COVID-19 is affecting procedures at Richmond City Hall – both who makes presentations to council and how development applications are handled.
KPMG auditors were invited but declined to come to the finance committee at city hall on Monday afternoon to answer questions from councillors about the 2019 Consolidated Financial Statements.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the rules don’t allow them to participate via Webex, the city’s videoconferencing program, which councillors and city staff use to participate in meetings as they physical distance.
Both Couns. Carole Day and Kelly Greene voted against accepting the audited statements, with the latter questioning why the auditors weren’t allowed on videoconferencing.
“The rules don’t provide for them coming in by Webex,” Brodie said.
A bylaw would need to be changed to allow them to come into the meeting by Webex, Brodie pointed out.
He said council members have received both the auditors’ report, which is “voluminous in the extreme,” and a letter with points they would have made if they had come in.
Greene pointed she has asked questions, but isn’t happy with the answers and wanted to ask more.
“It’s our obligation as council to be diligent, to be trustworthy and open and honest in all of our meetings, and if we’re not having our auditors there in person to ask questions, I don’t think that we’re meeting those obligations,” Greene said.
The 2019 Consolidated Financial Statements will come back to council for a final vote.
Brodie suggested councillors ask questions in writing over the next week to get answers from KPMG.
Public hearing on the chopping block
Several councillors balked at a recommendation from staff to waive a public hearing on a Capstan development.
The developer of several residential and office towers at No. 3 Road and Corvette Way has asked for 110 more units – increasing the number from 850 to 960.
Local governments can, by law, waive public hearings if an Official Community Plan (OCP) is in effect in the area under development and the rezoning is consistent with the OCP.
“A lot has changed on this and I think we need to look at this very, very carefully,” said Coun. Bill McNulty about the rezoning application. He added staff needs to go back and look at the original plans.
“I’m not happy with the requests that have come from the developer – it’s a whole new ballgame,” he said.
The application is from Yuanheng Seaside Developments Ltd./Yuanheng Seaview Developments Ltd.
In the end, the item was referred back to staff with several concerns from council, including asking for more affordable housing units if the total number of units is increased, looking at holding a public hearing, the amenity space and the governance model of the community association that will oversee the new community centre being built there.
