Prince George, B.C.-  Because the Federal Election was taking place on the same night there was to be a regular meeting of Prince George City Council,  that Council meeting has been moved to  tonight.

The move  also means the time  the meeting will start has also been shifted.  It will get underway at 7 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m. start.

That means  informal and formal  hearings can get underway  right away.

There are two  informal public hearings scheduled for this evening, both have to  deal with the same properties and both  call for development variance permits.

One asks to  eliminate the buffer  zone   between existing  buildings  and the property line on the Gauthier Road  property, while the other  requests a reduction in the minimum  side yard setback for the existing building from 3.0 m to 2.0 m.

Other business on the agenda for this evening will see the City celebrate success as it receives congratulations from  Patricia Bell of the  Community Energy Association,  for the  City’s  Climate and Energy Action  Award   for the  new LEED  certified RCMP building.  The actual award was presented to the Mayor at the recent Union of BC Municipalities  conference.

There are  two  applications  before Council  requesting 1st and 2nd reading  in order to move forward to the  public hearing stage.  One  is a rezoning application for a property on Sanderson Road to  allow for a 2 unit  residence.  The other   calls for a change to the Soil Removal and Deposit bylaw to allow for long term  soil removal  from some  properties on Houghtaling Rd and Northwood Pulpmill Rd .  If approved, the soil extraction  would clear the way for future  development.

Mayor and Council will also be asked to provide a letter of support for the Coastal GasLink and prince Rupert Gas Transmission projects.  The company (TransCanada)  says it is  trying to show  “there is strong local support for LNG export development and pipeline  development in particular”  as  LNG Canada and Pacific NorthWest LNG  prepare to make their final  investment decisions on their  respective projects.