January 8, 2018 - Minutes
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General Purposes Committee
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Date: |
Monday, January 8, 2018 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair |
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Absent: |
Councillor Derek Dang Councillor Linda McPhail |
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. |
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MINUTES |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee held on December 18, 2017, be adopted as circulated. |
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CARRIED |
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DELEGATION |
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1. |
Tourism Richmond to present on Tourism Richmond’s strategy and destination branding. |
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Allen Chen, Chief Marketing Officer, joined by Ceri Chong, Manager, Industry Development, and Eda Koot, Chair, Tourism Richmond, with the aid of PowerPoint presentation highlighted Tourism Richmond’s 2018-2020 Strategy Plan and new destination branding. A video of Tourism Richmond’s new Brand Anthem was played for Committee. |
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In response to questions from Committee, Mr. Chen noted that Tourism Richmond is looking to develop further content in 2018 to go with the new destination branding. |
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COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION |
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2. |
Proposed Plan for Major Events in 2018 |
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It was suggested that the item be deferred to a special General Purposes Committee meeting to be held next Monday to allow staff to provide further information regarding the 2018 events and all Committee members to be in attendance. |
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Discussion then took place in regards to identifying additional information required for each event prior to the next meeting and Committee requested that further details regarding attendance and attendees, scope, and goals of the major events for 2018 be provided. |
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In response to questions concerning the proposed major events in 2018, Bryan Tasaka, Manager, Major Events and Film and Jane Fernyhough, Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services commented that: |
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the Canada Day event is proposed to be a one day event to focus on the July 1st celebration with more street-based activities and vendors; |
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the security and transportation management of the Canada Day event are fixed costs and the budget impact for reduced funding would be on programming and activities; |
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the Salmon Festival organized by the Richmond Agricultural and Industrial Society will be a one day event again in 2018; |
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there can be attendance issues for Canada Day events that span multiple days, if Canada day falls in the middle of the week; |
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under the Steering Committees’ proposed budget reduction, the Richmond Maritime & Wooden Boat Festival in 2018 would focus on wooden boat activities at a reduced scope from 2017; |
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the Sunset Series at the Oval has developed momentum over the years with a few hundred people in attendance and residents in the area anticipate the continuation of the event; |
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the Harvest Festival event held in 2017 was the first year for the event and there has been expressed interest in its continuation; and |
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staff will work with the organizer for the Cherry Blossom Festival in 2018 to provide necessary support and the event will most likely be held on April 8th. |
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As a result of the discussion, the following motion was introduced: |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That Item 2, “Proposed Plan For Major Events In 2018”, be deferred to a Special General Purposes Committee meeting to be held on Monday, January 15, 2018. |
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CARRIED |
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3. |
Major Events Advisory Group Terms of Reference |
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It was suggested that recommendations to come forward to the General Purposes Committee from the Major Events Advisory Group should include a clear indication of what staff have recommended and what the advisory group has recommended if there is a variance. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That a Major Events Advisory Group, comprised of up to four members of Council, be established to help guide Richmond’s Major Events as outlined in the report titled “Major Events Advisory Group Terms of Reference”, dated December 14, 2017 from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage Services; and |
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(2) |
That the Terms of Reference for the Major Events Advisory Group, as outlined in Attachment 1 of this report, be endorsed. |
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CARRIED |
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COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
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4. |
Update on Cannabis Regulation within the City of Richmond and Health Canada Proposed Approach to Regulation of Non-Medical Cannabis |
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Discussion took place regarding a staff referral for potential bylaw amendments and required infrastructure for the regulation of production, processing, and sale of marihuana and concern over the impact to agricultural land and food production. |
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In response to queries from Committee, Barry Konkin, Program Coordinator, Development and Cecilia Achiam, General Manager, Community Safety noted that (i) local governments maintain regulatory control over land use, zoning, and business licence requirements, (ii) marihuana production requires larger land and building provisions for processing and security than other greenhouse applications, and (iii) the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Use Regulation already allows for the production of marihuana for medicinal purposes on the ALR. |
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As a result of the discussion, the following motion was introduced: |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That the status update and process details for site-specific rezoning applications for medical marihuana production facilities be received for information; |
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(2) |
That the responses summarized in the staff report titled “Health Canada Proposed Approach to Regulation of Cannabis”, dated December 19, 2017, from the General Manager, Community Safety be approved for submission to Health Canada and that a copy of the staff report be provided to the Council/School Board Liaison Committee; |
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(3) |
That a letter be sent to the Premier (with copies to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, BC Leader of the Official Opposition, Leader of the BC Green Party, local MLAs, and local Members of Parliament) reiterating that the cultivation and processing of marihuana be considered an Industrial use to take place on Industrially-zoned land and not be considered a Farm Use; |
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(4) |
That a letter be sent to the federal government reiterating Council’s previous position that the municipal share of revenue be at least 50 cents per gram; and |
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(5) |
That staff report back to Council with bylaw amendments and information on required infrastructure and programs for the regulation of production, processing, and sale of cannabis (medical and recreational) in the City. |
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CARRIED |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (5:22 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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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, January 8, 2018. |
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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie |
Amanda Welby |