MINUTES
of a regular meeting of COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE of the Municipal
|
PRESENT: |
Councillor H. Braithwaite Councillor A. R. Cassidy Councillor S. F. B. Carson Councillor P. Copley Councillor J. D. Herbert Councillor N. B. Jensen |
|
STAFF: |
Municipal
Administrator, W. E. Cochrane Municipal
Clerk, L. Hilton Confidential
Secretary, K. Green Director
of Building and Planning, R. Thomassen Municipal
Treasurer, P. A. Walker Director
of Engineering Services, D. |
RECREATION
SECTION:
(Chairman – Councillor Carson)
|
1. |
2008-231 |
Re
Minutes of the Meeting |
(Agnes
Szilos, Director of Parks and Recreation, and Stephen Gorman, Chairman, Oak Bay
Parks and Recreation Commission, in attendance for this item.)
Responding to a question asked at the September
2, 2008 Committee of the Whole meeting about the playground equipment budget
not yet being spent, Agnes Szilos replied by saying that the playground
equipment purchase was subject to receiving a grant from the Rick Hansen Foundation
which was unfortunately denied. However,
Ms. Szilos advised that there is a possibility to reapply for grant funding
again in the fall.
Steve Gorman advised that the proposed regional
annual pass pilot program (two-year project) includes all municipal recreation
centres, with the exception of the District of Sooke, and is in conjunction
with the regional Active Communities Initiatives program. The project, which will be available as of
January 1, 2009, allows patrons to purchase the regional pass for $420.10 to be
used at any participating recreation facility in the region and would expire at
the end of 2010. Mr. Gorman further
noted that the facility that sells the regional annual pass retains the
revenue.
With respect to the subject of sales revenue intake
and the potential for losing sales due to aggressive sales of the regional pass
at other centres, Ms. Szilos indicated that patrons would be encouraged to purchase
their passes from the recreation centre they frequent most often. Ms. Szilos confirmed that the results of the
regional pass pilot project will be tracked.
Tennis
Bubble - Update
A Committee member inquired what affect the tennis
bubble fire damage has had on the Tennis revenue. In response, Ms. Szilos noted that the
revenue was not significantly affected as June and July are relatively low
revenue months. Ms. Szilos went on to
explain that the insurance coverage (with a $10,000 deductable) will replace
the damaged tennis bubble skin.
Replacement of the tennis bubble emergency doors will also be undertaken
during this time at the municipality’s expense, as the replacement is necessary
and has been budgeted for, she said.
With respect to the allotment garden grant
request pursued through a partnership with the Bowker Creek Initiative group,
that was subsequently denied, it was noted that it may be possible to reapply
for grant funding in the fall.
Kiwanis
Club Heritage Signs
Mr. Gorman described the location and historical
content of the signs that are proposed to be placed at
It was agreed that Juniper Hill is situated at
an entrance to
MOVED
by Councillor Braithwaite
Seconded by Councillor Copley, That the minutes
of the meeting of the
Attention was drawn to the fact that through
adoption of the Parks and Recreation Commission minutes, approval would be
given to the recommendation to implement the Regional Annual Pass Pilot
Project.
The question was then called.
CARRIED
FINANCE
AND REGULATORY SECTION: (Chairman – Councillor Braithwaite)
|
2. |
2008-232 |
MUNICIPAL
TREASURER, August 31, 2008 Re
Monthly Financial Report |
MOVED
by Councillor Jensen
Seconded
by Councillor Herbert, That the August monthly financial reports be received.
CARRIED
|
3. |
2008-233 |
MUNICIPAL
ADMINISTRATOR, September 11, 2008 Re
Unsightly Premises Regulations – Derelict Vehicles |
The Municipal Administrator noted that at its
August 18, 2008 meeting, Committee of the Whole directed staff to bring forward
for consideration a draft amendment to the Rubbish
and Weed Control Bylaw to deal with derelict vehicles, boats and trailers
on private property.
At the present time, noted Mr. Cochrane,
The discussion turned to the portion of the
draft bylaw dealing with storage of any removed derelict vehicles or derelict
boats, which would be at the Public Works Yard, and Mr. Cochrane noted that the
provision would avoid disagreements with the owner over the value of any such
vehicle or boat removed, as it gives the owner the opportunity to reclaim it if
certain conditions are met.
Some members of the Committee expressed the
concern that in the case of an owner who was out of town for an extended
period, the 30 day storage requirement may not provide enough time for the
owner to reclaim a removed object. Mr.
Cochrane noted that the 30 day storage period could be increased if that was
the wish of the Committee.
MOVED
by Councillor Jensen
Seconded by Councillor Herbert, That the draft
bylaw attached to the memorandum from the Municipal Administrator
(correspondence item no. 2008-233) be amended in Section 13.1 to change the period
of storage from 30 days to 60 days, and be brought forward to the
next meeting of Council for formal introduction.
CARRIED
LAND
USE SECTION:
(Chairman –
|
4. |
2008-234 |
DIRECTOR OF BUILDING AND PLANNING, September
9, 2008 Re
|
MOVED by Councillor Herbert
Seconded
by Councillor Copley, That it be recommended to Council that the plans for the construction
of an additional second floor bedroom and bathroom at
CARRIED
|
5. |
2008-235 |
DIRECTOR OF BUILDING AND PLANNING, September
10, 2008 Re
Development Variance Permit Application – |
Councillor Cassidy declared a conflict inasmuch
as he has had a business relationship with a member of the applicant’s
family. Councillor Cassidy left the
meeting at 7:56 p.m. and
The Director of Building and Planning provided
an overview of his memorandum (correspondence item no. 2008-235), noting that
the parking for the apartment complex at 2181 Haultain Street is currently legally
non-conforming with respect to the number of stalls required under the Parking Facilities Bylaw. The proposed addition of two suites in the
basement area of the complex would require an additional five parking stalls,
Mr. Thomassen advised, and as no additional parking would be provided, a
variance to the Parking Facilities Bylaw is being sought by the applicant.
Najib Asfar, owner of the building, explained that he is
proposing that a portion of the current 5000 square foot basement storage area
be converted into two additional rental suites. Mr. Asfar noted that the complex was built in
1955 and the parking regulations at that time were different from the current
requirements.
Responding to concerns raised by Councillor
Herbert about the number of cars parked on the streets in the area in the
mornings, Mr. Asfar said that although he has not heard of any complaints about
parking in the vicinity during the 23 years of owning the building, there are other
apartment complexes in the area that likely contribute to vehicles parking on
the streets along with his. Mr. Asfar
commented that many of his tenants are students and seniors without a vehicle,
noting that there is very good bus system servicing the area.
Some members of the Committee noted that the
increase in rental suites that would result with the proposed plans is
desirable and may make the parking variance supportable, suggesting that the
variance application be taken to the next level.
MOVED
by Councillor Jensen
Seconded by Councillor Copley, That a resolution
authorizing the issuance of a development variance permit for
CARRIED
Councillor
Cassidy returned to the meeting at 8:18 p.m.
|
6. |
2008-221 |
DIRECTOR OF BUILDING AND PLANNING, August 19,
2008 Re
|
Responding to questions from the Committee
regarding the regulation of accessory building site coverage, the Municipal
Administrator said that the most appropriate approach would depend on the
objective that Council was endeavouring to achieve.
Mr. Cochrane noted that the existing accessory
building site coverage regulations were not at the root of any actions by
homeowners which were counterproductive in terms of the intent of the Zoning
Bylaw. In this regard, the situation was
distinct from the one which had prompted the recent review of the floor area
ratio regulations.
It was recognized, however, that the current 5%
limit on accessory building site coverage prevented the construction of a
stand-alone double garage on a 6,000 square foot lot, which was a fairly standard
size in the RS-5 zone. If the intention
was to ensure that every lot, regardless of size, could accommodate a double
garage, then a very simple option, said Mr. Cochrane, would be to replace the
current regulation with a limit of “5%
or (for example) 500 square feet, whichever is greater,” for both RS-4 and RS-5. The down side of this approach, however, was
that for lots of area less than 6,000 square feet, of which a few had been
established prior to the adoption of the current minimum lot size regulation,
the footprint covered by a double garage could amount to a percentage that
might be considered excessive. To
address this issue, Mr. Cochrane said that a provision could be added to the
effect that, despite the 500 square foot limit, the accessory building site
coverage could in no case exceed, say, 8%.
For a 4,000 square foot lot, therefore, the limit on the footprint of an
accessory building would be 320 square feet as opposed to 500 square feet.
The converse approach, in keeping with the request
from the resident who had requested a review of this issue, would be to
increase the limit in percentage terms from 5% to 8%. With 8% likely being unnecessarily high for a
large lot, however, a cap could be considered, i.e., “8% or 500 square feet,
whichever is less.” Such a regulation
would be implemented for both RS-4 and RS-5.
In conjunction with this change, the definition of density could be
amended to allow the 500 square foot limit to be varied by way of development
variance permit, because for a very large lot, that limit could be lower than
the current 5% limit.
Given that the effect of the current regulation
on the ability to construct a double garage was for the most part restricted to
the RS-5 zone,
Asked for comment on this proposal, Mr. Cochrane
said that a fixed square foot limit, applied to parcels of widely varying
sizes, might be seen as a rather blunt instrument from a planning point of
view, and could generate variance applications in respect of parcels where no
variance would have been required under the current regulations. As well, some nonconforming situations would
be created. It would also have the
effect that parcels of the same size would be subject to different accessory
building site coverage limits depending on whether they were in RS-4 or
RS-5. He confirmed, however, that the
imposition of such a limit fell within Council’s legislative authority to
regulate building size, and that the bylaw could be worded in a way that would
allow variances.
Brent Fields, who wrote the initial letter to Council
that led to the review of the accessory building lot coverage regulations,
addressed the Committee and noted that when he spoke with staff some time ago
he was told that his request for a double garage would require an amendment to
the Zoning Bylaw to allow a larger accessory building on his lot. He further indicated that at that time staff
commented that several other residents had also expressed the same interest in
being able to construct larger than currently permitted garages on their
properties but had never pursued the issue.
After further discussion and acknowledgement of
the potential for an increased number of variance applications in relation to
implementing a fixed square foot limit for accessory buildings, the Committee
observed that there was nonetheless a positive aspect to this feature of the
fixed limit proposal, which was that, for properties within RS-5, at least,
there would be an opportunity for neighbourhood review of proposals for the
construction of fairly large accessory buildings.
MOVED
by Councillor Herbert
Seconded by Councillor Braithwaite, That staff
be directed to draft an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw to implement a 28 square
metre (300 square feet) lot coverage limit for accessory buildings within the
RS-5 zone.
CARRIED
PUBLIC
WORKS SECTION:
(Chairman – Councillor Herbert)
|
7. |
2008-236 2008-236-1 |
DIRECTOR
OF ENGINEERING SERVICES, September 10, 2008 ACACIA
LANDSCAPE INC., August 12, 2008 Re Boulevard
Encroachment Application – |
MOVED by Councillor Jensen
Seconded by Councillor Herbert, That
correspondence items no. 2008-236 and 2008-236-1 be deferred to a future
meeting.
CARRIED
ADJOURNMENT:
MOVED by Councillor Braithwaite
Seconded by Councillor Herbert,
That the meeting of Committee of the Whole be adjourned.
CARRIED
The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m.
Certified Correct:
|
Municipal
Clerk |
|
Chairman,
Recreation Section |
|
Chairman,
Finance & Regulatory Section |
|
Chairman,
Land Use Section |
|
Chairman,
Public Works Section |
|
|