Municipality of North Cowichan
Regular Council
AGENDA

Wednesday, October 04, 2023 at 5:00 P.m. - 6:00 P.m.

Municipal Hall - Council Chambers & Electronically

This meeting which is open to the public, will be conducted in-person in Council Chambers and by video conference using the Cisco Webex platform, and will be streamed live and archived for viewing on demand at www.northcowichan.ca. All representations to Council form part of the public record.

 

Members of the public may attend the Municipal Hall [7030 Trans-Canada Highway] in person, or join the meeting electronically to participate during the 'Public Input' and 'Question Period' portions of the agenda. Please visit northcowichan.ca/virtualmeeting for instructions on how to connect online or you may dial 1.844.426.4405, enter 1# for English, enter the meeting ID 2774 298 8055, and then enter the meeting password 1111.

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

As soon as there is a quorum present after the time specified for the Council meeting, the Mayor shall call the meeting to order. If there is no quorum of Council present within 30 minutes of the scheduled time for the meeting, the meeting is adjourned until the next scheduled meeting.

2.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA

To adopt all recommendations appearing on the Consent Agenda in one motion, without discussion or debate. Included are items that are regular, non-controversial, or routine in nature. Any item may be moved out at the request of any Council member for discussion or debate, before the agenda is approved. Items removed from the Consent Agenda will be placed under New Business.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council approve the Consent Agenda and the recommendations contained therein as circulated [or as amended].

2.1

Items for decision

All recommendations provided under each of the items listed below will be adopted once the Consent Agenda is approved, unless removed and placed under New Business. 

2.1.1

Council Meeting Minutes for Adoption

Purpose: To consider if there were any errors or omissions prior to adopting the minutes of previous meetings of Council.

NOTE: The errors in the Regular and Public Hearing minutes from September 26, 2023 have been corrected and replaced in the agenda package.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council adopt the minutes of their special, regular and public hearing meetings held September 26, 2023.

2.1.2

Cowichan Green Community re Request for letter of support for the FoodHub project

Purpose: To receive the September 27, 2023 email from Cowichan Green Community requesting a letter of support from Council to include in their grant application to Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP) to help finalize the construction of the warehouse and kitchen of the Food Hub project located at 2431 Beverly Street.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council authorize the Mayor to provide a letter of support to the Cowichan Green Community in support of their grant application to Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program.

2.2

Items for information

All items listed below will be received for information purposes only once the Consent Agenda is approved, unless removed and placed under New Business where Council may consider taking action. 

2.2.1

Alistair MacGregor, MP re New Development on Federal Bail Reform Legislation

Purpose: To receive the September 19, 2023 letter from Alistair MacGregor, MP – Cowichan-Malahat-Langford advising that Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform), passed all stages of the House of Commons, and has been sent to the Senate.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council receive for information the September 19, 2023 letter from Alistair MacGregor, MP – Cowichan-Malahat-Langford.

3.

APPROVAL OF REGULAR AGENDA

To consider any items of business not included in the Agenda that are of an urgent nature they must be introduced and approved at the time the agenda is adopted. Matters must be taken up in the order that they are listed unless changed at this time.

• Recommendation:

  THAT the agenda be adopted as circulated [or as amended].

4.

MAYOR'S REPORT

Mayor’s opportunity to make announcements and update Council and the community on various matters which the Mayor has participated in since the last meeting.

5.

DELEGATIONS

Delegations appear before Council in order to make a presentation, enter a request for action, or bring Council up to date on a project, idea, or concept, or to provide further information on an issue currently before Council for a decision. Delegations are limited to 10 minutes to make their address to Council unless extended by a unanimous vote of all Council members present. A delegation may not address Council on a bylaw for which a public hearing has been held or where a public hearing is required.

5.1

Nancy Dower re Noise Bylaw

Purpose: Nancy Dower to present to Council a request that the Municipality of North Cowichan develops a robust Noise Bylaw, protecting its residents from intrusive noise that interferes with their peaceful enjoyment of their properties and with their daily lives within their homes.

6.

PUBLIC INPUT ON AGENDA ITEMS

Public Input is an opportunity for the public to provide their feedback on matters included on the agenda. The maximum number of speakers to be heard during the public input period is limited to five, with a maximum of three minutes allotted to each speaker.  Members of the public attending the meeting in person must register at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting by signing the sheet posted outside of Council Chambers. Members of the public attending electronically must raise their hand once the meeting has been called to order. Please visit northcowichan.ca/virtualmeeting for instructions on how to raise your hand. Speakers are asked to state their name and residential address when commencing their address to Council.

7.

BYLAWS

Bylaws appearing under this section will be listed in order of readings as follows: (a) bylaws for adoption shall appear first, followed by (b) bylaws receiving third reading, then (c) bylaws receiving first and second or first three readings.

7.1

Waste Collection and Waterworks Amendment Bylaw No. 3935, 2023 for adoption

Purpose: To consider adoption of Waste Collection and Waterworks Amendment Bylaw No. 3935, 2023. If adopted, the bylaw amends the Waste Collection Bylaw, the Waterworks Bylaw and the Fees and Charges Bylaw to ensure consistency with current practices and compliance with provincial legislation.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council adopt Waste Collection and Waterworks Amendment Bylaw No. 3935, 2023.

7.2

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3927 for first and second reading

Purpose: To introduce Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3927, which proposes to amend Zoning Bylaw 1995, No. 2950 to add a definition of “Animal Shelter” and add “Animal Shelter” as a site-specific permitted use at 7550 Bell McKinnon Road in the Rural Zone (A2).

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council:

  1. give first and second reading to Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3927, 2023; and
  2. authorize a public hearing for Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3927, 2023.

8.

REPORTS

This section includes reports from staff requiring a decision of Council and/or staff presentations. Staff reports for information only are placed in the Consent Agenda.

8.1

Communications and Leadership North Cowichan Fire Department

Purpose: To provide Council with staff’s advice on implementing the recommendations by Tim Pley and Associates regarding the Communications and Leadership within the North Cowichan Fire Department.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council:

  1. Give pre-budget approval for a permanent full-time bylaw admin support position beginning as soon as possible;
  2. Direct staff to retain Tim Pley and Associates at a cost of $60,000 to undertake strategic planning for the Fire Service; and
  3. Direct staff to review the balance of the recommendations in the “Review of Communications and Leadership within the North Cowichan Fire Department” report as part of the 2024 budget process.

8.2

Safer Corridor Improvement Strategies

Purpose: To consider the recommendations from the Council workshop held June 21, 2023, related to managing the corridor homelessness, mental health, and addiction issues.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council direct staff to:

  1. Develop a detox and/or rehab facility proposal in partnership with a non-profit society and submit it to the province as a funding request;
  2. Strengthen all bylaws that support enforcing safety for the community and prepare an open drug use bylaw that minimizes public exposure to open drug use in parks and adjacent to school properties;
  3. Reconstitute the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Committee and investigate ways to partner on more fulsome marsh patrols;
  4. Consult with community health partners to develop a formal request to the province for additional support services in the medical and social services sector to improve outcomes in the drug addiction, mental health, and homelessness issues in the Cowichan Valley Regional District;
  5. Include funding opportunities for a downtown core “Clean Team” in the 2024 budget discussions;
  6. Continue to advocate to the province for funding to help manage the public disorder to support bylaw and/or RCMP resourcing; and
  7. Refer the issue of hiring a Social Planner to the 2024 budget deliberations.

9.

NOTICES OF MOTIONS

This section includes notices of motions submitted by Members of Council for introduction only, discussion and debate of the motion shall occur at a future meeting. Introductory remarks or clarifying questions are not permitted at this time as per Council’s Notice of Motion Policy.

10.

UNFINISHED AND POSTPONED BUSINESS

This section includes matters that have been postponed to a certain time or referred to staff, a committee or some other organization or person, and shall be placed under this section when the matter is returned to Council for consideration.

10.1

OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 3914 and Zoning Amendment Bylaw 3915 and updated community amenity contribution offer

Purpose: To consider moving OCP Amendment Bylaw No. 3914 and Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3915 forward and accepting the applicant’s updated offer for community amenity contributions for 1771 Robert Street.

(Note: A staff recommendation has not been provided. Council’s options are to adopt a motion to give second reading to the bylaws and proceed to a public hearing or defeat the motion.)

10.2

Building Amendment Bylaw No. 3032, 2023

Purpose: To consider the changes made to Building Amendment Bylaw No. 3932, 2023 related to Emission Levels, as requested by Council on September 26, 2023.

• Recommendation:

  THAT Council:

  1. Give first, second and third readings to Building Amendment Bylaw No. 3932, 2023; and,
  2. Direct staff to communicate with the building industry about pending changes to Building Bylaw No. 3172.

11.

NEW BUSINESS

This section includes external items that require a decision of Council, items that have been removed from the Consent Agenda, and motions submitted by Council members, where previous notice has been given, for Council consideration.

12.

QUESTION PERIOD

Question Period is an opportunity for the public to ask brief questions regarding the business discussed during the meeting. When invited by the Mayor, members of the public who are attending the meeting in person may step up to the podium to ask their question(s) and members of the public who are attending electronically may raise their hand at this time. Please visit northcowichan.ca/virtualmeeting for instructions on how to raise your hand.

13.

ADJOURNMENT

Once all the business is done and over with, the Mayor may declare the meeting adjourned without requiring a resolution of Council.