December 1, 2025 - Minutes
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General Purposes Committee
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Date: |
Monday, December 1, 2025 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie, Chair |
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:01 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 General Purposes Committee held on November 17, 2025, be adopted as circulated. |
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CARRIED |
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ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION |
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1. |
2025 Provincial Natural Resource Permitting Improvements Initiative (File Ref. No. 10-6125-01) (REDMS No. 8200574) |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That the survey responses, as described in the report titled “2025 Provincial Natural Resource Permitting Improvements Initiative”, dated November 5, 2025, from the Director, Climate and Environment, be endorsed and submitted to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship; and |
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(2) |
That a letter from the Mayor be sent to the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship requesting that more meaningful consultation, as outlined in the report, be implemented to support this provincial initiative. |
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The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to permitting improvements and the City’s constructed wetlands that primarily serve as green infrastructure. |
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The question on the motion was then called and it was CARRIED. |
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LAW AND COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
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2. |
(File Ref. No. 12-8275-20-AMANDA#/2014) (REDMS No. 8166612) |
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It was moved and seconded |
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(1) |
That the application from Imagin Restaurants Concepts Ltd., doing business as Yokai Tapas & Sake Bar, for an amendment to Food Primary Licence #311573, requesting an increase to their hours of liquor service from 09:00am to Midnight Monday to Sunday, to 09:00am to 2:00am Monday to Sunday, be supported; and |
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(2) |
That a letter be sent to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, which includes the information as set out in Attachment 1 to this report, advising that Council recommends the approval of the amendment to the Food Primary Liquor Licence as described in the Recommendation 1 of this report. |
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The question on the motion was not called as a brief discussion ensued with respect to the property. In response to queries from Committee, staff reported the property address was verified and there have been no calls for bylaws, police or fire services at the location, which has been in operation since 2023. |
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The question on the motion was then called, and it was CARRIED with Cllr. Wolfe opposed. |
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ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION |
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3. |
(File Ref. No. 10-6490-01, 01-0154-01) (REDMS No. 8232299) |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff noted (i) at present, TransLink splits the operation and delivery of HandyDART amongst themselves and a third party contractor for the scheduling and delivery of the shuttle buses; an in-house model would look to bring that delivery into TransLink, (ii) based on an independent customer use review, TransLink’s HandyDART service is currently one of their highest ranked services, (iii) there are other facets of TransLink that are contracted out (e.g. Canada Line, the West Coast Express and community shuttles), (iv) of the 21 municipalities within TransLink’s region, there are four Councils (Langley City, North Vancouver, New Westminster and Burnaby) and four Mayors (Surrey, Vancouver, Langley Township and Port Coquitlam) that have supported the initiative to bring HandyDART in-house, (v) taxis are an integral part to the delivery of HandyDART to supplement services (the charge to the customer is the same as a HandyDART shuttle), (vi) the cost to TransLink is less when a trip is taken by taxi ($27) compared to an individual trip on a HandyDART ($63), (vii) TransLink’s increased proposal of 23% operational use with taxis is based on the diverse needs of the community users; and (viii) taxi drivers are required to have the appropriate paraservice training before being permitted to participate in the HandyDART program. |
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Discussion ensued with respect to the anticipated costs to bring HandyDART in-house, noting the operational changes, consideration for the additional capacity that will be required and the time it would take to transition to bring on appropriate staff and management. It was further noted there are many factors and considerations with respect to the different models that could be used to deliver the in-house service, as well as uncertainty and risk from changing the model from what it is today. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That Richmond City Council supports the initiative to bring HandyDART in-house. |
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The question on the motion was not called as discussion ensued with respect to the client satisfaction ratings for the HandyDART operations and the uncertainty of the proposed in-house model. |
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The question on the motion was then called, and it was DEFEATED with Mayor Brodie and Cllrs. Au, Day, Hobbs, Loo and McNulty opposed. |
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It was then moved and seconded |
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That the report titled “HandyDART Service Delivery”, dated November 28, 2025, from the Director, Transportation, be received for information. |
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The question on the motion was not called as the following referral motion was introduced: |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report titled “HandyDART Service Delivery”, dated November 28, 2025, from the Director, Transportation, be referred back to staff to undergo consultation with the groups involved, including the users, and determine from the taxi companies what training they provide. |
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DEFEATED Cllrs. Au Gillanders Heed Hobbs Loo McNulty |
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The question on the main motion was then called and it was CARRIED. |
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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 General Purposes Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Monday, December 1, 2025. |
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_________________________________ |
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Mayor Malcolm D. Brodie |
Lorraine Anderson |