Minutes of the 2003 Annual General Meeting

Seymour Valley Community Association

Held at Jaycee House, 1251 Lilloet Road , on Wednesday, February 19^h, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. , with 31 resident-members in attendance from 19 homes in the area.  Upon entering the meeting room, attendees were given copies of the Agenda, the Minutes from the previous AGM, and a Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR) Survey to complete.

Acting Chair Phil Holland called the meeting to order at 7:13 p.m.   He welcomed all attendees, and asked them to examine the Minutes of the February 5, 2002 Annual General Meeting, which had also been posted on the SVCA website the past year.  As no amendments were requested, the Minutes were accepted as circulated.

Next, he introduced the six members standing for election to the Board:   Phil Holland, Bill Maurer, Bob Charlton of Riverside Drive; Michele Payne of Chapman Way; Willy Schuurman of Rivergrove Place; and Ken Reid of Riverside Drive who was not present.  As no one else had come forward, these six were elected by acclamation, with one Board seat remaining vacant.

Next on the Agenda was a Guest Speaker – Mark Ferguson of the GVRD-Water Projects, who gave a 25 minute slide presentation of the work being done on the tunnel between the Capilano and Seymour reservoirs, the Seymour Dam seismic upgrade, and the plans for of the Seymour Filtration Plant that will begin construction soon. The Filtration Plant will be located on the east side of the Demonstration Forest Road , stretching almost a kilometer south of the Rice Lake parking lots.  They will attempt to keep public access restrictions to a minimum.  Some questions and concerns were raised regarding the noise levels both during construction, and from the Plant itself which is expected to operate continuously.  Mr. Ferguson could not confirm when or if the water main under Riverside Drive would be replaced and said he would be back to the SVCA with an answer.  Willy Schuurman received the completed LSCR surveys.

Phil Holland opened a discussion with regard to sidewalks on Riverside Drive , and solicited input from attendees on their use and whether to keep limestone or go to a concrete surface.  A concrete sidewalk would likely require a tax levy to residents.  Some felt this would be acceptable, and others raised concerns about a previous 10 year levy that did not result in the promised sidewalks.  The Sidewalk Committee will pursue the history on that.  Glen Parker suggested that the SVCA request that the District of North Van. take action to allocate the full sidewalk spacing (5 or 6 feet width) along the west-side only, including trimming of over-hanging vegetation and removal of encroachments on the sidewalk easements, so that repairs and/or placement of the limestone surfacing can be made and maintained by the District.  There was complete support for this proposal in the room, giving the SVCA a clear mandate to start with.  Once this is accomplished, the community would be in a better position to lobby for the phasing in of concrete surfacing in the future, if supported by the residents.

Michele Payne reported as Treasurer that from the last AGM, a total of $94.60 had been received in donations and none of that had been spent, thanks to Phil Holland for funding the 3 mail-out newsletters, and to Bill Maurer for hosting the SVCA web-site.  A further $45.00 was in the donation box (actually $55.00 by the end of the evening) for a total of $139.60 ($149.60) which would likely go toward the purchase of a Community Speed Watch sign.

Michele Payne also reported the Traffic Safety Committee continued to meet and monitor speeds along Riverside Drive toward the goal of bringing further reductions to speeding vehicles.  As well, she passed around a graphic of the Community Entrance Sign which the SVCA is negotiating to have built out of carved cedar.  The attendees were invited to write any comments, concerns of suggestions on wording for the sign on the back of the page.  Some concerns were raised about the notice-boards that might be attached to the Entrance Sign becoming messy and detracting from the overall intent.

Michele Payne answered a question about the Rock-crusher noise which was being heard again.  Although the District has asked the City to cease the spoils-recycling use of the land as it does not fall within the CM (cemetery) Zoning’s permitted uses, it would appear that the City has not taken any action with the commercial operator they have leased this property to.  The SVCA will continue to request action, but residents are encouraged to also contact Mr. Gordon Ferguson, Chief Bylaw Officer, at the District to raise their concerns.

Bill Maurer spoke about the Seymour Local Plan (SLP) which will soon go before Council for a first reading.   He encouraged attendees to show support for the low-growth plan as it is now compatible with preserving our single family residential area.  The designation for a high-density development on Riverside Terrace has been removed, as there are other areas in Maplewood , or Parkgate that would be more amenable to seniors housing than this property (which is steep, not close to shops, transportation, etc.).  The developers will still be able to go through a process with public hearings to build on this property, and we as residents can continue our involvement at that time.  It was also noted that the preferred access to this property would be off Bermon (and Berkley ) which is shorter than the route in via Jordan Road .  The latter would also have a negative impact by crossing the Hogan Pools catchment area and a wildlife corridor.

Discussion continued about undesirable sub-divisions, particularly on the west side of the river, and the possibility of developing a “Neighbourhood Plan” which would give more specific, and local control than the more general SLP.  There was general agreement among attendees that this would be a good project for the SVCA to begin working on.

Phil Holland adjourned the meeting shortly after 9:00 p.m.   Some remained to socialize with coffee and cookies.