Council Matters: Rossland City Council – Regular Meeting, June 16, 2025
By Sara Golling
Housing needs and how to meet them, a new Resort Development Strategy, Rossland’s excellent Annual Report that everyone should read, and Golden City Days, Fall Fair, and Huck’n’Berries events coming in September …
Present: Mayor Andy Morel, and Councillors Craig Humpherys, Maya Provençal, Stewart Spooner, Eliza Boyce, Jeff Weaver and Lisa Kwiatkowski.
Staff: CAO Bryan Teasdale, Deputy Corporate Officer Cynthia Añonuevo, Executive Assistant Rachel Newton, City Planner Stacey Lightbourne, Manager of Recreation and Events Kristi Calder, and Manager of Public Works and Infrastructure Scott Lamont.
PUBLIC INPUT PERIOD:
Dimitri Lesniewicz spoke in favour of the development permit application for 218 Cedar Creek Crescent.
DELEGATION:
Resilience Planning — Rossland’s Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan
Lisa Moffatt, appearing virtually, presented some key findings and recommendations from the 57-page housing needs assessment. These included the estimate that Rossland needs 186 new housing units in the next five years, and 623 new units by 2041. Moffat noted that many seasonal workers are living in “inadequate” premises – some with mold or insufficient insulation, or lacking kitchen facilities, and that 73% of seasonal worker spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
The assessment included references to different levels of income, but no figures – Boyce asked what the actual monthly income figures would be, but that information was not available; Moffat said that the “living wage” estimate for Trail is just over $47,000 per year, but that there is no living wage calculation for Rossland.
Provençal noted that about 4% of people living in Rossland are very low-income, and that the assessment’s expectation is for that percentage to fall to 2% — is that, she wondered, because they will “climb out of poverty” or because they will be “priced out” and have to move away? Probably the latter, Moffat replied.
Moffat’s work included recommendations for Rossland to begin addressing the housing shortage. One of them was “supporting landlords’ and tenants’ rights and responsibilities” and Humpherys asked, “What does that look like?” Moffat responded by providing the names of some resources for both landords and tenants. Humpherys explained some of the bad (and expensive) experiences he had endured as a landlord, and that he never wanted to be a landlord again.
One of the tenant resources is found at https://www.rentingitright.ca/
A resource for landlords is at https://landlordbc.ca/irir/
Moffat mentioned Happipad but a brief check found that it has no listings for Rossland.
Provençal noted that there seemed to be a disproportionate need for one-bedroom units; Moffat replied that the methodology required by the Province for the study resulted in those conclusions.
REFERRAL FROM PRIOR MEETING:
Sale of City Land – 1944 Kootenay Avenue; for information only
The City has published its intention to sell a small parcel of City-owned land to the owner of the adjacent lot at 1944 Kootenay Avenue. The small parcel in question appears to have been carved from, or not included in, 1944 Kootenay Avenue for unknown reasons at some point in the past – the parcel is too small to be developed on its own, and its best use would be to ease development of the vacant 1944 Kootenay Avenue lot.
No one spoke.
REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL DECISION:
a) Development Permit Application – 218 Cedar Creek Place
A motion to approve the application to build a home on this steep lot, subject to a list of nine conditions, CARRIED unanimously.
b) Development Variance Permit Application – 2157 Fourth Avenue
The owner seeks a rear setback variance from two metres to 0.85 metre, to build a greenhouse. Spooner recused himself and left the room for the discussion and vote. A motion to approve the variance CARRIED unanimously.
c) Development Variance Permit Application – 2315 Fifth Avenue
The owner seeks a front setback variance, from four metres to one metre, to build a porch extension. The home already encroaches on the front setback, and the location and siting of the lot and home is such that the variance will not inconvenience neighbours or City operations.
A motion to approve the variance CARRIED unanimously.
d) Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan 2025
Discussion: Provençal noted that it was unfortunate that provincial requirements had to be applied for the assessment, regardless of community differences. Boyce felt that the issue of rentals for seasonal employees was not adequately addressed. Lightbourne commented that it’s just in draft from now, and there may be improvements. Spooner opined that the report does offer some practical advice.
Boyce asked, how can we address zoning and density barriers, and commented that there seems to be a great demand for low cost market housing, but little interest in building it; Morel commented that the average cost of construction is now about $500 per square foot.
Boyce wants to encourage smaller dwelling units.
A motion to adopt the Plan CARRIED unanimously.
e) Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) Resort Development Strategy 2025
Rossland is one of the Resort Municipalities benefiting from RMI funding, 70% of which must be spent on tourism infrastructure, capital, or amenities, and the remaining 30% may be spent on tourism programs, services, and events, and administrative costs. To qualify for the RMI funding, municipalities must create a Resort Development Strategy showing their plans to utilize the funding to serve and stimulate tourism. For the “Guide for Communities” please see pp. 232 5o 243 in the Council package for this meeting.
Rossland’s tourism priorities include transportation: the Spokane Airport Shuttle , the Kelowna Airport Shuttle, and the Rossland Ski Bus; improving the Centennial Parking lot to better accommodate visitor parking; improving the Centennial Trail to make it the first accessible trail within Rossland; and active transportation – continuing to develop, maintain, and improve Rossland’s trails network.
For the full details, check out the Council package materials from pp. 214 to 231.
A motion to approve the Resort Development Strategy as presented CARRIED unanimously.
f) 2024 City of Rossland Annual Report
The 2024 Annual Report includes the audited financial statements for 2024; lists the permissive tax exemptions granted for 2024 and the amount of tax revenue foregone as a result; reports on the City’s services and operations; reports on the City’s progress toward established objectives and measures; and states the objectives and measure to be used for the next – 2025 – annual report.
To check out the full report, go to the 89-page report itself, starting on page 248 of the Council package for this meeting.
Spooner commented that it’s an excellent report, and wishes more people would read it.
A motion to approve the draft 2024 Annual Report and make it available to the public CARRIED unanimously.
g) Municipal Cheque Register Report for May, 2025
A motion to approve the City’s spending for the previous month CARRIED unanimously.
h) Rossland and District Seniors Association Society Lease Renewal
After several attempts to reach agreement on a renewal of the lease of the Seniors Hall, success! A motion to approve the lease as presented, with a term from the date of the expired lease (August 21, 2022) until March 31, 2026, CARRIED unanimously.
FOR INFORMATION ONLY:
Monthly reports to Council:
Building Permits
Building Permit Inspections by Type
Step Code Energy Rebates
Public Works and Water Production
Eye on Water
Bylaw Compliance
There was a discussion about the huge increase in the amount of material collected during Spring Clean-up, and the fact that the City’s “Hugelkultur” site for accumulating and composting the material is filling up – is there another potential site within Rossland?
REQUESTS VIA CORRESPONDENCE:
1. City Assistance for Golden City Days, Fall Fair, and Huck’n’Berries events:
Anyone who may be affected by the following, please take note — a motion to approve the following actions CARRIED unanimously:
— closure of Third Avenue from west of 2253 Third Avenue to the Arena parking lot, from 8:00 am on Friday, September 5, until 7:00 pm on Saturday, September 6, for Golden City Days events:
— a noise exemption at Third Avenue and Spokane Street, from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Friday, September 5, and from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday, September 6;
— the use of Jubilee Street, St. Paul Street and Second Avenue on Saturday September 6, starting at 10:30 am for a parade;
— the use of Centennial Trail and trailhead on Sunday, September 7, for Golden City Days race events;
— closure of Spokane Street from Second Avenue to Third Avenue on Saturday, September 6, for Fall Fair events; and,
— use of the Centennial Dirt Jumps on Saturday, September 6, for Huck’n’Berries events.
2. Request for Letter of support:
The City of Trail and Trail Regional Airport Advisory Committee seek a letter of support for
extending BC Transit services to Highway 22A and the Trail Regional Airport.
Discussion: Spooner questioned the need for it, saying that he sees a lot of empty buses driving around. Morel noted that the East End Services will be discussing this soon, and commented on high costs and low ridership. Provençal said, studies show that when transit is underfunded, fewer people use it less often. Kwiatkowski and Boyce said they would prefer to wait for a report before making a decision. Council concluded that they could send a note deferring a response until after the East End Services discussion.
MEMBER REPORTS:
Boyce, Weaver, Morel, and Teasdale had attended an Indigenous Sensitivity training session. Morel thought it was helpful and recommended that others take it as well. He added that demonstrating engagement may also help with grant applications.
Humpherys noted that three big sturgeon-nosed canoes of the Sinixt Confederacy had paddled up Slocan Lake the day before to assert their territorial claim.
Provençal suggested looking into the history of local competing territorial claims independently rather than relying on the higher levels of colonial government for information.
Morel had attended the two-and-a-half day “Keeping it Rural” conference in Kelowna, with representatives from all over BC. Discussing health issues, forestry and economic development. Morel also reported that the East End Services Committee had agreed to allow Genelle’s fire station to stay open; it will be reviewed in six months, and to keep the fire station operative, Genelle must demonstrate that it is meeting standards for the number of firefighters and their training.
THE MEETING RECESSED TO AN IN CAMERA SESSION, and your reporter walked home in the dusk, admiring the lovely plantings separating sections of sidewalk from the street and wondering how long it will be before the next amazingly intense rainstorm and rainbow. Or any rainfall.
