City Hall

Events, decisions, and reports at City Council for the week of May 17

May 20 2021 –

Vancouver City Council met electronically this week to hear and discuss a variety of topics during Council, Public Hearing and Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities meetings. 

Tuesday, May 18

This week’s Council meeting began by approving Waiving Patio Fees for 2021 (66 KB).

“I brought this motion to waive permanent patio fees for our restaurants in 2021 (that will apply through March 2022) to provide critical support and give some relief to these struggling small businesses, especially given that the Federal wage and rent subsidies are slated to start going down,” said Councillor Sarah Kirby Yung. “Waiving fees will help 600 plus restaurants in neighbourhoods across the city. Fees for the Temporary Expedited Patio Program were free from the beginning, and this levels the playing field and recognizes the extended impact of the pandemic.” 

Council then approved the following reports and referral reports: 

Next, Council approved the following motions, by-laws and administrative motions: 

A Public Hearing was held on Tuesday evening, and Council approved the following items after presentations from staff and hearing from members of the public:

Wednesday, May 19

The Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities meeting began with Council approving the following items following presentations from staff and hearing from members of the public: 

“Transition of our street lighting to LED luminaires and intelligent street light control is an exciting move forward in improving core services in our city,” said Councillor Sarah-Kirby-Yung. “The new LED lighting is not only greener, it will result in $2.3 million in annual savings once installed. Plus maintenance will improve, as intelligent tracking means that when lights are out they will self-report and residents no longer have to call 311 to report burned out lights. The lighting is also dark-sky friendly and directional, so settings can be managed to ensure lights maximize safety but don’t negatively impact quality of life for residents. Finally, longer-term, the reduced energy usage could enable modification of street lighting poles so they could be used for electric vehicle or e-bike charging.”

Next, Council approved the following items after presentations from staff and hearing from members of the public:

The Committee heard from 79 speakers on Reducing Barriers and Deepening Affordability for Non-Profit, Co-op and Social Housing in Every Neighbourhood (Member's Motion B.2) (133 KB).

“Council spent 8 hours hearing a range of residents’ thoughts on the need for affordable housing in Vancouver,” said Councillor Christine Boyle. “This including a number of community housing experts who outlined ways that Council can act to make it faster and less expensive to build non-profit and co-op housing, including through the public-benefit zoning that is being proposed.” 

“People are struggling to pay the rent and continue to call Vancouver home. This need for stable, mixed-income non-market housing across the city should be a priority for Council. When we vote on the motion, hopefully our votes reflect that.”

The Committee then recessed and will reconvene on Tuesday, May 25, at 6pm, continuing to hear from speakers with agenda item Reducing Barriers and Deepening Affordability for Non-Profit, Co-op and Social Housing in Every Neighbourhood (Member's Motion B.2) (133 KB). 

The next Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, at 9:30am. Find agendas and meeting reports on council.vancouver.ca.