July 15, 2024 - Minutes

Date:

Monday, July 15, 2024

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair
Councillor Chak Au
Councillor Carol Day
Councillor Laura Gillanders (entered the meeting at 4:01 p.m.)
Councillor Kash Heed
Councillor Andy Hobbs
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Bill McNulty
Councillor Michael Wolfe

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 General Purposes Committee held on July 2, 2024, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

CAO’S OFFICE

1.

2024 UBCM COMMUNITY EXCELLENCE AWARDS PROGRAM

(File Ref. No. 01-0130-01) (REDMS No. 7654635)

It was moved and seconded

That the City of Richmond’s submissions to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Community Excellence Awards program be endorsed, including:

(1)

Excellence in Governance: Steveston Island Dike Preliminary Design;

(2)

Excellence in Service Delivery: Community Services Pop-Ups;

(3)

Excellence in Asset Management: Ageing Infrastructure Analysis; and

(4)

Excellence in Sustainability: Water Conservation Program.

CARRIED

Councillor Gillanders entered the meeting (4:01 p.m.).

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

2.

CITY RESPONSE TO DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FIRST ACCESSIBLE BRITISH COLUMBIA ACT STANDARDS

(File Ref. No. 08-4055-05) (REDMS No. 7735770)

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That staff be authorized to submit written feedback to the Province of British Columbia in response to the draft recommendations for the First Accessible British Columbia Act Standards, as described in the report titled “City Response to Draft Recommendations for the First Accessible British Columbia Act Standards”, dated June 27, 2024, from the Director, Community Social Development; and

(2)

That the City send a letter to the Province requesting additional and ongoing consultation with municipalities in advance of standards being finalized for introduction into the Legislative Assembly.

CARRIED

DEPUTY CAO’S OFFICE

3.

WORKS YARD REPLACEMENT PROJECT - KEY DESIGN PARAMETERS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES

(File Ref. No. 06-2055-01) (REDMS No. 7720561)

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) staff providing monthly status and financial reports of the project, (ii) retention of trees and berms, (iii) flood construction levels, (iv) staff conducting a detailed environmental assessment, (v) forthcoming staff report in the Fall of 2024 with details regarding programing, elevations, and phasing, and (vi) engagement with the Richmond School Board.

Direction was given to staff to add cost effectively to the Innovative guiding principle as described in Attachment 1 of the staff report, to read as follows: Design innovative, functional spaces that cost effectively meet current and future operational needs of the organization.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the Key Design Parameters as described on page 5 of the staff report titled “Works Yard Replacement Project - Key Design Parameters and Guiding Principles” dated June 14, 2024, from the Director, Facilities and Project Development and the Manager, Works Yard Planning, be approved;

(2)

That the Guiding Principles, with the addition of “cost effectively” under Innovative, as described in Attachment 1 of the staff report titled “Works Yard Replacement Project - Key Design Parameters and Guiding Principles” dated June 14, 2024, from the Director, Facilities and Project Development and the Manager, Works Yard Planning, be approved and utilized to guide the development of the Works Yard Replacement Project; and

(3)

That staff be directed to provide a monthly progress report outlining the status of the Works Yard Replacement Project, including financial updates.

CARRIED

COUNCILLOR ANDY HOBBS

4.

ZERO CARBON STEP CODE (ZCSC) AND ENERGY STEP CODE (ESC)

(File Ref. No. ) (REDMS No. )

It was moved and seconded

That, in relation to the Zero Carbon Step Code and Energy Step Code in the Building Regulations Bylaw and OCP, for single-detached and duplex residential buildings, staff be directed to:

(1)

Provide options for Council consideration related to the current implementation timeline; and,

(2)

Clarify the role of natural gas for space heating and domestic hot water and provide options for Council consideration.

The question on the motion was not called as in response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) the step code requirements are dependent on the size of the building, larger buildings are at Step 2 and 3, for smaller buildings, builders have three options available, Steps 3, 4 and 5; (ii) the current timeline for requiring progressively higher steps is in advance of the Provincial standards and timelines, to give builders the time and capacity to build to Step Code requirements, (iii) heat pumps are a more efficient way to provide cooling and heating, (iv) a delegation from BC Hydro to provide updates on their capabilities and system upgrades is forthcoming, (v) the referral response will come forward to Committee in September, (vi) energy advisors provide direction and guidance to builders on ways to improve and measure the energy efficiency of a home, and (vii) zero carbon step code applies to new construction, for existing buildings there are no restrictions.

The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED with Cllrs. Day, Heed, McNulty and Wolfe opposed.

DEPUTY CAO’S OFFICE

5.

HUGH BOYD COMMUNITY FACILITY AND FIELDHOUSE – REFERRAL RESPONSE
(File Ref. No. 06-2050-20-HBSC) (REDMS No. 7746572)

Discussion ensued with respect to (i) standard movable wall versus premium movable wall, (ii) the costs associated with installing the premium movable wall and limited service kitchen, (iii) the uses of a limited service kitchen, (iv) passive housing criteria, and (v) the size of the service kitchen not impacting the size of the programming area.

It was moved and seconded

That Option 2C - Limited Service Kitchen, with Premium Movable Wall, is the preferred option from Table 3 in the staff report titled, “Hugh Boyd Community Facility and Fieldhouse – Referral Response,” dated July 9, 2024, from the Director, Facilities and Project Development and the Director, Recreation and Sport Services and, that the capital budget and Consolidated 5 year Financial Plan (2024-2028) be amended by $850,000.

CARRIED

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:56 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the General Purposes Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Monday, July 15, 2024.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie
Chair

Raman Grewal
Legislative Services Associate