October 7 Council In Focus

Gargantuan agenda sets tone for scattered, chaotic meeting

For the second time in two months, Council members this week were faced with a gargantuan agenda — this one 461 pages long, edited down from the original 464 page version that was posted on Friday.

The original agenda contained a report from Mayor Ken Berry calling out members of Council on absenteeism, which appeared to have been removed from the agenda prior to the meeting.

With all Council members present in person, and a gallery that reached 25 attendees both in person and on line, Councillor Ron McLaughlin set to work to pare down the list of tasks. But even with his efforts, the meeting still clocked in at a marathon three hours and 14 minutes.

New Building Bylaw

After the much-altered agenda was adopted, Ralph Hildebrand, a solicitor from Village representatives Lidstone and Company was introduced by Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ross Blackwell. The agenda was altered so that Hildebrand could speak first, in order to keep down the costs to the Village of having a lawyer on the line.

Hildebrand addressed Council on the subject of the draft Building Bylaw (page 220).

In his presentation, Hildebrand noted that the existing bylaw fails to meet contemporary building standards, and said in such a case it was "better to start fresh". He said he worked extensively with staff to tailor the bylaw from a draft template designed to meet the needs of villages and towns. The goal was to produce a bylaw that addresses liability issues with building and registered professional approvals, as well as with slopes and retaining walls, and to ensure construction aligns with Geotech and other required reports.

Later in the evening Blackwell brought forward the newly rewritten building bylaw for first reading. Further discussion was moved to the next Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting.

Regional Context Statement

In the public participation session, Village resident and former councillor Marcus Reuter addressed his concerns about the newly rewritten Regional Context Statement (RCS, page 432).

He reminded Council of "the months of good work and robust public consultation council and staff did just three years ago, in which over 500 residents took part, which led to Metro Vancouver’s approval of our OCP amendment and rural designation—outside the Urban Containment Boundary (UCB) — and our new Regional Context Statement that supports Metro 2050."

He noted that a key goal of Metro 2050 is to create compact urban areas inside the UCB, but that Lions Bay does not lay within that boundary.

Later in the meeting, CAO Blackwell brought forward the RCS, which Council agreed could be scheduled for a public consultation.

In response, Councillor Neville Abbott raised his concerns (page 432) regarding the revisions, echoing Reuter's earlier contention that staff had erroneously made the corrections and updates to the 2016 version of the RCS, which had already been revised to meet Metro specifications in 2022.

Abbott pointed to the description of that process which is found HERE on the Village website.

In his report, Abbott noted that small communities are required to allow secondary suites or one accessory building, and as such, secondary suites have been permitted in Lions Bay since 2011.

He added that Lions Bay’s classification as a rural community using septic systems means it does not meet the threshold for mandatory densification under the Standards Supporting Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing legislation.

He suggested that the updates be made to the 2022 version before being presented to the public for consultation.

Tree Management

Discussion grew heated on the subject of the Village Tree Management Policy (page 7) when Abbott suggested they cancel the policy and instead make required changes to the bylaw.

Councillor Jaime Cunliffe suggested the policy is holding residents to a higher standard than the Village, agreeing it needed to be changed, and McLaughlin concurred. Abbott noted that Lions Bay has a strong history of environmental stewardship, which has meant the Village has done things differently.

Blackwell noted that the changes in the new bylaw are essential in the eyes of Village insurers, and are necessary to protect the community from litigation.

In the end, Cunliffe's suggestion that staff review the bylaw so that the double standard between expectations for residents and the Village be addressed passed, and it was agreed to include the topic in the upcoming strategy session.

A tree application (page 340) made by the residents of 340 Oceanview Road was approved, subject to a survey being conducted to confirm the ownership of the trees in question.

Bylaw Amendments

• Public hearings will be scheduled for two amendments to Zoning and Development bylaw 520, both of which had been discussed at last week's COW meeting. The amendments address the wording around setbacks (Bylaw 650, page 15), and short-term rentals (Bylaw 641, page 20) and will be presented for public discussion at an upcoming date to be announced.

• Draft bylaw 651 addressing subdivision servicing (page 32) was introduced by the CAO and was given first and second reading.

• The oft-discussed Garbage and Recycling collection bylaw amendment (page 140) was brought forward and given second reading. A third reading was postponed until after further information and discussion can take place at a future COW meeting.

• Deputy Corporate Officer Kristal Kenna brought forward an amendment to the existing Fees bylaw (page 166), which was adopted.

Peak Season Bylaw Enforcement Report

Bylaw Enforcement Officer Taj Bindra gave a report (page 215) of bylaw enforcement during the 2025 peak season, which was defined as May 1— September 30. Bindra said the team addressed 116 bylaw complaints, up from 69 last year. He noted a large increase in parking violations, with 2,109 tickets issued, up from 557 in 2024.

The ticketing system change from FloBird to Payby Phone at the beginning of last year has proved to be better for both staff and users, and Bindra noted there has been a large increase in revenue generated by pay parking.

He said 1,206 outstanding parking violations (including from past years) have now been forwarded to Wiggins Adjustments collection agency, who will take a percentage of recovered fines. In response to a question from Cunliffe, Bindra agreed to look into the process of forwarding unpaid fines to ICBC.

Staff Reports

• The 2023 Annual Report (page 278) was presented, 16 months after its' due date of June 30, 2024.

• Chirkoff presented the 2024 Financial Statement, for which Council granted approval.

• Much discussion arose around Kenna's presentation of a draft calendar for upcoming meetings in October and November (page 421). A schedule was agreed upon, and will be made public in due course.

• Director of Operations Karl Buhr brought forward a time-sensitive issue regarding the repair of the Magnesia Creek access road (page 423). Buhr noted that the road is currently in terrible shape, washes out every winter, is down to bedrock in places and is damaging to Village vehicles. Council has budgeted $40,000 to repair the access road, and Buhr says that the Village has been offered access to free recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) that has been made available by Miller Capilano. He was seeking Council's endorsement for the use of RAP, which he said would be properly treated, compacted and rolled in winter, and would set up over the course of 2 years. After discussion it was decided that using RAP was not worth the environmental cost of introducing crushed road by-products (including oil and micro-plastics) into the forest.

• Council agreed that the $28,000 raised in memory of Erin Moore, (the little girl who died while hiking above the Village ten years ago) would support the cost of building the playground, which is to be named in her honour.

UBCM Followup

The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) meetings were held in Victoria in September. Back in July, The Watershed reported that, after a presentation on costs from Deputy Kristal Kenna, a decision was made that for cost reasons, Abbott would be the sole representive of council at the event, along with the CAO.

Abbott offered a follow-up UBCM report (page 434), as did Councillor Michael Broughton (page 439). Abbott pointed out that in spite of the original budget being set, Broughton attended sessions over two days.

Abbott expressed surprise that Broughton was attending, and said he only learned of it when he saw Broughton on the ferry over. He also asked Mayor Berry why emailed information regarding specific meetings was withheld from him, when he was expecting to attend the event as the Village's only member of Council.

Abbott asked staff that a breakdown of expenses for the UBCM be made available to Council.

Emergency Services

Fire Rescue Dispatch Report (included with correspondence on page 456):

In August, Lions Bay Fire Rescue (LBFR) attended 15 incidents, with 27 uses of apparatus and 64 members attending. Average turn-out time for the month was 9:04, average travel time was 12:52 and the average time on scene was 61.:21.

Correspondence

Public correspondence (beginning on page 443) opened with a letter from Lydia Mulford regarding parking.

Others included:

• The City of Pitt Meadows regarding increasing funding for agriculture (page 444).

• Cathy Peters regarding human trafficking (page 449).

• West Vancouver Mayor Marc Sager regarding directives from the Minister of Housing (page 450).

• Minster of Children and Families regarding Foster Family month (page 454).

• Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs regarding the Development Approvals

  Program (page 455) .

  
  

The only correspondence from a local resident was a letter from Greg Banta regarding an amendment to the garbage bylaw that would require residents to place their items for collection in front of their own property. (page 460).

Other Items of Note

• Prior to the initial closure of the meeting at 6 p.m., Mayor Ken Berry asked Lidstone to comment on the validity of waiving a utility bill for a Village resident, as he felt it was of interest to residents. Lidstone responded that while he'd dealt with similar questions for other municipalities, his contract with Lions Bay stipulates that any legal advice he offers needs to be either at an in camera meeting or in the form of a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Berry's question remained unanswered, at least in the public domain.

• Minutes from the September 8 meeting of the Board of Variance (page 429), outlining changes required in the siting of the Lions Bay Beach Park structure were presented.

• Cunliffe will take over the set-up of a Volunteer Appreciation event (page 355) and will bring more information to the next meeting.

  
  
  
  

Public Participation, Questions & Comments

In addition to the earlier comments made by Marcus Reuter, two other residents addressed Council.

In the opening session, long-time resident John Phillips, acting chair and treasurer of the Lions Bay Senior Circle (LBSC), spoke about the 10th anniversary of the LBSC and the value of volunteering. He highlighted the significance of Tai Chi, noting the importance of inclusivity within the group, as well as the gains in strength, flexibility and social interaction. He said that Lions Bay has a long tradition of volunteering, and that by talking about it, we keep it going.

In the closing session, former councillor Norm Barmeier, who identified himself as a long-term resident and nature lover who honours the Official Community Plan's (OCP) commitment to protecting the natural setting, spoke in support of amendments to the RCS and OCP. He noted that adding one or two rental units inside existing single-family homes — like secondary suites or accessory dwellings, as long as they fit the lot’s water and septic limits and provide sufficient off-street parking — would help meet the goals of Bill 44’s small-scale housing rules while still following the OCP’s focus on rural characteristics, respecting the natural setting, and limiting development, He urged Council to open the public hearing to "honest feedback" from residents.

The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for October 21, with the open portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m. The next COW meeting is expected to take place October 9 at 7 p.m.

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