DRAFT TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

DRAFT TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the draft Town of View Royal Accessibility Plan be made available for public comment until November 15, 2024.

PURPOSE:

To present the Town’s draft Accessibility Plan to Council, seeking support to invite public comment prior to Council’s consideration of approval.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In July 2023, Council approved participation in the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee (CWAAC) with partnering municipalities and the preparation of an initial Accessibility Plan with a focus on employment and service delivery. Staff, in collaboration with our partners, has completed the draft inaugural Plan and is seeking support to invite public comment prior to Council’s consideration of approval.

BACKGROUND:

Following up on the July 2023 decision, Council considered a report in the fall of 2023, facilitating the launch of the inaugural Accessibility Plan initiative along with its six partner municipalities – the City of Colwood, Township of Esquimalt, District of Highlands, City of Langford, District of Metchosin, and the District of Sooke.

With the City of Langford hosting the first year, the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee (CWAAC) has met five times (four regular and one special meeting) with meeting minutes being provided to Council and placed on the Town’s website.

DESCRIPTION:

The major piece of business since CWAAC’s inception has been the undertaking of two surveys – the first (Dec. 8, 2023 – Jan. 31, 2024 with 163 responses) being to seek input as to how people wanted to be engaged, and the second (Mar. 1, 2024 – April 7, 2024 with 185 responses) to identify barriers to municipal service delivery and employment that people may face. Responses were received from almost 350 people and a summary of this engagement was provided to Council in April. This survey work formed the basis for CWAAC’s next steps of facilitated public engagement through a consultancy with lived experience.

This firm, Changing Paces, led three in-person and four online engagement sessions in July, adding an additional online session to ensure sufficient opportunities for public participation. The table below outlines the date, time and location of these engagement sessions:

*Replaced Sooke’s scheduled in-person session due to the Sooke Potholes Area Wildfire

Changing Paces presented their report, including recommendations to CWAAC at a special Committee meeting in early September 2024.

The Changing Paces report, a review of the survey responses provided, and discussions with staff form the basis of the draft Accessibility Plan appended to this report as Attachment “A”. As noted above, this initial Plan focusses on employment and service delivery representing the first two standards or priority areas in the Accessible BC Act and in accordance with Council’s direction. The remaining six standards will be incorporated into the Accessibility Plan over time as the Plan evolves and is updated.

The other partner municipalities in the Committee are utilizing similar opening and closing sections for their Accessibility Plans, but the core of their documents is specific to each of the municipalities and will be considered this fall by those respective Councils.

The next steps, should Council support the recommendation, will see the Town’s draft Accessibility Plan posted on the Town’s website and made available at Town Hall for public review and comment to mid-November (approximately one month). The Plan and comments received will then come back to Council for consideration at a Council meeting prior to the end of 2024. Council’s approval of the Plan will satisfy the legislative requirement to develop a Plan under the Accessible BC Act. The Accessibility Plan will serve as the tool for accessibility-related service delivery and employment improvements in the Town as we strive towards becoming a barrier-free community.

As set out in the Terms of Reference, the CWAAC is nearing the point in time where it will transition to be a group comprised of community representatives. Advertisements were prepared and are now running for recruitment of a Town representative. Each of the partner municipalities will undertake its own appointment process in November and December. This timeline should see a new Committee in place for 2025, coinciding with the start of the City of Colwood’s assumption of the annual hosting responsibilities. An amended Terms of Reference is provided as Attachment “B” to this report, updated to reflect a joint community committee composition.

ANALYSIS:

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

Strategic Plan:

• Organizational excellence – enhancing customer service
• Strategic Priority A: Enhance Liveability – Goal 2a “Develop an Accessibility Plan with partners”

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

[X] Inform [X] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower [ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL:

The commitment was to have an Accessibility Plan in place by January 2025.

CONCURRENCE:

REVIEWED BY:

ATTACHMENTS:

“A” Draft Town of View Royal Accessibility Plan
“B” Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Terms of Reference