Council of the City of Maple Ridge holds regular Council meetings, many of which are open for public participation. Below you will find a description and information on each type of Council Meeting.
Types of Meetings
About
Council Meetings are the final venue for debating issues before voting occurs on bylaws and Council resolutions.
A Question Period is held near the end of Council Meetings where the public may ask Council questions on any subject, with the exception of Public Hearing bylaws that have not yet reached a conclusion.
Day, Time and Location
Council Meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month starting at 7:00 p.m. hosted both virtually and in person in Council Chambers at City Hall (enter by the northern door on the east side of City Hall).
About
Public Hearings provide the public with an opportunity to share their views on land use applications to Council. Public Hearings are generally held before Council adopts amendments to the Zoning Bylaw or Official Community Plan and follow the procedures set out in the Council Policy No. 3.17 - Public Hearing Process.
Members of the public who believe the bylaw amendment will impact them may participate by:
attending and/or speaking at the Public Hearing meeting,
submitting a letter to the Corporate Officer at the Public Hearing meeting,
submitting correspondence prior to 12:00 p.m. on the day of the Public Hearing via drop-box at City Hall or by mail to 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge V2X 6A9,
submitting correspondence prior to 12:00 p.m. on the day of the Public Hearing via email to clerks@mapleridge.ca.
Speakers at the Public Hearings must provide their name and address in writing for the record. Under law, Council cannot receive input after a Public Hearing has been adjourned.
Day, Time and Location
Public Hearings, as a rule, are held on the third Tuesday of each month starting at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall (enter by the northern door on the east side of City Hall). Please check the 2024 Council Meeting Calendar for specifics.
Public Notification of Upcoming Public Hearing:
At least ten days before a Public Hearing is held, each applicant must update the Development Sign on the property with the details of the Public Hearing, and the City sends notices to property owners and occupants within a radius of 50 meters (164 ft.) of the subject property.
In some cases (e.g. a city-wide amendment, or large area change) legislation requires advertisement only, and not separate notices to individual property owners. Public Hearings are advertised in two consecutive issues of the local newspaper and online.
The staff report and Public Hearing package is available for access ten days before the Public Hearing at the Planning Department counter at City Hall between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. weekdays (excluding statutory holidays), or in the City's online Agenda Centre under Public Hearing.
About
Most items that Council will debate and vote on at Council Meetings are first presented at Committee of the Whole (CoW) meetings. The purpose of CoW meetings is to provide Council with an opportunity to ask City staff clarifying questions about items. No voting takes place other than Council deciding whether to forward the item to the next Council Meeting for debate and vote, or to send it back to City staff for further information.
A Community Forum is held following adjournment of the CoW meeting. The public have an opportunity during this Forum to speak to Council on any subject, with the exception of Public Hearing bylaws that have not yet reached a conclusion.
Day, Time and Location
Committee of the Whole meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month starting at 11:00 a.m. hosted both virtually and in person in Council Chambers at City Hall (enter by the northern door on the east side of City Hall).
About
Council Workshop meetings provide Council with an opportunity to review and discuss policies and other items of interest. Although Council may pass resolutions at these meetings, the main purpose of Council Workshops is for Council to make decisions on whether to send an item to a Council Meeting for debate and vote, or to refer the item to City staff for further information and next steps.
Day, Time and Location
Council Workshop meetings are generally held every second and fourth Tuesday beginning at 11:00 a.m. hosted both virtually and in person in Council Chambers at City Hall (enter by the northern door on the east side of City Hall). While Council Workshop is open for public to attend, there is no opportunity for questions or comments.
Attending Council Meetings
The City of Maple Ridge has made changes to Council Chambers to ensure the health and safety of citizens who appear as delegations, as part of Public Hearings, and for those citizens who prefer to view meetings in person. To provide a safe environment for meeting participants, seating is available for 33 members of the public in Council Chambers. If you are feeling unwell you should refrain from attending in person and use the digital tools to participate remotely instead. Sanitation stations remain in place at entry points to Council Chambers as we go through the communicable disease season to ensure the health and safety of all participants.
The City will continue to monitor public health information and revisit our safety protocols to protect the health of meeting participants.
All Council meetings are video recorded and live streamed for the public to view during the meeting or at any time afterwards.
Upcoming Meetings
Agendas are published on the City's Public Portal on Friday afternoon prior to the Council Meeting in three different formats:
HTML Agenda (full agenda with clickable attachments)
Agenda (agenda cover sheets only)
Packet (a complete downloadable PDF agenda package
Please Note - There is no opportunity for the public to ask questions or make comments during Council Workshop meetings.
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Persons wishing to speak on an item can join the Zoom meeting at the appropriate time using the camera icon.
We ask that you please use your full name as your participant name and turn on your video and audio. Please raise your virtual hand to request an opportunity to speak.
Those who do not wish to speak during the meeting can watch the live stream broadcast during or after the meeting at the Agenda & Video Portal.
If you have trouble watching the video, try disabling accelerators such as Google Web Accelerator. See these Mediasite knowledge articles for more help and troubleshooting.
