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The NDP government has set housing targets that will require some municipalities to change their zoning rules so multi-unit housing buildings can be constructed. But New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie say a “one-size-fits-all” solution doesn’t work.
When the George Massey Tunnel is finally replaced – estimated to be in 2030 – the old tunnel might just be left in place and filled in.
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, they are currently “exploring” an option of filling the current tunnel with sand instead of removing it.
“Filling the existing tunnel will address long-term seismic concerns and related risks to marine navigation and nearby infrastructure,” the ministry said in a statement. “Leaving the existing tunnel in place will reduce impacts to the river and marine traffic through construction.” …
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie told BC Hydro representatives he couldn’t understand why BC Hydro ever considered “regressive” overhead transmission lines that look like they’re from the 1920s.
“I always struggle to determine just how is that future-oriented,” said Brodie.
The new tunnel is budgeted at $4.15 billion and will be an eight-lane immersed tube tunnel. …
“For a cost less than a cup of coffee,” (each month and for the next 15 years) Metro Vancouver residents can help their brethren on the North Shore pay for an extraordinary $2.8-billion cost overrun for their new wastewater treatment plant.
That’s how Metro Vancouver director Lisa Muri, councillor for the District of North Vancouver, framed her pitch to the regional government’s board on Friday, to convince her political neighbours that everyone ought to contribute equally for the new $3.9-billion plant, to which the original price tag was $800 million. …
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie noted Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart previously raised the point that North Shore municipalities voted against a single sewage payment system for the region in the 1990s, saddling Surrey, Delta and Richmond with payments for the Annacis and Lulu Island plants, which were completed by 1996 for $464 million and $132 million, respectively. …
A combined investment of $13 million from the federal government and province of British Columbia will strengthen flood protection infrastructure in Richmond, B.C.
Funding will support the reconstruction of the No. 3 Road South Drainage Pump Station to quadruple its pumping capacity and raise a section of the dike, the release said.
“Proactive flood adaptation is critical to protecting people, homes, agricultural lands and livelihoods in Richmond. We will continue to work collaboratively with our provincial and municipal partners to build robust disaster mitigation infrastructure and help strengthen the resiliency of our communities,” Steveston-Richmond East MP Parm Bains said in a statement.
“The City of Richmond has a long history of investment in flood protection while working with the federal and provincial governments to strengthen our existing infrastructure. Today’s funding announcements will ensure our city is even more prepared to handle the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Upgrades to the No. 3 Road South Drainage Pump Station, as well as flood management and mitigation supports will keep our community safe,” Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie added.
A Richmond auxiliary organization is celebrating the province’s first-ever Healthcare Auxiliaries Day on May 10.
On Wednesday, two proclamations from the city and the province were presented by Mayor Malcolm Brodie to the Richmond Hospital Healthcare Auxiliary to mark the occasion. …
A joint investment of $13 million will be used to upgrade a Richmond pump station and the surrounding diking system.
The funding will come from the federal and provincial governments as well as the city, according to an announcement made on Friday morning at Richmond City Hall. …
Investment into flood protection for Richmond began around 1948 following a large flood, according to Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
“We have 49 kilometres of dikes here in the City of Richmond. Only a fraction of those have been upgraded to the higher levels,” he said. …
The Tulip Festival in Richmond drew crowds in late April when people enjoyed a field of tulips in full bloom, live music performances and a charity market.
The festival, hosted by the local charity Tzu Chi Foundation on April 28 at 9851 Finn Road, also had a kids fun fair and free Chinese medicine clinic on site. …
Mayor Malcolm Brodie, councillor Chak Au and MLA for Richmond Centre Teresa Wat also attended the festival. …
Water restrictions are in effect for residential and non-residential properties in Metro Vancouver, and each stage has different specifications for each type of lawn.
As of May 1, Stage 1 restrictions went into effect, meaning residents can only water their lawn one morning per week – Saturdays for even addresses and Sundays for odd addresses. …
Last year, Metro Vancouver banned lawn watering all together mid-summer because the use of treated drinking water for outdoor use was too high, said Malcolm Brodie, Metro Vancouver water committee chair.
“This year, we’re hoping to avoid escalating restrictions for as long as possible, but it really depends on you,” Brodie said. “There are plenty of easy ways to conserve water, and the best is to cut back on — or cut out — lawn watering.” …
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for “prolific offenders and mass murderers.”
Delta Mayor George Harvie and 11 other municipal leaders say in a letter sent Wednesday to Virani that allowing Pickton to apply for parole would “undermine the integrity of our justice system.”
The letter says Pickton’s lack of remorse and the depravity of his crimes make him “irredeemable,” and granting him parole would be a “chilling message” for crime victims. …
The mayors who signed the letter were Harvie, Ken Sim of Vancouver, John McEwen of Anmore, Jamie Ross of Belcarra, Mike Hurley of Burnaby, Ken Berry of Lions Bay, Nicole MacDonald of Pitt Meadows, Brad West of Port Coquitlam, Malcolm Brodie of Richmond, Mark Sager of West Vancouver, Megan Knight of White Rock and Meghan Lahti of Port Moody. …
District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little has asked that taxpayers from around the Metro Vancouver region share in paying for skyrocketing costs for the new North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, saying the $2.8 billion increase is too much for North Shore taxpayers to bear by themselves.
Little made the appeal to his Metro colleagues at a special budget workshop Wednesday, arguing that the North Shore was not responsible for the dramatic cost increases for the project and had no control over those. The problem-plagued project now comes with a projected cost of $3.86 billion, a huge increase over the last budget projection of $1.058 billion in 2021. …
Both Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said their communities have had to shoulder large infrastructure bills in the past, in part because North Shore municipalities and the City of Vancouver voted against regional cost sharing 30 years ago.
“This issue hasn’t been fairly addressed historically,” said Stewart.
“If it’s not fair now it wasn’t fair then, and accommodation has to be made as far as I’m concerned,” added Brodie. …