March 17, 2020 - Minutes

Date:

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Chak Au, Chair
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Linda McPhail
Councillor Michael Wolfe

Absent:

Councillor Kelly Greene

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 19, 2020, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

April 21, 2020, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

The Chair requested an update to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and staff provided the following information:

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the Province has declared a Public Health Emergency and has closed all schools;

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a City state of emergency would allow the City to expedite acquisition and delivery of resources; however such a state has not been initiated;

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the City has not seen elevated levels of staff absenteeism;

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garbage collection in the city is anticipated to proceed as normal;

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there is currently minimal impact to on-going City maintenance and construction works; however staff will prioritize activities as required;

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staff are encouraged to work from home if possible and to stay home when sick; and

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active construction and maintenance sites are secured when not staffed; and

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residents are encouraged to access City services remotely such as through the RichmondBC mobile app.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Quadricycle Business – Proposed Bylaw Amendments to Permit Permanent Operation 
(File Ref. No. 12-8275-06) (REDMS No. 6400125 v. 5)

In reply to queries from Committee on the proposed quadricycle route, staff noted that an extension of the route to include other heritage sites in the Britannia Shipyard area is possible.

Discussion ensued with regard to acquiring feedback from businesses in the area and informing the operator of proposed route extensions, and as a result, the following motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the quadricycle route options as proposed in the staff report “Quadricycle Business – Proposed Bylaw Amendments to Permit Permanent Operation”, dated January 31, 2020, from the Acting Director, Transportation, be extended to include Steveston Heritage sites.

CARRIED

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That Business Licence Bylaw No. 7360, Amendment Bylaw No. 10145, to add a definition of a quadricycle operation, be introduced and given first, second and third reading;

(2)

That Vehicle For Hire Bylaw No. 6900, Amendment Bylaw No. 10128, as amended, to add regulations and requirements for the operation of a quadricycle, be introduced and given first, second and third reading; and

(3)

That Consolidated Fees Bylaw No. 8636, Amendment Bylaw No. 10143, which quantifies the Vehicle for Hire business fee for a quadricycle operation, be introduced and given first, second and third reading.

CARRIED

2.

ICBC-City of Richmond Road Improvement Program – 2020 Update 
(File Ref. No. 01-0150-20-ICBC1-01) (REDMS No. 6372030 v. 3)

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 – 2020 Update,” dated January 23, 2020 from the Director, Transportation, be endorsed for submission to the ICBC 2020 Road Improvement Program for consideration of cost-share funding; and

(2)

That should the above applications be successful, the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager, Planning and Development be authorized to execute the cost-share agreements on behalf of the City, and that the Consolidated 5 Year Financial Plan (2020-2024) be amended accordingly.

CARRIED

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION

3.

Mitchell Island Environmental Stewardship Initiatives Update 
(File Ref. No. 10-6175-04-01) (REDMS No. 6397888 v. 7)

Discussion ensued with regard to (i) monitoring air quality, soil and runoff from the island, (ii) monitoring non-compliant land owners and the potential issuance of fines, and (iii) acquiring grant funding for the initiative through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Mitchell Island Stormwater Infrastructure Feasibility Study proposed within the staff report titled “Mitchell Island Environmental Stewardship Initiatives Update”, dated February 20, 2020 from the Director, Sustainability and District Energy, be endorsed and a funding application to conduct a feasibility study be prepared and submitted to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund; and

(2)

That the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager, Engineering and Public Works be authorized to enter into funding agreements with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities should the project be approved for funding, as outlined in the report titled “Mitchell Island Environmental Stewardship Initiatives Update”, dated February 20, 2020, from the Director, Sustainability and District Energy, and that the Consolidated 5 Year Financial Plan (2020-2024) be amended accordingly.

CARRIED

4.

Proposed South Arm Jetty Tidal Marsh Project: Provincial Land Tenure Application 
(File Ref. No. 10-6150-11-01) (REDMS No. 6423982)

It was moved and seconded

That, for the purposes of environmental enhancement and consistency with the City’s Flood Protection Management Strategy, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Provincial Land Tenure Application for a 30 year lease, as identified in the “Proposed South Arm Jetty Tidal Marsh Project: Provincial Land Tenure Application” report dated March 3, 2020, from the Director, Sustainability and District Energy, be endorsed.

The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with regard to (i) the proposed project’s potential impact to existing marshland and loss of animal habitat in the area, (ii) flood protection and erosion mitigation benefits of the proposed project, and (iii) terms of the proposed land tenure application.

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that the City is not obligated to provide comment on the project and that the recommendation focuses on the proposed land tenure application for a 30 year lease and not a general endorsement of Port of Vancouver activities.

As a result of the discussion, the following amendment motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

That the word “endorsed” be replaced with the word “supported”.

CARRIED

The question on the main motion, which reads as follows:

That, for the purposes of environmental enhancement and consistency with the City’s Flood Protection Management Strategy, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Provincial Land Tenure Application for a 30 year lease, as identified in the “Proposed South Arm Jetty Tidal Marsh Project: Provincial Land Tenure Application” report dated March 3, 2020, from the Director, Sustainability and District Energy, be supported.

was then called and it was CARRIED.

5.

MANAGER’S REPORT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:35 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 Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

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Councillor Chak Au
Chair

Evangel Biason
Legislative Services Coordinator