Dear neighbours,
May is already over, and we’ve now seen numerous official candidate announcements. I’m getting things in order and will officially kick things off with some kind of event (sometime in late June/early July). I’ve been keeping busy with Council things – UBCM resolutions, regular work, the Task Force on Public and Social Media Communication Guidelines for Elected Officials and Candidates, etc., and my other job.
I enjoy the work of the City and Council. I find it interesting and rewarding, though sometimes it comes at a cost. You may have noticed that I am not spending as much time on social media, specifically Facebook. I’m not sure that social media is the best use of my time, like commenting on posts in Facebook groups, as I don’t know that we are positively advancing the discourse. That said, if I am wrong, and you think it makes sense for me to be more active on Facebook specifically, especially in light of the upcoming election, let me know.
(No photos this month – technical difficulties)
In this newsletter:
Council Highlights
Council Meeting Links
Latest blog post: Tax Rates over Time
Other things
One more thing
Council Highlights The city has a webpage called Council Highlights that shares the “Cole’s Notes” version of recent regular council meetings, along with links to the relevant video and agenda sections – a useful resource if you want more details on any of the topics covered at a council meeting. Below are a few that matter the most to me.
Inclusionary Zoning and Density Bonus:
The provincial Transit Oriented Housing (TOA) legislation had, in my opinion, the greatest impact on city finances. Before the enactment of this legislation, we were able to capture 75% of the increased value of land when permitting density beyond 2.5 FAR (floor area ratio). Now with the TOA legislation, we can only capture that value when density is greater than 3, 4 or 5 FAR, depending on the distance from the station. We can still use density bonusing, but can only use it for any items not covered in the ACC bylaw.
These new density bonus requirements severely limit the city’s ability to collect money for affordable housing and other community amenities. With CACs legislatively phased out and replaced by ACCs, we have a more structured and restrictive funding model. While this may seem to provide certainty, it also removes flexibility. Because ACCs and density bonusing requirements are now bylaws, changing these will require longer timelines and more staff work. It also removes some of the flexibility of negotiation that cities used to have. Our past CAC policy did collect funding for supporting affordable housing.
Inclusionary zoning: Council opted to leave this as a policy (the Province allowed us an option to make it a bylaw). This means that we are still signalling our desire to have a minimum 15% of residential FAR as Below-Market Rental Units or a minimum 6% of residential FAR as Non-Market Rental Units. Consultant calculations have indicated that this is likely not economically feasible in the current economy, but the policy allows for flexibility: “If a future applicant is of the opinion that it is not financially feasible for its proposed rezoning to provide affordable housing, an economic analysis conducted at the applicant’s expense may be used to determine the amount of floor area for affordable housing that could be provided. ” Our goal is still to achieve as much affordable housing as possible.
Pay Parking Rates (updated): Following the first full year of the Pay Parking Program, the City updated its rates based on collected data. The March 31 report noted that 85%-90% of Rocky Point Park parking lot users were not Port Moody residents. Note the reduced cost for the first hour , effective with the following changes:
Pay parking now starts at 9 am across all locations
On-season extended: April 1 – September 30
Rocky Point Park, Murray St, Esplanade Ave: $1.50 first-hour on-season rate; first hour free off-season; on-season rate rises to $3.75/hr after first hour
Suter Brook Village: reduced to $2.00/hr
Ungless Way: reduced to $1.50/hr
New pickleball courts: We added two (maybe four) temporary pickleball courts at the Town Centre (Rec Centre) tennis courts. While there has been some suggestion to add them with the temporary basketball court at the Old Firehall Site, staff have indicated that locating pickleball courts there does not align with the recommendations on proximity to residences.
Finance Committee: We adopted the Financial Plan Bylaw, the Annual Property Tax Rates Bylaw, and the Alternative Tax Collection Scheme Bylaw. Property tax notices went out. For a full look at what that means and why or why not that is “historic”, read my blog here.
Latest blog post This has been a long time in the works, but it is finally complete, just in time for the property tax payment season. It’s a bit of a long read, but I hope you’ll find it interesting and useful. You can find it at: Tax rates over time . If you have questions, please reach out.
Council Meeting Links Regular Council (May 12)
Council Standing Committees (May 12)
Regular Council (May 26)
Other Things I’m thinking about AI and its use in elections. I found this University of Ottawa Policy Brief on AI interesting: AI in the Ballot Box
Do you need a doctor? Register at the Health Connect Registry . The ministry uses this to measure need in a region. Signing up helps to demonstrate that primary care physicians are needed in specific areas.
Have you signed up for the Port Moody Events Newsletter? If not, email pomonewsletter@gmail.com . (I am not affiliated with the newsletter, just sharing a community resource.)
One More Thing… Update: my official website will be updated and launched soon.
Slowly making progress 🙂
In the meantime, if you want to get involved in my campaign or can donate, I would be grateful.
To get involved , please fill in the Volunteer Form .
To donate by cash or cheque, please contact my financial agent, Marshal, at fa@samantha-agtarap.ca .
To donate by e-transfer, please complete this form and send the e-transfer to fa@samantha-agtarap.ca
Everything helps, no matter how big or small. Thank you for all your support. ❤️
Powered by beehiiv