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Council This Week
Derek Coburn, Acting Deputy Assessor from BC Assessment, made a
presentation to Council outlining their work in setting property values throughout
BC and reviewed some of the trends for Maple Ridge.
Mr. Coburn explained that the assessed value of a property, as supplied to
citizens in the assessment notice mailed out at the beginning of the year, reflects
the market value of a property as of July 1, 2013 and that the physical condition
of a property on October 31, 2013 would be used to set a value for a property
that is under development.
He noted that the overall property values in Maple Ridge were stable over the
last year, and that there were slight variations depending on property type and
location within the community. He reported that the ‘non-market change’ in
Maple Ridge was $275 million. This represents the new construction and
development in our community.
He finished his section of the report by reminding citizens to check out the online
tools and information on the BC Assessment website at bcassessment.ca.
The next speaker was Silvia Rutledge, Manager of Revenue & Collections for the
District. She provided a brief overview presentation of the report that was part of
the agenda package. Ms. Rutledge noted that the numbers were preliminary and
subject to change based on the appeals time period with BC Assessment and
that the final numbers would be presented in April.
Ms. Rutledge provided an overview of the tax rates based on the assessed
values, a review of the historic sampling of properties in the community and an
overview of the values in the commercial and industrial property types. Ms.
Rutledge noted that the growth in Maple Ridge for 2013 exceeded the projection
of 1.65% and even with the impact of the District’s Investment Incentive
Program; the final rate will likely be closer to 1.9%.
Council thanked Ms. Rutledge and Mr. Coburn for their presentations.
Property Assessment Update
February 3, 2014
District of Maple Ridge
11995 Haney Place
Maple Ridge, BCV2X 6A9
Canada
Tel: 604-463-5221
Fax: 604-467-7329
www.mapleridge.ca
enquiries@mapleridge.ca
Inside this Issue…
Property Assessment Update
Medical Marihuana Federal
Regulations Implications
HAP/Senior’s Housing Update
2014 Council Matrix
Council This Week February 3, 2014
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Council This Week February 3, 2014
Medical Marihuana Federal Regulations Implications
Superintendent David Fleugel from the Ridge Meadows RCMP made a brief presentation to Council outlining the
history of Federal regulations around the issue of medical marihuana. Supt. Fleugel outlined the situation from the
enactment of the current medical marihuana regulations back in 2001 and some of the challenges that it created in
communities all across Canada. He, with the assistance of Maple Ridge Fire Chief Dane Spence, outlined the various
enforcement strategies that had been followed in our community and how some strategies in other communities
played out in the courts.
He expressed the shared concern that the current system has been subject to abuse by criminals, and that there was
a substantial challenge in all municipalities when it came to law enforcement and public safety. He noted that the
transition from the old system would still create some challenges in that Health Canada, as of this time, will not be
reporting the names and locations of grow licences in the community. His presentation was intended to get some
feedback from Council relating to the transition in our community.
Council had a wide-ranging conversation about the issue noting that the Federal announcement on the new
regulations was made in Maple Ridge in December of 2012 recognizing the strong advocacy from our community to
deal with this issue. Council reaffirmed their concerns that the destruction of housing stock and the incompatibility of
large scale grow operations in our residential areas need to be addressed and that our bylaw allowing the
commercial production in Agricultural lands was intended to ensure that citizens who require medical marihuana
would be able to find a supplier.
Based on the conversation around the Council table, the approach will be to monitor the transition from the old
regulations to the new regulations and see what the compliance level is in the community. There will likely be legal
challenges to aspects of the new regulations, and Maple Ridge will monitor the issue and develop a longer term
strategy based on how the situation evolves going forward from the April 1, 2014 regulation change.
Council thanked Supt. Fleugel for his presentation.
Housing Action Plan / Senior’s Housing Update
Noha Sedky, Community Planner and Project Manager, CitySpaces Ltd. Consulting, made a presentation to Council
bringing them up-to-date on the work that is underway on the Housing Action Plan (HAP) and provided highlights from
the report that was part of the agenda.
Ms. Sedky provided Council with an overview of the Housing Continuum, a term that is used to talk about the range of
housing in a community. She spoke about how a HAP helps identify key issues and gaps in the community housing
supply and allows Council to be able to develop policy work and strategies to ensure that the community is dealing
with the current and future housing needs.
Ms. Sedky reviewed the process that has been undertaken to lead to the HAP for Maple Ridge and shared some of the
information from the situation report that examines the current situation in the community. She presented
information on community demographics, the housing supply, and the tenure and pricing of homes in our community
and provided some insights on the rental market, affordability and the non-market stock of housing in Maple Ridge.
She finished her presentation by noting that the community consultation is underway and that there are a number of
ways that the community could become engaged in this process. She noted that there is a new online questionnaire
at (link the project page) and that there would be a series of special meetings where citizens and stakeholders can
share their comments and ideas. The draft report will come before Council later in the year.
Council thanked Ms. Sedky for her presentation.
2014 Council Matrix
Council This Week is an informal summary of the reports and discussion of
Council’s work at Workshop. This document will provide links to all reports and
presentations that were provided to Council as part of their deliberations.
The comments are not the official minutes of the meeting.
These notes are intended to capture the essence of the discussion so that
citizens can keep in touch with the work of Council in this public meeting.
In most cases, the final reading of bylaws and other important legislation is
moved to the Council meeting agenda on Tuesday nights which is broadcast by
Shaw Cable. This ensures that important matters are debated and voted on in
the widest possible public manner.
Please Note!
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Email: customerservice@mapleridge.ca
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Ceri Marlo, Manager of Legislative Services & Emergency Program, presented
Council with the ‘Council Matrix’ schedule which captures the work and issues
that will come before Council throughout the year. Ms. Marlo noted that the
schedule does not reflect all of the work that will be done and that items may
be moved to different times. The fall schedule will be set in more detail before
the summer break later in the year.
Council members noted that the schedule was very full, and that there may be
the need for additional meetings later in the year based on the ability to get
through these items. Council will decide if additional meetings will be added
after the first quarter is complete.
Council passed a motion to accept the Matrix as presented.
District of Maple Ridge
11995 Haney Place
Maple Ridge, BCV2X 6A9
Canada
Tel: 604-463-5221
Fax: 604-467-7329
www.mapleridge.ca
enquiries@mapleridge.ca
Inside this Issue…
Property Assessment Update
Medical Marihuana Federal
Regulations Implications
HAP/Senior’s Housing Update
2014 Council Matrix