April 1, 2019 Regular Council Summary

Committee Recommendations
The following are recommendations brought forward from the Committee of the Whole, Finance and Audit Committee and Governance and Priorities Committee meetings:

Maffeo Sutton Park will be the home of a new landscaped garden area next year as Council approved the Rotary Centennial Garden project. Fully funded by the Nanaimo Rotary Club, the Centennial Garden will open by May 1, 2020.

A grant to the Nanaimo Volunteer & Information Centre Society in the amount of $1,551.46, to cover the facility rental cost of Beban Park Auditorium for their 2019 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, and continued coverage for this annual event for the duration of this Council’s term was approved.

Additional funding from the Overdose Emergency Response Centre for Nanaimo’s Community Action Team to support Indigenous community members was approved.

The default lease term for City-owned cultural facilities has been extended to 10 years, with the option to renew for an additional 10 years. This change will enable groups to be eligible to apply for grant funding from senior levels of government requiring long-term lease agreements.

A Travel Assistance Grant of $600 was awarded to the Dover Bay Secondary Girls Basketball team to attend the Grade 9 Girls Basketball Provincial Championships in Port Moody, BC.

A Travel Assistance Grant of $2,000 was awarded to the Vancouver Island Special Needs Hockey Association to attend the Southern California Special Needs Hockey Festival in Valencia, California.

The process of approving future Travel Assistance Grants will be simplified with Staff now authorized to approve Travel Assistance Grant requests, with a bi-annual update report to be provided to the Finance and Audit Committee.

Council has provided their support to the Nanaimo Clippers Junior A Hockey Club’s bid to host the Royal Bank Cup, National Junior A Hockey Championship in 2021, and an agreement to commit up to $30,000 if the bid is successful.

Ten items that were listed on the Core Services Review recommendations spreadsheet have been removed (see agenda item 9.b.3.1 for detailed list)

$37,000 will be added to the 2019 budget for a LED numeric score clock at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre. It will be funded from the Facility Development Reserve, along with a $5,000 private contribution from the Nanaimo Riptides Swim Club.

Funding will continue to be received from Employment and Social Development Canada under the New Horizons for Seniors program to continue existing Seniors Connect projects until Dec. 31, 2019.

Sections 9 b,c

Bylaw Updates
Consent was given to adopt an amended Regional District of Nanaimo Regional Parks and Trails Service Area Bylaw, which sees a change to the annual amount collected by parcel tax. 
Section 10 a 

A new Regional Parks and Trails Parcel Tax Bylaw and Parcel Tax Roll Preparation Bylaw passed three readings.
Section 10 b

The Inter-Community Business Licence Amendment Bylaw, expanding the participants in the inter-municipal business licensing program, was adopted.
Section 11 a

Emergency Pump Station
The Emergency Pump Station budget will be increased by $755,000 with funds coming from the Water Reserve Fund. 
Section 10 d

Regional Context Statement Review
The Regional Context Statement in the City’s Official Community Plan will be retained and provided to the RDN’s board for its continued acceptance. It will be updated when the scheduled Official Community Plan review happens later this year. 
Section 10 f

Development around Nanaimo
A Development Permit for 25 Spyglass Lookout was rejected. 
Section 10 g

Development Variance Permits were issued for 411 Dunsmuir Street, 424 Wesley Street and 240 Twiggly Wiggly Road
Sections 10 h-j

Rezoning applications for 25 Front Street, 3923 Victoria Avenue, 1483 Bowen Road and 510 Fifth Street, to allow a cannabis retail store, passed two readings. The third reading for each location will be considered after a community contribution has been secured and the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch has given license approval
Section 10 l-o

Rezoning applications for 2397 and 2387 Barclay Road, to allow for a two-lot subdivision, passed two readings.
Section 10 p,q

Committee Appointments
The following were appointed to the Design Advisory Panel: Steve Johnstone, Kevin Krastel, Marie Leduc, Gurdeep Minhas, Kate Stefiuk (BC Society of Landscape Architects representative) and Charles Kierulf (Architectural Institute of BC representative). Councillor Brown was appointed as the Council representative.
Section 14 a

April 1, 2019 Regular Council Meeting - agenda, documents and video