HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil this Week 2014-05-12.pdfPeter Grootendorst, retired Maple
Ridge Fire Chief and current Direc-
tor, Fire & Safety Division at the
Justice Institute of BC and Mark
Brown, Cambrian Consulting, made
a presentation to Council summariz-
ing the work that has been done re-
lating to the development of a Wild-
fire Development Permit Area in Ma-
ple Ridge and a peer review of the
proposed bylaw and boundaries.
The full report and draft bylaw was
part of the information package.
Mr. Grootendorst provided Council
with background on the work that
has been done to arrive at this point.
The purpose of the Wildfire Devel-
opment Permit Area is to deal with
the reality that much of Maple Ridge
is built on the forest interface, and is
susceptible to issues that were
demonstrated in Kelowna, Barrier
and other communities due to wild-
fire risks.
There has been significant work in
the last decade whereby our fire de-
partment has upgraded equipment
and training to be able to handle the
risks of wildfire. The recommenda-
tion is that steps be taken to ensure
that homes in the forest interface
are ‘hardened’ against the impacts
of a wildfire with construction and
landscaping standards that will miti-
gate some of the risks.
Mr. Brown, an independent consult-
ant, did a peer review of the pro-
posed bylaw and he endorsed the
recommendations presented in the
draft with the exception of his view
that two areas, Whonnock Lake and
Webster’s Corners, be added to the
proposed Permit Area. He also not-
ed that Maple Ridge should examine
the conditions around some tele-
communications and water infra-
structure.
The presentation talked about the
risks of wildfires and how the forest
in the coastal rainforest has
Cont’d...
Wildfire Development Permit Area Guidelines
Council This Week
Maple Ridge
11995 Haney Place
Maple Ridge, BC
V2X 6A9 Canada
Tel: 604-463-5221
Fax: 604-467-7329
Website
Enquiries Email
May 12, 2014
Inside This Issue:
Draft Wildfire
Development
Permit Area
Guidelines
Parks and
Leisure Services
Update
LED Street Light
Pilot Project
Cash-in-Lieu
Requirements for
the Conversion of
Overhead Wiring
Wildfire Development Permit Area Guidelines cont’d...
characteristics that differ from the interior BC fires we’ve seen in the last decade. He spoke at
length about how the use of selective pruning at the edge of the forest interface can have a positive
effect and lower the risks.
Council asked a number of questions relating to the report, the risks and other details of the recom-
mendations. Council voted to move the matter forward to their next meeting on May 27.
Council This Week Page 2
Parks and Leisure Services Update
Kelly Swift, General Manager: Community Development, Parks and Recreation Services, provided
Council with a presentation on work that has been accomplished and is underway in her division.
Ms. Swift, systematically reviewed each area of the division highlighting projects and initiatives. In
aquatics, Ms. Swift noted that the new spray park in Albion will be opening soon and advised that
the new park represents a more active play system whereby the children using the park have a lot
of control over how the water sprays.
She provided an update on the arts, community festivals, neighbourhood events and collaborations,
community gardens, volunteers, children, youth, seniors and the recreation centres that are operat-
ed by her team. There was a consistent theme relating to the work of volunteers and collaboration
with community members to build capacity and tailor programs based on citizens investment of time
and energy. The presentation ended with comments around the ice rinks, parks, trails and outdoor
facilities that are so popular.
The attendance figures for community festivals are over 180,000 people, and 20,000 people took
skating lessons in the community. Ms. Swift noted that her team maintains 125 parks and that we
have access to over 200 kilometres of trails thanks to dedicated volunteers working over the last 50
years. She talked about some of the projects that are underway or recently completed, including the
Emmilene Mohun Park in Hammond, the baseball field renovation in Hammond, new trail bridges
and the new Albion bike park that is being worked on by volunteer parties in preparation for an offi-
cial opening. Council thanked Ms. Swift for her update.
Please Note!
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 de-
liberations.
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.
This version of Council This Week has been modified to a more accessible version that better meets the
needs of our citizens with visual impairments.
Page 3 Council This Week
Cash-in-Lieu Requirements for the Conversion of Overhead Wiring
Stephen Judd, Manager of Infrastructure Development, made a presentation to Council summariz-
ing the key points from the report that discussed various scenarios around the funding for conver-
sions of overhead wiring to underground.
Mr. Judd walked Council through the issues around electrical utility distribution as it relates to de-
velopment, especially new development along existing streets. He explained the terminology
around the placement of utilities and the current policy framework around development.
Mr. Judd then provided Council with a review of three scenarios for them to consider;
1. Status Quo
2. Cash-in-lieu of the estimated conversion costs
3. Cash-in-lieu that is a fixed levy charge
He explained that the conversion of overhead utilities runs between $2,500 and $4,000 per metre,
depending on location and wiring configurations, and that these conversion rates are consistent
across Canada. His report also showed examples for our community and other Lower mainland
communities looking at the costs and the different ways that this issue is being handled so that
Council could fully understand the cost implications.
Council asked a number of questions relating to conversions and the cost implications, as well as
questions on how this is being managed in other communities.
Council thanked Mr. Judd for his report and received it as information. They also asked that further
information on the third scenario be obtained and presented at a future workshop
LED Streetlight Project
Laura Benson, Manager of Sustainability & Corporate Planning provided Council with a brief over-
view of a report recommending that Maple Ridge commence a pilot project to evaluate the costs
relating to the use of LED streetlight technology. This project follows up on a report that was made
to Council in 2013 that outlined some of the issues with the LED technology. Maple Ridge has been
running an experiment along Abernethy Way near 224 Street that has been evaluating the mainte-
nance and quality of the lights versus the standard streetlight.
In 2013, some LED lights were installed in Albion to evaluate the quality of the light and get feed-
back from the community. This project, on a larger scale, will allow for a fuller evaluation of the
technology. Ms. Benson reported that the project has involved a great deal of regional collaboration
around sharing of data and group purchasing to lower the implementation costs.
Council thanked Ms. Benson for the presentation and approved the project as presented.