After a long and badly needed summer break, all three North Shore municipal councils are back in action Monday night and they’ve all got big agendas to wade through.
Here's whats up:
District of North Vancouver
After mostly online meetings in the late spring and early summer, District of North Vancouver council members are returning to the council chambers on Queens Road and members of the public will be able to attend in person. Residents must first register if they plan to attend and speak to council, to ensure COVID-19 safety protocols are observed.
Coun. Jordan Back has a motion to require homeowners to have snow shovelled from their sidewalks, along with asking staff to report back on speeding up the clearing of show from commercial sidewalks and bike lanes, and investigate the creation of a volunteer Snow Angels Program.
Council will be asked for their first vote on a 341-unit residential development 904-944 Lytton St. Of the 341 units, 55 would be market rentals, 33 rentals offered at 15 to 25 per cent below CMHC rates and run by Hollyburn Family Services Society, 25 would be on a rent-to-own model for first-time buyers and one townhouse unit would be built in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. The proposal also includes a new coffee shop.
And while there won’t be a formal vote, council is being asked to give their early input on a proposal for two, four-storey multi-family apartments, one containing 31 market ownership units and the other 31 market rental units, at 1220-1260 West 16th St. in Norgate.
City of North Vancouver
Council will get their first look at the results of a major survey for North Shore residents’ travel patterns, habits and attitudes. All three councils funded the study, which was carried out in the fall and winter of 2019, to help plan transportation policy and infrastructure decisions.
Couns. Jessica McIlroy and Tony Valente are bringing forward a motion that would ban anticoagulant rat poisons on all city property. Rodenticides are frequently the culprit in owls being poisoned after they catch and consume rats. The District of North Vancouver banned them in June following a campaign by local resident Yasmin Abidi who rescued a local owl that survived poisoning twice in three months.
And, with winter coming and hospitality businesses threatened by COVID-19 protocols, Mayor Linda Buchanan will seek council’s support to extend temporary patio program and allow for the winterization of outdoor patios.
District of West Vancouver
West Van council members are getting their first look and first chance to respond to a proposal to redevelop the aged Inglewood Care Centre. The Baptist Housing Society, BC Housing and Vancouver Coastal health intend replace the existing 230 bed facilities with a 669-bed “campus of care” for residents with different levels of need. BC Housing and VCH would fund 385 of the units.
Council will also get an update on the progress being made on the Horseshoe Bay local area plan, which will guide and shape and future development in the village.
Much like the city, West Van council is looking to extend its expanded patio program into the winter months,
And council is set to kick off public consultations on exactly where the new community arts facility should go, with the options narrowed down to Ambleside Park tennis course or south parking lot, and the 1400-block of Marine Drive. The committee that developed plan thus far recommended putting the 25,000-square foot gallery and studio place on the Ambleside tennis courts earlier this year.
Lastly, the district is trying to reel in more film productions by making the application process easier for studios.
