City of Powell River council issued notice of its intention to consider issuing a development permit for 4548 Marine Avenue to vary the zoning bylaw by waiving parking requirements. The variance would reduce the requirement for onsite parking for the MX, mixed use, zone property from 11 stalls to two.
The owner of the building is intending to develop a 10-seat restaurant.
Variance permit
At a special council meeting held on Thursday, July 26, council re-issued notice of a variance permit for a proposed subdivision of Catalyst Paper Corporation land after starting from square one last month. Notice was originally issued at a special committee-of-the-whole meeting at the end of June but Marie Claxton, acting chief administrative officer, said the notice was not done correctly and advised that council pass a resolution directing staff to give notice of the development variance permit under Section 922 of the Community Charter.
Grant-in-aid
City of Powell River council recently approved a $1,500 cash grant-in-aid to Marine Area Business Association to assist with expenses, including event insurance, for the 2012 Blackberry Festival and Street Party. The grant-in-aid will be funded from of the 2012 grant budget.
Corporate plan
Consultant Rachel Buskie presented council with a draft corporate plan for 2012-2015. It contains the city’s strategic vision and priorities as well as an overview of each department. Councillors will review the plan and submit any suggestions to Buskie in the next few weeks.
Zoning amendment
Council adopted a zoning bylaw amendment that adds restaurant as a permitted use in the Milltown Centre zone.
Date extension
Council passed a motion to extend the closing date of an agreement between the city and Catalyst Paper Corporation to a “mutually agreeable date.”
Complex roof
Council approved adding $71,396 to the budget for the Powell River Recreation Complex concourse roof replacement project, for a total budget of $131,396.
Asset management
Council approved an asset management program project outline dated June 7 and appointed a select committee called the Asset Management Steering Committee. Councillor Jim Palm is on the committee as is the chief administrative officer, city clerk, director of financial services, director of parks, recreation and culture, manager of engineering services and manager of operational services.
Grants for upgrades
Council carried a motion to direct staff to apply for two grants to be used for funding upgrades to Evergreen Theatre at a total project cost of $475,000. Fifty per cent, or $237,500, would be requested from the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund along with a matching grant from Island Coastal Economic Trust.
Parks maintenance
Following a discussion, council gave authorization to increase the parks division wage budget by $30,000 to cover the cost of additional staff required to carry out parks maintenance work. Funding will be drawn from the 2012 General Operation Fund surplus.
