We’ve got the LEC rate review in the city, the prospect of a new youth centre in West Vancouver, and a discussion about how big, loud and bright homes should be in the District of North Vancouver – all of which should be more exciting than the Browns-Jets game.
West Vancouver
Six months after it was decommissioned – and five-and-a-half months after it burned to the ground – West Vancouver is looking to replace the Ambleside Youth Centre.
Municipal staff recommended drafting a detailed business plan by March 2020 for a new bricks and mortar Youth Services Hub.
Staff’s preferred possibilities for the centre include using Inglewood Secondary or putting a “portable, modular building” at the original Pound Road site. Another option under consideration is working with field hockey and footballs clubs on a new Ambleside Park sport clubhouse that would house the hub.
Almost in time for election season, council is set to debate a motion that would limit the size, height and illumination of election signs.
Council is also set to hear from BC Ferries on the redevelopment of the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.
Lastly, district staff is looking for direction from council before drafting a housing needs report. Currently, West Vancouver’s plan includes expanding housing options for the missing middle and adding infill housing while respecting neighbourhood character.
Monday’s meeting starts at 5 p.m.
City of North Vancouver
Is it hot in here, or is it just LEC?
Pending council’s approval, city-owned utility Lonsdale Energy Corp. is planning to boost capacity charges five per cent this year to fund a project that would enable LEC to recover heat from the new North Shore Wastewater Treatment plant. LEC is also planning to boost metering and capacity charges to keep up with inflation, resulting in a three per cent increase per year for the next five years.
The city is also expected to approve a letter lobbying the provincial government for a ban on the sale and distribution of single-use packaging, including foam cups, plastic bags and straws, and stir sticks – while allowing exemptions for accessibility and inclusion.
A draft of the letter calls for more recycling options and expanding the extended producer responsibility program for packaging and printed paper products.
Council is also set to vote on a subdivision that would allow for two new single-family homes, each with accompanying secondary suites, to be built at 1420 Forbes Ave.
Lastly, council is set to consider allowing a two-storey duplex at 2205 St. Andrews Ave. that would replace a 1948-era single-family home.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
District of North Vancouver
The future’s so bright, the District of North Vancouver is considering limiting excessive lighting.
District council is eschewing chambers Monday evening for the more informal workshop as they discuss what is too loud, too bright, and exactly when a house crosses the line separating tasteful and tasteless in the municipality’s single-family neighbourhoods.
Following discussions earlier in the summer, council is mulling decibel limits that would govern the volume of home theatres, air conditioners and generators. A staff report suggested the district could manage both the amount and placement of lighting, and possibly “regulate decorative lighting.”
Besides “general support” for establishing a maximum building size in a single-family zone, council may also mull reducing exemptions for basements. Other points of consideration include possible height limits on garages and retaining walls.
The workshop starts at 5 p.m.
