CBPOA -July 8, 2020 - General Meeting Minutes

MINUTES

Crescent Beach Property Owners’ Association

General Meeting

7:30 pm – Wednesday July 8, 2020

Zoom meeting with 6 Directors and approximately 20 Members in attendance, as well as Councilor Annis and City of Surrey Engineer Sam Lau.

1.     The meeting was called to order at 7:30 by the President.

2.     A motion to adopt the March 2020 General Meeting Minutes was moved by Jim Carter and Seconded by Beryl Kirk, followed by a show of hands in favour.

3.     Directors’ Reports

a.     Treasurers Report: CBPOA has a bank account balance of $22,000 plus a $34,000 Term Deposit. Moved by Andrew Severson, Seconded by Rona Tepper, followed by a show of hands in favour.

b.     Membership: Bruce Friesen outlined changes to the 2020 Membership renewal process.  These include renewal directly to Bruce (drop in his mailbox, or Canada Post) or requesting a canvasser drop by. These changes reflect our efforts to avoid personal contact due to Covid 19.

4.     Working Group Reports

a.     Church Property Working Group: Beryl Kirk reviewed the recent movements in this proposed development, and recommended that this Working Group disband. Moved by Liz Bensted, Seconded by Jim Carter that this Working Group disband until development restarts. See attached summary.

b.     Blackie Spit Working Group:  Beachfront path extension work is scheduled for fall construction, Request for Proposal for Paddle Board Operations closes on July 9, pier maintenance  Request for Proposal has been issued and due to close at the end of July, playground structure (across from Camp A) has arrived and construction areas will be fenced off soon, and the Christopherson Steps and 101 Stairs remain closed due to Covid 19.

c.      Transportation and Traffic Calming Working Group: Laura Thibault reported the group has concentrated on two main issues: the gridlock on busy days, and access for safety vehicles.  They have met with a city representative and been in touch with Councilor Linda Annis.  Rob Costanzo of EOC will be the link between the CBPOA and the city. 

5.     Correspondence and Updates: Liz Bensted reviewed some of the correspondence that has arrived over the past few months, among them emails from members concerned about congestion or heavy pedestrian traffic, and BNSF Rail Relocation.  More recently, Jim Lightbody has been in communication with the City about parking. He suggests that the city keep parking free in Crescent Beach but reserve street parking for residents, who would be issued permits. He also repeats a request for traffic calming speed humps on Gordon Ave.   

6.     Old Business

a.     Save Station Project: Jim Carter has prepared a grant application to the City of Surrey for $20,000 to support the construction of 3 Start Me Up! BC stands at Crescent Beach.  The grant application will go to Council in the next few weeks.

b.     Whistle Cessation: Sam Lau, P. Eng, Manager, Land Development and Operations, City of Surrey, spoke about their consultation with BNSF.  Currently, BNSF declines to meet with the City, and the two parties are working with solicitors to iron out a draft lease agreement regarding the fencing issue.  Sam is hopeful a meeting will be forthcoming. Counselor Linda Annis added that they have agreed on a location and the type of fence and are working on supporting the legal documentation.  She noted it is a unique location and situation.

c.      Emergency Preparedness: No report at this time.

7.     New Business

a.     City of Surrey Corporate Report: Crescent Beach Neighbourhood Zoning – Response to Higher Flood Construction Levels: This report was previously circulated to members. The Directors will meet with the City Planner, Keith Broersma, once Covid 19 restrictions are lifted, before consulting with area residents on proposed new zoning provisions.

b.     Need for a Webmaster: CBPOA is seeking someone who can take over what Erik Seiz started, that is, keeping our website current and advising the CBPOA on web related issues.

c.      History Project: Beryl Kirk is going through two file boxes of CBPOA archives, organizing the contents. She is asking Members to check for old files they might have kept which they would like to give to the archives. Specifically, there is mention of a 1947 Society Filing for the CBPOA as a revision to the original. But sadly, the “Original” is not in the file. As well, the Minutes from 2000 to 2013 are missing, Does anyone know of their whereabouts?

8.     Announcements

a.     Call for nominations of Directors:  CBPOA is seeking nominations for the positions of President and Membership to be filled at the AGM on September 9, 2020.  Please forward names by return mail.

9.     Motion to adjourn: Moved by Liz, Seconded by Rona, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45.

Next meeting: Wednesday September 9 @ 7:30.

Working group report on the Holy Cross Church Development (2 lots on Beecher, 1 on McKenzie)

The “Church working group” has been following the latest efforts of the Star of the Sea Parish of the Archdiocese of Vancouver to dispose of the Site and apply proceeds towards a new parish
centre on a different location in Surrey, BC. The first effort to sell was in 2016, and then the Community was invited to a developer’s open house portraying various designs of town houses.  A majority of the Community were opposed.  The sale of the site was ended due to administrative issues within the Arch diocese.

In September, 2019 an ad appeared in the Peace Arch News requesting Proposals for the Development of this site.  The RFP suggested 6 different iterations, from relocating the Church building to a different site (due to the Historic registration of the Church), or keeping the church on the site but working around it to build multiple dwellings by use of a Comprehensive Development with variances given under a HRA (Historic Revitalization Agreement) to encourage the retention of the Church.

The Parish Facility Infrastructure Council received some notice of interest however none materialized.  Columbus Homes made an offer to purchase the lots, and then seek City and Community approval to building senior’s housing.  The Infrastructure Council rejected the offer.

It is understood that the Parish Council it again marketing the site for development.

Successful development will remain challenging.  As the two Church lots, (structure and parking) are on the Surrey Historic registry, a developer would look to make a Historic Revitalization Agreement (HRA) with the City which could permit land use variances.  The 2 lots under the OCP are Institutional, while the remaining two, bought separating in the 1980s, are Village Commercial under the LAP.  The Parish to date has suggested that all 4 lots could be developed together under an HRA as a Comprehensive Development, rather than just the 2 which are Designated.

It is recommended that the Working Group disband

Beryl Kirk

July 2020.