RESIDENTS'
GUIDE
Here is a guide
to municipal services in Oak Bay:
Oak
Bay Municipal Council
Your
elected Council consists of a Mayor and six Councilors.
Council meetings are generally held at 7:30 p.m. on
the second and fourth Mondays of each month. This
schedule may vary, however, and it is advisable to
check with the Municipal Clerk's office to ascertain
the date and agenda for any meeting you may wish to
attend. The agendas for all Council and Committee
meetings are posted each Friday afternoon on the notice
boards at the Municipal Hall and at the Kiosk adjacent
to Athlone Court on Oak Bay Avenue. Agenda details
are also posted each weekend on Oak Bay's World Wide
Web page.
Correspondence
to the Municipal Council may be forwarded to:
Oak Bay
Municipal Hall
2167 Oak Bay Avenue
Victoria, B.C., V8R 1G2
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Resident
Parking
In various parts
of Oak Bay, either "Limited Time" or "Resident
Only" parking restrictions have been enacted.
In order to avoid receiving parking tickets if your
house is located in one of these zones, it is necessary
to obtain a "resident" parking sticker from
the Oak Bay Police Department, located at 1703 Monterey
Avenue or at the Municipal Hall. You will have to
provide evidence that your vehicle is registered at
an Oak Bay address before a sticker will be issued.
If you
live in an area where there is restricted parking,
in order to avoid receiving a ticket, visitors to
your home should leave a note on the dashboard of
their vehicle to let the parking commissionaire know
that they're visiting your house.
Please
note that a resident parking sticker is different
from the resident sticker required to dump garbage
at the Oak Bay Public Works Yard.
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Solid
Waste Collection
All residential
property owners who have their garbage and recyclables
picked up by the Municipality must now bring their
garbage cans/totes and recycling blue boxes/totes
to the curbside on collection day.
The Municipality
provides bi-weekly curbside pickup of garbage and
recyclables using trucks which have been modified
to handle specially designed wheeled totes. All residents
receiving curbside service must have these totes which
are sold by Oak Bay Public Works. (Persons who were
residents of Oak Bay prior to July 1, 1994, may continue
to use regulation garbage cans, however a blue wheeled
tote must be obtained if they wish to recycle mixed
waste paper at curbside.) Each year, all residents
receive an "add-a-day card" which shows
the collection dates for the neighbourhood and the
items which may be left out for curbside pickup. New
residents may obtain a card from Oak Bay Public Works
or click
here
to see the schedule for your neighbourhood.
What
may be left at curbside on collection day:
Household
Garbage should
be placed in your grey wheeled tote.
Mixed
Waste Paper
including junk mail, newspapers, cereal boxes, magazines
should be placed in your blue wheeled tote. Other
forms of mixed waste paper will only be picked up
at curbside if in a blue wheeled tote. (Persons who
were residents of Oak Bay prior to July 1, 1994, and
who do not have a blue wheeled tote may place newspaper
in their blue box along with recyclable plastics and
glass)
Recyclable
Glass should
be placed in your blue box.
Recyclable
Plastic Containers (identified
by a stamped symbol 1-7) should be flattened and placed
in your blue box. Note: Containers used for pesticides,
herbicides, paint, solvent, fuel, motor oil, lubricants,
caustic cleaning, products or any hazardous materials
not accepted). Please view 
the following CRD handout for detailed instructions.
Corrugated
Cardboard should be flattened
and cut or folded to dimensions not greater than 18
inches x 36 inches. Bundles of cardboard should be
tied together with twine or string (not tape or wire).
Please place your bundled cardboard at the curb beside
your blue box. Please view the following CRD handout for detailed
instructions.
Oak Bay
residents may also take excess garbage or garden refuse
to the Public Works Yard on Elgin Road free of charge.
Please note that there are restrictions and you must
display a resident sticker on your vehicle before
you will be permitted to dump. These stickers are
available at the Public Works Yard. Proof of residency
is required.
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Spring
Compost and Garden Waste Pick-Up
The Municipality
provides an annual curbside garden refuse pickup service.
This is an opportunity to dispose of garden refuse
such as tree prunings that are not easily transported
to the Public Works Yard. Information on this service
may be found on your "add-a-day" card.
Volume
limits of 3 cubic metres per household have been imposed
for the annual spring pickup of garden waste. (This
volume is roughly equivalent to a fully loaded 1/2
ton pick-up truck with side extensions). Please note
- the annual garden waste pick-up has been moved to
an earlier date in the year. Check your "Add-a-Day"
card for details.
Further
information may be obtained from Oak Bay Public Works
at 598-4501.
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Compost
Sales
Compost is available
for sale to Oak Bay residents at the Public Works
yard on Elgin Road. You may purchase as little as
20 litres or as much as a truck load depending on
availability of supplies. Prices for compost are:
$ 30.00 per yard + 2.10 gst = $ 32.10
$ 15.00 per ½ yard + 1.05 gst = $ 16.05
$ 1.00 per 20 litre bucket + .07 gst = $ 1.07
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Backyard
Burning
Backyard
burning is not permitted in Oak Bay. Please call
the Oak Bay Fire Department at 592-9121 for
further information.
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Smoke Alarms
Oak Bay Municipal
Council has adopted a Bylaw which requires the installation
of smoke alarms in all residential buildings.
Owners
are required to install and maintain at least one
working smoke alarm in each dwelling unit. The smoke
alarm may be connected to an electrical circuit or
may be battery powered, and must have an alarm pause
button (pause button not required if alarm was installed
prior to May 24, 1994).
Further
information regarding the Smoke Alarm Bylaw may be
obtained from the Oak Bay Fire Department at 592-9121.
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Dogs
Oak Bay's Dog Control
Bylaw requires all dog owners to obtain a license
for their pets. Dogs must be leashed on all streets,
sidewalks and public walkways, and in many parks as
well. With or without a leash, dogs must not be on
Willows Beach, or McNeill Bay Beach, between May 1
and September 30. Dogs are prohibited from being on
the Turkey Head Walkway, the Native Plant Park, the
Henderson Park Golf Course, and the Windsor Park Rose
Garden at all times. A "poop and scoop"
law is in effect throughout the Municipality. Please
be considerate and pick up after your dog.
Dog licenses
and further information may be obtained at the Oak
Bay Municipal Hall. You may also click here
to see a map of Oak Bay parks and the types of restrictions
that are in place. The dog control regulations
are enforced by the CRD, which can be reached at
478-0624.
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Burglar
Alarms
Oak Bay's Burglar
Alarm Bylaw is intended to reduce the number of false
alarms which require the attendance of Police Officers,
by placing a greater onus on the property owners to
maintain their burglar alarm systems in proper working
order.
This
Bylaw imposes a fine of $100 for the fourth and each
subsequent false alarm responded to by Police within
a calendar year. Also, if within any calendar year
the Police are required to respond to 5 or more false
alarms, the Police Chief may direct that the Department
will not respond to subsequent alarms. Alarm companies
are required to place a telephone call to your premises
to verify that an alarm is not a false alarm before
they may report it to the Police.
For further
information please contact the Police Department at
592-2424.
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Parks
and Recreation
Oak
Bay is proud of its parks and recreation facilities,
which are considered by many to be among the best
in the country. Three recreation centres, many parks
and excellent outdoor facilities feature a wide range
of recreational opportunities. Comprehensive program
brochures are published regularly and are delivered
to all Oak Bay residents and also available from the
Recreation Oak Bay website .
Please
call 595-7946 for further information.
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Land
Use
The Oak
Bay Zoning Bylaw sets out the permitted uses of land
in the Municipality, including the use of single family
dwellings for residential businesses (which is permitted
in some cases; a licence is required), the sitting
of things such as heat pumps and fences, and the regulation
of parking for boats, trailers or motor homes.
Secondary
suites are not permitted in Oak Bay.
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Building
Permits
Building permits
are required for any construction or renovation project
valued at $500 or more or where structural, health
or safety issues are involved. A permit is also required
if you wish to install an underground
irrigation system.
Further
information may be obtained at the Oak Bay Municipal
Hall at 598-2042..
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Tree Protection Bylaw
Oak
Bay's Tree Protection Bylaw provides protection for
various classes of trees, as defined in the Bylaw,
which are on private property. Click
here to go to the
Bylaw.
This
Bylaw prohibits the cutting down of or damage to
protected trees or damaging activities occurring
near such trees unless a permit is first obtained.
Pruning of protected trees is also regulated by this
Bylaw. Depending on the diameter of the branches, a
permit may be required.
Click
here for simplified guidelines for the Bylaw.
Please contact Parks
Services at 592-7275 for further information.
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Water
Utility Payments
Water bills may
be paid by cash, cheque, or bank debit card at the
Municipal Hall or by electronic transfer by telephone
if you deal with a financial institution that supports
this type of bill payment. Check with your financial
institution for further details.
We also
offer a direct debit payment plan which allows the
District of Oak Bay to automatically pay your utility
account balance from your bank account on each billing
date (approximately every four months). If you
are interested in this plan, please click
here .
Click on the link for more
information on Water and Utilities.
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Property
Tax Payment Options
Property taxes
are due by the first working day after the Canada
Day statutory holiday.
The District
of Oak Bay offers an optional payment plan that allows
taxpayers to make up to 10 equal monthly payments
between August 1 to May 1 by authorizing automatic
withdrawals from your chequing account. Application
forms are available
here.
Interest
is paid on tax account credit balances from January
1 to the property tax due date. The interest
rate is 2.5% below bank prime rate on December 15
of the previous year. Prepayments of up to 95%
of the previous year's net taxes (after the Home Owner
Grant) may be made until April 30.
Click on the link for more
payment options and information on Property
Taxes.
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Frequently
called Oak Bay Telephone Numbers:
| Municipal
Hall |
598-3311 |
| Public
Works |
598-4501 |
| Police* |
592-2424 |
| Fire* |
592-9121 |
| Recreation |
595-7946 |
| Parks |
592-7275 |
| *Non-Emergency |
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