September 16 Council In Focus

Residents voice multiple concerns

Council may have faced a shorter agenda at 94 pages for Tuesday's meeting compared to 300-plus pages on September 2, but residents were out in force to ensure that their concerns on a number of different fronts were heard.

Apart from Councillor Ron McLaughlin — who sent his regrets — all Council members were present in person at the table, along with Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell.

The gallery topped out at 15, both in person and on line.

Snow and Ice policy

In the public participation section at the top of the meeting, Sunset Drive resident Betty Birrell showed up in person to voice her concerns regarding the wording of the new snow removal policy. "It would be really great if you folks could re-address this or reword it," she said. "It doesn't make sense that you've put streets on the highest level in the Village on the last priority for snow clearing." She noted how the upper streets of the Village often have heavy snow in the winter, even when there is little or none down by the Village Office.

Blackwell responded that that the policy is not a bylaw, but an operational policy that Public Works relies on to codify what they already do. "It's about managing risk," he said. "There's no change."

Birrell replied that the wording of the new policy needs to be changed as it does seem that the policy has changed priorities.

Long-time Sunset Drive resident Sharon Skibinski also expressed her concerns. "We're scared," she said, referring to the possibility that her road would only be cleared as resources permit. "I'm so worried, I am getting another vehicle in the next day or two; a four-wheel drive Jeep Rubicon. That's how serious it is."

In addition to the speakers who showed up in person, a letter was received from Mountain Drive resident Gail Craig (page 94), also asking Council to consider changing the wording of the new policy.

Public Works Director of Operations Karl Buhr reiterated his stance from the last meeting. "The new policy only puts in writing how Public Works already removes snow in the Village," he said.

“The fundamental purpose of snow removal is to provide access for emergency services, and that informs the stated street priorities, which are the same we use today."

He added that there should be no expectation that Works can ensure all residents can access all roads all the time, especially while it is snowing, "but we sure try."  He said the “as resources allow” clause is to avoid liability if the team are short people or equipment.

"But with the usual three plows running, Public Works expects to pre- and post-salt and remove snow fast enough to prevent accumulation everywhere in the Village."

“If there is no snow on a primary road, we will not plow it, nor will we wait until there is before plowing secondary and tertiary roads," he added. "That would be stupid. If there is snow on any road we are coming, within the limits of resources."

Buhr also said that Public Works doesn't need to be notified of a snowfall. He said they are always "months, weeks and days ahead" of any forecasted precipitation.

Councillor Neville Abbott spoke in support of readdressing the policy wording, and Mayor Ken Berry said resident concerns meant that the topic would be added to the agenda for the October 7 Council meeting.

Development Variance Permit Concerns

Long-time resident Dennis Welch returned to speak to Council regarding his concerns for the approval of the Development Variance Permit (DVP) for 405 Bayview Road. Welch opened with an apology for venting at the previous Council meeting, saying he had been unaware at the time that he needed to sign up to speak, and therefore had been unable to register his objections to the project before it was passed by Council.

Welch said he sees this project as a move into laneway housing, and that the project approval feels rushed. He asked that the project be put on hold until he and other neighbours have had a chance to voice their opinions. Councillor Michael Broughton noted the importance of ensuring residents are better informed as to how to participate in the process. Abbott said he agreed with Welch that a precedent is being set with this decision, and put a motion forward to reconsider the question at the next meeting, however the motion was defeated.

Blackwell suggested that reconsidering the decision is a bad idea, as it opens the Village up to litigation. He said he had provided Council members with a detailed explanation of the process via email. Councillor Jaime Cunliffe asked that this information be provided to the public, which Blackwell agreed to do.

Later it was noted that a letter was also received from resident Jennie Klopfer, expressing her concerns regarding the wording of the DVP issued for 405 Bayview Avenue.

Public Artwork

Ute Philips, President of the Lions Bay Arts Council (LBA), called in to address the question of two upcoming art projects in the Village. She noted that the LBA has a 15-year record of providing arts and culture opportunities for Lions Bay and that they have the skills and experience to execute and deliver on these projects.

With regard to the underpass mural, she explained LBA's decision to not to proceed with the initial artists, as their price had come in a great deal over budget. She said LBA continues to have an interest in facilitating an exceptional mural within a more modest budget and is investigating various options to do so.

Regarding the artwork for the Lions Bay Beach Park (LBBP) facility, she noted that the LBA had received an email from Councillor Ron McLaughlin in response to LBA's letter expressing interest in the project to Council. McLaughlin said they should seek out estimates to do the work and return to Council with the results. Philips said this process is underway, and the LBA will also then be able to give more details regarding the process for completing the project.

Staff Reports

• Blackwell presented the amended Garbage and Recycling Collection Bylaw (page 5). After discussion it was decided to table second reading until the next Council meeting in order to accommodate a staff meeting with the Conservation Officer Service later this week.

• Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff presented an updated overview of the Beach Park Revitalization Project financials (page 15). After a brief discussion of the wasted funds spent on previous designs that were later rejected, Councillor Jaime Cunliffe asked that the work of many residents over the past decade to get the project in place be recognized.

• Deputy Corporate Officer Kristal Kenna presented the updated Fees Bylaw (page 24). Kenna said the bylaw has not been updated in a long time, resulting in many changes, most of which are handled by Public Works. Blackwell said that municipalities have a legal obligation to ensure that fee structures are not income generators, and clarified that fees are not fines. There was discussion about parking fees, which Cunliffe noted should be the same, regardless of location. The motion carried and the bylaw was given three readings.

• Blackwell offered an explanation of (page 64) the proposed updates to the Regional Context Statement (RCS) in the Village Official Community Plan (OCP). Blackwell said that his edits did not change the substance of the statement, but just "tidied it up". He added that accepting the new wording will ensure compliance with provincial requirements while deferring a comprehensive update to the next full OCP rewrite. Abbott made a motion that this item be withdrawn from the evening's agenda for further study, citing Lions Bay's withdrawal from Metro Vancouver's Urban Containment Boundary in 2022, however his objection was unsuccessful. The motions to grant first and second reading to the updated RCS and to schedule a public hearing both carried.

• Staff asked Council to authorize a dedicated budget of up to $30,000 (page 80) to complete the required sewage disposal system modifications at LBBP. After discussion of Council agreed to authorize the requested amount.

Emergency Services

Fire Rescue Dispatch Report (included with correspondence, beginning on page 87):

In August, Lions Bay Fire Rescue (LBFR) attended 15 incidents, with 24 uses of apparatus and 75 members attending. Average turn-out time for the month was 7:14, average travel time was 7:28 and the average time was 80:33 minutes on scene.

Correspondence

In the absence of public correspondence (beyond the Surrey Regional Fire Report, noted above) resident correspondence opened with a letter from Jennie Klopfer (page 91) expressing her concern regarding the wording of the Development Variance Permit for 405 Bayview Avenue.

Others included:

• A letter from Norma Rodgers, chair of the Bear Smart committee, regarding the committee's proposal to change the 5 a.m. garbage placement to 7 a.m. (page 92)

• Gail Craig wrote asking Council to reconsider changes to the Snow and Ice policy (page 94).

• A second letter from Norma Rodgers, suggesting modifications to the proposed garbage and recycling bylaw amendments (page 93). Cunliffe noted these changes will be discussed at the next meeting.

  
  

Other Items of Interest

• Tamara Leger, long-time organizer of Lions Bay House Concerts, addressed Council regarding the recent reorganization of the Village Hall kitchen into storage space. She noted that this area has traditionally been used as a private area (a green room) for performers, which she stressed is a contractual requirement for touring performers. For the recent August concert event, Leger was directed to use the small upstairs Historical Society room as an alternative, with additional fees waived. However prior to the evening's meeting, Leger was informed this courtesy would not be extended for the upcoming November event. She pointed out to Council that the Village had signed a contract, guaranteeing space for a green room. In response, Blackwell stated that in this case, the event will be accommodated in the upstairs room as with the August event, but going forward, any similar special requests would have to be addressed to Council.

• Kelvin Grove resident Mark Shelnitz spoke to Council about the importance of connectivity in the Village, and said that there is a "once in a generational opportunity" to connect Kelvin Grove and the central part of the Village with a walking trail. He said that in the past, the property owners on Oceanview Road had rebuffed his efforts to create such a trail, but that the new owner was amenable to the project. Members of Council were universally supportive of pursuing some form of connection between Upper Kelvin Grove and Upper Lions Bay, noting the interest shown by the local Trail Blazers group in such a project. It was agreed this initiative should be a Council priority.

• Regarding the Action Log of unfinished items (page 4), Abbott noted that many items on the log are more than a year old, and asked that a clean-up of the log be put on the next meeting's agenda. Discussion arose around Item 341, as to whether it might be possible to get help rewriting bylaws from articling law clerks. Blackwell explained the process would be too complex and expensive, and said he is endeavouring to bring forward the most pressing items first, and "managing that against staff time and cost". The cost of obtaining such help would be separate from but additional to the costs for all the other legal items that the village is currently dealing with, which are already well over budget.

• Mayor Berry did not report any information out of the closed portion of the meeting, which was listed on the agenda as pertaining to litigation or potential litigation affecting the community. At several points in the meeting, reference was made to the massive overspending on this year's legal budget. Later in the meeting, Berry moved that staff release as detailed a statement of recent legal expenses as possible, and this motion carried.

After just under two hours, the meeting was adjourned. The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for October 7, with the open portion of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

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