Tuesday, November 14, 2017

City Council Preview: Tuesday, November 14, 2017


Housing has jumped to the top of the list for items of interest for this evenings Prince Rupert City Council session, the set up of a Tent City making for a hard to miss reminder that there has yet to be much progress in town when it comes to providing for affordable housing or shelter in the community.

As soon as the Tent City had put in its first stakes ( a few of which were assisted by Mayor Lee Brain) the Mayor had provided a copy of the text of a letter related to the housing situation, with Mr. Brain noting he had sent copies of his correspondence to both MLA Jennifer Rice and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson.

Mr. Brain also noted that it would be added to the agenda of the Tuesday night Council session for Council's review and discussion.

As the Remembrance Day weekend moved forward, indications through Social media seemed to suggest that the organizers and supporters of those in the Tent City might be looking to make an appearance at the Tuesday Council session to share some thoughts, something which isn't listed on the Agenda, but could be added to it should the Council members decided that the public comment should be part of tonight's discussion.

One person that Council members will hear from for sure, will be North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, she has been added to the Agenda on the night to provide her update on how the Provincial government views the current housing situation in the city and what plans they may have to address it.

Outside of the Housing issue, the evening offers up a short list of items for review, included among the agenda items on the night is a presentation from The Transition Prince Rupert Society, which will provide an update on the still to be started McKay Street Park proposal.

Council members will also receive a report related to a Development variance permit on the East Side of the city, while the City's Financial Officer will Review the September Financial Variance Report for Council.

Mr. Brain's correspondence to the Minister of Municipal Affairs will be reviewed towards the of the evening, with Council members also offered the opportunity to raise additional items or make inquiries prior to the night's end.

Council will also review a report from the Manager of Community Development and Civic Innovation, as Hans Seidemann will deliver an overview related to a proposed Extension to the Interim Zoning Bylaw to Temporarily Establish Commercial Marijuana Operations as a Prohibited Use in all Zones of the city.

Prior to the Regular session, Council members will head behind closed doors once again, as they host a Closed Session on the night, the  advisory posted on the City's website noting the following criteria for the discussion outside of the public view:

90.1   (c) labour relations or other employee relations 

(k)  negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public. 

The Regular Council session gets underway at 7PM..

(See Agenda here) 


REGULAR SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL

Adoption of Agenda and Past minutes -- Mayor Brain will review the agenda for the evening and Council will adopt the minutes of past meetings.

Petitions and Delegations make for the first item of business on the evening,  with two participants scheduled to appear:

Ms. Jennifer Rice -- MLA North Coast, with an update on housing issues.

Mr. Ken Shaw -- Transition Prince Rupert Society,  with an update on plans for the McKay Street Park.

Any Notes on Unfinished Business will follow that presentation.

Reports and Recommendations is next on the Agenda listings.

Report from the Community Planner -- Application for a development variance permit -- Council will review an application for a development variance permit for a property on Hays Cove Circle (Page 9 of the Agenda Package)

Report from the Chief Financial Officer  -- Council will receive a report  related to the September 2017 Financial Variance Report (Page 21 of the Agenda Package)

Correspondences for Action --  Council will review Mayor Lee Brain's letter to Selina Robinson, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, with Council to discuss the topic of an Affordable Housing project.

Resolutions from Closed Meetings,

Bylaws

Report from the Manager of Community Development and Civic Innovation regarding an extension of the Interim Zoning Amendment Bylaw to Temporarily Establish Commercial Marijuana Operations as Prohibited in all Zones (Page 28 of the Agenda Package)

The evening then moves on to Additional Items 

The evening will come to an end with Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council members can also take advantage of the period to offer up any items or concerns that they have for consideration on the night.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our items of note related to the November 14th session can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions for 2017 for Council is available here.

Update: Tonight's Council session is only available for viewing through the City's Website (link above) CityWest Channel 10 is in use for the Prince Rupert Rotary Auction


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