This post will be updated throughout the evening as council moves through tonight’s agenda. For background on the agenda, see this story.

7 p.m.

In attendance tonight are all of council (Couns. Deb Kozak, Bob Adams, Donna Macdonald, Kim Charlesworth, Robin Cherbo, Marg Stacey and Mayor John Dooley) and the city’s manager, Kevin Cormack, Dave Wahn, senior planner and Frances Long, manager of legislative and administrative services.

4a) CBT Community Initiative Funding

The new wording, which removes the previous wording which referenced the city’s Sustainability and Downtown/Waterfront Master plans.

The Columbia Basin Trust and RDCK had concerns about adding an extra layer of criteria, explains Coun. Macdonald.

Coun. Kozak says she read in the staff report that the CBT would provide a facilitator to work on the five-year priorities. Do we want to look into that? she asks council.

Cormack says some other communities want to be more strategic in how they use CBT Community Initiative Funding and they’re willing.

She reads a motion that staff contact the CBT about developing a five-year plan. Kozak says it’s worth exploring. I like to keep our options open, she says.

Coun. Macdonald says it could help move them towards acting more strategically, but she thinks the Path to 2040 does that and she’s baffled the CBT would ask them to do more planning.

Coun. Charlesworth says she’s normally all for planning, but given what they’ve learned in the 2011 budget process, things are tight. She also said they won’t be adding staff, which could be a tip onto what they’ve going to decide tomorrow at some public meetings on the budget.

Coun. Stacey says they do a good job on strategic planning.

Cormack says to be clear, CBT said the city doesn’t have to go through their five-year planning process, it’s just something to recommend.

Kozak’s motion is defeated. They don’t want to talk with the CBT about this.

4b) Labour negotiations and provincial laws

This item is around a motion to call on the province to review the 15-year-old Fire and Police Services Collective Bargaining Act.

According to the motion, the act forces discussions with unions into certain directions that aren’t productive and lead to settlements that are out of touch with the economic realities of the day.

Coun. Cherbo says he understands the objective behind it, but he says you can’t direct an arbiter any more than you can direct a judge.

All essential services run into this problem

All of council approves the motion.

4c) Parking meter rates

Council earlier resolved to double the parking meter rates. Now they’re going to pass that resolution.

It will cost $1 an hour to park in Nelson once this passes, but it looks like that’s not a given.

Mayor John Dooley asks that they leave this until they do the public open house.

“I support what’s here, but I don’t particularly like chipping off parts of the budget and then going to the public with the rest of the budget,” says Dooley.

He’s saying he’d like the public to tell them what they think about the idea of doubling the parking meter rates before council approves it.

The open house is one week away.

Cormack says they need lead time to do prepare for it.

Coun. Charlesworth says she hears what Dooley is saying around this being a financial piece of the 2011 budget but she doesn’t want to wait.

“I don’t feel we need to wait for the open house. I don’t think this will be popular with residents. I expect that’s what we’re going to hear.”

She says moving ahead is the appropriate thing for them to do and wants the public to understand that one of the reasons council chose to increase parking meter fees was because it spreads the burden for that revenue collection to everyone that drives into Nelson as opposed to just Nelson taxpayers.

It is the cars that are causing the deterioration of the roads, which is what this money will go to fund. It also fits with their Path to 2040, which calls for disincentives to driving.

Cherbo wasn’t here for those discussions on Feb. 2. He’s opposed because he says it will affect the downtown business core and he doesn’t think it will get people out of cars.

He’s also afraid it will drive people to the malls as opposed to Baker Street.

Cherbo also thinks some meters are too expensive anyway. He wants those, which are outside the downtown core, to be cheaper.

Cherbo asks council to wait until the public meeting.

“If we pass this before the public meeting it’s bad optics.”

Coun. Adams agrees with Charlesworth’s reasons for increasing the rates but he wants to wait for the public meeting.

Coun. Stacey says tourists pay a lot for parking all over the province. $8 an hour in Vancouver. She says council could have increased the parking meter rates any time of the year. Not just now when they’re working on the budget.

Cherbo moves they table this item until after the public meeting. Adams seconds it. They’re the only one to vote for it. They’re defeated.

Back to the motion on hand, doubling the rates.

Coun. Macdonald shares a quote from a sustainability meeting she was at:

“Change does not happen by consensus.”

She says this revenue is needed. Macdonald also says she’d like to know if Stacey got any feedback on this from the Nelson Business Association meeting.

Macdonald also says she has confidence in the city’s downtown and the businesses are attractive and will keep drawing people to the city.

She says if they do delay, they’re losing revenue they could collect from the parking meters.

Coun. Kozak brings up the paving projects and transit the parking meters will help pay for. She likes the costs are spread over everybody who parks.

“I know it will be a hardship,” she says, and offers to work with business owners to monitor the situation and see if traffic drops and if they get fewer customers.

The rates are approved with Coun. Cherbo recorded opposed. Everyone else voted for the increased parking rates.

Speaking to the media afterward the meeting:

Cherbo says he doesn’t have a suggestion for where else the money could come from. He says the parking meter rate increases are going to punish the downtown businesses.

Also, he feels the optics about approving the increases before talking the public are bad.

5a) Changes to how snow is pushed around

Now some bylaws around snow removal.

The first motion, to prohibit parking within one metre of stairs leading off streets, is passed.

Council then talks about parking on certain sides of the streets to make snow plowing easier.

Coun. Donna Macdonald says if they can make this work, they’ll save money on their snow plow budget because it will be more efficient. They’ll be able to plow in one pass.

The third motion around forcing people to shovel their sidewalks on all days except holidays and Sundays.

Coun. Adams says this is onerous on residents and he doesn’t want to saddle people with this. Coun. Stacey asks if enforcement is only when someone complains. At the moment, yes, says Cormack.

That motion passes with Adams opposed.

6a) Information items: Minutes of commissions

Coun. Stacey asks about the art in public places policy and it’s mural aspect. Macdonald says they’re researching it and the Waterfront/Downtown Master Plan.

6b) Info items: reports

Received.

6c) Works in progress

Coun. Macdonald asks about the keeping of hens. She doesn’t understand the staff notes, which references the adjudication process. What does that have to do with hens, she asks?

Long says they’re working on the adjudication process and it’s impacts on city bylaws. Some bylaws are better suited to adjudication, which staff say will streamline collecting fines. Once they get the adjudication process down they’ll know which bylaws should be adjusted to fit into the adjudication process.

On the disc golf front, Macdonald asked for clarity around the comment which notes some of the land is provincial. Wahn says some of those lands can only be used for cemetery purposes unless the operator wants to use them for something else. Fortunately the operator is the City of Nelson. The disc golf goes to the Rec Commission next.

Coun. Adams asks about outdoor cafés taking up too much space. Wahn says at the moment the bylaw allows for large outdoor cafés so long as they pay for parking spaces and extend the sidewalk out into that space.

7:52 p.m.

7a) Sustainability principles incorporated into the Official Community Plan

Coun. Macdonald says this expanded wording (you’ll have to read the agenda for all of the text) is much more what she was hoping for.

Coun. Kozak says the principles are what the community asked for.

There will be a public hearing on these changes scheduled.

7:58 p.m.

The mayor recommends they take a five-minute break. That’s unusual. They’re about to go into the Nelson Landing issue.

7b) Nelson Landing

City staff have recommended council chose Option B, the “do-nothing” option around Red Sands Beach. Also on the table are first steps to rezoning some of the land and changing its purpose in the Official Community Plan.

8:03 p.m.

Back from the break.

First and second reading to the changes to the Official Community Plan

This surrounds changing some land that was Low Density Residential to Park and Open Space; some land that was Park and Open Space to Mixed Use. See this story for an explanation of these changes, including maps of the affected areas.

The motion passes with no discussion among council. Wahn says council should discuss what just happened, collect questions and bring them to staff.

The purpose of going to this stage is to see if council is OK with the land use proposed, explains Cormack. Details around traffic and specifics in the project will come to the public hearing.

First and second reading to the rezoning

Again, see this story for an explanation of what’s being rezoned.

Coun. Cherbo makes a comment, he says it’s too bad we, the public, can’t see a map of Option B. Option B has no housing near Red Sands Beach. See the story, referenced above, for maps.

Coun. Charlesworth wants to see more wording about the ecological value of the area and wants that ready for the public hearing.

What I’m asking for is a statement from a biologist about the ecological values of this place. Is it habitat for beavers? Certain kinds of trees or plants?

I have not seen any information talking about the ecological values, says Charlesworth.

8:15 p.m.

Wahn says there’s a requirement for an environmental impact assessment and mitigation to avoid loss of habitat. David Sorensen has a biologist on retainer for that purpose, he says, and that information comes in during the development permit, which is hammered out after the public hearing.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says this lake has been so massively impacted already. There’s muttering in the stands (there’s eight people in the audience, a high number for council meetings).

Charlesworth asks if doing it in the development permit stage gives enough time for the developer to take steps to meet any environmental impacts that may come up.

Cormack says the risk is with the developer, who might have to go back and change their plans because it turns out there are some major environmental impacts.

It’s a brownfield development, says Cormack.

Dooley says they’ve taken a lake and turned it into a river over the past century. Charlesworth says she’s aware there’s been massive environ

The first and second reading for the rezoning is approved.

Macdonald asks they have a public meeting before the public hearing. There’s a lot of information that comes out of this and she’d like to give the public time to digest it all.

Charlesworth asks if they could delay scheduling the public hearing to see what kind of issues come out of the public meeting. The public hearing is more of a formal event where council hears from the public on an issue. A meeting is more informal and no decision is made at it.

Wahn says they wouldn’t schedule a public hearing until after a public meeting to wait and see what comes out of the meeting.

Scheduling the public hearing for Nelson Landing

They approve the motion which says they must schedule a public hearing. No date set.

Direct staff to work to come up with a development agreement

This will include having the developer pay for legal costs for covering this development agreement.

Schedule a public meeting for Nelson Landing

Macdonald asks that once the development agreement is finalized they hold a public meeting to give the public a chance to see it. This meeting will be before the hearing. The motion passes unanimously.

7c) Perrier Road rezoning

There’s no discussion around this project which will add eight multi-family units in Rosemont.

7d) Water and Sewer Rates amendment

Only Coun. Charlesworth opposed these rate increases.

8:31 p.m.

7e) Granite Pointe Golf Course amendment to the Official Community Plan

The first and second reading to these changes goes ahead.

Coun. Macdonald says it’s odd to see the Official Community Plan (OCP) done without the rezoning. Wahn says the golf course wants the OCP changes to then go out and look for a developer to take on the project.

Wahn says they’re holding onto any changes to zoning so the City of Nelson can have some bargaining power with whatever developer comes forward.

Macdonald and Charlesworth say it’s an interesting idea for the region.

However, Charlesworth is worried about little mention of connecting this development with public transit. If it’s mixed use, there’s going to be teens and kids who need transport to local schools.

Wahn says that’s a good point. One of the city’s active transportation goals is to have connectivity between walking and transit routes in the city.

Stacey says she used to live out at Willow Point which was a community that dissolved when new infrastructure went in. She’s happy with developments like this one and Nelson Landing come in and are considering being hubs for community.

Kozak says developing rental should be a part of these plans because it’s in such high demand in this community.

All in favour of these changes.

A public hearing on the changes to the OCP will be scheduled.

In camera item release

They have appointed some people to the Nelson Municipal Library board.

Council reports

This is a chance for councillors to fill in each other and the public about what they’ve been doing lately.

Kozak

I left my planner at home, she says, so she can’t report much. “That’s the best news of the night,” jokes Dooley.

The rec commission has met recently and the Nelson and District Community Complex is doing well financially.

Regarding the skatepark, the rec staff have come back that a civil engineering report on drainage issues on that site be done. That report is expected at the next rec commission meeting on Feb. 24.

There’s a minor equipment malfunction for the woman operating the Shaw camera. The tripod leg retracted a bit and Coun. Macdonald, on the prompting of Dooley, went and helped her get everything stable. Those watching council on Shaw may get a little queasy at the end of the broadcast.

Adams

Attended many meetings and is getting over a cold. Coun. Macdonald will be happy to know he won’t be coughing on her for much longer. Cough.

Macdonald

Also been to many meetings.

Charlesworth

She was at many of the same meetings as Adams and Macdonald. All these meetings were at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities sustainability conference in Victoria, held last week.

The big thing she took home was partnerships are crucial to encouraging sustainability and she wants to see the city working more with Selkirk College and the school district, just to name a few organizations.

She also took home the message that they can’t ignore social media any more. (I catch a few smiles in my direction.). She says she’ll become an advocate for social media in the coming communications budget discussions.

Cherbo

Happy Valentine’s Day, says Cherbo.

He’s been getting a lot of old-school social media: phone calls on everything from Nelson Landing, home-based businesses and other issues.

FlightFest has been scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 6.

Stacey

She encourages everyone to talk with Brian Cusack, from Whitewater, about the plans for the ski hill. He has a killer slide presentation that will inspire you, she says.

“Also really appreciate the snow job by our staff, says Stacey. “Is that the right thing to say? I just really appreciate the work done to handle all the snow,” she explains.

Dooley

Regarding the rec commission, he’s happy to see they are building some reserves in that department and taxes won’t increase because of recreation, says the mayor.

Dooley also noted the B.C. Senior Games are coming and they need volunteers.

You can only volunteer online, says Stacey. People can do that here.

9:06 p.m.

Meeting adjourned.