Agenda
[0:10]
TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
[2:57]
CHAIR'S REMARKS
[3:12]
INTRODUCTION OF LATE ITEMS
[3:14]
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
[3:34]
CONSENT AGENDA
[5:08]
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
[5:10]
611 Speed Avenue: Victoria Housing Reserve Fund Application – Midtown Affordable Housing Society
[13:55]
REPORTS OF COMMITTEE
[13:56]
Committee of the Whole
[13:56]
Report from the July 23, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting
[14:29]
Report Back on Strategies and Resources to Require Cooling (26 degree maximum) in Victoria’s Rental Buildings
[14:52]
Economic and Employment Land Solutions
[39:52]
Council Member Motion: Enforcement Against Derelict Buildings, Neglected Properties and Vacant Commercial Spaces
[40:02]
Report from the July 30, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting
[43:22]
Review of Tenant Protection Bylaw Compensation Requirements
[44:27]
Permissive Tax Exemptions 2027-2028
[44:44]
Council Member Motion: Advocacy to the Provincial government on continued operating subsidies for M’akola Housing
[45:06]
Council Member Motion: Advocacy to improve return of fugitives wanted on warrants
[45:28]
Council Member Motion: Formalizing a Fair Wages Policy
[45:33]
Council Member Motion: Establishing a By Name List for the City of Victoria
[46:08]
Council Member Motion: Emergency Response to the Medetomidine Crisis
[46:31]
BYLAWS
[46:34]
Bylaw for 517, 533 and 537 Chatham Street and 530, 532 and 536 Herald Street: Rezoning Application No. 00907 and Development Permit with Variances Application No. 00299
[46:58]
Bylaw for 2612, 2616, 2620 and 2628 Richmond Road: Housing Agreement
[55:50]
Amendment Bylaw for Modernized Industrial Zones
[1:07:48]
Bylaw for 1101 Yates Street: Rezoning Application No. 00904 and Development Permit with Variances Application No. 00301
[1:08:27]
Bylaw for 2501-2699 Blanshard Street, 825/841 Hillside Avenue, 2500-2684 Dowler Place and 900 Kings Road: Housing Agreement
[1:08:53]
CLOSED MEETING
[1:10:07]
APPROVAL OF CLOSED AGENDA
[1:10:13]
NEW BUSINESS
[1:10:14]
Labour Relations/ Service at Preliminary Stages/ Intergovernmental Relations - Community Charter Section 90(1)(c), Section 90(1)(k), and Section 90(2)(b)
[1:10:16]
Service at Preliminary Stages - Community Charter Section 90(1)(k)
[1:10:17]
Law Enforcement/ Intergovernmental Relations - Community Charter Section 90(1)(f) and Section 90(2)(b)
[1:10:18]
Labour Relations - Community Charter Section 90(1)(c)
[1:10:19]
CONSIDERATION TO RISE & REPORT
[1:10:21]
ADJOURNMENT
Transcript
SOURCE TRANSCRIPT
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[0:00]
Good afternoon and welcome to the July 30th meeting of
[0:03]
Victoria City Council, our daytime meeting. Today we have for
[0:06]
our consideration one item of unfinished business. Reports from the
[0:11]
July 23rd and this morning's committee of the whole. Could
[0:13]
I have some order please. Five bylaws for preliminary readings
[0:17]
and final adoption and a couple of closed items of
[0:20]
business. But of course before we begin our work together
[0:23]
we always like to take a few moments to ground
[0:25]
ourselves and our work and some would suggest our very
[0:30]
existence and here in the City of Victoria on the
[0:32]
wonderful and continuing generosity of the two nations on whose
[0:36]
territories our city sits in its entirety, the Sonkes Nation
[0:39]
and the Cosasum Nation of the La Quangan people who
[0:42]
have for so many generations, centuries taken the time to
[0:45]
be great stewards of these lands and this of waters
[0:48]
that surround them. And we occasionally have remarkable opportunities to
[0:52]
join with them to help support their members and all
[0:55]
of the community both on the nations, current lens as
[0:58]
well as the lands that they traditionally and currently have
[1:01]
titled to. And that is a chance yesterday as we
[1:05]
did to join them in an Elder's lunch where Songhees
[1:08]
hosted an Ecosepsum hosted many elders, hundreds of them actually,
[1:13]
who were visiting from a round Vancouver Island who were
[1:17]
fetted for the very delicious Ludgern yesterday at the Song.
[1:21]
He's Wellness Centre. A number of our staff volunteered their
[1:24]
time to join NIS servers and bottle washers and busers
[1:28]
and just folks who were there to show support in
[1:31]
a very practical and very meaningful way. When we have
[1:35]
the chance to do things like that, we remember how
[1:37]
close is our alliance and how remarkable is the opportunity
[1:40]
that we have to not just learn from one another
[1:43]
and work together. But to meet new among us and
[1:46]
to create new relationships as well as solidify the ones
[1:48]
that we have. And so it was a wonderful opportunity
[1:51]
for us to be there yesterday and certainly was noticed
[1:55]
and appreciated both by the host nation as well as
[1:58]
the many visitors who were there from other nations. And
[2:01]
I think what's also appreciated by those of us who
[2:04]
hit a chance to participate. So once again enjoying the
[2:08]
chance to be partners and allies and to work together
[2:12]
respecting the past. But facing the challenges of the current
[2:15]
day and looking ahead to the folks who we hope
[2:17]
we're serving well as we move forward. As we always
[2:20]
like to say a simple thank you as we do
[2:23]
in so many people now know to say the simple
[2:25]
phrase of Haychussium or Archkessium Nikhilia, which is just to
[2:29]
say thank you and also to add on honorific and
[2:32]
honouring of those people who are here in the chamber
[2:36]
in the city and throughout our neighbourhoods as individuals who
[2:39]
choose at some point during each day one hopes to
[2:42]
do something that would make a little bit better someone's
[2:45]
life, someone who affects you and is affected by you.
[2:48]
So with that I would say hi to Casey and
[2:50]
Equalia and welcome to today. We just noticed I did
[2:55]
earlier this morning at our committee that this is the
[2:56]
last day of our Council meetings before Council takes its
[2:59]
usual hiatus in August. And so I once again would
[3:02]
urge each of us to be as judicious as possible
[3:04]
in our comments so that we might attend to our
[3:07]
very full agenda in a timely manner this afternoon. I
[3:10]
am not aware of any late items that need to
[3:12]
be added to today's agenda and so I would look
[3:14]
for someone to move the published agenda. These Council Colemans,
[3:17]
I could make on Cereco. Any discussion of the published
[3:20]
agenda. Seeing none, all those in favor, anyone opposed. That
[3:25]
is unanimous. Now there are four items that we're proposed
[3:28]
for the consent agenda. I'm aware that there is at
[3:30]
least one of them that wishes to be removed or
[3:33]
has someone wishes to remove rather. But let me just
[3:35]
read them for the information of public and those are
[3:38]
the four items that were either unanimous at the Committee
[3:41]
of a whole previously or are for preliminary readings. I
[3:44]
will just note that we went through a number of
[3:46]
items earlier today in a Committee of the Whole. Uh,
[3:48]
we will go through those again one night of time
[3:50]
so that we can accurately record those votes both at
[3:54]
committee and here again at Council. Uh, again these were
[3:58]
either unanimous or committee or for preliminary hearings. And these
[4:03]
will all actually come back to us. Should they be
[4:05]
necessary later this afternoon? So that's G1AA, the report back
[4:10]
on strategies and resources to require cooling and Victoria's rental
[4:13]
buildings. G1AC, the Council Member Motion with regard to enforcement
[4:17]
against derelict buildings, neglected properties and vacant commercial spaces. Item
[4:22]
H1, the Bylaw for 517 - 533 - and5 -
[4:26]
37 Chatham Street and 530532 - 536 Herald Street. They're
[4:31]
resounding application and development permit with variances application for those
[4:34]
addresses. And item H2, the bylaw for 2612, 2616, 2620
[4:40]
and 2628 Richmond Road and that would be specifically for
[4:43]
the housing agreement. Does anyone wish to remove any of
[4:45]
these items. Cancer Gardner is suggesting H2 should be removed.
[4:51]
So we'll do that. Anything else? Not seeing any other
[4:55]
suggestions. So it's someone like to move the other three
[4:57]
items as the consent agenda. Thank you very much Councillor
[5:00]
Gardner, second of my councillor Kim. All those in favor.
[5:03]
Anyone opposed. Those are unanimous. What does take us on
[5:08]
to one item of unfinished business? That's item f1 and
[5:11]
this is with regard to the Victoria housing reserve fund
[5:13]
application for the mid - town affordable housing society for
[5:17]
its location at 611 Speed Avenue. Now I believe in
[5:21]
fact there's an updated report for this and so I
[5:24]
would look for one of our able staff to present
[5:27]
that report as much as needed. And also to explain
[5:30]
why there is an updated report. Mr. Sauerd. Good afternoon
[5:35]
Mayor Council. My name is Ross Howard, manager of housing.
[5:38]
This item was not ratified by Council on May 7th
[5:43]
as there was a desire to confirm for their details
[5:45]
of the application. Subsequently on July 7th, the applicant formally
[5:50]
withdrew their grand application to the city as they were
[5:53]
not successful in receiving funding through Bilt Canada homes. And
[5:56]
that was a condition of their funding for the Victoria
[5:58]
Hydron Reserve Fund. And so this report, uh, simply confirms
[6:02]
the withdrawal of their application, uh, and it's just being
[6:05]
shared with council for information at this time just to
[6:08]
close the loop on this item. Thank you very much.
[6:11]
Are there any questions on that. Culture on a councillor
[6:16]
gardener? Yeah. Um, thanks. And through the chair to staff.
[6:21]
I want to get a sense of what's going to,
[6:22]
what do we know, what's going to happen with this
[6:24]
building? I mean up until now it started out as
[6:28]
a condo, then it was going to be rental. Then
[6:30]
I was going to be this co - op. In
[6:33]
terms of how we categorize this building, what's our presumption
[6:35]
now? Is it going to be sold as market rental
[6:39]
or what happens to it now? Mr. Sower, do we
[6:42]
know that? Through the mayor, I think at this point
[6:47]
in time, all we know is the project is still
[6:55]
looking to receive final occupancy. And, uh, the owner is
[6:59]
still the, um, the group that, uh, brought the projects
[7:04]
or through the approvals and construction process. Um, it's sort
[7:07]
of up to the landowner, I guess, to determine how
[7:09]
they want to move forward. But, uh, but it seems
[7:12]
as though the conversion to the sort of co -
[7:16]
op approach, his head of roadblock is they aren't able
[7:20]
to have the funding from Bill Canada Holmes. Okay. And
[7:23]
if the 677, 000 is not going to them, which
[7:27]
it can't and it shouldn't. What does that leave the
[7:29]
balance of the housing reserve fund at? Is it 4.
[7:32]
5 million or is it five point something million. Mr.
[7:36]
Sauer. Through the mayor, I believe it's around 4. 8
[7:42]
million. Count for crew. Count your screw donut. Sorry. Is
[7:50]
RCFO looking at or is that? Is that it? I
[7:53]
think that's all you know at that point. Yeah. Okay.
[7:56]
Was Thompson? Are you going to do anything to add.
[8:00]
Um, through the American, certainly look it up. I don't
[8:01]
have it off the top of the head. Okay. I
[8:03]
just had one in a question, which is that council
[8:05]
did have some skepticism around this one. We did amend
[8:08]
it to ensure that the federal grant was received before
[8:12]
we gave this grant and it ends up, they did
[8:14]
not get that grant. So I'm glad that we amended
[8:16]
it. But is there lessons learned on this one? Like
[8:21]
in terms of trying to protect our investments and our
[8:23]
grants is the one. Mr. Seward. Through the mayor, um,
[8:30]
I would note that like the Council of the original
[8:33]
Council Motion that had been provided, like would also have
[8:37]
prevented the funds from being released. So I think that
[8:41]
original council motion did have kind of conditions in place
[8:43]
that, you know, provided managed risk for the city. Uh,
[8:47]
that being said, I do think that it did identify
[8:50]
that there are some gaps in the housing reserve fund
[8:53]
guidelines specifically around, um, criteria that would be explicit for,
[8:59]
um, sort of the nonprofit co - op model. And
[9:02]
so we could just have some more detailed guidelines in
[9:04]
that. So I think that's something we can take into
[9:06]
account as part of the update to the housing strategy.
[9:09]
Okay. Thanks. No one can seem to figure out how
[9:11]
to crack the nut on, on co - ops right
[9:13]
now, right? Is there other information on HRF? Otherwise I'm
[9:17]
done. Just so hard to do anything to add. Nope.
[9:20]
Not at this point. No. Okay. All right. That's it.
[9:26]
Okay. Councillor Gardner. Thank you. And thank you for the
[9:30]
good news. Um, I'm just going to summarize a wee
[9:34]
bit will happen on April 16th when this proposal came
[9:37]
through to us. We ended up being very quite confused.
[9:41]
I have to say that. That's really what happened. We
[9:44]
had a group applying for the money. And it was
[9:46]
not the co - op. And as we delved into
[9:50]
the matters, um, the risk to the city I think
[9:53]
became very high in many people's minds on this council.
[9:59]
And it was, I mean, it was just plain old
[10:02]
worrisome. And, uh, I appreciated, I think, believe it was
[10:05]
a council Caradono who had the amendment, which I seconded,
[10:09]
which was to tie that 677, to approval of the
[10:14]
federal grant, which did not come through. And personally on
[10:19]
April 6th, that whole discussion was very unsettling. The next
[10:23]
day I spent hours and hours rereading those documents. And
[10:28]
although each document kind of looked okay standalone together, they
[10:31]
didn't make sense to me. I then spoke to staff
[10:33]
about it and told them my concerns. We about time
[10:36]
it also had someone seen the VC assessment value of
[10:40]
that property for 2025. And so the whole thing was
[10:44]
disturbing. And on May 7th, it was actually council did
[10:47]
not proceed with it, but it was actually its staff
[10:49]
request that staff wanted to look further into it. Now
[10:53]
it's a very wise decision. So thank you staff for
[10:55]
that. And, uh, so I'm pleased that the 600 and
[11:00]
67, 000 was not given away. Thank you. Thank you
[11:03]
very much. Councillor Hammond. I'll be brief. Um, I, I
[11:10]
also like to, um, acknowledge my colleagues from bringing in
[11:13]
that caveat that was going forward. And I remember how
[11:16]
reluctant I was even going in the first place. But
[11:18]
I want to know, I want people to know that
[11:20]
it was two people in particular who were sending me
[11:23]
emails and others who really alerted me to this. And
[11:26]
so I just want to, I won't give their names
[11:28]
in case something will happen to them. But we all,
[11:31]
we all know them. We all got the emails. And
[11:33]
I just want to say that thanks for the diligence
[11:36]
of a lot of people. I even ended up calling
[11:38]
the head of, um, the co - op association in
[11:42]
British Columbia having a conversation with a person while I
[11:44]
was down in Mexico as a matter of fact. And,
[11:46]
uh, it was really enlightening for me about what was
[11:50]
going on. So I'm really pleased that the, um, due
[11:53]
diligence was done on this. And well, it made it
[11:55]
easier when the other level of government withdrew. Thank you
[12:00]
very much. Anybody else. How's Coleman? Thank you. Um, and
[12:05]
thank you to staff for this. I think if there's
[12:08]
a learning lesson for council, it's when the report first
[12:13]
came forward, it suggested we could give, uh, a significant
[12:19]
amount of money and an application would be made to
[12:22]
the federal government or the federal funds as a condition
[12:26]
subsequent. We reversed the process and said, no, actually federal,
[12:32]
the federal approval should come first. And that is perhaps
[12:35]
the lesson learned that we should always, uh, say, yes,
[12:39]
we will support certain initiatives. As long as the others
[12:43]
have done due diligence as well as us. Because we
[12:45]
could have been caught the other way. Um, and I
[12:47]
think that this is, I'm sad that we now have
[12:52]
to go through a different process and make sure that
[12:55]
the building is used, but it, uh, is also about
[12:58]
protecting the investment of the taxpayers as well. So I
[13:02]
think that. I understand how we got there. And there
[13:08]
were lots of hopes that were attached to this. They
[13:10]
weren't forthcoming. And I think I'm very thankful that the
[13:13]
federal government did some due diligence. And it wasn't made
[13:18]
apparent. And so we aren't on the. Being hung out
[13:21]
for the funds. It's wondering how you're going to phrase
[13:24]
that. Anyone who hasn't yet spoken wishes to do so.
[13:28]
Nope. Councillor Gardiota subsequent comment or question. Did you have
[13:32]
a subsequent company? You put your hand up a second
[13:34]
time. Oh, all right. Yes. It's just a motion to
[13:37]
receive, which is why I wasn't being overly harsh on
[13:40]
the commentary. Yeah. Councillor Gardner is moving to receive. Is
[13:43]
her second, please. Thanks Councillor Caradona. Any final comments. Not
[13:47]
seeing any. All those in favor of receipt. Anybody opposed.
[13:52]
Is unanimous. Thank you, Steph, for your diligence as others
[13:54]
have noted. That takes us on two reports of committees.
[13:57]
First, we'll deal with the report from July 23rd. Privilege
[14:00]
mayor. I'm sorry. Big burden. Did we ever get an
[14:03]
answer about the, uh, amount left in the reserve fund?
[14:07]
I thought it was 4. 8 million. But did you
[14:09]
want to correct that? Ms. Thompson. Through you, Mary, yes,
[14:13]
the amount that is uncommitted at this point is 4.
[14:15]
2 million. There you go. Thank you, Councillor. Um, the
[14:20]
report from July 23rd Committee with the Whole. The first
[14:22]
item, G1AA was on the consent agenda. So that's already
[14:26]
been considered just for the information of the public. That
[14:28]
is the report back on Strategies and Resources to Require.
[14:32]
In Victoria's Red Bull buildings. So that has been finally
[14:35]
resolved. And again, because we're at Council, when that is
[14:38]
considered on the consent agenda, it is a final resolution.
[14:41]
The next item though was not unanimous at Committee, and
[14:44]
that was G1AB. This is the economic unemployment land solutions
[14:48]
report. Uh, this was carried in the majority, but there
[14:51]
were noted oppositions. So we'll have someone move that again,
[14:54]
please. Nice Councillor Kim, seconded by. Councillor Lon. Uh, Councillor
[15:00]
Kim or Lot, and any comments to make at this
[15:02]
time? Anyone else wished to make any comments? Councillor Gardner,
[15:05]
go ahead. Thank. You, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Last week,
[15:12]
those who love Old Town were given a shock. That
[15:15]
shock is not subsided. Trust, fragile after OCP 2050 is
[15:19]
further broken. While the public hearing was waived by the
[15:22]
majority of council, perhaps other changes can be made. The
[15:26]
hotel working group, which created the greater Victoria Hotel Development
[15:29]
report, which is the underpinning for the bylaw amendments before
[15:32]
us. But there was no similar group struck to consult
[15:36]
on Old Town Heritage. So, um, I would like to
[15:40]
make an amendment to the seven instructions that are there.
[15:46]
Namely, the insertions of an item between items three and
[15:49]
four. Go ahead. Just to give us a minute to
[15:56]
read it. Picture everybody understands what it says. Essentially, I'm
[16:01]
going to summarize it, but if everyone else. Hold on,
[16:03]
don't do that. Let's let us read it first. And
[16:05]
then I'll come back to you after I seek a
[16:06]
secondary for your motivation.
[16:19]
Okay, that seems on its language clear. Uh, I will
[16:23]
accept that as a moving, an amendment. Is your secondary
[16:27]
for that amendment? Councillor Howmund is Seconding. Go ahead, Councillor
[16:30]
Gardner on the amendment. Excuse me very much. Um, I
[16:37]
think the amendment speaks for Sef. It's actually to, uh,
[16:40]
direct and get a broader heritage consultation group to consider
[16:43]
the updated decal policies for the historic commercial district, Old
[16:48]
Town. And that group to include members of the Heritage
[16:51]
Advisory panel, Victoria's Civic Heritage Trust, the hallmark society. And
[16:55]
no inheritage experts in BC. Thank you very much, Councillor
[16:59]
Hammond. Anything you'd like to add. Nothing, Senator? No. Okay.
[17:03]
Any other comments. Councillor Kim. Councillor Lord. Um, thanks through
[17:09]
the chair. Um, again, a question to the mover and
[17:14]
it is totally up to you to answer or not.
[17:16]
Um, I, I like where this is going. I just
[17:20]
don't know why we're consulting Heritage Experts in BC if
[17:24]
this is such a, uh, Victoria specific concern. Are we
[17:30]
talking about heritage experts in BC who are familiar with
[17:32]
the area? Um, why not consult like federal heritage experts?
[17:37]
Just, I'm trying to understand the scope here. Council Gardner,
[17:42]
would you like to try and answer that? There are
[17:44]
no one heritage experts in BC that are actually in
[17:48]
Victoria. A lot of people, I think inheritage world are
[17:51]
very familiar with it. This is not identify any particular
[17:54]
person. All right. How's your load? Any questions? I do.
[17:58]
Thanks for you, Mayor. Is the heritage advisory panel not
[18:02]
already involved in the decap updates and also the heritage
[18:07]
review? Like, isn't this consultation already happening. Who would like
[18:11]
to answer that. Yes, please go ahead. Through the mayor,
[18:15]
Andrea Hudson, assistant director of Citywide Planning, um, we haven't
[18:19]
yet commenced our projects around the Heritage Programmer Newell or
[18:25]
the broader downtown core area plan update. But those are
[18:29]
two projects that we, um, we will be considering and
[18:32]
we would be bringing those, um, project approaches to counsel
[18:36]
in the future. So likely the new council, um, and
[18:40]
at that time we would propose an engagement strategy as
[18:43]
part of those projects. And we would, um, provide some
[18:47]
advice about who should be consulted and counsel you would
[18:50]
have an opportunity to sanction that at that time, but
[18:53]
that will be for coming to the next council. Okay.
[18:57]
Thank you for that. So if I might just to
[19:00]
clarify, so you're suggesting that this is already your intention.
[19:06]
Um, so the mayor to engage on those projects broadly,
[19:10]
including with Heritage groups would be our intention, but we
[19:13]
just haven't gotten to that level of detail yet as
[19:16]
we're still in the project planning stage. Any questions just
[19:20]
before I go back to Consecrator, are there questions or
[19:22]
comments. Councillor Gardner? This is to go beyond the, let's
[19:28]
get feedback, um, engagement. It's to actually suggest consultation. We've
[19:32]
had consultation with the hotel group. And this is very
[19:35]
important. And I believe this gives good direction to stuff.
[19:40]
Thank you. May I ask Steph, how you would interpret
[19:43]
this inclusion. And I guess my question is what impact
[19:46]
if any does this have on the larger motion. Ms.
[19:52]
Hudson. Um, through the mayor, um, my reading of this
[19:58]
is that it's meant to direct consultation on broader downtown
[20:04]
core area plan policy updates. Whereas the rest of the
[20:09]
motion is dealing with more immediate zoning changes. So I'm
[20:13]
not sure if it impacts the rest of the motion
[20:15]
or if that's what the mover intended. That's a great
[20:19]
question. Councillor Gardner, did you intend for this to have
[20:23]
an impact on the more immediate term work, which is
[20:26]
the bulk of the rest of the motion? Does attachment
[20:29]
A have an impact. I would think so. Yes. Within,
[20:33]
yes. So yeah. Attachment A is about author. So just
[20:37]
to be clear, you've just wanted to clarify, you do
[20:39]
intend this to have an impact on the short term.
[20:41]
And that's just attachment A is part of the short
[20:43]
term. Yes. Very good. All right. So, um, I'm going
[20:46]
to put my question to staff then. What impact would
[20:49]
this have on the rest of the motion. Uh, through
[20:57]
the mayor, if this is to seek, um, advice from
[21:01]
these groups on the proposed tax exemption program and the
[21:04]
other zoning changes, then we would have to undertake that
[21:07]
work before, uh, embarking upon those amendments. So, um, it
[21:12]
would just, it would add some time onto the project.
[21:16]
Yes, that was the source of my question because five,
[21:19]
six, and seven, uh, if I recollect from the answers
[21:22]
to some of our previous questions, we're very specific to
[21:25]
those particular programs. Uh, and so I actually support number
[21:30]
four. I just don't think that it should be there.
[21:32]
If anything, I think it should be a motion arising.
[21:35]
Because it seems to me that from staff's response, it's
[21:39]
more applicable to the broader discussion, which I think is
[21:42]
crucial. What I would be loathe to have it have
[21:45]
delaying impact on, uh, in particular, the RTE. So I
[21:53]
can support the content of this, but not where it's
[21:55]
placed. Uh, other comments. Councillor Caradona. Yeah, I think before
[22:00]
it was moved, it actually, we should have talked to
[22:03]
staff because I think it probably should have been ruled
[22:04]
out of order. Because what this motion is about is
[22:08]
pretty narrowly confined to the central business district. It doesn't
[22:13]
really have very much to do with Old Town a
[22:15]
little bit. Uh, but given a minimum stick, we're made
[22:18]
last week or the week before even less so. What
[22:21]
this is doing based on my reading is setting up
[22:24]
some kind of a permanent consultation group. It's not saying
[22:28]
have a consultation with X groups. It's saying create a
[22:31]
new group that is much more generally applicable to decap.
[22:35]
So to my mind, this should be part of a
[22:38]
decap related motion, either a Council Member motion or motion
[22:42]
arising or something that would relate to the totality of
[22:44]
what's going on in DCAP. I don't think, I don't
[22:46]
see this as nearly addressing, sorry, addressing this relatively narrow
[22:51]
scope of this motion here. So I don't think it
[22:53]
belongs here at all. It's not, to my mind, it's
[22:56]
not in order. Thank you for that opinion, Councillor. Anyone
[23:00]
else on this particular amendment. Uh. No, you cannot. That
[23:08]
is correct. Councillor Thompson. Just wanted to clarify an earlier
[23:14]
comment from staff. So if I understand the normal process
[23:18]
properly, uh, it would be that staff would go away
[23:22]
if this wasn't here. Staff would go away and be
[23:27]
looking into who to consult and would come back to
[23:31]
council with a recommendation. Here's the people to consult. And
[23:34]
that would probably be up to the next council anyways.
[23:38]
Is that correct? Through the mayor. Yes, we would do
[23:42]
that for the broader revisit of the downtown core area
[23:46]
plan and the heritage program update. That is a separate
[23:50]
work from these more immediate. Recommendations. So yes, that was
[23:55]
our intention is for the, for the bigger projects, we
[23:57]
would be coming back to Council to consider the broader
[24:02]
engagement plan that we would do. And that would likely
[24:04]
be after the election and onto the next council, whoever
[24:08]
that is. Yes. Okay. I think that this is premature.
[24:13]
So I'll be opposing it on that ground. Thank you
[24:16]
very much. Anyone who has not yet spoken wishes to
[24:19]
do two reminding that we aren't council. Okay. Councillor Gardner
[24:25]
closing off. Closing off discussion. Yes. On your amendment, yes.
[24:32]
On your amendment. Nothing on the amendment. Okay. Uh, I'm
[24:37]
going to vote against this because I hope that what
[24:39]
will happen is that it will not be included in
[24:41]
this and that there will be emotionalizing falling this, which
[24:44]
would be entirely appropriate. So all those in favor of
[24:47]
the amendment. Councillor Coleman, Councillor Hammond, Councillor Gardner. And opposition.
[24:54]
Concert Dell. Councillor Kim, Council Cardinal, Councillor Loughton, myself and
[24:57]
Councillor Thompson. Councillor, uh, so that is defeated, noting three
[25:02]
and opposition. Rather, sorry, three favor six in oppositions backwards.
[25:07]
Uh, Councillor Gerd, you're before I move on, would you
[25:09]
like to reserve the right to hold that as a
[25:11]
motion rising after we conclude this? Great. Excellent. I will
[25:15]
come back to you at that point. So on the
[25:18]
main motion, not amended. Yes. Go ahead, Councillor Hammond. Have
[25:25]
you not concluded your remarks. Not at all. Oh, well,
[25:28]
but go ahead then. Sorry. I thought you had. Staff,
[25:33]
please put up the map I provided. On page 12
[25:36]
of the industry of the industry report, this one. There
[25:39]
was a map suggesting distribution of hotel supply. The map
[25:42]
suggests almost all of Victoria could be home to new
[25:45]
hotels. But last week and since we've heard chatter of
[25:48]
hotel projects already envisioned, perhaps 10 for the city Victoria,
[25:52]
wherein Victoria? Could we have the map, please?
[26:15]
Is that the map you're requesting? Great, good. I asked
[26:23]
the question already. Sudsen. Uh, I'm sorry. Could you please
[26:32]
repeat the question. This is, to me, my time. No,
[26:40]
your time is not recorded when you're repeating a question.
[26:42]
The request was staff. Okay. Thank you. Um, last week
[26:45]
we heard there's lots of chatter of hotels already envisioned.
[26:48]
We heard that jury in our session last week. Perhaps
[26:51]
10 for Victoria. So I was wondering where in Victoria,
[26:54]
uh, and how many are envisioned to be reuse of
[26:57]
heritage or underutilized buildings? Because it also mentions office buildings
[27:01]
in that report in this report. And how many of
[27:04]
the 10 envision hotels, uh, would be uncleared sites. Ms.
[27:10]
Hudson, do you know that? Um, through the mayor, I
[27:16]
don't have the report in front of me, but I
[27:18]
do recall that there wasn't that level out of, of
[27:21]
specificity around, you know, there was a lot of discussion
[27:24]
about hotel opportunities that could be new builds that could
[27:29]
be reusing heritage buildings. Um, but I don't believe there
[27:33]
was specific numbers in each of those categories. I think
[27:35]
they were just all seen as opportunities. And it also
[27:37]
talked about hotel opportunities in the whole region in addition
[27:41]
to Victoria. Yes, thank you. This schematic shows the dark
[27:44]
blue. It's just the city victoria. So are there spots
[27:47]
throughout the whole city that are being considered. Perhaps do
[27:55]
you need an additional staff person to join you to
[27:57]
answer some of these questions? Good afternoon. Mayoraulta Robert Batalla,
[28:06]
senior planner, Community Planning Division. Um, if I can maybe
[28:09]
try and elaborate, um, with the map, uh, shows here,
[28:12]
which is from the destination greater Victoria report is that
[28:16]
hotels are anticipated and needed throughout the region. The report
[28:20]
talks about there's a full spectrum of different types of
[28:22]
hotels, full service, motel, et cetera. And so it's really
[28:25]
looking to try and draw and incentivize those types of
[28:28]
developments to occur throughout the region. Um, the report also
[28:32]
certainly acknowledges Victoria as the Centre for tourism, arts and
[28:35]
culture, whatnot, as it's likely to receive the most amount
[28:39]
or highest concentration of hotels. I think naturally. But there's
[28:44]
no specific breakdown of how many may occur. Um, what
[28:48]
assistant director Hudson, I think is trying to explain is
[28:50]
that, uh, what was discussed last week is that the,
[28:55]
uh, revitalization tax exemption, for example, would be open to
[28:59]
providing an incentive where, for example, a vacant site is
[29:03]
being proposed for a hotel. And that could be anywhere
[29:06]
in terms of a vacant site. It could also be
[29:08]
applied to where there's a non - residential building that
[29:13]
could be converted to a hotel purpose. So in a
[29:17]
class C office, for example, um, as well, it would
[29:20]
apply to an existing hotel, motel. If they are looking
[29:24]
to also add additional net new guest rooms to their
[29:28]
property. And so it's quite robust and flexible that way.
[29:32]
But it doesn't specify what specific, we wouldn't get into
[29:35]
what specific type of hotel. If it's a five star
[29:39]
hotel or three star, et cetera. But she's really making
[29:41]
quite flexible and open to all forms of hotel. In
[29:46]
response to sort of the key objectives outlined in the
[29:48]
destination greater Victoria report. So I hope that helps. Thank
[29:52]
you. The tax incentive. The industry report references several times
[29:56]
existing heritage rehabilitation within the city. Seismic upgrades conversion grant
[30:01]
programs. And suggests exploring or expanding heritage program. Nowhere in
[30:05]
the industry report is a 10 year tax holiday estimated
[30:09]
at 48 million dollar gift. So how did this come
[30:14]
about and who chose this. And why is it a
[30:17]
blanket tax holiday. To all or any hotel as opposed
[30:21]
to just heritage. Said a Mr. Vitalis from Ms. Hudson
[30:26]
or who'd like to take that? Maybe I'll start. Um,
[30:30]
the direction that staff have right now was essentially, I
[30:33]
think it was previously discussed at Council and Destination Grade
[30:36]
of Victoria was presented. And that was just the idea
[30:37]
of exploring a tax exemption to strategically encourage the development
[30:43]
of hotel type accommodations within Victoria. Um, staff have not
[30:48]
prepared the revitalization tax exemption. That's actually something that we're
[30:51]
starting to look at and be preparing drafts at something
[30:54]
that would come separately to council. The intent right now
[30:58]
is that the tax exemption would provide. A proportionate reduction
[31:05]
in the municipal tax that's collected for each of those
[31:08]
hotels or new motel or guest rooms that are developed.
[31:12]
Um, it's not, it would not be a full 100
[31:14]
percent exemption of the municipal taxes, but it's just a
[31:17]
proportionate reduction. So it is a little bit different than
[31:20]
the heritage program. And so we are looking at sort
[31:23]
of different approaches for that, but the whole focus as
[31:27]
the other week when I call it Malcolm McClane presented
[31:29]
the item was that it would be focused on the
[31:31]
incremental increase in value resulting from the capital improvements that
[31:36]
occur on the site. So it's not a full tax
[31:38]
holiday. It's just a proportion on the municipal portion. The
[31:43]
property is still subject to all other, um, federal provincial
[31:46]
CRD hospital school board taxes. Thank you. I understood that.
[31:52]
Um, and, um, I understood the reduction in the conference.
[31:57]
But the estimate was still 84 million dollars now in
[32:01]
2026 residents, both homeowners and tenants contributed about 56 percent
[32:05]
of the tax revenue that came in. And 2026, it
[32:10]
was 177 million. So this 84 million favor will be
[32:14]
born essentially by, uh, 56 or 57 percent by residential
[32:22]
homeowners and tenants. I think that's important to recognise. Now
[32:28]
has the staff considered a 60 or an 84 million
[32:31]
tax exemption for any other industry. Ms. Hudson, I think
[32:38]
that's to you. Although I do believe that you actually
[32:40]
answered that question before. And when we last considered this
[32:44]
matter, but please do consider it again. Through the mayor,
[32:49]
no, the other tax exemption programs that we have are
[32:51]
for Heritage Rehabilitation, um, to encourage new rental buildings in
[32:56]
the city and to encourage retrofits of existing rental buildings
[33:00]
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So this would be, uh,
[33:04]
an additional new tax exemption program specifically for hotels. Has
[33:10]
there been any other exemption at that kind of level
[33:11]
of 84 million over 10 year period. Ms. Thompson, I
[33:17]
think this is to you. Um, three mayor. I don't
[33:20]
have the details of our existing exemptions. Um, so I
[33:24]
would have to pull that, but, uh, but across all
[33:26]
of our exemption programs, whether they be revivalization exemptions or
[33:30]
regular permissive exemptions, um, they told, we are quite generous
[33:35]
as the city as we've talked in the past, but
[33:38]
I would have to pull the information to look exactly
[33:42]
how, uh, much that would be, uh, the number of
[33:47]
course that is being referenced here is over the 10
[33:49]
year period when we report out on the one year.
[33:54]
So the annual amount. So that's what, cause it varies.
[33:58]
And properties come on and off, um, each year. So,
[34:02]
um, I would need some time to pull this information
[34:05]
if it's needed. Thank you. I understood the Rodola 84
[34:07]
million. It would be about 8. 4 million per year
[34:10]
more or less. Cause of course the 10 years aren't
[34:12]
going to be a solid 10 years. Um, so I
[34:15]
think that was, uh, no one. So my real question
[34:18]
was any other this kind of tax exemption to an
[34:22]
industry. So not your housing, but just to an industry.
[34:26]
Final comment now, I guess. Unless we get a motion
[34:28]
arising after this, the conflation of tax exemption with revenue
[34:34]
or taxes years later gives a false linkage. One is
[34:38]
not dependent on the other. I do not buy for
[34:41]
a moment. That a hotel would decide not to build
[34:43]
in Victoria without a 10 year tax holiday. The key
[34:48]
themes considered a critical in the letter we received as
[34:52]
councillors, uh, a week ago from, um, destination Victoria. Where
[34:58]
speed, certainty and red tape reduction. Not tax holidays. That
[35:04]
was not mentioned in his letter. Given the absence of
[35:07]
consultation with Heritage groups in the public and given the
[35:11]
84 million dollar tax holiday, I can't support this policy.
[35:15]
Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. We could put
[35:17]
the motion back up on the screen. That would be
[35:19]
helpful. Councillor Hammond. Thanks. Mine's going to be an easier
[35:24]
one. Um, last time I was on the four votes
[35:29]
for asking for a public hearing, um, and that was
[35:32]
defeated because five Oden in favor of, um, of continuing
[35:37]
to not hold a public hearing. And then I, I
[35:40]
heard from people afterwards, and some people said, you know,
[35:43]
why didn't you have a public hearing? And I said,
[35:45]
well, I don't mind saying I was wavering on that.
[35:47]
But then there was also some questions that people brought
[35:50]
to me. And as a matter of fact, I remember
[35:52]
one in particular, I asked one of our directors. And
[35:56]
the director gave the right information the person actually who
[35:59]
was asking the question had wrong information and wasn't misinformation.
[36:03]
It was just, they had, they had a wrong assumption.
[36:05]
And it was on that one in which actually the
[36:07]
person had this misconception of what was going on. And
[36:10]
I got a really great response from one of our
[36:12]
directors about this is that I realised the people who
[36:16]
have a lot of misunderstanding about this. And therefore, it's
[36:19]
not for the whole thing, but for my statement as
[36:22]
a whole about not having a public hearing, I'll just
[36:25]
be voting no. I get the pros and cons of
[36:28]
the tax exemptions and because it's on the lift, I
[36:31]
feel more comfortable with this. Um, but it's just on
[36:33]
that, that I'm going to change my vote and vote.
[36:36]
No, I know it won't make any difference. But, um,
[36:39]
and I doubt no one except me, but I just
[36:42]
wanted to say that. Thank you. Thank you very much.
[36:45]
Anyone else on this is on the floor. Councillor Coleman.
[36:49]
Thank you. Um, we will continue to evolve, but as
[36:55]
we do so, we need to make sure that voices
[36:58]
are heard. At the last meeting when we dealt with
[37:02]
this. I asked if item number two could be severed.
[37:06]
So we could deal with the issue of public hearings.
[37:09]
Cause I think there should be one. I think the
[37:11]
collateral impact on Old Town could be enormous. And I
[37:15]
think the public would like to weigh in on that.
[37:18]
I was told it couldn't be severed. And that's fine.
[37:20]
So therefore I voted against the whole motion and I
[37:23]
will continue to do so. Thank you. Thank you very
[37:25]
much. Anybody else? Councillor Dell. Sure. I would just like
[37:30]
to wrap us up. Most importantly while we heard some
[37:32]
complaining about this, this is a absolutely key city strategic
[37:36]
priority. It's one of the key priorities for destination greater
[37:39]
Victoria. And it's one of the most important policies I
[37:41]
think in our city. So I'm quite disappointed here. All
[37:45]
these small side quests around what is a really important
[37:47]
issue of getting more hotels in the area. I mean,
[37:50]
if we're going to do our job here, I think
[37:52]
most of us should read the deck greater at Victoria
[37:54]
Destination Master Plan, which identifies hotel development as a critical
[37:57]
issue for Victoria. We directed staff to do this work.
[38:00]
They went and they worked with all the critical stakeover
[38:04]
in the city and came back with a suite of
[38:05]
policies, uh, unfortunately, um, there's been a lot of admissinformation
[38:10]
about one particular policy, which we pulled out. And that's
[38:12]
fine because it was quite minor. But the rest of
[38:14]
these are really important. Um, so I think it's, it's
[38:17]
really exciting day for us to support this because it's
[38:20]
showing that we want people to come to Victoria. We
[38:22]
want to support downtown. We want new hotel development in
[38:25]
the city and we're listening to our staff who have
[38:26]
put forward a really thoughtful suite of policies to make
[38:30]
that happen. Uh, I don't agree with many of the
[38:32]
criticisms here. Uh, the public hearing. I haven't really heard
[38:35]
much at all about these issues other than the one
[38:37]
that we pulled out, which is removed. Um, so I
[38:40]
think overall this is a really exciting win for Victoria.
[38:43]
And I don't want the negative comments distract for, for
[38:45]
how important this is and how much work. Experts have
[38:49]
put into this. And I think this is a big
[38:51]
win for our council. So I'm happy to support this.
[38:54]
Thank you very much. Anyone who hasn't yet spoken wish
[38:57]
to do so. Not seeing anyone else wish to do
[39:02]
so. I will just comment that, uh, I do support
[39:04]
this. I did think that it could withstand a public
[39:08]
hearing, which is why I supported actually withdrawing number two
[39:12]
previously. Having said that, I also think that the content
[39:16]
of the entire thing is very admirable and quite supportable.
[39:20]
So I'm not going to let the lack of a
[39:22]
public hearing push me into a dispensing with the rest
[39:25]
of it, which I think is extremely supportable. Uh, so
[39:28]
I will support it moving forward today. With that, all
[39:32]
those in favor. Councillor Dell, Councillor Kim, Councillor Carradoni Council
[39:37]
Loughten, myself, Councillor Thompson. And opposition, Councillor Coleman, Councillor Hammond
[39:41]
and Councillor Gardner. So noting three N opposition. That is
[39:45]
adopted. That would take us on usually two item G1AC.
[39:51]
Uh, this was the Council Member Motion that was carried
[39:55]
unanimously at the July 23rd Committee of the Whole. So
[39:58]
that has been dealt with on our consent agenda. That
[40:01]
takes us on to a number of matters under the
[40:04]
G1B category. These are all, I feel like I'm just
[40:08]
talking about point of information. Yes. Sorry. Oh, I'm a
[40:10]
bigger pardon. Yes. Uh, would you like to actually, um,
[40:14]
provide a motion arising, which I believe you can just
[40:17]
do with the information that you had proposed as an
[40:21]
amendment, which was not allowed. Let us put that on
[40:24]
as a motion rising. So not a new number, but
[40:26]
just a brand new motion rising. You just push that
[40:31]
up. Thank you, Councillor Gardner. I completely forgot that. There
[40:35]
you go. Uh, moving that, I'm happy the second dat.
[40:38]
Is there any discussion or anything you would like to
[40:40]
add, Councillor Gardner. Um, previous comments. When I hear public,
[40:46]
we're going to have a broad discussion. That's we've seen
[40:48]
before. It means frequently a survey and really kind of
[40:52]
after the fact. And that it's not really, really consultation.
[40:57]
And, uh, I think it's very important that this be
[41:00]
up front. And that's why the consultation, I suggest that
[41:03]
consultation group. So it wouldn't be lost in some general
[41:06]
survey, which can be so, uh, used or misused by,
[41:13]
uh, special interest groups. And so I thought that it
[41:15]
was very important. I realised for staff members were on
[41:20]
this committee that created this, the greater Victoria Hotel Development.
[41:25]
And these people, the heritage people and the people who
[41:28]
love Heritage are as much stakeholders as hotels when it
[41:32]
comes to Old Town. So that's why I wanted this
[41:36]
in there. So the heritage group supposed to be broad,
[41:41]
not a broad consultation process meeting the usual engagement where
[41:45]
you just ask everybody after the fact. I believe they
[41:49]
should be constituted really soon. And I'm not suggesting who
[41:53]
all goes on it. But that we should get, uh,
[41:56]
those are our knowledge groups that we have now. And
[42:00]
I think people here, yourself mayor more than mere, me
[42:04]
can name probably four or five experts were really well
[42:07]
known in this city and beyond this city in the
[42:10]
heritage field. And there may be some who are here
[42:14]
who actually helped do the first guidelines of Old Town.
[42:21]
Yep. Let it open. That's it. Great. Um, yeah, I
[42:23]
do support this. And I support it for a slightly
[42:25]
different reason. Uh, and that is because as I recollect,
[42:28]
uh, we have had extensive conversations about a future examination
[42:32]
of not just heritage and old town or the decap,
[42:36]
but of heritage broadly. Uh, I think that is going
[42:39]
to be an extraordinarily complex and challenging conversation for the
[42:43]
next council that will have many, many twists and turns,
[42:46]
which I don't believe have even been anticipated at this
[42:48]
point. And so I think this fits very nicely within
[42:51]
the context of that larger conversation. Some specificity, particularly around
[42:56]
Oldtime, but for me, this is just one component of
[42:59]
what is a very much larger conversation, which is absolutely
[43:02]
necessary. And which I hope the next council will commit
[43:05]
to doing expeditiously. So I'm happy to support this. Any
[43:10]
other comments on this. Senion, all those in favor. Anybody
[43:15]
opposed. That is unanimous. Thank you for that. Now moving
[43:20]
on to G1B, this is the report from our earlier
[43:23]
committee of the whole meeting today. Uh, we are going
[43:25]
to walk through all of the items individually, although some
[43:28]
of them, uh, we're unanimous. Some of them are not.
[43:31]
So just to ensure that we capture everything accurately. We'll
[43:35]
do them one at a time. And I would note
[43:36]
that the reason they were working through all of these
[43:38]
of course is that as I'd mentioned previously, this is
[43:41]
our last Council meeting before we take our usual hiatus
[43:44]
in August. So we'll just make sure we get to
[43:47]
all of the matters that require any attention before September.
[43:50]
So up first was G1BA. And this is the review
[43:54]
of the tenant protection Bylaw Compensation Requirements, which was amended
[43:58]
and discussed at length. So I will ask for someone
[44:00]
to move this, please. Yes, but we're going to go
[44:04]
through each one, you know, just to make sure that
[44:06]
we have the accurate record of well everything. I believe
[44:09]
councillor, uh, Hammond, you originally posed this, did you not?
[44:12]
Yes. The Ten of Brecht, yes. So you'd like to
[44:14]
move it again. Sure. You have to go through each
[44:16]
one. Yes. Councillor Hammond's moving is your secondary councillor Kim.
[44:19]
Any further commentary. Seeing none, all those in favor. And
[44:23]
he would opposed. That is unanimous. Thank you very much
[44:25]
for that. The promise of tax exemptions for 2027 28.
[44:29]
This was in fact unanimous, but we will do so
[44:31]
again just for the record. This is G1BB with some
[44:34]
elect to move those, please. Thanks Councillor Caradona, seconded by
[44:37]
Concer Coleman. Any discussion. Seeing none, all those in favor.
[44:41]
Anyone opposed. That is unanimous as well. It takes us
[44:45]
on to G1 BC. This was also unanimous earlier. And
[44:48]
this is the Council Member Motion advocacy to the Provincial
[44:51]
Government on continued operating subsidies from a koala housing. Someone
[44:54]
like to move that, please. Also, Gerardone is moving. Concert
[44:58]
Kim is seconding. Any discussion, seeing none, all those in
[45:01]
favor. Thank you. That's unanimous. G1BD. This is the Council
[45:06]
Member Motion on Advocacy to improve return to Futures wanted
[45:09]
on warrants. Uh, this was amended, but eventually was supported.
[45:13]
Someone like to move that, please. Councillor Thompson. I'm every
[45:15]
second that any discussion. Seeing none, always in favor. Anyone
[45:22]
opposed. That is unanimous. Thank you very much. G1BE. This
[45:26]
is the Council Member Motion with regard to formalizing a
[45:29]
fair wages policy. This was also unanimous earlier on the
[45:32]
consent agenda, but we'll do one again here just to
[45:34]
be clear. Uh, Councillor Thompson, you moved this. I forget
[45:37]
who second did it at the time. The Constacardona, thank
[45:40]
you very much for doing that. Any conversation on that
[45:42]
one. Seeing none, all those in favor, anyone opposed. It's
[45:47]
also unanimous. G1BF was the Council member motion establishing a
[45:51]
by name list for the City Victoria, which was amended
[45:54]
multiple times, but is now here before. It's councillor Loton.
[45:57]
I presume you'd like to move that. Someone like the
[45:59]
second account for Thompson. Any further discussion. Seeing none, all
[46:04]
those in favor. Anyone opposed. That is also unanimous. And
[46:09]
finally item G1BG. This is the Council Member Motion with
[46:13]
regarding to emergency response to the metatomidine crisis. Wealth Councillor
[46:19]
move that again. Councillor Thompson is seconding. Any further discussion.
[46:23]
Seeing none, all those in favor. Anybody opposed. And it's
[46:28]
also unanimous. Thank you for all of that. So all
[46:30]
of those were taken care of this morning. Moving on
[46:33]
on to Bylaws. Item H1 is the bylaw for 517
[46:38]
533 and 537 Chatham and 535 32 and 536. Harold,
[46:42]
this is the rezoning application and development permit with variances
[46:45]
applications. This was on the consent agenda for the Council
[46:49]
because it is preliminary readings for second and third reading.
[46:52]
And so that will return to us at our daytime
[46:55]
Council meeting in September. And that takes us on to
[46:58]
item H2, which was on the consent agenda, but was
[47:01]
removed. And this is the Bylaw for 26126, 2620 and
[47:07]
2628 Richmond Road, the housing agreement, uh, and that is
[47:11]
the first, second, and third reading of that housing agreement,
[47:14]
which would by convention be on our consent agenda because
[47:18]
it's preliminary readings, but perfectly appropriate to pull it off.
[47:21]
So it's someone like to move those readings, please. Thanks
[47:23]
Councillor Careguan. It's seconded by Cons for Dell. Caradona or
[47:26]
Del any commentary. Yeah. Actually, I do have a, actually
[47:30]
more of a question for staff, uh, when I was
[47:33]
reading this one on the agenda, I thought, I don't
[47:35]
remember approving this one. And, uh, and then it occurred
[47:39]
to me. Oh yeah, this, this is now a delegated
[47:40]
authority. So I wanted to ask first of all, is
[47:44]
this just, I want to ask how this one went.
[47:47]
If I'm not mistaken, was this the first delegated authority
[47:49]
for a Sixtory building or, or maybe not the first
[47:52]
one, but just how did the process go for staff
[47:55]
as a delegated authority. Who would like to take that
[47:58]
question. Uh, Mr. Handy, go ahead. Thank you. Good afternoon,
[48:03]
Meryl, to a members of Council, Jim Handy acting assistant
[48:06]
direct divine services. This is not the first six story
[48:12]
residential project that has been approved under delegated powers. Um,
[48:18]
it is, um, one of the first because those powers
[48:22]
and the new zoning were adopted late last year. This
[48:26]
particular project you're correct. It hasn't been in front of
[48:29]
council because it is a development permit. That meets the
[48:32]
criteria for delegation. And as per the land use procedures
[48:35]
by law, we're the only matter for staff's consideration is
[48:38]
consistency with the applicable design guidelines. And in this instance,
[48:43]
um, the application is considered consistent with the design guidelines
[48:47]
and if council do have any further questions. We do
[48:49]
have senior plant majority Gordon here who has been handling
[48:52]
the application. Sure. My questions are all pretty high level
[48:56]
because I read the report. I get I get a
[48:58]
sense of what this building is. But we've obviously been
[49:02]
working for some years to try to streamline development drive
[49:05]
down costs, make it deliver housing quicker to people, reduce
[49:09]
cost. What can't, I mean, I'm not going to ask
[49:11]
you how much this reduced the overall cost because you
[49:14]
probably don't know. But can, can you give us anything
[49:17]
here about why this is beneficial? How many months did
[49:20]
this remove approximately from the process? Like what, why is
[49:24]
this good to have this, this delegated authority. I would
[49:29]
like to take that. How about you, Mr. Justin? Or
[49:32]
Mr. Handy. Through you, Mayor, I'll start and then maybe
[49:37]
my colleagues can add, but I think, um, the first
[49:40]
thing is it does is it gives, um, certainty. Um,
[49:46]
about the process when they embark. They know that if
[49:49]
they submit an application that is consistent with our land
[49:52]
use procedures by a long consistent with our, um, design
[49:55]
guidelines, then the path to an approval in just dealing
[50:00]
with stuff. Um, in terms of time savings, um, the
[50:04]
time savings, I would estimate at least a couple of
[50:07]
months because that's the time that goes into preparing reports
[50:11]
for, um, for Committee of the whole getting on agendas,
[50:14]
things like that. Okay. And so, and thank you for
[50:16]
that. And so the hazard agreement still has to come
[50:18]
to counsel though. Is there any theoretical world in which
[50:22]
the housing agreement is also delegated. Or is that automatic,
[50:26]
this is like the local government act require that that
[50:28]
come to us. Mr. Johnston. Thank you, Sue the mayor.
[50:36]
Um, Alec Johnston acting director of Planning and Development. The
[50:42]
housing agreements are adopted by Bylaw. And so those do
[50:45]
need to come to counsel for, uh, consideration. So, um,
[50:51]
with the density bonus provisions relying on the adoption of
[50:54]
a housing agreement, there will be a need for that
[50:58]
aspect of a proposal to continue to come to counsel.
[51:01]
Okay. Thanks those answers and thanks for your work on
[51:03]
this file. Thank you very much. Concert Dell is the
[51:06]
secondary any comments. Yeah. My understanding is this housing has
[51:09]
a fair number of two and three bedroom units. Are
[51:12]
you able to just confirm how many of those are
[51:15]
or is that too detailed for today? Scrutin. Welcome. Uh,
[51:20]
yes, thank you. Good afternoon, Mary Council, Jerty Gordon, Senior
[51:23]
Plunder. Um, so the application does comply with the family
[51:27]
housing requirements. I know the Zone Bella, which is 20
[51:30]
and 10 percent of two and three bedroom units respectively.
[51:33]
Okay. Thank you. On a three bedrooms, which I think
[51:35]
is around 10 or something, which is quite substantial. Is
[51:38]
that, is that above what we would normally see in
[51:40]
the family housing policy? Or like, does the family housing
[51:43]
policy contributing to getting that many three bedrooms in this
[51:46]
unit. Mr. Gordon? Oh, just a bit surprised, honestly. Um,
[51:51]
through you, yes, I think it's fair to say that
[51:53]
the family housing policy has made that, uh, a reality
[51:56]
for the three bedroom units. I don't know that the
[51:58]
applicant of delivered that without that requirement. Great. Thank you
[52:02]
very much. Any other comments or questions on the floor?
[52:05]
Counsel Gardner. Thank you. Um, I understand that this development
[52:12]
and the housing agreement, well, not quite the housing green
[52:15]
has to come through by a law, but fall under
[52:17]
the OCP 2050 blanket zoning. I get that. But as
[52:21]
counselling is on for the North Jubilee neighbourhood, I was
[52:23]
present at the comic meeting and have questions related to
[52:26]
the issues rated to that meeting. So, uh, first of
[52:29]
all, were there variances during your review. Scordan. Through the
[52:37]
mayor. Yes, there are variances related to this application. You
[52:40]
please subscribe them. Mr. Gordon, I'm going to ask you
[52:44]
a question before you answer that. Am I correct in
[52:46]
believing that all that is before us today is the
[52:49]
housing agreement and that the other aspects of the F
[52:52]
application were delegated and approved by a staff? Through you,
[52:56]
yes, that is correct. That would mean that the questions
[52:58]
that are appropriate and material today specifically would relate only
[53:01]
to the housing agreement. Is that correct? Um, through you,
[53:05]
yes, that's my understanding. So are there variances, as was
[53:08]
asked in the question that would be applicable to the
[53:11]
housing agreement. Through you, no, there are no variances related
[53:14]
to thousand agreements. Thank you. Councillor, will you please confine
[53:17]
your questions today? Thank you, Mayor. I was trying to,
[53:20]
just so that public would understand the whole delegation process.
[53:23]
Is parking in that agreement. Is that relevant to the
[53:26]
housing agreement. Uh, through you, no, it is not. Thank
[53:31]
you. And, uh, so there were no setbacks or shadowing
[53:35]
considerations. Okay. So, um, during the Calic and otherwise, there
[53:40]
were Community asked considering the approval of this development. What
[53:44]
if staff do with any of those requests? Were they
[53:46]
considered it all or what happens. During the delegated process?
[53:49]
Specifically relevant to the housing agreement, but if you feel
[53:52]
the ad, feel free you mayor, maybe just like to
[53:56]
clarify that at the time of this application, it was
[53:59]
a rezoning because it was submitted prior to the changes
[54:02]
to the OCP. So that is why a calic meeting
[54:04]
was, was held in this instance. But would not have
[54:06]
been required. If it had been applied for after the
[54:08]
adoption of the OCP and Sony Bella Amendments. Councillor. Yeah.
[54:15]
So during that process, even though it was in transition,
[54:19]
were any of the community concerns considered at all. Mr.
[54:23]
Gordon through you, Mayor. At the time that the rezoning
[54:27]
was being, uh, reviewed, uh, yes, those concerns were, uh,
[54:32]
reviewed by staff as part of the normal calic review
[54:35]
process. Did they change the proposal at all. Ms. Burden.
[54:42]
Through my recollection, know the application was not significantly revised
[54:46]
as a result of the, uh, CALIC comment specifically. I
[54:51]
would note that there were significant revisions to the proposal
[54:53]
through the process, but not as a result specifically of
[54:56]
the Kellogg comments. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. And again,
[55:00]
I understand as we start out saying is that, uh,
[55:03]
we do not give any. Real opinion as the like
[55:08]
or not like any of these proposals. We are only
[55:10]
here just to rubber stamp the housing agreement. Is that
[55:14]
not it? We are here to consider the terms of
[55:16]
the housing. Yes. Thank you. That's it. Very good. Anyone
[55:21]
else on the housing agreement. So you know, comments, sell
[55:27]
those in favor. Anyone opposed. That is unanimous. Thank you
[55:33]
very much for that. That takes us on to item
[55:36]
H3, which would usually be on the consented gender, but
[55:40]
it also includes an adoption, which my convention, we do
[55:42]
not put on consent so that individuals have an opportunity
[55:45]
for any final comments. So we have also first, second,
[55:48]
and third reading of the zoning bylaw amendment bylaw. And
[55:53]
for also the adoption of the zoning bylaw amendment bylaw.
[55:57]
And so I don't believe we need to separate these
[56:00]
two. I believe is not necessary. Is that correct, Mr.
[56:02]
Johnston? They can be done together. The preliminary readings at
[56:05]
adoption, is that correct? Yes. So we'll take that with
[56:07]
one motion with someone like to move those, please. That's
[56:11]
the concert Thompson's moving, Councillor Cutler's Second Day. Councillor Thompson,
[56:14]
any comments. You're doing any comments. I'll just say very
[56:18]
briefly that I'm happy we're doing this and subsequent to
[56:21]
a coming to Community the whole Iris CD emails from
[56:25]
the heavy industry from heavy industry in this, in this
[56:28]
community, as I'm sure others did too, who are really
[56:30]
supportive and relieved. And, uh, I will note that a
[56:34]
number of cities across this country have zoned heavy industry
[56:37]
and light industrial out of existence in urban areas. And
[56:39]
they've come to regret it. So I'm, I'm happy that
[56:42]
we're going to continue to move forward as a city
[56:44]
that not just supports residential, but is a place where,
[56:48]
where we make things and where we employ people. So
[56:51]
this will provide a lot of assurance and certainty to
[56:55]
our industrial partners. It's actually really quite important that we're
[56:57]
doing this. Thank you very much. Somebody else. Council Gardner.
[57:02]
Thank you, Mirror. I'd like to make a couple of
[57:04]
changes or corrections, particularly item six. I'm sorry, just a
[57:08]
second here. We're talking about a particular bylaws at this
[57:12]
point. You want to start amending the bylaws? Yeah. There's
[57:14]
a mistake in that. All right. You'll have to pull
[57:17]
the entire bylaw up onto the screen. Item six. Thank
[57:21]
you. Hang on. Steph, can you pull up the text
[57:24]
of the bylaw.
[57:35]
So can you direct us please to the section that
[57:36]
you are correcting. Thank you.
[57:47]
Uh, obviously consultation one. Whoops. I have here amendment one
[57:53]
item six changed. Where is these section? It's two smaller
[57:56]
prints. Sorry. Where it says with consultation. What page am
[58:00]
I in the right place. Mr. Johnston, can you assist
[58:04]
here. I don't know why I've written down item six.
[58:13]
I think a little bit of clarity on, on trying
[58:15]
to amend would be helpful. So the recommendation. Okay. So
[58:21]
I'm looking at the recommendation. Just because the error. I'm
[58:24]
sorry. The recommendation is simply that we approve the bylaws.
[58:28]
Okay. In the documents, we just got on it. It
[58:30]
doesn't have where they're supposed to be consultation. Remember. We're
[58:34]
adding consultation. And they have the wrong words on as
[58:38]
to who they're supposed to include. So I'm sorry, Mr.
[58:42]
Johnston, can you recollect a previous recommendation that would have
[58:46]
led us to the consideration of the bylaw amendments? Mr.
[58:50]
Kingsley, yes. Yes. Uh, thank you Mayor. I'm just looking
[58:53]
at the staff covering report now. And just from the
[58:56]
sounds of the conversation, it might be that Councillor Gardner
[58:59]
is referring to the background section when it refers to
[59:03]
the Community, the whole, the original committee, the whole resolution
[59:07]
that it refers to. There we are. Okay. Number six.
[59:14]
Thank you. Yes. The intention was for the, uh, calorie
[59:20]
type neighbour associations, which means the James Bay neighbourhood association.
[59:27]
I've got to consult. Maybe wetter have the right group.
[59:29]
I'm still not clear. Number six halfway through. Yes. Including
[59:33]
the Victoria West Community Association James Bay and it should
[59:36]
be neighbourhood association. And the rest of that sentence is,
[59:42]
I mean, the rest. That is a correction that I
[59:44]
want somewhere if so staff at least understands which group.
[59:50]
Was meant. Very good. Then you're proposing, I don't know.
[59:55]
Mr. Kingsley, I'm really struggling with this from a procedural
[59:59]
perspective because this has already been adopted by Council. And
[1:00:03]
so we're now actually revisiting a previously approved recommendation as
[1:00:09]
we are considering the bylaws pertaining to that recommendation, in
[1:00:13]
my opinion, that is highly out of order. And so
[1:00:16]
I'm going to look to you for your comment on
[1:00:18]
that. Because if this is the case, we actually need
[1:00:22]
to reconsider this matter, which has a proper procedure, which
[1:00:26]
cannot be done today. Uh, three mayor, that is correct.
[1:00:31]
The staff report, what's the text that's listed in front
[1:00:34]
of Council is in a background section. So it is
[1:00:36]
referring to a previous committee, the whole resolution that was
[1:00:39]
subsequently ratified by council. And this bylaws, the result of
[1:00:43]
the direction that's contained within. If there is indeed an
[1:00:47]
error or something that council wishes to revisit there, it
[1:00:49]
is procedurally possible, but I would recommend the best way
[1:00:53]
to do that would be for a submission of a
[1:00:55]
motion to amend something previously adopted, which could be done
[1:00:58]
by Council at any time. Now, it can't be done
[1:01:02]
now. In fact. Just a second, Councillor Thompson. Mr. Johnston,
[1:01:10]
what is the impact on this if it's delayed until
[1:01:12]
September 3rd. Thank you. I just wanted to clarify first
[1:01:21]
if it's helpful. That this particular, um, part of the
[1:01:25]
motion, uh, instructing staff, did you broad consultation is related
[1:01:31]
to the proposed OCP amendment to change the design guidelines.
[1:01:36]
It's not related to the zoning amendments that are before
[1:01:38]
council today. So, um, we still have an opportunity to,
[1:01:44]
and we also understand the intent here of who we're
[1:01:47]
supposed to be consulting with as part of that broad
[1:01:49]
engagement on the OCP amendment, which was always intended to
[1:01:52]
come after these zoning updates, um, so if that's helpful,
[1:01:57]
we can, uh, so let me be clear if I
[1:01:59]
understand you correctly. The consideration of the bylaws that are
[1:02:03]
actually on the agenda, which we're considering in this moment,
[1:02:06]
uh, do not necessarily prevent us from returning at a
[1:02:11]
future date to correct this particular report. Thank you. I'm
[1:02:17]
going to suggest Councillor Gardner that you cannot amend this
[1:02:20]
today. We can vote on the bylaws today. You can
[1:02:25]
return to the September 3rd meeting with a motion to
[1:02:30]
amend this report. The two are not an extricably linked.
[1:02:35]
And that procedurally is what must happen. Thank you. And
[1:02:38]
please just so the general public understands this report was
[1:02:41]
part of this week's agenda item. We did not see
[1:02:45]
it. When on the 23rd. Like I didn't have a
[1:02:50]
copy of this until Monday morning. Well, these reports are
[1:02:54]
provided the Friday before. And if I'm not mistaken, Mr.
[1:02:59]
Johnston, please provide the correct information about when business was
[1:03:03]
made publicly available. Yes, through the mayor, uh, this, um,
[1:03:09]
this motion was ratified, uh, on the 23rd. So the
[1:03:15]
wording here was presented to Council last week. So the
[1:03:17]
text of this material was actually considered and approved on
[1:03:22]
the 23rd of July. Thank you, Mayor. We didn't get
[1:03:24]
a copy of, see, that's the whole issue. But that's
[1:03:26]
okay. This material was presented to council last week and
[1:03:30]
was approved. This has been in the public prior, the
[1:03:34]
Friday prior to July 23rd. So it's been in the
[1:03:37]
public domain for almost two weeks. I get that it
[1:03:41]
was on the Friday. I picked mine up on Monday
[1:03:43]
morning. But even then. But it's at least two weeks
[1:03:45]
ago that this was provided. Yes, but if you have
[1:03:47]
it, we can still only make an amendment today when
[1:03:49]
it comes up. We couldn't make an amendment earlier to
[1:03:52]
correct it. Considered on July 23rd is when it should
[1:03:54]
have been amended on July 23rd. So leave it at
[1:03:58]
that as it is. The correct procedure now is to
[1:04:00]
consider the bylaws which are not tied precipitously to this.
[1:04:05]
And if you wish to correct, then aspect of this
[1:04:07]
report, you can bring a motion to do so for
[1:04:09]
the September 3rd meeting. That's the proper procedure. Now Councillor
[1:04:15]
Thompson, do you have something to add to that. Mayor,
[1:04:19]
I recall seeing that provision and thinking that there were
[1:04:22]
a couple of typos in it, but I didn't think
[1:04:23]
it was relevant because it's just direction to consult with
[1:04:27]
groups. It would be downtown residents association. And then there's
[1:04:30]
a typo in burnside gorge communities. So technically. It's really
[1:04:34]
not relevant. And it was considered back in June actually.
[1:04:37]
So Councillor Thompson, I appreciate your commentary, but I don't
[1:04:40]
want to get into debate about this document because this
[1:04:42]
is not before us today. Councillor Dale, do you have
[1:04:45]
anything to add to this? Okay. So back on the
[1:04:48]
bylaws. Here they are. Um, with someone like to move
[1:04:52]
and suck in these bylaws. Oh, yes, you did. I'm
[1:04:55]
sorry. Um, Ms. Roader, can you remind me who moved
[1:04:58]
and seconded the bylaws. No, who was it? You wish
[1:05:05]
to know the mover in Secondary. It was, uh, Councillor
[1:05:08]
Thompson, second councillor, Caradona. Thank you. And I believe I
[1:05:11]
already asked if you wish to commented. You both declined.
[1:05:14]
Which is why we went to Councillor Gardner. Councillor Gardner,
[1:05:16]
anything further. I'm not too sure what I can speak
[1:05:19]
on. Okay. The last speak to the bylaws. Yes. The
[1:05:22]
last item is with a map. Is about the, um,
[1:05:28]
James Bay with the Coast Guard and it does not
[1:05:30]
have autoinport in it because often point has been removed.
[1:05:35]
Does that make sense to anyone? Staff comments on the
[1:05:39]
mapping that's associated with bylaws. Yes. Please join us.
[1:05:53]
Go ahead. There we go. Sorry. I thought red means
[1:05:55]
stop. Good afternoon Mayor Counsel Mike Angrove acting manager planning
[1:06:00]
and regulatory services through the mayor. That's correct. Out in
[1:06:04]
point has been removed from the zoning. So it will
[1:06:06]
remain in the old zoning regulation bylaw as per Council's
[1:06:10]
direction until they finalise their planning process. Right. Thank you,
[1:06:17]
Maya. Make a comment on that. Absolutely. Okay. Your last
[1:06:20]
sentence is when they finish their analysis and I understand,
[1:06:24]
of course, we've gone through, uh, the MOU that was
[1:06:28]
way back, um, first time we went to a meeting
[1:06:31]
at all. It wasn't even a formal meeting, but it
[1:06:32]
was a City Hall was about the Oden Point Master
[1:06:35]
plan. And I believe it's been renewed three or four
[1:06:38]
times with the MOU. So when it's completed, do we
[1:06:41]
have a date as the MOU going to be rewritten?
[1:06:44]
What's happening with the MOU? Cause I think we're going
[1:06:46]
through four or five versions of it and an extensions
[1:06:50]
since 2000. And was it six. Mr. Bateman, do you
[1:06:55]
have any information on that. Uh, Through the mayor, I
[1:06:58]
think at this point the Ogden point is just at
[1:07:00]
a, at a standstill, and recognising that, uh, in point
[1:07:04]
in the greater Victoria Harbour authority are going through their
[1:07:08]
extensive planning process, uh, currently, I believe they'll have an
[1:07:11]
update. This fall, um, to the public on how that's
[1:07:14]
going, but they are in their early phases of the
[1:07:16]
process. Thank you. So is there any intention of recreating
[1:07:19]
the MOU so that we have a deadline. Mr. Bateman.
[1:07:24]
Uh, no, I don't believe so. Thank you. Anything further
[1:07:28]
on the bylaws. Okay. Not seeing anything further. All those
[1:07:34]
in favor. Anybody opposed. That is unanimous. That takes a
[1:07:41]
song to item H4. This is in fact the development
[1:07:43]
program with variances application and the rezoning application for 11
[1:07:46]
to 18th Street. This is for the adoption of the
[1:07:49]
Zoning Regulation Housing Agreement and approval of the development permit
[1:07:52]
with variances application. We'd like to move both of those,
[1:07:55]
please. Thanks, Councillor Caradona, seconded by Councillor Hammond. Councillor Done
[1:08:00]
any comments. Councillor Hammond, any comments? Any other comments. Let's
[1:08:05]
sing another comment, sell those in favor. Anyone opposed. That
[1:08:10]
is unanimous. H5 is the adoption of the housing agreement
[1:08:15]
for 2501 to 2699 Blanchard Street, 825 and 841 Hillside,
[1:08:21]
2500 through 2684 dollar place and 900 Kings Road. Also,
[1:08:26]
I believe known as the evergreen properties. This is the
[1:08:28]
adoption of the housing agreement for all of those same
[1:08:30]
properties. So I like to move that please. Thanks, Councillor
[1:08:34]
Kim seconded by Councillor Coleman. Any comments from Kim McCollman?
[1:08:39]
Seeing none, any other comments. Seeing that always in favor,
[1:08:43]
anyone opposed. That is unanimous. Well, folks, that actually manages
[1:08:48]
to conclude remarkably the open aspects of our council meeting
[1:08:53]
today. We do have several items to consider enclosed. I
[1:08:57]
will note for the public that despite our fractious nature,
[1:09:00]
we are trying to continue to do good work. And
[1:09:03]
we will, in fact, be meeting again, uh, on September
[1:09:06]
the 3rd. At that time at 9 o'clock in the
[1:09:09]
morning, you will see us resume our meetings for the
[1:09:12]
last six weeks of this term. I'm sure those six
[1:09:16]
meetings will be entertaining, if not substantive. So with that,
[1:09:21]
I would wish you all a wonderful summer, at least
[1:09:23]
for the August portion thereof. And I would ask Mr.
[1:09:26]
Kingsley to remind us of the reasons why we are
[1:09:29]
either able or required to move into closed. Thank you,
[1:09:34]
Mayor. The reasons proposed today to close the meeting are
[1:09:37]
under Section 91C of the Community Charter regarding labour relations
[1:09:41]
or other employee relations. Section 91F regarding law enforcement matter.
[1:09:45]
Section 91K regarding negotiations and related discussions, respecting the proposed
[1:09:50]
provision of a municipal service at preliminary stages in Section
[1:09:53]
92B regarding the consideration of information received and held in
[1:09:57]
confidence related to negotiations between the municipality and another level
[1:10:01]
of government. Fabulous. I have a motion for those reasons
[1:10:05]
to go into close. Thank you, Councillor Coleman, Second by
[1:10:07]
Councillor Kim. Any discussion. Seeing none. All those in favor.
[1:10:12]
And it would oppose. Thank you everyone. Uh, we will
[1:10:14]
see you after August and, uh, hopefully everyone will have
[1:10:18]
an enjoyable time with family at some point during that
[1:10:20]
month. We'll adjourn for 10 minutes to allow staff to
[1:10:24]
move us into closed and also because we haven't taken
[1:10:26]
a break in sometime. Let us resume at 320.