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Committee of the Whole/Documents/Presentation: Accessible BC Act – Municipal Requirements
Presentation

Presentation: Accessible BC Act – Municipal Requirements

March 14, 2023Pages 181–1968 sections

A slide deck summarizing the background, legislative requirements, and financial implications of implementing the Accessible BC Act requirements.

3 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS, ADOPTION OF
Legislative deadline: September 1, 2023Plan must be reviewed and updated every 3 yearsPhysical upgrades are not mandated under the current Act

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT, in response to the Provincial requirement to establish an accessibility committee by September 1, 2023, the municipality participate in a joint sub-regional accessibility committee – the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee – comprising the City of Colwood, the Township of Esquimalt, the District of Highlands, the City of Langford, the District of Metchosin, the District of Sooke, and the Town of View Royal;

AND THAT each member municipality of this joint sub-regional accessibility advisory committee contribute $5,000 to retain a consultant to prepare an accessibility plan which member municipalities will apply to their own accessibility initiatives;

AND THAT each member municipality of this joint sub-regional accessibility advisory committee allocate nominal annual operating funds for committee expenses;

AND THAT the draft committee terms of reference, provided as Attachment “D” to this report, be adopted;

AND THAT a joint accessibility advisory committee ad be placed seeking members for this committee;

AND FURTHER THAT the member municipalities each establish an email address to receive public comments as set out in the legislation.

Page 181–196

PURPOSE:

  1. To provide a summary of the legislatively required advisory committee.
  2. To seek support for: a. the formation of a joint sub-regional advisory committee; b. funding by the proposed member municipalities for the development of an accessibility plan; c. the proposed member municipalities to each establish a feedback tool using their own email addresses; and d. the proposed member municipalities to each provide on-going annual operating funding for estimated advisory committee expenses.
Page 181–196

BACKGROUND:

  • June 2021 Accessible BC Act became law
  • September 1, 2023 effective date municipalities become prescribed organizations
  • Triggers Part 3 of the Act to apply to municipalities
  • 3 requirements:
    • establish accessibility advisory committee (s. 9)
    • develop accessibility plan (s. 11)
    • establish process to receive feed on plan and barriers (s. 12)
Page 181–196

ESTABLISH COMMITTEE (section 9):

  • Accessible BC Act section 9(1) lists the mandate: An organization must establish a committee to (a) assist the organization to identify barriers to individuals in or interacting with the organization, and (b) advise the organization on how to remove and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the organization.

ESTABLISH COMMITTEE (section 9) – cont’d:

  • Other examples include tri-partite groups in Saanich Peninsula and North Shore in Lower Mainland
  • Currently, Intergovernmental Advisory Committee on Disability Issues (IACDI) on West Shore
    • Membership includes Colwood, Langford, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and View Royal (not Esquimalt)
    • Terms of Reference do not align with Provincial requirements for mandate and membership
    • Mandate significantly broader than the Act as it lists:
      • Remedying of barriers
      • Promotion of active living initiatives
    • Membership, up to 15, incl. elected officials & WSPRS

ESTABLISH COMMITTEE (section 9) – cont’d:

  • Accessible BC Act section 9(2) lists the aspirational membership: An accessibility committee must, to the extent possible, have members who are selected in accordance with the following goals: (a) at least half of the members are (i) persons with disabilities, or (ii) individuals who support, or are from organizations that support, persons with disabilities; (b) the members described in paragraph (a) reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities in BC; (c) at least one of the members is an Indigenous person; (d) the committee reflects the diversity of persons in BC.

ESTABLISH COMMITTEE (section 9) – cont’d:

  • Proposal is for a multi-jurisdictional streamlined advisory committee
  • “Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee”
  • 7 member municipalities:
    • Colwood
    • Esquimalt
    • Highlands
    • Langford
    • Metchosin
    • Sooke
    • View Royal
  • Sole focus on s. 9(1) mandate - identify barriers and provide advice on how to remove/prevent barriers for those engaging with municipalities

ESTABLISH COMMITTEE (section 9) – cont’d:

  • Allows IACDI to continue partnering to remedy identified barriers and to promote active living initiatives
  • Staff can familiarize themselves with new accessibility plan, its application to municipal projects, and administration of a new committee
  • Allows time for new feedback tool to be deployed
  • Neither established by nor expected to operate under same provisions as other committees/advisory bodies
Page 181–196

DEVELOP ACCESSIBILITY PLAN (section 11):

  • Act states “[a]n organization must develop a plan to identify, remove and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the organization.” (s.11(1))
  • Plan must consider these principles:
    • inclusion
    • diversity
    • self-determination
    • adaptability
    • collaboration
    • universal design
  • Other key features of the plan as per legislation:
    • Accessibility advisory committee is to be consulted on plan’s development (and updates)
    • Review and update plan every 3 years
    • Consider comments received from feedback tool in plan updates

DEVELOP ACCESSIBILITY PLAN (section 11) – cont’d:

  • Proposal is for one joint accessibility plan by a contractor as staff do not have required expertise
  • Plan would form a standards-based document and/or checklist
  • Member municipalities can use plan to evaluate capital and non-core projects plus operational initiatives
  • Plan can inform municipal work plans, address items such as:
    • letdowns
    • tactile walking surface indicators
    • audible pedestrian signals
    • public realm treatments
    • placement of public art
    • signage/wayfinding
    • trails
    • benches
  • Physical upgrades are not mandated under the Act
Page 181–196

RECEIVE PUBLIC FEEDBACK (section 12):

  • Proposal is for public comments to be by individual member municipalities with similar email addresses – for example:
  • Comments to advisory committee as appropriate
  • Member municipalities to provide consistent website content
Page 181–196

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

  • Anticipated costs:
    • accessibility plan development (plus review every 3 years)
    • recruitment & on-going operation of committee
    • development & on-going monitoring of feedback tool & webpage information
    • staff resources for the above tasks
  • Terms of reference indicate rotating the administration responsibilities annually amongst member municipalities; a 4X/year meeting schedule; and electronic meetings
  • Any physical upgrades at sole cost of individual municipality choosing to undertake the project/initiative
Page 181–196

CONCLUSION:

  • Time to proceed - September 2023 deadline
  • Cost-effective to partner with our neighbours
  • Streamlined, legislatively focused response
  • Accessibility plan can improve the work our municipalities and help to create communities where all persons can participate more fully and equally
Page 181–196

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Extracted from: 2023 03 14 Committee of the Whole Agenda - Agenda - Pdf