March 23, 2016 - Minutes

Date:

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Chak Au, Chair
Councillor Harold Steves, Vice-Chair
Councillor Derek Dang
Councillor Ken Johnston
Councillor Alexa Loo

Also Present:

Councillor Carol Day

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 Public Works and Transportation Committee held on February 17, 2016, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

April 20, 2016, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Provincial 2016/2017 BikeBC Program Submission
(File Ref. No. 01-0150-20-THIG1) (REDMS No. 4925480)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the submission for cost-sharing to the Province’s 2016/2017 BikeBC Program for the River Drive multi-use pathway, as described in the report, titled “Provincial 2016/2017 BikeBC Program Submission” dated February 23, 2016, from the Director, Transportation, be endorsed; and

(2)

That, should the above application be successful, the Chief Administrative Officer and the General Manager, Planning and Development, be authorized to execute the funding agreement.

CARRIED

2.

ICBC-City of Richmond Road Improvement Program – Proposed Projects for 2016
(File Ref. No. 01-0150-20-PSAF1) (REDMS No. 4930626)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the list of proposed road safety improvement projects, as described in Attachment 2 of the staff report titled “ICBC-City of Richmond Road Improvement Program – Proposed Projects for 2016,” dated February 25, 2016 from the Director, Transportation be endorsed for submission to the ICBC 2016 Road Improvement Program for consideration of cost sharing funding; and

(2)

That should the above applications be successful, the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager, Planning and Development be authorized to negotiate and execute the cost-share agreements, and that the 5-Year Financial Plan (2016-2020) be amended accordingly.

CARRIED

3.

On-Street Motorcycle and Moped Parking
(File Ref. No. 10-6455-00) (REDMS No. 4928549)

The Committee expressed support for the proposed amendment to the Traffic Bylaw.

Donna Chan, Manager, Transportation, confirmed that only motorcycles and mopeds that are registered, licensed and insured would fall under the new definition of “Motorcycle” or “Moped” under the amended Traffic Bylaw and not be subject to fines for parking within six metres of an intersection.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That on-street motorcycle and moped parking spaces located within six (6.0) metres of the far side of an intersection where on-street parking is allowed be established in the City Centre Parking Management Zone and the Steveston Village core; and

(2)

That staff be directed to bring forth an amendment to Traffic Bylaw No. 5870 to enable implementation of on street motorcycle and moped parking spaces as described in the staff report dated January 26, 2016, from the Director Transportation.

CARRIED

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION

4.

Annual Flood Protection Report 2015
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-04-01) (REDMS No. 4903067 v. 3)

In response to queries from the Committee, Lloyd Bie, Manager, Engineering Planning, and John Irving, Director, Engineering, provided the following information:

§   

The geotechnical survey for investigation into the construction of the dike on Steveston Island will commence in the next few months

§   

An application to secure the water lot to the east of Steveston Island will be made in the future

§   

The sea level rise will continue to be monitored

Mr. Bie confirmed that developers are required to pay for the entire dike improvements that are adjacent to the development. New developments are currently being built with the first floor level at or above sea level.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Annual Flood Protection Report 2015” (dated March 1, 2016, from the Director, Engineering) be received for information.

CARRIED

5.

Water Use Restriction Bylaw Amendment
(File Ref. No. 10-6650-01) (REDMS No. 4918606 v. 4)

In response to queries from the Committee, Lloyd Bie, Manager, Engineering Planning, provided the following information:

§   

Water parks with automatic shut-off valves will be permitted to continue to operate during Stage 2 restrictions

§   

The proposed amendment to the Stage 2 restrictions would allow residential pressure washing

§   

Staff recommends that the Stage 1 restrictions be activated on
May 15, consistent with Metro Vancouver’s Water Shortage Response Plan

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Metro Vancouver Water Shortage Response Plan amendments, as outlined in the “Water Use Restriction Bylaw Amendment” report, dated March 10, 2016 from the Director, Engineering, be endorsed; and

(2)

That Water Use Restriction Bylaw No. 7784, Amendment Bylaw No. 9530 be introduced and given first, second and third readings.

CARRIED

6.

2016 Clothes Washer Rebate Program
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-01) (REDMS No. 4909410)

In response to a query from the Committee regarding the availability of funds for the City to offer rebates throughout the year, Lloyd Bie, Manager, Engineering Planning, advised that he would contact BC Hydro to clarify the rationale for the gaps between the spring and fall campaigns.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the City of Richmond partner with BC Hydro to the end of 2016 to offer rebates of up to $200, equally cost shared between BC Hydro and the City, for the replacement of inefficient clothes washers with new high efficiency clothes washers;

(2)

That the scope of the existing Toilet Rebate Program funding be expanded to include clothes washer rebates; and

(3)

That the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager, Engineering and Public Works, be authorized to execute an agreement with BC Hydro to implement the Clothes Washer Rebate Program.

CARRIED

7.

Steveston Dredging Update
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-01) (REDMS No. 4929465 v. 4)

In response to queries from the Committee, Mike Redpath, Senior Manager, Parks, and Lloyd Bie, Manager, Engineering Planning, noted the need to dredge the adjacent areas of the channel simultaneously with the Steveston Harbour Phase II dredging.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That funding for a 33% share of Steveston Harbour Phase II dredging costs plus $66,467, for a total of up to $516,500, be approved;

(2)

That funding for a 33% share, up to $60,000, of No. 1 Road Strip dredging costs, be approved;

(3)

That $400,000 in funding for complimentary dredging from the east edge of the Imperial Landings floats to the east edge of Britannia’s Shipyards floats, be approved; and

(4)

That the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager, Engineering and Public Works, be authorized to execute agreements with the appropriate parties to facilitate the dredging work.

CARRIED

8.

Paris Climate Agreement and BC Climate Leadership Plan Update
(File Ref. No. 10-6125-07-02) (REDMS No. 4934692 v. 3)

The Committee discussed the impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and the jet fuel project on the ability to meet the BC Climate Leadership Plan goals and the reduction in the consumption of natural gas for heating due to the changing climate and the associated environmental benefits.

The Committee suggested ideas to engage the public in taking ownership of solutions to climate change including:

§   

Public dissemination of the information contained in the report

§   

Promoting individual actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as walking, cycling and utilizing transit

§   

Initiating an education/public awareness campaign

§   

Engaging school-aged children

§   

Creating awareness of the City’s sustainability initiatives

§   

Using major events as a vehicle to bring the message to residents e.g. Canada’s 150^th anniversary of confederation event.

Peter Russell, Senior Manager, Sustainability, advised that he would consider the suggested options in the development of a recommendation to Council.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Paris Climate Agreement and BC Climate Leadership Plan Update” dated March 4, 2016 from the Director, Engineering be received for information.

CARRIED

9.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Art on Manhole Covers

Eric Fiss, Public Art Planner, and Romeo Bicego, Manager, Sewerage and Drainage, circulated mock-ups of the art that will be incorporated on manhole covers.

(ii)

TransLink Fare Policy Review

Donna Chan, Manager, Transportation, advised that TransLink is undertaking a review of their fare policy and will be engaging the public in consultations. TransLink will provide a report at the end of the two-year review process.

(iii)

Bus Shelter at No. 2 Road/Moncton Street

The Committee advised that a resident had requested that a shelter be installed at the No. 2 Road/Moncton Street bus stop.

Donna Chan, Manager, Transportation, advised that this request would be added to the priority list for shelters given the large number of seniors using that particular bus stop. In response to a query from the Committee, Ms. Chan noted that there are internal guidelines for prioritizing requests for bus shelters, which includes criteria such as the number of boardings per day and the characteristics of the users.

(iii)

Grease Management

In response to questions from the Committee, Robert Gonzales, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works reported that a number of measures are available to manage the amount of grease entering the sewer system. An analysis is currently being undertaken on the amount of grease found in the sewer system and potential solutions. A report will be provided to the Committee upon completion of the analysis.

There was discussion regarding the enforcement of the City’s Drainage, Dyke and Sanitary Sewer System Bylaw with respect to the management of grease and the education of the public to divert grease to the organics stream.

Mr. Gonzales responded to questions regarding the uses for the grease that is collected and options for recycling.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:41 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Chak Au
Chair

Carol Lee
Recording Secretary