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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil this Week 2014-02-03.pdf 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 Caption describing picture or graphic. 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! Comment Card: fluidsurveys.com/s/DMRHowDidWeDo/ Email: customerservice@mapleridge.ca Page 2 Terms of Use Privacy Statement Unsubscribe Our service commitment: fair, friendly, helpful. 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