Overlapping Meetings Create Confusion

Council news no April Fool's Joke

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Tuesday night's overlapping council meetings may have seemed like an April Fool prank, but the information that emerged from the two events proved to be serious, including the immediate closure of the Lions Bay postal outlet, addressed HERE and HERE.

A Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting originally scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. was supplemented on March 27 with a Special meeting scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. the same evening.

Both meetings had a unique Zoom link for the stenographer and any residents planning to attend online. Additionally, both meetings featured components that were closed to the public. As a result, online attendees were required to switch Zoom links several times in order to attend both meetings.

The open part of the Special Council meeting began at 7 p.m., and the COW meeting around 8:30 p.m.

Beach park and jetty project progress

At the meeting, long-time resident and Board of Variance Chair Morgan Gatto spoke with regard to progress in the Lions Bay Beach Park (LBBP) project.

Gatto, who has raised a range of concerns in the past on this issue, asked for clarity as to why the project is taking so long. He referenced the meeting on February 19 where the architect and builder said they would put numbers together and have them back to Council within two weeks.

"Keep in mind we're talking about a washroom and a covered picnic space. These things can be designed, honestly, in a weekend," said Gatto. He asked if that information had been received by Council.

Councillor Broughton replied that some information had been received that day that had not yet been discussed but will be addressed at future meetings.

Later in the evening, during the COW meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell clarified that the design and construction team is still targeting the end of September to launch construction on the LBBP project.

In addition, he said the now-separate jetty project would likely begin at the same time, with low tides predicted during daytime hours and the busiest summer days mostly over by that time of year.

In response to Berry's question about the Translink pathways grant, Blackwell said the grant money will brings flexibility to the project, but that it is still to be determined how best to use those funds as the project moves forward.

Blackwell said that once the landscaping is "locked in", Council can begin to address the question of water-craft storage, which has been dropped from the current iteration of the project.

Board of Variance concerns and conflicts

Gatto also addressed Council with his concern regarding a Development Variance permit that was up for consideration on the evening's agenda. The permit was requested by a family who live on Oceanview who are looking to convert a carport to a garage.

In his role as head of the Board of Variance, Gatto asked why very simple requests are going thorugh Council rather than being directed to the very capable committee – which currently contains a local architect, a builder/developer and a quantity surveyor.

Blackwell said that board legislation is "antiquated" and that most municipalities prefer to use the developmental permit process.

Gatto noted that the legislation is currently mandated, "and has worked very well in this small community". He also pointed out that Council may not hold the expertise contained in the committee, and be unaware of context issues that should be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

After discussion a motion was passed to ask staff to make applicants aware that both options are available to them, with Blackwell emphasizing that the decision rests with the applicant as to which route they choose. The Oceanview application was also approved.

Budget receives second reading, SOFI made available

Despite on-going opposition from Councillors Abbott and Cunliffe to the size of the dangerous tree cutting budget, and repeated requests that the amount be taken out of the budget, the earmarked $140,000 remained a line item.

After protracted discussion on the topic, the amount was reduced to $60,000, and the budget (beginning on page 17) passed second reading, with Abbott opposing.

Financial Officer Joe Chirkoff also presented the 2023 Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) beginning on page 37, which includes audited financial statements for that year.

Other meeting highlights

• Council unanimously endorsed Lions Bay Arts Council's support of the 'Two Sisters' Mural project funding application, spearheaded by Rebecca Montgomery.

• Both Berry and Broughton expressed dissatisfaction with the release of the information regarding the awarding of the water meter pilot project grant.

• Council supported the renomination of Mayor Mike Little to the position of E-Comm 911 Chairperson.

• The task of rewriting the job description of Fire Chief before the job is put out to tender was added to the action log.

Filming Approval Concerns

Abbott brought up the question of the movie currently being filmed in and around Lions Bay, and expressed his concern that there was no notification to either Council or the broader community until after work on the project had already begun.

There was disagreement over the wording of the current filming policy, which Blackwell criticized for being "written in bylaw language" and suggested should be rewritten as a policy.

The existing policy indicates that projects with fewer than five days of filming do not need to come before Council, and a discrepancy arose in the interpretation of whether that number included associated filming activity, such as the parking and relocation of vehicles.

Abbott said he felt many of the issues surrounding filming and the resulting closure of the post office could have been resolved had the permit come before Council.

The next regular meeting of Council is scheduled for April 15 at 6 p.m.

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