MINUTES OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING HELD ELECTRONICALLY ON MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021

MINUTES OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

HELD ELECTRONICALLY ON MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021 UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE EMERGENCY PROGRAM ACT MINISTERIAL ORDER NO. M192

PRESENT WERE: Mayor Screech Councillor Kowalewich Councillor Lemon Councillor Mattson Councillor Rogers – via Microsoft Teams

PRESENT ALSO: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer S. Jones, Director of Corporate Administration L. Chase, Director of Development Services J. Rosenberg, Director of Engineering J. Davison, Community Planner J. Cochrane, Executive Assistant

0 members of the public 0 members of the press

1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Screech called the meeting to order at 5:57 p.m.

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOVED BY: Councillor Kowalewich SECONDED: Councillor Lemon

THAT the agenda be approved as presented. CARRIED

3. REPORTS

a) Official Community Plan Scoping Workshop

The Director of Development Services noted that the primary purpose of the workshop is to identify and reconcile differences in Official Community Plan (OCP) feedback provided by members of Council and the Strategic Plan to best inform the upcoming OCP review.

The Director of Development Services provided an overview of OCPs including their forwarding looking purpose, “must include” and “may include” content, and specific background information on the Town’s existing OCP.

Community Vision Statement Discussion

The Director of Development Services and Council reviewed the current Community Vision Statement regarding components to include and exclude in the next OCP. After discussion, the Committee expressed general support for its existing broad approach and is comfortable for the OCP and the Strategic Plan to not be aligned on all aspects, including housing affordability and climate change. The Committee observed that the Strategic Plan or the Town’s other bylaws would be the documents to change as opposed to the OCP due to the differences in time scale and levels of detail that these documents represent. As it is not required OCP content, it was agreed that food security could be included in the Strategic Plan or a Council policy.

Land Use and Urban Design Discussion

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed the current policy approach to land use, transition zones, and urban design in the next OCP.

The Committee discussed the Town Centre concept, individual neighbourhood nodes, and building heights. The Committee also discussed the Town’s identity being community-focused, walkable, friendly, well-maintained, a Town of land/sea/forest, and central within the Capital Region.

It was agreed that the upcoming OCP:

• can move away from identifying Fort Victoria as a future town centre and will instead shift to be a future mixed use site;
• does not need to list the number of storeys for each land use designation;
• should allow for dialogue on residential infill in the Harbour Precinct;
• should include “fine-tuning” to the Town’s nodes, corridors, and gateways; and
• will see neighbourhoods retain their differing regulations to maintain diversity.

Committee members committed to sending photographs of developments/buildings to the Director of Development Services that represent designs they both like and those they do not like.

Transportation and Mobility Discussion

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed local and regional transportation issues, parking and commuter traffic, car share programs, and transit service gaps.

The Committee shared interest in having the next OCP reflect different modes of transportation to encourage behavioural shifts in the population.

Housing Discussion

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed current housing affordability issues; the requirement for a mixture of housing types to meet the needs of various ages, family types, and incomes; and options for how to achieve housing affordability.

Natural Environment Discussion

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed current development regulations.

The Committee discussed the desire to see a more naturalized shoreline and increased protection of natural waterfronts and wildlife corridors.

It was noted that dock guidelines should be reviewed to see if they can be embedded within the OCP. As well, there was an interest expressed to see if an equal level of waterfront/shoreline management can be applied to property fronting Portage Inlet as is applied to Esquimalt Harbour.

Community Infrastructure and Services Discussion

The Committee and the Director of Development Services discussed current infrastructure capacity, future needs and replacements, and willingness to explore best management practices to use existing infrastructure in more innovative and efficient ways.

Community Facilities and Social Well-Being Discussion

The Committee agreed with continuing to work with West Shore Parks and Recreation to assist with improving community spaces and engaging View Royal residents with respect to recreational opportunities.

The Committee discussed how to improve relationships between the municipality and Esquimalt and Songhees Nations including the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer taking the Chiefs out individually to share a meal once the pandemic is over.

Summary

The Director of Development Services summarized the workshop’s discussion points noting that the current OCP will be refined with what has been identified as important to the Town and some existing elements in the document removed.

In response to a question from a Committee member regarding signs, it was stated that signs are in the Sign Bylaw currently. The Community Planner described an alternative approach could be the integration of signage into developments through sign areas and variances as opposed to the Sign Bylaw once the development is completed.

Committee members were asked to provide email comments or questions to the Director of Development Services on this workshop and the upcoming OCP review.

4. TERMINATION

MOVED BY: Councillor Mattson SECONDED: Councillor Rogers

THAT this meeting terminate. Time: 8:34 p.m. CARRIED