This week at city council, topics such as moorage at Steveston Harbour, tree, bench and picnic table dedication, a Capstan Village art plan, the city’s affordable housing plan and the West Cambie Neighbourhood Park will be discussed.
Richmond's city council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 12 in council chambers at 6911 No. 3 Rd. The public is welcome to attend or watch an online broadcast of the meeting. Here’s a deeper look at a couple of those agenda items:
Housing affordability strategy
On Monday, staff will bring forward the final draft of the city’s affordable housing strategy to be approved by council. In January, the city underwent a public consultation process to gather feedback on the affordable housing draft strategy. A total of 119 people completed the survey (online and on paper) and approximately 60 individuals attended the open houses.
Generally, city staff say the affordable housing strategy was supported and many who provided feedback commented that housing is an urgent issue. However, some suggested that more focus should be put on short term actions due to the city’s current housing affordability crisis.
While there are 22 approved policy actions, the following priority policies will be the initial focus of the affordable housing strategy 2017-2027:
- Securing low-end market rental units through development
- Increasing cash-in-lieu rates used when developers don’t meet their requirement for building low-end market rental units. The contributions are collected for the affordable housing reserve fund.
- Maximizing the affordable housing reserve fund which is intended to support the development of innovative affordable housing projects, such as the Kiwanis Towers and Storeys project.
- Using city-owned land for affordable housing
- Using municipal financial incentives to support affordable housing objectives
- Facilitating non-profit housing development opportunities
West Cambie Neighbourhood Park
City staff are also seeking approval of the West Cambie Neighbourhood Park’s master plan. The park is a relatively recent addition to the Richmond's park and open space system. Last fall, the city hosted open houses to gain public input towards the development and refinement of a master plan for the park and to consider a public art opportunity for the park.
Highlights of the park’s master plan include a gathering area with seating, picnic tables and shelter, an open lawn, an amphitheatre, a rain garden, a children’s play area, pedestrian and bike paths, half-court basketball, an off-leash dog area and table tennis.
A panel review and public art consultation also took place and a piece titled “Pergola Garden” by Nicholas Croft and Michaela MacLeod of Polymetis has been included in the final park proposal.
If the plan is approved, the project will advance to the detailed design and construction documentation phase.
