TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL MINUTES OF AN INAUGURAL COUNCIL MEETING

SCHEDULE A

STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL

1) COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Members: All members of Council

Chairs of Sub-committees:

• Mayor Sid Tobias, Chair, Finance and Administration
• Councillor Don Brown, Chair, Protective Services
• Councillor Damian Kowalewich, Chair, Parks and Recreation
• Councillor Gery Lemon, Chair, Arts and Culture
• Councillor Alison MacKenzie, Chair, Environment
• Councillor Ron Mattson, Chair, Planning, Development and Engagement
• Councillor John Rogers, Chair, Public Works and Transportation

SCHEDULE B

OTHER COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS

THAT the following be appointed as Directors, Representatives, Liaisons, Delegates and Alternates effective November 2022 to December 2023, except where the term is listed otherwise:

1) CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT ARTS COMMISSION (first year of a two year term) Representative: Councillor Gery Lemon

2) CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT BOARD (first year of a four year term) Director: Mayor Sid Tobias Alternate: Councillor John Rogers

3) CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT CLIMATE ACTION INTER-MUNICIPAL TASK FORCE (first year of a four year term) Representative: Councillor Alison MacKenzie Alternate: Councillor Gery Lemon

4) CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND COMMISSION (first year of a two year term) Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias

5) CAPITAL REGIONAL DISTRICT REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY COMMISSION (first year of a four year term) Representative: Councillor John Rogers Alternate: Councillor Ron Mattson

6) CAPITAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL DISTRICT BOARD (first year of a four year term) Director: Mayor Sid Tobias Alternate: Councillor John Rogers

7) CAPITAL REGION EMERGENCY SERVICE TELECOMMUNICIATIONS INC. (CREST) Director: Councillor Don Brown

8) CAPITAL REGION HOUSING CORPORATION BOARD (first year of a four year term) Director: Mayor Sid Tobias Alternate: Councillor John Rogers

9) COLQUITZ/GORGE WATERSHED SPECIAL MANGAGEMENT AREA INITIATIVE Representative: Councillor Ron Mattson

9) ESQUIMALT HARBOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE Representative: Councillor Ron Mattson

10) FRIENDS OF COLE ISLAND SOCIETY Representative: Councillor John Rogers

11) GORGE WATERWAY INITIATIVE Citizen Representative: Angela Hanes (to December 2023)

12) GREATER VICTORIA PUBLIC LIBRARY Representative: Councillor Gery Lemon

13) JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT/MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE Representative: Councillor Damian Kowalewich

14) JUAN DE FUCA WATER DISTRIBUTION COMMISSION (first year of a four year term) Representative: Councillor John Rogers Alternate: Councillor Ron Mattson

15) MUNICIPAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION Delegate: Councillor Don Brown Alternate: Councillor John Rogers Alternate: Councillor Ron Mattson

16) PARENTS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE Representative: Councillor Alison MacKenzie

17) POLICE BUILDING LIAISON COMMITTEE Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias

18) SOUTH ISLAND PROSPERITY ASSOCIATION Representative: Councillor Don Brown

19) TE’MEXW TREATY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias Alternate: Councillor Alison MacKenzie

20) VICTORIA FAMILY COURT AND YOUTH JUSTICE COMMITTEE Representative: Councillor Ron Mattson Citizen Representative: Adam Flint

21) VIEW ROYAL READING CENTRE Representative: Councillor Gery Lemon

22) WESTSHORE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias

23) WESTSHORE COMMUNITY POLICING ADVISORY COMMITTEE Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias

24) WESTSHORE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Representative: Councillor Damian Kowalewich

25) WESTSHORE PARKS AND RECREATION OWNERS Representative: Mayor Sid Tobias

SCHEDULE C

MISCELLANEOUS APPOINTMENTS

1) ACTING MAYOR

2023

• December 2022 to January 2023: Councillor John Rogers
• February 2023 to March 2023: Councillor Ron Mattson
• April 2023 to May 2023: Councillor Gery Lemon
• June 2023 to July 2023: Councillor Damian Kowalewich
• August 2023 to September 2023: Councillor Alison MacKenzie
• October 2023 to November 2023: Councillor Don Brown

2024

• December 2023 to January 2024: Councillor John Rogers
• February 2024 to March 2024: Councillor Ron Mattson
• April 2024 to May 2024: Councillor Gery Lemon
• June 2024 to July 2024: Councillor Damian Kowalewich
• August 2024 to September 2024: Councillor Alison MacKenzie
• October 2024 to November 2024: Councillor Don Brown

2025

• December 2024 to January 2025: Councillor John Rogers
• February 2025 to March 2025: Councillor Ron Mattson
• April 2025 to May 2025: Councillor Gery Lemon
• June 2025 to July 2025: Councillor Damian Kowalewich
• August 2025 to September 2025: Councillor Alison MacKenzie
• October 2025 to November 2025: Councillor Don Brown

2026

• December 2025 to January 2026: Councillor John Rogers
• February 2026 to March 2026: Councillor Ron Mattson
• April 2026 to May 2026: Councillor Gery Lemon
• June 2026 to July 2026: Councillor Damian Kowalewich
• August 2026 to September 2026: Councillor Alison MacKenzie
• October 2026 to November 2026: Councillor Don Brown

2) SIGNING OFFICERS

Mayor Sid Tobias or Acting Mayor

3) AUDITORS

MNP LLP Suite 400, MNP Place, 345 Wallace Street Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B6

4) BANKERS

TD Canada Trust Branch 9955 309 Burnside Road West Victoria, BC

SCHEDULE D

TAG DAYS – 2022-2023

(Note: Tag Days are designated days for local clubs and organizations to fundraise within the municipality.)

• Big Brothers and Big Sisters
• B.C. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society
• B.C. Lions Society
• B.C. and Yukon Heart Foundation
• Canadian Cancer Society
• Canadian Diabetes Society
• Child Find B.C.
• Girl Guides
• West Shore Chamber of Commerce
• Kinsmen Club (Mothers’ March)
• Kiwanis Club
• Parents in Crisis
• Rotary Club
• Royal Canadian Legion (Poppy Drive)
• Salvation Army
• Scouts Canada
• United Way
• Vancouver Island Multiple Sclerosis Society
• View Royal Firefighters’ Association
• Any Cadet Group of the Armed Forces
• Any other Auxiliary to the Service Clubs herein stated

Mayor Sid Tobias

Inaugural Address, View Royal, November 1, 2022

Good evening,

I would like to start by recognizing the brave contingent of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) who stand before us tonight as a reminder of bravery and dedication. They stand before us on the eve before they travel to Vancouver to collectively mourn a fallen comrade, Const. Shaelyn Yang. Const. Yang was murdered in the line of duty protecting the most vulnerable in our society. She was 31 years of age.

If I may begin with a territorial acknowledgement:

I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work in the traditional territory of the Lekwungen people. This includes the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations whose historical relationship with the land continues to this day.

In the spirit of reconciliation, I am striking the term “Your Worship” to refer to me or the office you have elected me for. As a few other Mayors in Canada have done I am removing the term because of its association with colonial rule and a feudal system long since disappeared and was the reason many of our ancestors left their homes under unbearable injustice. Please refer to me simply as “Mayor” if you must or Sid will work simply fine. The road to reconciliation is long and full of difficult small steps. I hope I just took one.

Thank you for coming tonight to welcome a newly elected council. This council is the largest ever for View Royal and it is also the most distributed in our neighbourhoods. We are here because you have elected us and tonight, we pledge to honour the trust you have placed in us. We also acknowledge that many did not vote for us or did not vote yet we must now work together to represent View Royal. I want to formally acknowledge the many years former Mayor David Screech contributed to View Royal. His passion and dedication to public service is exemplary.

We have three new members of the council including myself and four returning members. Alison MacKenzie and Don Brown are joining us with new perspectives and a wealth of experience. You have returned Damian Kowalewich, Ron Mattson, John Rogers and Gery Lemon for their foundational experience, devotion, and passion for View Royal. I am confident that this council will demonstrate the absolute best in decisions for View Royal.

I ran on a platform that was developed by listening. I shared a draft of my thoughts on this address with all members of the council and the public. I assembled the contributions with my own thoughts. If I left out a detail or two it is because I wanted to be concise.

I will say that since I have been elected the dog walks around our neighbourhoods have increased from 30 minutes to an hour and a half…even in the rain. I welcome the engagement and I will continue to listen. I have come to appreciate that I need to see View Royal through many lenses. The young would-be homeowners who cannot afford it. The retired folks who are reluctant to change what has worked for generations. The environmentalists, the cyclists, the businessperson, the arts and culture person, the dog folks, the folks who do not like dogs or their owners and sometimes the dogs that do not like cyclists. We have many lenses, and we must start by owning our perspectives so we can make room for others. That is just not my task, it is yours as well. You are what makes View Royal a gem.

I have reached out to the council, and all have agreed to commit to enhancing the way we make decisions through a facilitated workshop, our oaths of office, team agreements and codes of conduct. I, of course, do not expect the council to agree on everything and I look forward to honest, healthy, and respectful debate and discourse as they represent your concerns on important town decisions. I want to acknowledge the bravery of all the candidates who ran in this election and those who support them.

I have asked the council and you what your priorities are. I have combined them with my own.

The Current State

The issues that surround us all and our community are complex and undeniable. We are still emerging from a pandemic. That pandemic has affected us all and has forever changed the way we work and socialize. Our economy has slowed. Interest rates are climbing. We have a worker shortage. We are continuing to experience a primary care doctor crisis. We are an expensive place to live. We have a missing middle-class housing crisis. We have a social housing crisis. We are in a climate crisis.

We are experiencing a crisis in homelessness. We have repeat offenders living among our most vulnerable populations causing us to create bias instead of support. We are having to deal with massive inflation at the grocery store and extraordinary reliance on food banks. We live in a time where people are trusting conspiracy theories in social media more than they trust verified data. We face an opioid crisis that is no longer a downtown problem and there are few of us in this room who have not had friends or children affected by it. Climate change has and will continue to affect us with longer, hotter periods of drought. Our remaining trees are weakened as a result, and we approach a season of rain and wind. We are facing significant uncertainty …and yet we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, together with neighbours who very much value living here too.

We are out of undeveloped land. There is nowhere else we can build that will not directly affect the lives of our residents. Every decision we make on development must take the future and our environment into consideration. Once constructed, developments last a long time…generations. We must carefully construct the neighbourhoods of our future today. We must allow space for schools, community centers and green space. If we do not …we will build a place where no one really wants to live.

I want to acknowledge two particularly important people with us tonight who truly represent the future. I would like to thank Madison Walker and Haylee Jansen for coming tonight. Madison and Haylee participated in a civics class that researched and voted as part of their assignment in the recent election. I also want to thank Laureen Brain the teacher responsible for engendering the spirit of democracy for our future.

Increasing our population at a rapid rate has a cost and that cost is often much larger than the return on investment for the town of taxes generated by new developments. It means increases in costs for staff, firefighters, policing, and our water and sewer. It influences our taxes. As we race to a population of 15,000 it will mean paying for more policing and other associated costs.

We are not alone. Our neighbours are facing the same uncertainty in the Westshore.

We are fortunate to have an incredibly experienced staff who work tirelessly to deal with small and large issues every day. This includes the many long hours of volunteering required for the election.

We have an incredible Fire Department that provides us with so much more than fire protection led by Chief Paul Hurst. The professionalism that our emergency services have afforded us has also trained and launched the careers of many in our community. We also have a significant brain trust who are working or retired in View Royal and that has and will continue to assist us in making good decisions about our future.

Our Lessons Observed from the Recent Past

The vision of View Royal is a good one I think, on our website, is Green, Sustainable and Livable. This is a good vision; however, I believe this council has work to do to associate action with intent. I would also add safe, engaged, and transparent to this vision.

Over the past short 4 years, View Royal has lost 657 protected mature trees due to development and 4,500 on our border north of Watkiss Way. The same could be said for our West Shore neighbours. The effect of 6000 trees relates to metric tons of water absorption during our wet season preventing flooding. 6000 trees capture an estimated metric ton of carbon sequestration locking it into the ground instead of our atmosphere, two mature trees can produce enough oxygen for a family of four and we have eliminated oxygen production for more than the current town’s population. The effect of cooling in an urban environment can drop the temperature by 10 degrees in the summer and we have eliminated many trees where we need them the most. We are ramping up cooling shelters during our hottest days. One of the most significant human impacts is the effect of highway noise on residents near the highway and others over a kilometer away. There are no more trees to absorb sound. Could we be greener?

To accommodate construction, we have blasted, removed scarce topsoil, and exposed tons of acid-bearing rock that have affected our water table and will affect wildlife including salmon stock. The combined effect of many areas under development concurrently and the cumulative effect of the period of rapid growth is too complex to calculate with certainty but it is up to us to mitigate it. Could we be more sustainable?

We have grown and will continue to grow due to the development decisions already made and the ground is already broken. So how fast are we growing? Over the next two years, we will have added households to increase our population by 2375 souls in View Royal with developments in Erskine Lane, North Helmcken and West Burnside and Old Island and Helmcken, as well as others. Keep in mind View Royal is already one of the fastest-growing municipalities in British Columbia. By 2024 we will have exceeded the BC Stats and CRD (Capital Regional District) projections we would hit in 2028 at a growth rate of 20.65%. The normal growth rate for the CRD for the last five years is 1.6% and View Royal grew at 2.24%. I encourage you to travel around some of these development sites and look across the street or down it. See the “for sale” signs. Could we be more livable?

Our infrastructure, specifically roads, was at maximum capacity before rapid growth and with the extra growth, they are failing or have failed. Admittedly much of our traffic is pass-through but that does not mean we can ignore it because it also bottlenecks our residents from getting to and from work. Most importantly it has caused accidents and the near misses of cyclists and pedestrians at intersections. Accidents due to inadequate infrastructure further task our firefighters and emergency services often putting them in harm's way. Could we be safer?

The message I have heard repeatedly from residents was a concern over a lack of meaningful engagement, particularly around the Official Community Plan (OCP). They were concerned that the questions were not designed to receive input but just approve a plan that they did not like the options for. They did not feel they had a say in the future of their own neighbourhoods. Many others were not even aware that the OCP Process was taking place. Neighbourhoods are groups of residents. They need to be fully engaged as stakeholders, taxpayers, and fellow neighbours. Many other communities use community-based planning. Could we engage better?

Many other neighbours were concerned about transparency. How did a large multi-story complex get even to the planning stages without anyone knowing about it until a re-zoning sign went up? Residents are confused about a development practice that seemed to go against an existing OCP. I believe residents should not have to become activists to have access to decisions or proposals that will affect them. Could we be more transparent?

The Emerging Future

I study and teach applied complexity theory and consult on how to make decisions in complex environments. In a complex space, decisions must be made in a way that we rapidly learn from our mistakes and oversights. That takes honesty. It takes transparency.

If we are to make informed decisions about our future, it is better if we do it as a group with good data and the more, we engage and mitigate the issues that emerge, then the more resilient our decisions will become.

We have an opportunity within the next months to develop a Full OCP with staff and residents that is a future we want to live in.

I believe we can fully implement a Climate Action Strategy that is embedded in our procedures so that we can track measurable progress and encode the sustainable and thoughtful design from our OCP, to zoning to inspections.

We need to include a Commercial Development Plan and not just a housing plan in our OCP that supports the concept of a five-minute community.

I also believe we can embed Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in our OCP to lessen the likelihood and frequency of future crime.

I believe we can learn from our mistakes and oversights and provide solutions to Erskine Lane's real concerns about sustainable development.

We also must turn our attention to making some newer developments more livable due to highway noise, inadequate setbacks, and trees between strata, allocate enough green space to high-density areas, and finish connecting sidewalks on Atkins.

I believe we can better engage residents through digital media and inclusive committees that function to add value for staff to add their expertise.

I believe we can do a better job in working with our neighbours on their plans for our borders with Saanich, Esquimalt, Colwood, Langford, the Esquimalt, and Songhees First Nations and Metchosin and work with them on a common vision and common traffic issues. To that end, I have already met with the West Shore Mayor-Elects, and I can say we agree on much of what I have said here.

I believe we can assist new Provincial goals on providing thoughtful, sustainable, and affordable areas to develop row and townhouses for our missing middle-class housing. We can expand our Co-Op Housing initiatives that have proven highly effective.

I believe we can improve our public transit by obtaining a place on the Transit Board or working with appointed West Shore members that do have a seat.

I believe we must better embrace a digital future so that we can automate the boring things off the desktops of our staff so they can best use their talent on challenging issues that will enable improved public engagement, transparency, and data-driven decisions including mapping, our OCP, zoning, traffic patterns, digital reports, and work assignments.

I believe we can offer incentives at a municipal level to attract and retain better primary care for our residents so that the early detection of significant illness is not when you visit a hospital emergency room.

We need to think long-term about our transportation issues and implement major transportation infrastructure improvements with our municipal neighbours and our federal and provincial partners. This includes a full update to our Transportation Master Plan.

I believe we must remain fiscally responsible in this time of uncertainty and make choices that add the most value incrementally. Creating plans and priorities for available funds costs little and will allow us to execute improvement that is affordable. We can do a thorough job of applying for grants to fund some of our activities.

I believe we can and must view our investments and decisions in a spirit of continuous improvement, so we learn from them, fix issues and do better next time.

I believe we can build relationships and digital tools that allow staff, council, and residents to engage on an unprecedented level. This engagement would be inclusive and include the voices of the future and the environment supported by structured data. This engagement would not be social media and it would elevate respectful discourse and opinion.

Lastly, I believe we can build a plan of action that is fit for the future. That is fit for human beings. A plan that enhances the lives of long-term and new neighbours. A plan that is safe, transparent, engaged, green, sustainable and most of all livable.

Thank you