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OCP discussions dominate council meeting
Kimberley City Council Report
By Nowell Berg
On December 11, City of Kimberley council held its bi-monthly meeting.
Councillors Kent Goodwin, Albert Hoglund, Nigel Kitto, Bev Middlebrook, Darryl Oakley and Sandra Roberts were present along with Mayor Don McCormick.
Official Community Plan presented to council
For the first time, council received the Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw, which if adopted, would repeal and replace the old OCP.
As pointed out by Troy Pollock, Manager, Planning Services, the city’s OCP had not undergone a “comprehensive review” since 2005. He went on to say the two most important objectives, out of five, for the OCP were to; “one-refresh and confirm [the] community’s vision for land use and development, and, two-develop clear and concise content to guide planning decisions.”
Voting in favour of first reading does not approve any potential zoning changes, but only starts the “formal bylaw review and public hearing process,” said Mayor McCormick.
Coun. Middlebrook raised three concerns. First, what was the amount of land needed for light industrial use? She said it started out at 23 acres, then dropped to 11.5 acres, and now it seems to be 10 lots of one acre each. She asked for clarification and details on the number and size of proposed lots. Her second concern was the OCPs use of the phrase “mixed industrial.”
She urged the city to provide “transparency” and clarification on what mixed industrial really means. “Its important information we need to have,” she said.
The third concern was the word “’banks’ – what does this mean?” in the context of the OCP statement to increase open space, parks and recreational land within Kimberley.
Pollock said “banks” refers to hillside areas that would “not be used for development.”
Middlebrook concluded saying the use of the Benchland “keeps changing.” She asked that a “clear picture of what will happen” there be included in the OCP.
Coun. Goodwin said he would make no decision on the OCP or the Benchland “until after the public hearing.” He asked Middlebrook if she would ever “accept any type of light industry” on the Benchland, which she did not answer. Goodwin also said the question of what “might be there five years down the road” was not appropriate for this phase of the OCP process.
Coun. Oakley said that at this “high level” of the OCP, councilors should “leave all options open.”
Coun. Hoglund got specific about his intentions, saying he would vote in favour of the first and second readings of the OCP Bylaw, but would “not vote for OCP” adoption if the Benchland designation remained as industrial. “The best use for that land is residential,” he said.
Mayor McCormick said it was important for the city to look at attracting “well paying jobs.” He noted since Cominco/Teck closed the Sullivan Mine the majority of jobs in town are limited to tourism and services jobs, which pay “$12 – $15 / hour.”
To ensure the long-term viability of the community, he said, “We need to fix this.”
Mayor McCormick also urged council to remain “open to persuasive arguments” about the OCP. Strategic priorities will often conflict and won’t be supported by 100% of the people all the time. It is council’s responsibility as elected officials to take into account the “best interests of the whole community.”
The second reading of the OCP Bylaw will occur at the January 22 council meeting.
The public hearing on the OCP will be held February 19 at Centennial Hall.
Final reading and adoption of the OCP Bylaw will be determined after the Public Hearing.
Benchlands Referendum defeated
Council received a report from Maryse Leroux, Corporate Officer, regarding a possible referendum, or as it is now called ‘Assent and Other Voting,’ regarding the land use designation of the Benchlands in the OCP.
Leroux’s report offered three options for council to consider.
- Receive the report for information.
- Direct staff to prepare a report to set an other voting (referendum) date for October 20, 2018 general local elections on a question related to the designation of the Benchlands in the Official Community Plan.
- Direct staff to prepare a report to set an other voting (referendum) date for April 14, regarding the designation of the Benchlands in the Official Community Plan.
If other voting (referendum) were held, as per Options two and three, the outcome would not be binding on council. Option three would cost the city approximately $25,000 which was the cost of the 2014 local election. Option two would only cost about $2,000 as it would be held in conjunction with the October municipal election.
Coun. Middlebrook proposed a motion for council to support option two.
She proposed a delaying of the OCP until an “other voting – referendum” could be held with the October 2018 local election. She also said it was important to let “the people make the decision, not council.”
Leroux’s report also noted, “Staff consulted with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing specifically with regards to a referendum related to the Official Community Plan. The Ministry recommends against it as it would be non-binding and could give the wrong impression to residents about the impact of its outcome, and undermine the OCP process as set out by the Local Government Act.”
Coun. Roberts said council “needs the public hearing to get all of the information” on the whole plan “not just one item” within the OCP i.e. Benchland.
Coun. Middlebrook passionately argued the local election was only 10 months away. “When something is this important to people, we need to delay the OCP,” she said.
Mayor McCormick rebutted Coun. Middlebrook’s plea for a referendum. “Our job as elected officials is to make the decisions. Governance by referendum doesn’t work,” he said, pointing out there were several books written on the subject to support that conclusion.
“We [council] do our best, we can’t please all of the people all of the time,” McCormick said, adding, if the community doesn’t like what council does, then at election time they can vote them out of office.
Coun. Middlebrook’s motion was defeated; she was the only who one voted in favour.
2018 Community Grants approved
Council accepted a staff report recommending approval of the 2018 Community Grants.
Just over $99,000 in cash and in-kind grants was awarded to 26 local groups. Almost $58,000 was available for cash grants. In-kind grants totalled almost $42,000.
The top three cash grants were awarded to:
Spark Society for Youth – $13,667;
Summit Community Services
Seniors Helping Seniors and Victim Services – $11,571;
East Kootenay Regional Search and Rescue – $8,829.
Search and Rescue also received an In-kind grant of $3,450 giving them a total grant of $12,279.
The largest In-kind grants went to:
Float Maintenance and Travel Expenses – $7,320;
Kimberley Community Fall Fair – $5,680;
Kimberley Arts Council (Oktoberfest / First Saturday) – $4,840.
In total, the Kimberley Arts Council received cash and in-kind grants totaling $8,970. The majority of which goes to support First Saturdays and Oktoberfest events.
City council and staff wish all residents a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kimberley city council meets twice monthly. All meetings start at 7 p.m. and are open to the public. Check the city’s website here for the meeting agenda. Click on the 2017 folder and follow the link.
This was the last Council meeting for 2017.
The first 2018 regular Council meeting will be on January 8.
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