December 5, 2016 Regular Council Summary

Planning underway for Hospital area
The City will be starting a planning process for the Hospital area neighbourhood. The process, which involves a public consultation phase, is expected to take up to 14 months to complete.
Section 9 i
Motion carried.

Quarterly direct awards
In the third quarter of the year, just over $242,000 was spent on direct awards for a variety of products and services including bike park equipment, security equipment, fire rescue communications systems maintenance and curling rink resurfacing.
Section 8 a
Information was received.

User rate increase in 2017
Starting January 1, user rates will increase. Water rates will increase by 7.5%, sewer by 5% and garbage by 2%. South West Extension will see a bulk water rate increase of $0.41 per 1,000 gallons. 
Sections 8 d, e
Motion carried.

Collecting dog license fees
The City will now be able to collect outstanding dog license fees with an amendment to the current Control of Animals bylaw.
Section 7 b
Motion carried.

Ice centre to host VIU Hockey Team
The Nanaimo Ice Centre will soon become the home of a hockey team for Vancouver Island University. The team will be in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League featuring teams from Eastern Washington University, Selkirk College, Simon Fraser University, Trinity Western University, and the University of Victoria.
Section 9 a
Motion carried.

Nanaimo development update
A new student housing and retail complex will go up at 416 Wakesiah with variances to increase the building height, reduce parking spaces for tenants and commercial use, reduce loading zones, reduce the landscape buffer and allow access from Wakesiah in addition to lane access.
Section 9 c
Motion carried.

City construction project updates
Two road, water and sewer projects required budget increases this year. The Cliff Area Corridor and Utility Project budget increased from $1.8 million to $2.1 million due to soil contamination and the budget for the Victoria Road Sidewalk and Utility project increased from $800,000 to $970,000 due to some extra road work. 
Two new road projects were completed on Hammond Bay Road and Harewood Mine Road at a cost of $300,000. 
Section 9 b
Information was received.

Construction started without a permit
The property at 3076 Rock City Road will receive a notice on the property title for starting construction without a permit.
Section 9 f
Motion carried.

Cleaning up properties
The owners of 179 Albert Street and 750 Parkview Drive were ordered to clean up their properties within 14 days or the City will clean them up at the owner’s expense.
Section 7 c
Motion carried.

City to fix properties
The City will order a structural assessment of the decks on the condo building located at 645 Selby Street and, if deemed unsafe, will upgrade the decks at the expense of the property owners. A concrete wall located on the property at 135 Prideaux Street that has been deemed unsafe will be fixed by the City at the owner’s expense. 
Sections 9 g, h 
Motion carried.

Properties deemed a nuisance
951 Haliburton Street and 2120 Boxwood Road were declared nuisance properties. The property on Haliburton Street was abandoned and has accumulated debris in the yard. The Boxwood property was converted to an illegal grow op. This property also received a notice on title for the grow op and construction that was started without a building permit. By declaring these as nuisance properties, the City can recover the cost of any demolition and clean up as well as any nuisance calls incurred either by City staff or the RCMP.
Sections 9 d, e
Motion carried.

December 5, 2016 Regular Council Meeting - agenda, documents and video