June 11, 2019 - Minutes
|
Community Safety Committee
|
Date: |
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 |
|
Place: |
Anderson Room |
|
Present: |
Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair |
|
Also Present: |
Councillor Chak Au |
|
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 Community Safety Committee held on May 14, 2019, be adopted. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE |
|
|
|
July 9, 2019, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room |
|
|
|
COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
|
|
1. |
Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report - April 2019 |
|
|
|
|
In reply to questions from Committee, staff advised that: |
|
|
|
|
§ |
previous to this year, staff had not received complaints regarding smoking infractions; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff follow up on overnight parking calls and issue tickets regardless if it’s a resident parking or an individual staying in their vehicle overnight; |
|
|
|
§ |
cases where an individual is found to be staying overnight in their vehicle are forwarded to the Ministry and vulnerable persons unit with the RCMP; |
|
|
|
§ |
adjudications set for June 11th were a mix of animal control violation tickets and parking tickets; |
|
|
|
§ |
enforcement officers have been instructed to put more emphasis on maintenance around vacant properties which may explain the increase in unsightly premises complaints and enforcement staff do self-generate these calls; |
|
|
|
§ |
the grease calls for service comparison in Figure 2 of the staff report is the year to date average for all years up to April of that year; |
|
|
|
§ |
enforcement of sign violations have been stable since the adoption of the new Sign Regulation Bylaw in 2017; |
|
|
|
§ |
three temporary canvassers for dog licencing patrols have recently started and through the summer staff will focus more enforcement on dogs; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff are in the process of writing a report to Committee regarding short term rentals; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff are following up on all complaints regarding short term rentals and have been proactive in their approach; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff investigate each short term rental listing which could include multiples listings for one property and is investigated on a case by case basis as violations must be caught in the act; |
|
|
|
§ |
since the new regulations related to bed and breakfasts were instituted, staff proactively follow up on every listing found not just complaints; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff are coming back with recommendations, including a registration system and resource requirements, however booking companies will need to cooperate with the City to combat illegal short term rental listings; and |
|
|
|
§ |
staff actively investigate blatant illegal postings for short term rentals however staff require further follow up for multiple listings including locating the addresses. |
|
|
|
Discussion ensued regarding (i) a resolution from Council from the previous May 14, 2019 Committee meeting concerning more assertive enforcement of short-term rentals, (ii) instituting a proactive approach in investigating bylaw infractions, and (iii) requiring registration information to be posted on any advertisements for short term rentals if registration requirements were implemented. |
|
|
|
|
As a result of the discussion, the following motion was introduced: |
|
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
|
That bylaw enforcement staff move from complaint based to proactive investigations on all bylaw issues. |
|
|
|
|
The question on the motion was not called as discussion took place on (i) further rules and refinement for short-term rentals, (ii) a public registry for short term rentals, and (iii) implementing advertising requirements for short term rentals. |
|
|
|
|
The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED. |
|
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
|
That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – April 2019”, dated May 8, 2019, from the General Manager, Community Safety, be received for information. |
|
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
2. |
Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report - April 2019 |
|
|
|
In response to queries from Committee, Jim Wishlove, Deputy Fire Chief, commented that (i) a significant number of applicants applied to the firefighter posting and 101 candidates will be invited to complete physical testing next week with approximately 70-75 to be interviewed for hiring this year and next year, (ii) overdose/poisoning is a dispatch grouping and may or may not be a fentanyl related call, (iii) Richmond Fire-Rescue staff have not recently used Narcan in any calls for services, and (iv) tall grass on boulevards does present a fire risk particularly as the weather becomes drier and hotter. |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – April 2019”, dated May 15, 2019, from the Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, be received for information. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
3. |
FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Structural Protection Unit Trailer |
|
|
|
Mr. Wishlove provided an update regarding the deployment of the Structural Protection Unit Trailer noting that Richmond Fire-Rescue has completed staff training and the unit is now deployable and available for use as a resource. |
|
|
|
4. |
RCMP Monthly Activity Report - April 2019 |
|
|
|
|
Will Ng, Superintendent, Officer in Charge, spoke to the April 2019 RCMP Monthly Activity Report noting that (i) there has been a dramatic reduction in property crime due to intentional visibility in intelligence led locations based on crime data, (ii) late night road blocks at Vancouver International Airport and throughout the city have been successful in capturing impaired drivers and other violations, (iii) there was a slight increase in sex offences, however there were no trends or patterns related to relational offences or assaults, (iv) there continues to be a rise in calls for mental health services with over 200 year to date, and (v) RCMP staff are working on scheduling for increased support to address the increase in mental health calls for service. |
|
|
|
|
In response to questions from Committee, Supt. Ng advised that: |
|
|
|
|
§ |
crime prevention newsletter is currently available to block watch members and could be made available in community centres in Richmond; |
|
|
|
§ |
residential break and enters includes any incident that enters the physical boundaries or threshold of the residence and property taken on the property is classified as theft from property which can be provided in the future; |
|
|
|
§ |
an online crime reporting tool for smaller offences will be launched next month with Richmond serving as a pilot municipality; |
|
|
|
§ |
RCMP staff are currently exploring real time crime mapping; |
|
|
|
§ |
number of calls in Richmond for substance addiction or mental health has no direct correlation with people moving into the area but there has been an increase in mental calls for services for people coming off of international flights and there are also chronic mental health clients with up to 30% calls for one client alone; |
|
|
|
§ |
just waiting for letter from Ottawa for approval of 19 officers approved for this year and then RCMP staff will start advertising those positions and hope to populate by the end of this year; and |
|
|
|
§ |
RCMP staff attended Iona beach this past weekend and registered 58 bicycles. |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
|
That the report titled “RCMP Monthly Activity Report – April 2019”, dated May 14, 2019, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information. |
|
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
5. |
2018-2019 RCMP Annual Performance Plan Fourth Quarter (January 1 - March 31, 2019) |
|
|
|
Supt. Ng reviewed the quarterly RCMP performance plan report and commented that (i) last year set a goal of 2% reduction property crime however statistics are currently still 2% over for the year, (ii) the Cannabis Act led to a reduction in charges for cannabis and trafficking and made an impact on RCMP’s ability to meet drug offence targets, (iii) had a dramatic increase in calls for mental health service than years previous, and (iv) this year RCMP are looking at reduction in property crime and are currently on target and to meet targets to reduce organized crime, RCMP staff are looking to introduce new initiatives on combating money laundering as well as focus on wraparound services to assist with clients with complex needs. |
|
|
|
In reply to queries from Committee, Supt. Ng remarked that (i) RCMP have started investigations at private residences in Richmond in relation to money laundering and have been attending currency exchanges and casinos to ensure accountability, (ii) RCMP have increased traffic enforcement and producing record numbers, (iii) the Prolific Offender Suppression Team has been very successful with a focus on city centre and have arrested some of these offenders, (iv) RCMP have deployed every wrap around service available for the individual that accounted for 20 per cent of the mental health calls for service and are working towards a resolution, (v) the Cannabis Act does allow for more enforcement laws related to cannabis smoking and possession, (vi) RCMP staff can provide information on violation tickets in relation to cannabis offences, and (vii) there is one active investigation related to swarming and is currently being investigated. |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That the report titled “2018-2019 Richmond RCMP Detachment Annual Performance Plan Fourth Quarter Results (January 1 to March 31, 2019)”, dated May 13, 2019, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
6. |
RCMP/OIC BRIEFING |
|
|
|
None. |
|
|
7. |
COMMITTEE STANDING ITEM |
|
|
|
E-Comm |
|
|
|
The Chair advised that the Annual General Meeting is to be held next Thursday, June 20, 2019. |
|
|
8. |
MANAGER’S REPORT |
|
|
|
None. |
|
|
|
ADJOURNMENT |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That the meeting adjourn (4:55 p.m.). |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. |
|
_________________________________ |
_________________________________ |
|
Councillor Bill McNulty |
Amanda Welby |