Notes from the Sausage Factory

This page contains short summaries of DNV Council meetings and decisions that are relevant to residents of Blueridge and Seymour Heights. Not all decisions are discussed, and meetings that aren’t relevant to our area aren’t covered. The most recent meeting is at the top.

Special Note: The schedule of meetings is currently reduced due to the upcoming local election on October 17th. Expect the Council to return to a more regular schedule after the election is completed.

Oct 5, 2026 Regular Meeting:

coming soon – this is the next scheduled DNV Council meeting

Sep 8, 2026 Special Meeting:

This meeting had only one agenda item – taking action on a nuisance property in Deep Cove – and so is not relevant to Blueridge and Seymour Heights.

Sep 8, 2026 Public Hearing:

This hearing was called to get public input on rezoning several residential parcels owned by the DNV in the Roche Point area so they can subsequently be converted into parkland. This action will allow the DNV to take additional steps to formally expand Roche Point Park and protect the land there more thoroughly.

Only a few people spoke at this meeting, and all were in favour of the rezoning. With the meeting closed, Council can no longer take public input on the issue until it is voted on. The rezoning came back before the DNV Council for first, second, and third readings at their September 21st regular meeting.

Sept 21, 2026 Regular Meeting:

This meeting began with a delegation from the Capilano Community Services Society, which does extensive community work with seniors, youth, and others who need connection and assistance of various kinds.

Next, Council was addressed by Peri Mainwaring, the new RCMP Superintendant of the North Vancouver Detachment. Various councillors welcomed her back to the area and congratulated her on her new position. She answered questions on a variety of topics. One of the most interesting was a question about how safe the DNV is, and she responded that we have among the lowest Crime Severity Index numbers anywhere in the province. Mayor Little then formally charged her to uphold her office and presented her with a DNV Challenge Coin.

DNVFR personnel then gave a brief presentation about two bylaws to be updated. The first changes the way stairwells are named in large buildings and is being done to keep in sync with BC’s building code. The second adds a fee that can be charged in cases where a building owner is too slow to correct defects found as a result of a fire inspection. Neither of these is likely to impact our residents unless you are the owner of an impacted building. The bylaw changes were given first, second, and third readings unanimously.

A 36-unit townhouse development at the corner of Mt. Seymour Parkway and Riverside Drive was then given its final rezoning approval, and the development permit was issued. Councillor Muri did raise concerns about the number of trees being removed, however. These items passed unanimously.

A text amendment changing a few aspects of Maplewood Gardens – a large development in the Maplewood area that was up for adoption only (no more discussion allowed) – passed on a vote of 5-2 with Councillors Muri and Hanson opposed.

A parking variance was granted for a restaurant at 680 Seylynn Crescent so that it can get running without the required 8 additional parking places. There was a surprisingly large discussion on this due to some technical issues. In the end it passed 6-1 with Councillor Mah opposed.

Several bylaws related to the expansion of Roche Point Park were unanimously advanced through second and third readings.

The regular financial plan amendment was given first, second, and third readings unanimously. This is a regular update to the District’s financial plan to bring it in line with the actual events, expenses, and income over the past quarter. Discussion around this item indicates that there are challenging times ahead for the DNV with large expenses in the coming years for which there is no obvious source of funding. It was also pointed out that the DNV uses a different measure of inflation than consumers do. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is what most people use to gauge inflation, but cities use the Municipality Price Index, or MPI, and due to the different things that make it up, the inflation number seen by cities is higher than that seen by consumers.

Property tax exemptions for the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Woods Arts and Wellness Society, along with the Royal Canadian Legion, were all given first, second, and third readings unanimously.

Finally, a new auditor was approved.

Notes:

  • A “special meeting” of the DNV Council is simply a meeting that was not on the original schedule at the beginning of the year. It is otherwise exactly the same as a “regular meeting” of Council.
  • Meeting dates are subject to change up until a week before they actually occur. Always check the DNV website for more information a few days in advance to be sure things are still happening as originally planned.
  • The material here goes on to become the Notes from the Sausage Factory column in the Blueridge Bulletin, the BCA’s monthly email.
  • At some point older entries on this page are removed just to keep it a reasonable size. Older information can be found in the archives of the Blueridge Bulletin.
  • Those wanting more information should attend council meetings in person or online, read the meeting minutes, or watch the recording of a meeting after the fact. You can comment about issues before the council via email or by attending a meeting. Information about all these options is available at https://www.dnv.org/government-administration/meeting-agendas-and-minutes.