February 17, 2014 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, February 17, 2014

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Linda Barnes
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Harold Steves

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on Monday, February 3, 2014, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

DELEGATION

1.

With the aid of a visual presentation (attached to and forming part of these minutes as Schedule 1) Robin Silvester, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Tom Corsie, Vice President, Real Estate, Port Metro Vancouver, provided an overview of the Port’s activities and projects, as they relate to the City of Richmond.

In response to queries from Committee, Mr. Silvester and Mr. Corsie provided the following additional information:

§   

for the past four years, docked cruise ships have been using shore power – a land-based electrical grid;

§   

the Port is actively moving forward with bringing shore power to container ships; however, the lack of international standards has delayed the process;

§   

the Port is undertaking a preliminary study related to Sturgeon Banks and the issues surrounding the degradation of vegetation;

§   

the Port anticipates an annual container growth of approximately five per cent;

§   

there are no current plans to develop Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) lands in the Port’s land inventory;

§   

the Port’s use of the ALR lands would be contingent on the preservation and best use of industrial lands;

§   

the Fraser River Improvement Project is a multi-year program for the proper removal and disposal of derelict vessels or structures;

§   

the Port is actively monitoring the condition of vessels in the Fraser River, in an effort to keep owners accountable for their vessel should the vessel become derelict in the future;

§   

the Port will provide Council a copy of the list of derelict vessels or structures found within Richmond;

§   

issues at Finn’s Slough were not included as part of the concerns raised regarding squatters on Sea Island;

§   

the recent incident where a vessel ran aground along Richmond’s coast is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada;

§   

approximately 85 per cent of imports leave Deltaport by rail;

§   

Phase 1 of the Container Capacity Improvement Program, including nine railway crossing projects, is underway, and it is anticipated to be complete in the fall of 2014;

§   

the Port, in partnership with the City, has directed its efforts in the widening of Westminster Highway and Nelson Road; however, widening of Blundell Road may occur in the future;

§   

the funding model between local, provincial, and federal governments utilized for the Highway 91/Nelson Road Interchange has worked well and, as such, a similar funding model may be considered for future works, such as the widening of Blundell Road;

§   

as per the Port’s Land Acquisition Strategy, the Port considers factors, such as the cost, the size of the parcel, its access to both water and land, and its suitability for development, when analyzing potential parcels for acquisition;

§   

the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project was approved based on the following conditions: (i) the preparation of a Fire Safety Plan, and (ii) the installation of a complete emergency system at the plant;

§   

the Port welcomes opportunities to work with the City on safety related concerns;

§   

approximately half of the fleet servicing the Port have been equipped with Global Positioning System devices, which assist the Port with tracking the fleet and collecting information on routes used; and

§   

the Port has worked diligently to examine extending the operating hours for all port activities in an effort to minimize impacts to traffic flow during peak periods.

It was moved and seconded

That the verbal presentation on Port Metro Vancouver activities and projects related to the City of Richmond be received for information.

CARRIED

FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT

2.

Plaza Premium Lounge BC Ltd., doing business as Distinguished Visitor Lounge, Vancouver International Airport – International & US Arrivals
(File Ref. No. 12-8275-30-001/2014) (REDMS No. 4132679)

It was moved and seconded

That the application by Plaza Premium Lounge Ltd., doing business as Distinguished Visitor Lounge, for a Liquor Primary Licence at 3211 Grant McConachie Way, in order to offer full liquor service be supported and that a letter be sent to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch advising that:

(1)

Council recommends the issuance of the proposed licence based on the lack of community responses received and that the operation will not have a significant negative       impact on the community;

(2)

Council’s comments on the prescribed criteria (set out in Section 10(3) of the Liquor        Control and Licencing Act Regulations) are as follows;

(a)

the location of the establishment is zoned Airport District and since the property is under Federal jurisdiction, the City does not review or comment on business uses for zoning purposes;

(b)

the proximity of the proposed location to other social or recreational and public buildings was considered.  There are no public schools or parks within a 50 meter radius of the proposed liquor primary location;

(c)

that a LCLB application for a 59 person capacity operation with liquor service hours of 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. was considered;

(d)

the number and market focus or clientele of liquor primary licence establishments within a reasonable distance of the proposed location was considered;

(e)

the potential for additional noise in the area if the application is approved was considered;

(3)

as the operation of the establishment as a liquor licensed establishment might affect      nearby residents the City gathered the views of the residents as follows:

(a)

a letter was sent to the Vice President of Community & Environmental Affairs at YVR requesting that a letter of notice of a new liquor primary licence establishment be circulated to other business operations at YVR;

(b)

signage was also posted at the subject property and three public notices were published in a local newspaper.  This signage and notice provided information on the application and instruction on how community comments or concerns could be submitted;

(4)

Council’s comments and recommendations respecting the views of the resident’s are as follows:

(a)

there were no responses to all the public notifications and based on the lack of        any responses received from the community, Council considers that the       application is acceptable to the majority of the community, residents and businesses in the nearby area.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:42 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Monday, February 17, 2014.

_________________________________

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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Heather Howey
Committee Clerk