January 24, 2023 - Minutes

Date:

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Place:

Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Andy Hobbs

Also Present:

Councillor Laura Gillanders

Michael Wolfe (via teleconference)

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 Planning Committee held on January 10, 2023, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

RICHMOND SENIORS ADVISORY COMMITTEE 2022 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2023 WORK PROGRAM

(File Ref. No. 08-4055-01) (REDMS No. 7079916)

A brief discussion ensued with respect to safety presentation opportunities for seniors (e.g., internet scams, etc.).  Staff noted similar initiatives related to safety for seniors are a focus of the Seniors Strategy and, going forward, the Senior Advisory Committee will be part of the working group that is focusing on prioritizing the various initiatives which will be brought forward through the implementation of the Seniors Strategy.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Richmond Seniors Advisory Committee 2022 Annual Report and 2023 Work Program,” dated December 8, 2022, from the Director, Community Social Development, be approved.

CARRIED

2.

RICHMOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT 2022 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2023 WORK PROGRAM

(File Ref. No. 01-0100-30-ACEN1-01) (REDMS No. 7084758)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Richmond Advisory Committee on the Environment 2022 Annual Report, as presented in the staff report titled “Richmond Advisory Committee on the Environment 2022 Annual Report and 2023 Work Program”, dated December 13, 2022 from the Director of Policy Planning, be received for information; and

(2)

That the Richmond Advisory Committee on the Environment 2023 Work Program, as presented in the staff report titled “Richmond Advisory Committee on the Environment 2022 Annual Report and 2023 Work Program”, dated December 13, 2022 from the Director of Policy Planning, be approved.

CARRIED

3.

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION - DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING PERMITTING

(File Ref. No. 08-4100-00) (REDMS No. 7052196)

Staff provided a brief overview of the report’s key deliverables and ongoing activities, noting that the permit optimization project also builds on a number of other initiatives the City is already undertaking with respect to prioritizing and streamlining development approvals, e.g. concurrent application reviews prioritizing affordable housing projects.

A brief discussion ensued with respect to the timing for fulfilling application requirements.  Staff noted there is a process where any applicant wishing to submit a building, rezoning or development Permit application is invited to meet with staff in advance of the application submission which allows staff to identify some areas to be addressed (appropriate studies submitted, etc.) at the time of application, which does reduce the overall processing time.

In response to queries from the Committee, staff noted (i) one of the outcomes of the project is the creation of a client portal, intended to allow applicants real time access to detailed information that will help to identify any material that may be outstanding, (ii) an ongoing associated project is to have a number of checklists to ensure application submissions are complete and fulsome in terms of when they are received, (iii) the system is not currently designed to allow viewing of progress on other applicants’ applications, however a customer dashboard is planned to provide the number of applications under review, (iv) a monthly report is published on the City’s website that identifies all development permit applications currently under staff review, and (iv) beta testing, beginning with self serve uploading of permit applications on single family homes, with start in Q2, with building permit applications and development applications to follow.

It was moved and seconded

The report titled “Process Optimization - Development and Building Permitting”, dated December 15, 2022 from the Director, Development and the Director, Building Approvals be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Application Update

Staff reported that the non-farm use application endorsed by Council in September 2022, to allow for an addition to an existing secondary residence within the ALR for accessibility purposes, received ALC approval on January10, 2023.  The applicant has been advised and will be submitting a rezoning application to fulfill the next part of the process.

(ii)

NAV Canada Public Consultation Process Update

Staff provided a brief update on the current NAV Canada public consultation process for updating their airspace modernization project surrounding YVR, and noted that staff have been reviewing the proposed changes and determined at this point that there is no negative impact to building heights or noise contours.  It was further noted that there will be an online event to address community specific concerns for Richmond on January 26, 2023.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:21 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

_________________________________

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Councillor Bill McNulty
Chair

Lorraine Anderson
Legislative Services Associate