Category: In the News

Richmond News

“Absolutely no.”

This was the opinion of two Richmond city councillors about a proposed 27-unit rental building in a single-family neighbourhood, which city staff were asking council members to give early feedback on.

In the end, the motion on the rental building proposal on No. 3 Road just south of Williams Road – near Maple Lane elementary – passed in a narrow 5-4 decision. …

Mayor Malcolm Brodie, however, noted the motion city council was voting on was to have the Official Community Plan amendment and rezoning at the same time, and to ask city staff to work with the applicant, based on city council’s feedback, during the technical review of the project.

“They can come back with a much more acceptable product, and there is absolutely no reason we will have to approve anything at a subsequent time unless we find it to be satisfactory,” Brodie told city council.

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Richmond News

The Progressive Pride Flag will be flown at city hall and a variety of activities are being organized for Pride Week, July 28 to Aug. 3, in Richmond.

Activities include film screenings, fitness and swim sessions, Drag Queen Story Time and Drag Queen Karaoke as well as talks with 2SLGBTQI+ community leaders.

“The City of Richmond invites everyone to recognize and celebrate 2SLGBTQI+ communities during this year’s Pride Week events,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie in a news release.

“Our 2025 theme, Pride Lives Here, highlights Richmond’s commitment to inclusion and affirms that 2SLGBTQI+ communities are a vital part of our city. Take part in activities throughout the city and join us in celebrating that Pride truly lives here—during Pride Week and all year long.” …

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Richmond News

New public signs to help people find their way around Richmond are in the works.

While city council’s feedback on designs was generally positive, Mayor Malcolm Brodie questioned why the city’s tagline, “Island City, by Nature,” was not included.

Coun. Andy Hobbs echoed Brodie’s concerns about the missing tagline and the importance of it being on signage around, and especially at the entrance of the city, saying it’s “our branding.”

However, the city has received some “mixed qualitative feedback” about the tagline, said Jill Shirey, the city’s manager of economic development.

“There was certainly support for the character of what is presented on the ‘Island City by Nature,'” she told city council.

“There were also some concerns noted about potential cluttering or crowding of the signs.” …

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Richmond News

The second phase of a residential and office development in the growing Capstan area is underway and, when completed, will include a 33,000-square-foot community centre.

The ViewStar development, owned by Yuanheng, held a ground-breaking ceremony on Monday for the community centre, which is expected to be completed by late 2028 and will be run by the City of Richmond. …

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the new community centre will be a “gathering space and centrepiece” of the neighbourhood.

“What a spectacular neighbourhood this is turning out to be… this is truly a vibrant area in our City Centre,” he said.

He noted the Capstan Community Centre will be LEED gold standard and will have recreational, educational, social and cultural aspects.

It will include a gymnasium, an indoor track, multi-purpose rooms and a space for children. …

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The Runner

The Steveston Salmon Festival is back for its 78th year with a range of family-friendly activities.

Celebrated each year on July 1, Steveston comes alive with bustling crowds and festive displays for Canada Day. The day-long event includes multiple stage areas, each with different sets of musical and cultural performances and entertainment to mark “Canada’s biggest little birthday party.” …

The festival will have entertainment all throughout the village. The main stage zone, called the Spirit of Steveston, will run from noon to 7:30 pm. It will start the day with welcoming speeches from Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, festival directors, and others. Chris Dinnell, who is a local resident, will be the emcee of this year’s festival. …

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City of Richmond

One of Canada’s longest running and most popular community events, the annual Steveston Salmon Festival, is back on Tuesday, July 1.

A fun-filled, family-oriented day of food, music, performances and more is again presented by the City of Richmond, Steveston Community Society and Richmond Agricultural and Industrial Society across Steveston Village.

This is the 78th year of the popular one day neighbourhood-wide celebration which begins at 9:30am with the Kids Bike Parade. That is followed by the official Canada Day Parade from 10:00am to noon, starting at Garry Point Park and ending at Moncton Street and Railway Avenue. …

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Richmond News

A fish and chips restaurant in Steveston celebrated its 40th anniversary on Wednesday morning.

Pajo’s Fish and Chips owner Patricia Branch was joined by Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, city councillors, elected officials, former and current employees, as well as friends and family at a media celebration in Steveston on Wednesday, June 11.

While the celebration was not open to the public, Pajo’s will be hosting a day-long event of live music and activities for the community on Saturday, June 14.

Pajo’s was opened by Branch and co-founder Joan Wettlaufer in 1985 while Branch’s husband, Larry, worked as a fisherman. …

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Richmond News

Votes from closed meetings at Richmond city council could be made public, along with more details about in-camera discussions.

But caveats were placed on a policy about what would be captured in these meeting minutes after the city’s lawyer cautioned council they could open themselves up in the event of litigation.

Richmond city council voted almost unanimously to disclose how councillors voted in closed meetings going back to January 2024, and the “essence” of discussions to be disclosed going back to the beginning of this year, in the event the minutes are made public.

But the city’s lawyer, Anthony Capuccinello Iraci, warned city council there could be legal implications if certain quotes are reflected in the minutes, even if the minutes aren’t made public. …

This prompted Mayor Malcolm Brodie to suggest the policy include a phrase saying the dialogue of individuals in the meeting wouldn’t be recorded. …

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Richmond News

Richmond has been placed on the housing “naughty list” as the province pressures municipalities to increase densification.

At this week’s committee meeting, Richmond city council was pondering the implications of a recent provincial announcement that added the city to a list of municipalities expected to increase their housing supply to combat the housing affordability and supply crisis.

“We’re now on the naughty list,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

While housing targets for Richmond haven’t been set yet by the province, city staff told council they are expecting them soon.

They anticipate the target will be 75 per cent of what was identified in a recent housing needs report prepared by the city, that is, about 1,900 units per year.

Several city council members expressed their bewilderment at being placed on this list, with Brodie calling the move “yet another intrusion… on our planning system.” …

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CBC News

The B.C. government says it will mandate housing targets for 10 more municipalities in an ongoing effort to increase homes throughout the province.

But some mayors argue they’re already doing everything they can and that being added to what’s been called the housing “naughty list” won’t help.

The 10 new “priority communities” include Burnaby, Coquitlam, Courtenay, Township of Langley, Langford, Penticton, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Squamish and Vernon. They join 30 other B.C. municipalities that are already part of the housing targets program, which was first created in 2023. …

Mayor Malcolm Brodie of Richmond said being named to the list was “a bit perplexing.”

“Richmond has always been cited along with a couple other cities as really good examples of how we can increase the supply of housing.”

Brodie said he wasn’t aware of any benefits to being on the list but suggested “maybe it makes the province feel good.” …

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