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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil this Week 2014-02-17.pdf Council This Week Frank Quinn, General Manager: Public Works & Development Services and Russ Carmichael, Director of Engineering Operations, provided Council with an overview of their report and draft bylaw outlining the terms of reference for a new Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. This new committee is proposed as a replacement for the joint Bicycle Advisory Committee that has served Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows since 1997. In 2013, Pitt Meadows opted to create their own Active Transportation Committee. In September 2013 Council directed staff to develop the terms of reference for a Maple Ridge Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. After a broad discussion about the role and composition of the committee, Council decided to defer this item until a more in depth review of the Committees of Council is complete later in the year. Once that review is complete, Council will revisit this work in the context of the overall committee struct ure. Bicycle Advisory Committee Structure February 17, 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…  BAC Structure  Tandem & Off-Street Parking  Master Transportation Plan  Noise Control Bylaw  Remedial Actions for Derelict Properties  Infrastructure Sustainability Funding  140th Birthday Celebration  Please Note! Council This Week February 17, 2014 Tandem and Off-Street Parking Chuck Goddard, Manager of Development and Environmental Services made a presentation outlining the findings from the November 13, 2013 Open House on Tandem and Off Street Parking and a summary of recommendations from the Council report. Maple Ridge has seen a greater number of townhouse style development applications where high percentages of tandem parking are incorporated into the de sign. As these developments have been built, citizens have expressed concerns relating to the garages not being used for parking and the overflow of cars onto adjoining streets. Mr. Goddard’s presentation summarized the work that has been done to develop recommendations on changes to the existing bylaws to mitigate some of the issues that have emerged. Cont’d on next page Remedial Actions for Demolition of Derelict Properties Caption describing picture or graphic. Council This Week February 17, 2014 Maple Ridge Master Transportation Plan John Steiner from Urban Systems made a presentation to Council to provide them with a summary from the final draft of the Maple Ridge Strategic Transportation Plan. Mr. Steiner noted that this is the final stage of the process that has seen a wide range of input from the public, stakeholder groups and Council. Moving forward, staff will develop recommendations for Council based on the priorities and implementation plan for the District’s transportation infrastructure. Mr. Steiner walked through the four sections of the report relating to roads, pedestrians, cycling and transit. The report outlined where the District should concentrate its work to improve the flow for all modes of travel. For the road network a key theme was creating better east west travel connections, and in the pedestrian and cycling sections, the report recommended closing gaps in key sections of infrastructure to improve access for citizens. Council provided detailed input on the draft report and asked a number of questions regarding the conclusions and suggested priorities. Council thanked Mr. Steiner and staff for their work on the report. The final report will come back before Council along with recommendations and more detailed cost analysis information so that they can set priorities for coming years. Proposed Noise Control Bylaw No. 7038-2013 Liz Holitzki, Director of Licences, Permits and Bylaws presented Council with an updated report and recommendations relating to the proposed Noise Control Bylaw No. 7038-2013. The new bylaw introduces the ability to use decibel levels as a means of determining if a specific noise or sound is disturbing people in the community. Ms. Holitzki talked to Council about the equipment, including calibration equipment, which is required if a complaint ends up in court. She also noted that the hours for using power equipment on the weekend had been adjusted based on Council input from the previous Workshop review. Council passed the recommendation that the bylaw come forward to the next appropriate Committee of the Whole meeting. Liz Holitzki, Director of Licences, Permits and Bylaws, presented Council with two reports outlining recommendations that Council direct the owners of two properties to perform remedial actions within 30 days of receiving the Council resolutions. Both properties, derelict homes, have had repeated breaches of the perimeter fencing and break -ins to the structures. Both have been inspected and are deemed unsafe for habitation. Council passed motions directing the remedial action orders on both properties. The recommendations deal with the percentage of tandem units in specific zones, the size of driveway aprons and recommendations around the dimensions of garages. Additionally, the report recommends some changes to the existing zoning bylaws relating to the number of units in a townhouse block and the provision of open space. Council accepted the recommendations and directed staff to prepare the bylaw amendments as noted in the report. Tandem and Off-Street Parking Cont’d 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. 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 140th Birthday Celebration Kelly Swift, General Manager: Community Development, Parks & Recreation Services gave a brief verbal report to Council regarding planning work that is underway for the celebration of Maple Ridge’s 140th Birthday on September 12, 2014. Ms. Swift noted that the possible change of Maple Ridge from a Municipality to a City might be part of the celebration, however with the public assent process underway, we will wait until that work is complete before adding that to the event. In the coming weeks community organizations will be contacted to create the steering committee for the event to create a firm plan around this community milestone. Infrastructure Sustainability Funding Catherine Nolan, Manager of Accounting presented a report to Council outlining the issues and economic impact of the infrastructure deficit faced by our community. This is an issue that all municipal governments in Canada face. The report outlines how Maple Ridge has taken steps to deal with this issue in our community and quantifies how our funding is scheduled to grow in this financial plan. The District has over $1 Billion in assets. This includes streets, streetlights, sidewalks, water system, sewage system, storm water system and the entire infrastructure relating to the delivery of services to citizens. The estimated annual funding needed to maintain, upgrade and replace these assets as they reach the end of their life is $30 million annually. By the end of this financial plan in 2018, the infrastructure fu nding is anticipated to grow to $6.29 million. This represents significant progress to closing the gap, but continued focus on this issue is required as the community moves forward. Council discussed the implications of the report and talked about examples in communities in eastern Canada where infrastructure had deteriorated to near emergency conditions. While there have been some announcements by senior government to invest in this area, there is still a significant deficit across the nation. Council thanked Ms. Nolan for the report. Inside this Issue…  BAC Structure  Tandem & Off-Street Parking  Master Transportation Plan  Noise Control Bylaw  Remedial Actions for Derelict Properties  Infrastructure Sustainability Funding  140th Birthday Celebration  Please Note!