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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.