December 15, 2025 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, December 15, 2025

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au (entered the meeting 4:03 p.m.)
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Laura Gillanders
Councillor Kash Heed
Councillor Andy Hobbs
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Michael Wolfe

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  December 1, 2025 and the Special General Purposes Committee held on December 3, 2025, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

Councillor Au entered the meeting (4:03 p.m.)

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Building Our Future Together: Social Development Strategy (2025–2035)

(File Ref. No. 08-4055-01) (REDMS No. 8214348)

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) a condensed version of the strategy for partners and the website, (ii) a progress report on the strategy presented to Council every three years, (iii) high level actions that are subject to direction from Council and feedback from community, (iv) development of a concise companion guide which can be translated into different languages, (iv) the 73 actions and 5 strategies, and elaborating on strengths and areas of improvements, and (v) establishing baseline metrics.

In response to a query from Committee, staff advised that when the strategy is ready staff will provide Council with a list of partners that the Strategy will be shared with.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Building Our Future Together: Social Development Strategy (2025–2035) as outlined in the report titled “Building Our Future Together: Social Development Strategy(2025–2035)”, dated November 21, 2025, from the Director, Community Social Development, be adopted; and

(2)

That the Building Our Future Together: Social Development Strategy (2025–2035) be distributed to key partners and community organizations, federal and provincial ministries related to social development, local Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly, and posted on the City’s website.

CARRIED

2.

Bill M216, Professional Reliance Act

(File Ref. No. 12-8360-01) (REDMS No. 8239577)

In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) since the tabling of Bill M216, several other municipalities and associations have submitted letters to the Provincial government, all recommending withdrawal of the bill, (ii) the Bill's effect is to deny local governments the ability to evaluate permit applications for compliance with applicable codes, standards and bylaw requirements when submitted by a Professional Governance Act (PGA) professional, this would remove the technical oversight essential to ensuring building safety and compliance with building, engineering, environmental, and planning standards, and (iii) the proposed Act states that liability for permitted construction will be transferred to the PGA professional, information bulletins produced by municipal law firms indicate that, by virtue of issuing a permit, local governments will still have liability for damages due to the errors in a submission. 

Staff were directed to provide Council with Schedule 1 to the Professional Governance Act prior to Council consideration.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That a letter from the Mayor be sent to the Premier, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and all Richmond MLAs, conveying the concerns related to Bill M216 as outlined in the report titled “Bill M216, Professional Reliance Act”, dated November 27, 2025, from the Director, Building Approvals;

(2)

That the report titled “Bill M216, Professional Reliance Act”, dated November 27, 2025, from the Director, Building Approvals be forwarded to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM);

(3)

That staff submit concerns to the Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills for debate via the provincial government portal; and

(4)

That staff contribute to a joint communiqué of the Regional Permitting and Licensing Committee (regional chief building officials) for submission to the Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills.

CARRIED

FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES DIVISION

3.

Draft Richmond Tourism Master Plan 2035

(File Ref. No. 08-4150-03-01) (REDMS No. 8209758)

In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) staff will be reporting back to Council annually on the progress that is made under the Tourism Master Plan, (ii) the Tourism Master Plan is anticipated to guide development of tourism in Richmond over the next 10 years and will also form the basis of the City's next 5-year Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) application, (iii) the final version of the Tourism Master plan will be brought back to Council with an associated action plan, once endorsed by Council that plan will be promoted in a user friendly condensed version, (iv) the draft Tourism Master Plan will be posted on the project page of Tourism Richmond's website as well as on the City's Let's Talk Richmond platform, (v) this plan has been jointly developed by Tourism Richmond, the City, and the Richmond Hotel Association with extensive input from industry representatives, community members and other interest holders, and (vi) a survey will be developed and administered via Let's Talk Richmond to receive feedback on the draft plan and the key elements including the vision, goals, and strategic initiatives.

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) opportunities for partnerships with various groups, (ii) enhancing connectivity and accessibility, (iii) key tourist destinations and attractions in Richmond, (iv) improving seasonal visitation in Richmond, (v) insights on how Richmond can be promoted as a destination, and making a distinction between Richmond and Vancouver, and (vi) international partnerships and better use of the Sister City relationship through cross promotion.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the draft Richmond Tourism Master Plan 2035, included as Attachment 1 of the report titled “Draft Richmond Tourism Master Plan 2035,” dated November 27, 2025, from the Director, Business Services, be endorsed for the purpose of seeking public and interest holders’ feedback on the plan; and

(2)

That the final Richmond Tourism Master Plan 2035, incorporating feedback from the public and interest holders on the draft plan, be brought back to Council for consideration.

CARRIED

PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURE DIVISION

4.

Richmond Celebrates Soccer – Schedule and Funding Allocations

(File Ref. No. 11-7400-20-FIFA1) (REDMS No. 8217030)

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) the Signature Final event venue location, (ii) FIFA viewing rights and costs, (iii) breakdown of the City’s contribution of $200,000, (iv) Richmond youth soccer club involvement in FIFA events,  (v) consideration of Minoru Park for the Signature Final event, and (vi) policing costs.

In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) they are considering road closures west of Aberdeen Neighbourhood Park for the Signature Event to expand the park footprint, improve pedestrian access, manage traffic, and accommodate multiple shuttle locations. (ii) the business toolkit will provide guidance on how businesses can host FIFA events in alignment with FIFA guidelines, (iii) the program budget is $600,000, including $400,000 from Tourism Richmond and the Richmond Hotel Association, (v) the safety and security elements included in the event budget do not include policing costs, and (vi) that the OIC has indicated that he can provide security for the FIFA events program from his internal budget, based on the current event schedule.

Staff were directed to provide a breakdown of the City’s funding prior to Council consideration.

Staff were directed to bring back to Council the negotiated contract regarding funding with the Tourism partners for review and approval of the terms.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Richmond Celebrates Soccer schedule and funding allocations, as detailed in the staff report titled "Richmond Celebrates Soccer - Schedule and Funding Allocations", dated November 24, 2025, from the Director, Arts, Culture and Heritage be approved

(2)

That staff be directed to review and bring back additional information on:

(a)

potential event locations for the Signature event; and

(b)

policing budget; and;

(3)

That staff negotiate the potential contract between the parties and provide to Council prior to approval.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR CAROL DAY

5.

recording of council meetings

(File Ref. No.) (REDMS No.)

It was moved and seconded

That staff be directed to review the protocol for the audio and video recording of council meetings for the purpose of improving the quality of the recordings.

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) the quality of the audio and video recordings, (ii) technical issues during meetings, (iii) audio and video recording practices in place in other municipalities, and (iv) camera operations.

The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:21 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, December 15, 2025.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Raman Grewal
Legislative Services Associate