All three councils meet this Monday – in terms of North Shore municipal politics it’s like the Preakness, Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes all running on the same night. We’ve got an Upper Lonsdale development, a Howe Sound map, and a looming debate about developer cost charges.
The District of North Vancouver
With the next municipal election only eight months away, Murray Mollard of North Shore Community Resources is proposing a few ways to boost voter engagement.
Back in 2014, turnout on the North Shore ranged between 24 and 31 per cent – an increase (believe it or not) from the mass apathy of 2011.
The district is also set to discuss upping fees on developers whose extra-large projects put extra stress on the municipality’s roads and sewers.
Early reaction from the Urban Development Institute on the increased charges was somewhat mixed, with CEO Anne McMullin, noting the 43 per cent increase on residential projects will coincide with Metro Vancouver raising their development cost charges between 75 and 99 per cent.
The district’s rates will still be lower than the fees in Surrey, Langley, Richmond and Coquitlam, according to a district staff report.
The district is also set to vote on amending the official community plan around Maplewood Village to switch some single-family land to multi-family.
The City of North Vancouver
If you like wharf regulation bylaws, you’re in luck as city council looks to lower the fees for long-term shoulder season moorage in an attempt to bring more business to Burrard Dry Dock Pier, St. Roch Dock and Goldsworthy Pier.
The city is also set to vote on a six-storey, 44-unit rental/strata combo at 2601 Lonsdale Avenue.
West Vancouver:
Is $20,000 a reasonable price to see an interactive map of Howe Sound’s ecological cosmos?
The Ocean Wise and Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative (OWHSBRI) is set to ask several communities to contribute $20,000 per year to help create just such a map. The total cost to create the map is expected to be $600,000.
West Van is also slated to take another look at their Official Community Plan. They don’t have a draft of the plan just yet, but they do have a preparation of a draft.
Our advice: you can pick any seat in the gallery but you’re only going to be using the edge.
