2018 Annual Report

City of Chilliwack 31 Highlights Bylaw Enforcement In May, Bylaw Enforcement welcomed back the Bike Patrol Unit. The two officers proactively patrolled neighbourhoods, parks and trails both on foot and bicycle to address and prevent bylaw infractions related to parking and parks and trails use. This includes the regulation of camping in City parks, facilities and other land. The seasonal spring and summer positions were converted to full-time permanent positions, allowing the Department to provide year-round evening and weekend Bylaw Enforcement coverage. The Bylaw Department continued its partnership with RCMP and the City’s contracted security patrols, to conduct daily foot patrols in the downtown, in parks and other hotspot areas, to present a unified enforcement front to address and prevent bylaw infractions and crime. The issues addressed during these patrols include camping in prohibited areas or during prohibited times, smoking in parks, consuming alcohol and illicit substances in prohibited areas or other nuisance issues. Chilliwack’s Homelessness Action Plan The City continued to work with community partners to leverage investment from senior levels of government to address homelessness, increase the supply of affordable housing and improve services to those in need. This year, the City saw: y y An increase in emergency shelter beds from 60 to 108 year-round beds (48 bed Salvation Army modular shelter) and 69 additional seasonal emergency shelter beds (Ruth & Naomi’s, Cyrus Centre) y y Approval for 92 modular housing units with wrap around services on Yale Road and Trethewey Avenue (RainCity Housing) to open in 2019 y y Approval for a 20 bed youth addiction centre on Yale Road (Pacific Community Resources Society) to open in 2020 y y Establishment of an Intensive Case Management (ICM) Team to provide outreach services to those who have, or are experiencing, homelessness, substance use and mental illness (Fraser Health Authority, First Nations Health Authority, and the Province) y y Development of a local tracking database to capture shelter vacancies on a nightly basis to help direct potential clients to access shelter beds and additional services as needed y y Establishment of the Chilliwack Interagency Response Table, with support from the RCMP and the Province, where various service providers meet weekly to assess clients at imminent risk of crisis and plan rapid interventions to avoid further harm with connection to services y y Implementation of the Housing Hub pilot project (Pacific Community Resources Society) which helped 20 people access services to obtain, and retain, affordable housing Chilliwack Proper & Fairfield Island Neighbourhoods Plan The City adopted the Chilliwack Proper and Fairfield Island Neighbourhoods Plan for areas east, west and north of the Downtown, where a population increase of 4,000 is anticipated by 2040. The plan provides policy to support new infill development in the form of small lots, duplexes, secondary suites, coach houses, townhouses, and in select locations, low rise apartments. Secondary Suites In May, following a comprehensive secondary suites study, the City’s Zoning Bylaw was amended to allow secondary suites, coach houses and garden suites for rental use and to permit coach houses and garden suites in the R1-A zone, subject to design guidelines and a streamlined development permit process. Council also adopted a policy to not seek out or respond to complaints about secondary suites existing prior to May 15, 2018, if they are in a zone that permits suites.