December 10, 2019 - Minutes
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Community Safety Committee
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Date:
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Tuesday, December 10, 2019
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Place:
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Anderson Room
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Present:
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Councillor Bill McNulty, Chair
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Also Present:
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Councillor Chak Au
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Call to Order:
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The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
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MINUTES
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It was moved and seconded
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on November 13, 2019, be adopted.
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CARRIED
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COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION
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1.
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Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – October 2019
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted that as per the towing contract with Rusty’s Towing, the City receives a flat rate of $5,000 per month, and false alarms are initiated through the RCMP and billing is processed through Bylaws.
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It was moved and seconded
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That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – October 2019”, dated November 15, 2019, from the General Manager, Community Safety, be received for information.
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CARRIED
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1A.
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SMOKING DISTANCE FOR PUBLIC OPENINGS
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Discussion took place regarding smoking regulation signage for public spaces and direction was given to staff to provide public education on the prohibition of smoking and vaping within 9 metres of public “customer service areas”.
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1B.
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AGRICULTURAL SIGNAGE
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Discussion took place regarding farm signage and placement and in response to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) the Food Security and Agricultural Advisory Committee, Economic Development and Tourism Richmond are collaborating to explore ways to promote farming and agriculture, (ii) an app is currently being developed to provide the public with an electronic map of licensed farm stands, and (iii) there are regulations for special signs for community special events.
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Further discussion took place on signage regulations for farmers and direction was given to staff to report back on the regulations prior to the upcoming spring crop season.
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1C.
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A-FRAME SANDWICH BOARD SIGNAGE
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Discussion took place regarding a review of the Sign Regulation Bylaw No. 9700, particularly with respect to Sandwich Board Signs. Staff noted that (i) there are size regulations for sandwich boards, (ii) new businesses are allowed to display sandwich board signs in the first 30 days of business, (iii) projecting signs are more effective in advertising, (iv) there are problems with sandwich boards falling over and potentially obstructing traffic, (v) the City is not looking into the option of wayfinding poles, and (vi) the sign bylaw does not differentiate between the number of signs on a store’s frontage but considers a total sign area.
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Further discussion took place on the smoking regulation signs and staff noted that (i) the City is working with Vancouver Coastal Health to ensure shops are displaying the new nine metre smoking signs, (ii) currently the signage can be downloaded and printed off the BC Lung Association website, and (iii) options for printing signs can be explored in collaboration with industry contacts.
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2.
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Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – October 2019
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Fire Chief Tim Wilkinson, Richmond Fire-Rescue, highlighted that emergency response calls to the RFR are slowly increasing since the system changes that were implemented in June 2018 by BC Emergency Health Services.
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In response to queries from Committee, Chief Wilkinson noted that it is difficult to compare data across municipalities as not all cities report statistics the same way. He further noted that the Special Transport category is a large category that encompasses non-standard vehicles.
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It was moved and seconded
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That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – October 2019”, dated November 15, 2019, from the Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, be received for information.
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CARRIED
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3.
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FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING
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Items for discussion:
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(i)
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Christmas Tree Chipping Event
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Fire Chief Wilkinson invited Council to attend the Christmas Tree Chipping event taking place January 4 and 5, 2020.
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(ii)
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Public Accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at Fire Halls
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The Brighouse and Cambie Fire Halls have added Automated External Defibrillators.
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(iii)
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Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives
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Fire Chief Wilkinson thanked participants that attended the December 3, 2019 Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives event.
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4.
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2019-2020 Richmond RCMP Detachment Annual Performance Plan Second Quarter Results (July 1 to September 30, 2019)
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Superintendent Will Ng, Richmond RCMP, spoke to the staff report and highlighted the statistics from the priority areas of Property Crime, Organized Crime, Vulnerable Persons and Road Safety.
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In response to queries from Committee, Superintendent Ng noted that (i) the City of Richmond’s Community Safety App is currently in its final testing stages, (ii) the RCMP are looking into Project Integrated Resources for Investigations and Safety (IRIS) and exploring best practices for Richmond residents to register their Closed Circuit (CCTV) cameras, (iii) the Lock Box program is a collaborative effort with Richmond Fire‑Rescue, (iv) the Automated Licence Plate Recognition (ALPR) scanner has been integral to the RCMP with keeping prohibited drivers off the road, and (v) the RCMP are collaborating with staff and security in supportive housing to form a strategy to monitor and handle drug use and provide treatment.
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4A.
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CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV)
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Materials were distributed (attached to and forming part of these Minutes as Schedule 1).
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) the Privacy Commission provided feedback stating that the CCTV project must be handled solely by the City of Richmond and not in connection with the RCMP, (ii) the City is currently procuring storage capacity and will install the servers at the beginning of 2020, (iii) protocols will be developed on how the public and RCMP can apply to access footage, (iv) the City will hire one staff member to process and manipulate images as per privacy regulations, and (v) the goal is to launch the CCTV program by the end of 2020 and a public announcement will be issued concurrently.
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Discussion took place regarding the recent missing person incident and how the use of CCTVs could aid a search and as a result, the following referral motion was introduced.
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It was moved and seconded
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That staff provide information on the expected timeline of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) program launch and what resources are needed to expedite the project, and report back.
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CARRIED
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It was moved and seconded
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That the report titled “2019-2020 Richmond RCMP Detachment Annual Performance Plan Second Quarter Results (July 1 to September 30, 2019)”, dated November 7, 2019 from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information.
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CARRIED
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5.
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RCMP Monthly Activity Report - October 2019
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In response to queries from Committee, Superintendent Ng noted that recent incidents have been found to be related to mental health issues. He further noted that the RCMP can monitor certain areas of the City and issue a public safety announcement to ensure motorized bicycles are not ridden on sidewalks.
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It was moved and seconded
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That the report titled “RCMP Monthly Activity Report – October 2019”, dated November 13, 2019, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment, be received for information.
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CARRIED
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6.
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RCMP/OIC BRIEFING
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Designated Speaker: Supt. William Ng
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Items for discussion:
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(i)
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Toy Drive Results
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Superintendent Ng noted that this year’s event was a record for the Toy Drive, which raised $9380 dollars, 60 large bags of toys and 5 medium boxes of toys.
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(ii)
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Richmond RCMP Youth Academy
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Superintendent Ng noted there were 34 graduates from the Richmond School District in the Youth Academy Program this year.
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7.
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MANAGER’S REPORT
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None.
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ADJOURNMENT
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It was moved and seconded
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That the meeting adjourn (4:42 p.m.).
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CARRIED
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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, December 10, 2019.
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_________________________________
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_________________________________
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Councillor Bill McNulty
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Stephanie Walrond
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