From the editor: you can find the full X/Twitter recap online. 

There were about a half dozen people who spoke on Monday evening in favour of the motion jointly submitted by Couns. Nadine Nakagawa and Tasha Henderson in relation to cooling equipment in rental units.

This comes amid word from people in some buildings across New Westminster who say they’ve been told by their landlord—for various reasons—not to install air conditioning units in their suites.

The motion asks city staff to look at whether there is an opportunity to adopt a bylaw that would make it a requirement to have cooling equipment. The equipment would require at least one room of the unit to not become warmer than 26° C.

Speakers were supportive of the motion, but there were some who were concerned about the potential to be at risk for being renovicted or demovicted if a landlord says they want to make changes to wiring, for instance.

During discussion, Coun. Daniel Fontaine offered two amendments to Nakagawa and Henderson’s motion. Both were defeated 5-2.

There were some testy exchanges during this discussion, both of which involved Coun. Fontaine and Mayor Patrick Johnstone: one included a comment by Fontaine regarding the amount of work being done in relation to the heat dome, another was about voting along party lines. This led to the second challenge of the chair this term.

Mayor Johnstone said he was supporting the motion because he wanted to find a way for the City of New West to lead on this issue, and that it was ultimately up to the province to figure out if it wanted to follow along. Despite the dialogue, Nakagawa and Henderson’s motion went ahead with unanimous support.

Some other highlights:

Train whistle cessation

This is part of the regular update to the efforts to achieve whistle cessation at a number of crossings in New West. The Anchor provided an update on Sunday and the report was received.

School zone speeds and potential changes

The update on this is relatively small, but the wheels are turning on the effort, according to city staff. The next step includes taking the topic to a meeting of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC). That meeting is set to happen on Sept. 20.

12 K de K Court Boulevard trees

This involves the removal of three trees in the aforementioned area: the residents of the Dockside Strata at this address say they’re concerned about these trees blocking their light and river views. The trees that were planted ended up becoming more robust than expected, so at some point Strata and city staff initially agreed to meet halfway—going from a seven-year maintenance cycle to a three-year cycle.

Ultimately council opted to go with Coun. Jaimie McEvoy’s motion to refer so that staff could seek a solution to find a mutual resolution. Nakagawa and Henderson were opposed.

Downtown dog park to move

This involves the dog off-leash area at 824 Agnes St. being moved to 68 Sixth St. The park is being moved because of the demolition at 810 Agnes St. It’s worth noting that the upper portion of the off-leash area was gifted to the city in 1979 by the Chinese Benevolent Association.

Couns. Nakagawa and Paul Minhas had to recuse themselves due to proximity. The motion passed without opposition.

City staff will be working to find a permanent home for this off-leash space.

The next council meeting is set for Sept. 11 at 6pm. There is also a council workshop on the same day, at 3pm.

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