July 9, 2019 - Minutes
|
Community Safety Committee
|
Date: |
Tuesday, July 9, 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 June 11, 2019, be adopted as circulated. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE |
|
|
|
September 10, 2019, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room |
|
|
|
COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
|
|
1. |
Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – May 2019 |
|
|
|
|
In response to questions from Committee, Cecilia Achiam General Manager, Community Safety, Susan Lloyd, Manager, Parking Enforcement, Animal Control and Administration – Community Bylaws, and Carli Williams, Manager, Community Bylaws, and Licencing clarified that: |
|
|
|
|
§ |
the $45,000 collected in May in court and ticket fines stemmed from two court cases, one on a homeowner with a number of illegal suites that staff had been investigating over a number of years and the fines from the decision were approximately $21,000 from multiple charges and the other against Midland appliance with an ongoing issue selling retail in a location not zoned appropriately and the fines were for approximately $23,000; |
|
|
|
§ |
the Soil Removal & Fill Deposit Regulation Bylaw No. 8094 applies only to land within the agricultural land reserve (ALR); |
|
|
|
§ |
of the four soil files opened in May, two received violation tickets and the other two received letters; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff can investigate publishing the outcome of court cases regarding bylaw violations; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff investigate illegal short term rental ads and when possible through the information provided, distribute tickets for bylaw violations however some ads require a booking prior to providing an address for short term rentals; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff are bringing forward a report regarding regulations for short term rentals including licence requirements; |
|
|
|
§ |
there is no smoking within nine metres of any building intakes, however it is up to individual stratas to regulate smoking regulations within multifamily buildings; |
|
|
|
§ |
most smoking complaints and enforcement is contracted to Vancouver Coastal Heath to investigate and ticket; |
|
|
|
§ |
there was one $1000 ticket issued in May for short-term rental offences for one address staff were able to identify from a listing and staff were able to follow up with the operator in June and found them operating at another address and another four tickets were issued for violations at the second address; |
|
|
|
Councillor Day left the meeting (4:09 p.m.) and returned (4:13 p.m.). |
|
|
|
|
§ |
the fourteen offences going to adjudication were because they were contested, 13 were for parking violations and one was an animal control violation for off-leash; |
|
|
|
§ |
the approximately $1 million in gross program revenue collected by the Community Bylaws Department goes into the cost centre for the department and any profit goes into general revenue; |
|
|
|
§ |
the bylaw officers attending the night market are there on weekends; and |
|
|
|
§ |
parking officers work flexible hours throughout week and seven days a week there are officers working until 9 p.m. |
|
|
|
Discussion took place regarding Community Bylaws Department revenues and direction was given to staff to provide a detailed breakdown of revenue and revenue allocation. |
|
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
|
That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – May 2019”, dated June 12, 2019, from the General Manager, Community Safety, be received for information. |
|
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
2. |
Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report - May 2019 |
|
|
|
In reply to queries from Committee, Kevin Gray, Acting Fire Chief noted that (i) staff have been diligent with enforcement of fires caused by cigarettes including installing signs at locations where a fire has been caused by cigarettes, (ii) the hazmat incident involving a clandestine laboratory was a methamphetamine production lab and staff monitored the site through the decontamination process, (iii) there is no open air burning permitted within the city without issuance of a permit, (iv) the cold fire foam utilized for fire extinction is a surfactant that has been used by Richmond Fire-Rescue (RFR) for over ten years and is eco-friendly, and (v) when the cold fire foam is discharged near waterways, RFR notify the proper authorities of what has been discharged. |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – May 2019”, dated June 10, 2019, from the Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, be received for information. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
Discussion then took place regarding signage on beaches and near waterfront in Richmond to provide further notice that no burning is permitted in the city. In response to queries from Committee, Acting Fire Chief Gray advised that (i) in previous years, notifications have been placed in local newspapers to remind residents that open air burning is not permitted within the city without a permit, (ii) the fire regulation bylaw has been in place for some time, (iii) RFR have seen a large decrease in backyard burning in the last few years, and (iv) staff can work with the parks department to add fire signage. |
|
|
|
As a result of the discussion, the following motion was introduced |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That staff be directed to install signage near waterfront locations advising that there are no fires permitted anywhere in Richmond. |
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
3. |
FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Canada Day Celebrations in Steveston |
|
|
|
Acting Fire Chief Gray noted that there were four medical responses during the Canada Day celebration events in Steveston and that fire prevention staff worked closely with vendors. |
|
|
|
4. |
RCMP Monthly Activity Report - May 2019 |
|
|
|
|
Will Ng, Superintendent, Officer in Charge, provided an overview of the May 2019 statistics, highlighting in particular that (i) property crime numbers dropped dramatically in May and residential break-ins were at the lowest in the last five years, (ii) theft from autos also decreased in the month of May, (iii) with the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) reporting, assaults are being classified differently and those assaults previously listed as unfounded are now listed as founded which has elevated the assault statistics, and (iv) despite an impact to assault statistics with the CCJS reporting, there are no trends or patterns regarding assaults and sexual assaults for May and no concern with respect to public safety. |
|
|
|
|
In response to questions from Committee, Supt. Ng remarked that: |
|
|
|
|
§ |
the 26% increase in reported shoplifting thefts was due to increase in loss prevention officers at box stores and increased detection, in particular at Wal-Mart which had a reputation with individuals from the downtown eastside of being a location to target, and client services assisted with providing extra policing in an effort to combat theft; |
|
|
|
§ |
Tier 3 training for auxiliary officers will provide the ability for auxiliary officers to patrol streets with regular RCMP members and a letter has been written to Ottawa to petition a decision on uniforms for auxiliary officers however a decision for support for Tier 3 from National Headquarters is anticipated and once received, Richmond RCMP hope to train new auxiliary officers; |
|
|
|
§ |
additional officers approved by Council allow Richmond RCMP to do more proactive policing including increased road blocks, visibility of officers in areas of high crime rates, targeting prolific offenders, and increased community and business outreach; |
|
|
|
§ |
the Positive Ticket for Youth program has been very popular and has allowed officers to connect with youth, provides positive reinforcement for good acts such as wearing bicycle helmets and looking both ways before crossing the street; |
|
|
|
§ |
in addition to the Positive Tickets handed out to youth, 7-11 has provided sponsorship by providing 3000 free Slurpee tickets to be handed out in conjunction with the program; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff are looking to potentially roll out a similar program for good Samaritans as a way to thank individuals for providing assistance; |
|
|
|
§ |
staff can look at data to see if there is any correlation to reduction in motor vehicle accidents and increased patrols and enforcement and RCMP have increased traffic enforcement dramatically in 2018 and 2019 and in 2017 there were nine fatalities and only one in 2018 and one so far in 2019; |
|
|
|
§ |
RCMP did a loss prevention officer joint enforcement operation in recent weeks and arrested 32 individuals, a majority of which were from outside Richmond; |
|
|
|
§ |
next week Richmond RCMP are meeting with Transit Police regarding a joint operation to intercept individuals coming to Richmond to commit retail theft on the Canada Line; |
|
|
|
§ |
RCMP respond to any 911 calls regarding children left in vehicles on hot days, attend to the safety of child and if there is negligence, conduct an investigation into the incident; and |
|
|
|
§ |
the sexual harassment court case would have no financing from municipalities and would involve RCMP national. |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
|
That the report titled “RCMP Monthly Activity Report – May 2019”, dated June 12, 2019, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information. |
|
|
|
|
CARRIED |
|
|
|
|
In response to a question from Committee regarding the number of allowable units in a multi-family dwelling to be rented, Ms. Achiam advised that it is up to the individual stratas to set the regulations around rentals and if the strata permits, each home would be able to have up to two boarders or lodgers with no licence required. Ms. Achiam further remarked this was in response to sports hosting and school exchange programs that wanted to host but did not want licence restrictions. |
|
|
5. |
RCMP/OIC BRIEFING |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Faith Patrols in the City |
|
|
|
Supt. Ng provided an update to Committee regarding faith patrols at mosques, synagogues, and churches, noting that they have been successful and well received. |
|
|
|
|
(ii) |
RCMP Basketball Tournament |
|
|
|
Supt. Ng advised that the RCMP Basketball Tournament at the Sikh Temple on No. 5 Road was a success, Richmond RCMP and ICBC cohosted 70 local kids to come and play basketball. |
|
|
|
|
(iii) |
Law Enforcement Torch Run |
|
|
|
Supt. Ng also remarked that the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics BC on June 7 was successful and there were 20 Richmond RCMP officers who ran the 3 kilometre leg from Cornerstone Evangelical Baptist Church to the Richmond RCMP Detachment on No. 5 Road. |
|
|
|
|
(iv) |
Canada Day Celebrations in Steveston |
|
|
|
Supt. Ng noted that the Canada Day Celebrations were a success with no major police calls for service and approximately $1000 was raised during the event for Cops for Cancer. Supt. Ng, in response to a query from Committee, noted that approximately 50,000 attended the event this year. |
|
|
|
6. |
MANAGER’S REPORT |
|
|
|
In response to questions from Committee regarding the Province's announcement of ride-hailing service moving forward in September, Ms. Achiam remarked that staff will be bringing forward a report regarding the matter. |
|
|
|
ADJOURNMENT |
|
|
|
It was moved and seconded |
|
|
|
That the meeting adjourn (4:46 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, July 11, 2019. |
|
_________________________________ |
_________________________________ |
|
Councillor Bill McNulty |
Amanda Welby |