Bylaw review (page 33). After discussion, the motion was defeated. Blackwell said that without a Council-appointed steering committee, staff would seek out community support for the process.

• In response to the staff overview of the Municipality’s Bear Smart Designation (page 36), Abbott (Council liaison for the group) offered a few clarifications. He noted that since the Bear Smart committee is a community volunteer group and therefore not under the auspices of Council, they will drop the 'committee' designation and henceforth be known as the Bear Smart Team. He said that the Bear Working Group, which is unrelated to Bear Smart, was initiated by the Conservation Officer, and invitees include the CAO, a member of Bear Smart, a Councillor, the Director of Operations and a bylaw officer. After discussion, Council decided to to continue with the existing community-based working group model, which will continue to report to Council.

  
  

Beach Park Watercraft Storage

After a review of the history and importance of a kayak and paddleboard storage rack at the Beach Park, both Broughton (page 51) and McLaughlin (page 52) offered recommendations regarding the construction of watercraft storage. Following extensive discussion, Broughton's motion which called for a structure to house at least 60 watercraft to be completed by June 1 was defeated. McLaughlin's motion to gather a study group of involved residents to bring recommendations as to the construction costs, location and materials back to Council as soon as possible passed.

Correspondence

Public correspondence (beginning on page 59) opened with a letter from Li-Jeen Broshko, regarding nominations to the E-Comm 911 Emergency Team Board of Directors (page 60).

Council chose to nominate Mayor Mike Little, Mayor of the District of North Vancouver, to the ECOMM-911 Board of Directors for the 2026–2027 term.

A second letter came from Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson regarding the impacts on safe routes to school during year-round Daylight Savings Time (page 63).

Resident correspondence included:

• The call for a land-clearing bylaw from Seaview Place resident Brian (page 67). In response, Blackwell said a land-clearing bylaw would be an asset to the community. He agreed to take a look and bring information back to Council for discussion.

• A number of residents expressed their concerns regarding the replacement of watercraft storage racks at the newly refurbished Lions Bay Beach Park. These included: Doug Towill (page 68), Tamara Leger (page 69), former Beach Park Committee member Heather Hood (page 72), former Councillor Norm Barmeier (page 76), and Madeline Oziewicz (page 77). Council members thanked these residents for their thoughtful recommendations, which they said would be considered in the upcoming construction of new racks.

• In a second letter, Barmeier asked for clarification of which residents pay for the Kelvin Grove sewer system (page 70), based on confusing information provided in a taxation info-graphic in an April Village Update.

• Related, Chris Stevens asked about the math presented in the same tax info-graphic (page 71).

• Abbott made reference to the vast number of emails received this week (too late for inclusion in the agenda) addressing parking options offered by staff. (Story HERE). He thanked all the residents who contributed their opinions to the parking issue.

  
  

Other Items of Note

• In the Action Items Log (page 32), McLaughlin added a new item (376) asking for regular updates on the three ongoing water projects in the Village. Director of Operations Eric Villeneuve offered the following updates:

  • A proposal is out for a supplier of metering equipment, which is expected to close at the end of May.

  • Once a supplier is established, the installation will go out to tender on BC Bids. Villeneuve anticipates that installations should begin within two or three months.

  • The CUPP water main project is down to working out the last few details, and should go up for tender within the next month or two, with a closing date of six weeks after that.

• In the closing Public Comment period, Hilary Monfarad spoke to the value of residents' involvement in the Official Community Plan process, and suggested that the idea of a citizens' assembly, with participants gathered through a lottery process is very effective. She pointed to Gibsons as a successful example of this process.

The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for May 19, with the public portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

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