Newsletter February 10, 2022: A Time to Worry
Residents need to keep a close eye on Council decisions and staff influence from now and until the next election in early October 2022. Why is this?
Areas of Concern:
Taxes: The February 3rd, 2022 Special Council meeting was cancelled. Possibly because Council and staff need more time to strategize how they are going to “sell” their previously announced 12% tax increase.
“Efficiency” has not been a word recognized by the last 3 Councils. This is especially the case when it comes to hiring more and more very expensive Administration Staff and Consultants. It is also the forte of, and promoted by, the last two Chief Administration Officers.
Staffing costs are by far, the number one cost in municipal budgets and with most organizations. Each year the added administrative staffing costs increase by both the percentage increase of the previous year and, more often than not, annual salary increases.
Council seems not to have noticed that this is a compounding annual budget increase. This occurs when the new administrative staffing costs are added to the annual budget - and then, when these new added staffing costs are applied to the following year’s new (now larger) budget.
This is essentially a percentage increase on a percentage increase which increased over-and-over again and over time leads to exponential annual tax increases. This is Oak Bay’s current, out of hand, administrative staffing cost situation.
Property taxes in Oak Bay have gone through the roof since 2015. The Mayor identified this in a chart in his 2018 election material. The additional administrative staffing, plus expensive consultant costs, have significantly influenced the exceptional annual tax increases.
Subsequently, Councils have “come up” with a number of excuses or alternative reasons to explain these unprecedented high tax increases. However, Oak Bay Watch has reported that some of these Council excuses were not valid and did not factor in the very substantial increased administrative staffing costs.
The current and past two Councils unwise economic practices seem to indicate they have little understanding that besides their record breaking, CRD-leading property tax increases, homeowners have had to contend with almost everything else dramatically increasing in price. Food, housing and transportation costs in particular.
Development and single-family neighbourhood densification:
1. The INFILL PROJECT CHARTER: The rapid pace at which this newly announced densification process is progressing is worrisome. Only five-months (February–June 2022) to process and draft an announced infill zoning bylaw change, This densification is character changing, highly controversial and will be disruptive to our single-family neighbourhoods. This Council’s and staff’s densification initiative process and timeline is inadequate and unworkable.
Although it is possible for Council to somewhat extend the timeline and hold meetings through the summer to get “their” single-family non-taxable densification initiatives done, they must know many residents are away and therefore public engagement will be limited. The good news is that if this happens there is a civic election looming.
The previous Council’s RESIDENTIAL IINFILL STRATEGY, another expensive tax increasing densification venture, was two years in the making. Its abandonment was immediate and decisive when so many residents packed two September 2016 open house meetings, held outside the District, at the far reaches of the University of Victoria (UVIC).
Residents certainly let Council know, in no uncertain terms, just how strongly they were opposed to this kind of densification in their single family neighbourhoods. Some of the participants opposed to this dramatic zoning change included realtors who live in Oak Bay.
A number of currently sitting Council members were at those meetings. However, it appears that, other than Councillor Zhelka who has referenced the UVIC meetings outcome several times in recent Council meetings, other Council members in attendance at the UVIC meetings have short memories.
2. Council is not providing:
Oak Bay Watch Perspective "We don't make up the facts we just report them".
It’s interesting to us that detractors and some council members and staff try to paint the number of those that will gain from single-family densification as large and, those that will not benefit as small.
However, the reverse is true. The best numeric indicator of these competing interests is the input and number of residents that show up at well publicized community open house meetings, independent all-candidates meetings, tree symposium and heritage meetings, and want their interests and priorities recognized.
Oddly enough however, we have noticed that the much smaller number of the density beneficiaries e.g. developers and speculators, get substantially more air-time at Council and, for the most part, control the media.
How can this type of, what will be wholesale single-family densification, possibly benefit most Oak Bay Residents? There are other acceptable options that have not been discussed, let alone prioritized, and have far fewer community impacts. What could possibly be the reason for not considering these?
It is obvious that Oak Bay currently has all the basement suites it can handle with respect to taxation, enforcement and infrastructure. Surely Council has to know that their concept that there will not be that many new suites is incorrect.
The evidence from other municipalities clearly shows that if Council changes our zoning to allow multi-tenant suites and infill, their small-increase conclusion is incorrect: there will be many more suites, most illegal, and this evidence should be guiding council
Council’s single-family neighbourhood densification impacts will result in significant harmful impacts: these include overwhelming our infrastructure even more than it is now; tree loss and other environmental damage; more climate change commuter traffic impact; more increased property taxes; more enforcement costs (illegal suite monitoring and closure processing isn’t cheap) and of course neighbour impacts and noise.
This Council and leadership have made it quite clear that they will not honour the Official Community Plan’s housing objective to detail how these impacts will be addressed.
As well, they have clearly demonstrated (see oabaywatch.com February 2, 2022 Newsletter) that they are not interested in addressing resident input concerns, infrastructure impacts, safety and parking, setting precedents, appropriate massing or complying with our zoning bylaw, if any of these get in the way of development.
The danger for the community is if the current Council approves a multi-tenant suite and infill zoning change before providing the details of how all the impacts on the environment, infrastructure, neighbours and taxation will be addressed. Oak Bay will not be changed for the better; and certainly will not be as liveable.
What is the date of the next election?
________________________________________________________________________
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website. Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Button at bottom of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.
Residents need to keep a close eye on Council decisions and staff influence from now and until the next election in early October 2022. Why is this?
Areas of Concern:
Taxes: The February 3rd, 2022 Special Council meeting was cancelled. Possibly because Council and staff need more time to strategize how they are going to “sell” their previously announced 12% tax increase.
“Efficiency” has not been a word recognized by the last 3 Councils. This is especially the case when it comes to hiring more and more very expensive Administration Staff and Consultants. It is also the forte of, and promoted by, the last two Chief Administration Officers.
Staffing costs are by far, the number one cost in municipal budgets and with most organizations. Each year the added administrative staffing costs increase by both the percentage increase of the previous year and, more often than not, annual salary increases.
Council seems not to have noticed that this is a compounding annual budget increase. This occurs when the new administrative staffing costs are added to the annual budget - and then, when these new added staffing costs are applied to the following year’s new (now larger) budget.
This is essentially a percentage increase on a percentage increase which increased over-and-over again and over time leads to exponential annual tax increases. This is Oak Bay’s current, out of hand, administrative staffing cost situation.
Property taxes in Oak Bay have gone through the roof since 2015. The Mayor identified this in a chart in his 2018 election material. The additional administrative staffing, plus expensive consultant costs, have significantly influenced the exceptional annual tax increases.
Subsequently, Councils have “come up” with a number of excuses or alternative reasons to explain these unprecedented high tax increases. However, Oak Bay Watch has reported that some of these Council excuses were not valid and did not factor in the very substantial increased administrative staffing costs.
The current and past two Councils unwise economic practices seem to indicate they have little understanding that besides their record breaking, CRD-leading property tax increases, homeowners have had to contend with almost everything else dramatically increasing in price. Food, housing and transportation costs in particular.
Development and single-family neighbourhood densification:
1. The INFILL PROJECT CHARTER: The rapid pace at which this newly announced densification process is progressing is worrisome. Only five-months (February–June 2022) to process and draft an announced infill zoning bylaw change, This densification is character changing, highly controversial and will be disruptive to our single-family neighbourhoods. This Council’s and staff’s densification initiative process and timeline is inadequate and unworkable.
Although it is possible for Council to somewhat extend the timeline and hold meetings through the summer to get “their” single-family non-taxable densification initiatives done, they must know many residents are away and therefore public engagement will be limited. The good news is that if this happens there is a civic election looming.
The previous Council’s RESIDENTIAL IINFILL STRATEGY, another expensive tax increasing densification venture, was two years in the making. Its abandonment was immediate and decisive when so many residents packed two September 2016 open house meetings, held outside the District, at the far reaches of the University of Victoria (UVIC).
Residents certainly let Council know, in no uncertain terms, just how strongly they were opposed to this kind of densification in their single family neighbourhoods. Some of the participants opposed to this dramatic zoning change included realtors who live in Oak Bay.
A number of currently sitting Council members were at those meetings. However, it appears that, other than Councillor Zhelka who has referenced the UVIC meetings outcome several times in recent Council meetings, other Council members in attendance at the UVIC meetings have short memories.
2. Council is not providing:
- A question on housing surveys to “keep the single-family neighbourhood densification status quo” and,
- A guarantee, as obviously time is of the essence, that there will be a full INFILL PROJECT CHARTER public engagement process and,
- Fairness by not waiting to provide a face-to-face open community meetin.
Oak Bay Watch Perspective "We don't make up the facts we just report them".
It’s interesting to us that detractors and some council members and staff try to paint the number of those that will gain from single-family densification as large and, those that will not benefit as small.
However, the reverse is true. The best numeric indicator of these competing interests is the input and number of residents that show up at well publicized community open house meetings, independent all-candidates meetings, tree symposium and heritage meetings, and want their interests and priorities recognized.
Oddly enough however, we have noticed that the much smaller number of the density beneficiaries e.g. developers and speculators, get substantially more air-time at Council and, for the most part, control the media.
How can this type of, what will be wholesale single-family densification, possibly benefit most Oak Bay Residents? There are other acceptable options that have not been discussed, let alone prioritized, and have far fewer community impacts. What could possibly be the reason for not considering these?
It is obvious that Oak Bay currently has all the basement suites it can handle with respect to taxation, enforcement and infrastructure. Surely Council has to know that their concept that there will not be that many new suites is incorrect.
The evidence from other municipalities clearly shows that if Council changes our zoning to allow multi-tenant suites and infill, their small-increase conclusion is incorrect: there will be many more suites, most illegal, and this evidence should be guiding council
Council’s single-family neighbourhood densification impacts will result in significant harmful impacts: these include overwhelming our infrastructure even more than it is now; tree loss and other environmental damage; more climate change commuter traffic impact; more increased property taxes; more enforcement costs (illegal suite monitoring and closure processing isn’t cheap) and of course neighbour impacts and noise.
This Council and leadership have made it quite clear that they will not honour the Official Community Plan’s housing objective to detail how these impacts will be addressed.
As well, they have clearly demonstrated (see oabaywatch.com February 2, 2022 Newsletter) that they are not interested in addressing resident input concerns, infrastructure impacts, safety and parking, setting precedents, appropriate massing or complying with our zoning bylaw, if any of these get in the way of development.
The danger for the community is if the current Council approves a multi-tenant suite and infill zoning change before providing the details of how all the impacts on the environment, infrastructure, neighbours and taxation will be addressed. Oak Bay will not be changed for the better; and certainly will not be as liveable.
What is the date of the next election?
________________________________________________________________________
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website. Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Button at bottom of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.