Newsletter July 9. 2022: Fool us once shame on you: fool us twice….
Next Oak Bay Municipal Election October 15, 2022
Prior to the October 2018 election, all Council members committed to addressing Oak Bay’s infrastructure deficit, and improving and renewing the infrastructure's “end-of-life” condition, as a top priority.
This resident priority had previously been identified by residents in a number of surveys and all-candidates' election meetings. Addressing the size of new houses was another long-standing resident and elected council member concern.
Oak Bay’s four member block-vote, pro development Council was no longer in office and the new Mayor’s pre-election message was “it’s time to take the vague wording of the Official Community Plan (OCP) and turn it into clear language" and, ‘Most of the inconsistencies are symptoms of an unclear community plan that lacks specifics to effectively guide decisions.”.
The Mayor also planned to not spend a lot of energy on small, less important issues and indicated he would develop a "proper development plan in consultation with residents" that included the size of housing, massing and development regulation.
So how did this all work out?
From the outset of this Council term, at the November 5, 2018 inaugural Council meeting, the 2014 vaguely worded, unclear and inconsistent Official Community Plan (OCP) was front and centre. It was also considered very important when staff defined and directed the 2019-2022 strategic priorities in a series of Strategic Planning Meetings in January and February 2019.
In these meetings the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) linked the OCP to the strategic planning process by condensing the 13 very specific OCP Goals into her five vague, undefined goals (See Appendix #1).
The CAO followed this up in the February 23, and 25, 2019 Special Strategic Priority Council Meetings by providing a very complex and hard to follow strategic planning process. Almost a hundred individual council comments and discussion items were added to the Strategic Priority Plan along with the last Council’s fifteen priorities.
It is not clear if all of the strategic priorities were approved by Council prior to the hiring of a new Director of Strategic Initiates who came on the scene in August 2019. However, it is clear they were adopted by the Administration on May 16, 2019.
The Strategic Initiatives Director's first very complex September 2019 report listed sixty seven items, as “Council Priorities”. Many of the “priorities” were minor budget and operational items, e. g. “replace the municipal hall front door", “Paint the exterior of the fire station”, “Replace the sports view lounge carpet” etc.
Priorities such as addressing over-densification, the #1 identified resident survey priority, was not included. Nor was addressing the vagueness and inconsistencies in the Official Community Plan, or following through on the OCP's specified goals: e.g. protecting the District’s ”architectural, streetscape, and garden heritage; manage environmental resources and natural assets", these were nowhere to be found. However, moving ahead wih multi-tenant basement suites was.
Oak Bay Watch Perspective
As indicated, very little that was in the general public interest was accomplished in this Council term. Most of Staff, Consultant and Council time that was spent on the following issues: densifying single-family neighbourhoods; “modernizing” and further expanding the administration staff: many unimportant issues and a very expensive, well over a million-dollar, municipal hall renovation.
Note: Council’s 2019 Financial Plan budgeted $148,000 for this building renovation, not the 10 times this amount this Council prioritized and approved.
In addition, it is obvious that the amount of time, staff, consultants and Council spent on the Corporate / Strategic Plan's dozens of “priorities” and updates, used up much of the District’s funding, time and energy. The real issues identified by residents and the Official Community Plan were either ignored, redefined or deferred.
For example, addressing over-densification ( the long -overdue Zoning Bylaw Review) was deferred again until 2023 and the other top priority: addressing the failing infrastructure: - roads, buildings, sewers and water, was underfunded.
Instead, Council chose to spend so much funding and staff time on their single-family infill densification priority that will only intensify the pressure on the infrastructure. Council and Staff have ignored the fact that in this and the last Council's term, the infrastructure's limited capacity has been impacted by so many weather events, floods and pipe failures (see District picture Appendix #2). Perhaps none of the present or past Council members has had their basement or multi-dwelling flooded?
It is hard to understand how the majority of Council cannot see that the projected estimate of new basement suites and infill, presumably based on increases in other communities, can only make the condition of the Distrct’s infrastructure much much worse. This is in addition to causing harmful climate change impacts, natural asset destruction as well as increased street parking and traffic problems.
How can Councillors not understand, that it is not accurate (some would call it insulting) to refer to this amount of single-family untaxable densification “gentle or “modest growth. How can Councillors not understand, and the evidence shows it, that the harmful impacts of this kind of community-wide, open ended densification has not been controlled anywhere.
Other Council News: Councillor Ney now wants to let homeowners run businesses in their homes. Oak Bay’s home-based business bylaw currently allows one employee and no visitations. It is not clear if Councillor Ney is aware that there is a big difference between working at home and liaising with your business in a business district, is very different than running a business out of your home.
It is also not clear if Councillor Ney will be impacted by the problems this will cause? For example, if a basement pilates class and hairdresser business were on her block, would the street parking or noise problems, that a dozen or so cars per-hour create, be an issue for her? Two presently banned AirBnb homes would be less disruptive.
Council is asking for an increase in their annual remuneration. Oak Bay Watch is not opposed to an increase. However, we would prefer a sliding scale where Council members who provide evidence for their opinions get more and those who do not, get less.
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“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.
Appendix #1
1.5 Official Community Plan Goals: See all Goals Page #8
“The goals are presented in a similar order to the sections of the OCP. In order to advance community resilience and sustainability, the goals, as well as the objectives and policies, must be treated as an integrated whole.”
Climate Change and Energy – Work towards climate change
mitigation and adaptation to address the diverse impacts of
climate change, including water and energy conservation,
reduction of greenhouse gases, and effective management
of environmental resources, land and infrastructure.
Natural Environment – Protect and enhance the natural
features that make the community environmentally and socially
healthy and resilient, including the terrestrial and marine
ecosystems, foreshore habitats, creeks, and tree canopy.
Neighbourhoods – Sustain the characteristics of Oak Bay`s
neighbourhoods that contribute to a sense of place and
attachment to the community.
Built Environment – Conserve the community’s
architectural, streetscape and garden heritage while also
embracing creative new design approaches that complement
the community’s character and reflect changing needs.
Next Oak Bay Municipal Election October 15, 2022
Prior to the October 2018 election, all Council members committed to addressing Oak Bay’s infrastructure deficit, and improving and renewing the infrastructure's “end-of-life” condition, as a top priority.
This resident priority had previously been identified by residents in a number of surveys and all-candidates' election meetings. Addressing the size of new houses was another long-standing resident and elected council member concern.
Oak Bay’s four member block-vote, pro development Council was no longer in office and the new Mayor’s pre-election message was “it’s time to take the vague wording of the Official Community Plan (OCP) and turn it into clear language" and, ‘Most of the inconsistencies are symptoms of an unclear community plan that lacks specifics to effectively guide decisions.”.
The Mayor also planned to not spend a lot of energy on small, less important issues and indicated he would develop a "proper development plan in consultation with residents" that included the size of housing, massing and development regulation.
So how did this all work out?
From the outset of this Council term, at the November 5, 2018 inaugural Council meeting, the 2014 vaguely worded, unclear and inconsistent Official Community Plan (OCP) was front and centre. It was also considered very important when staff defined and directed the 2019-2022 strategic priorities in a series of Strategic Planning Meetings in January and February 2019.
In these meetings the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) linked the OCP to the strategic planning process by condensing the 13 very specific OCP Goals into her five vague, undefined goals (See Appendix #1).
The CAO followed this up in the February 23, and 25, 2019 Special Strategic Priority Council Meetings by providing a very complex and hard to follow strategic planning process. Almost a hundred individual council comments and discussion items were added to the Strategic Priority Plan along with the last Council’s fifteen priorities.
It is not clear if all of the strategic priorities were approved by Council prior to the hiring of a new Director of Strategic Initiates who came on the scene in August 2019. However, it is clear they were adopted by the Administration on May 16, 2019.
The Strategic Initiatives Director's first very complex September 2019 report listed sixty seven items, as “Council Priorities”. Many of the “priorities” were minor budget and operational items, e. g. “replace the municipal hall front door", “Paint the exterior of the fire station”, “Replace the sports view lounge carpet” etc.
Priorities such as addressing over-densification, the #1 identified resident survey priority, was not included. Nor was addressing the vagueness and inconsistencies in the Official Community Plan, or following through on the OCP's specified goals: e.g. protecting the District’s ”architectural, streetscape, and garden heritage; manage environmental resources and natural assets", these were nowhere to be found. However, moving ahead wih multi-tenant basement suites was.
Oak Bay Watch Perspective
As indicated, very little that was in the general public interest was accomplished in this Council term. Most of Staff, Consultant and Council time that was spent on the following issues: densifying single-family neighbourhoods; “modernizing” and further expanding the administration staff: many unimportant issues and a very expensive, well over a million-dollar, municipal hall renovation.
Note: Council’s 2019 Financial Plan budgeted $148,000 for this building renovation, not the 10 times this amount this Council prioritized and approved.
In addition, it is obvious that the amount of time, staff, consultants and Council spent on the Corporate / Strategic Plan's dozens of “priorities” and updates, used up much of the District’s funding, time and energy. The real issues identified by residents and the Official Community Plan were either ignored, redefined or deferred.
For example, addressing over-densification ( the long -overdue Zoning Bylaw Review) was deferred again until 2023 and the other top priority: addressing the failing infrastructure: - roads, buildings, sewers and water, was underfunded.
Instead, Council chose to spend so much funding and staff time on their single-family infill densification priority that will only intensify the pressure on the infrastructure. Council and Staff have ignored the fact that in this and the last Council's term, the infrastructure's limited capacity has been impacted by so many weather events, floods and pipe failures (see District picture Appendix #2). Perhaps none of the present or past Council members has had their basement or multi-dwelling flooded?
It is hard to understand how the majority of Council cannot see that the projected estimate of new basement suites and infill, presumably based on increases in other communities, can only make the condition of the Distrct’s infrastructure much much worse. This is in addition to causing harmful climate change impacts, natural asset destruction as well as increased street parking and traffic problems.
How can Councillors not understand, that it is not accurate (some would call it insulting) to refer to this amount of single-family untaxable densification “gentle or “modest growth. How can Councillors not understand, and the evidence shows it, that the harmful impacts of this kind of community-wide, open ended densification has not been controlled anywhere.
Other Council News: Councillor Ney now wants to let homeowners run businesses in their homes. Oak Bay’s home-based business bylaw currently allows one employee and no visitations. It is not clear if Councillor Ney is aware that there is a big difference between working at home and liaising with your business in a business district, is very different than running a business out of your home.
It is also not clear if Councillor Ney will be impacted by the problems this will cause? For example, if a basement pilates class and hairdresser business were on her block, would the street parking or noise problems, that a dozen or so cars per-hour create, be an issue for her? Two presently banned AirBnb homes would be less disruptive.
Council is asking for an increase in their annual remuneration. Oak Bay Watch is not opposed to an increase. However, we would prefer a sliding scale where Council members who provide evidence for their opinions get more and those who do not, get less.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“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.
Appendix #1
1.5 Official Community Plan Goals: See all Goals Page #8
“The goals are presented in a similar order to the sections of the OCP. In order to advance community resilience and sustainability, the goals, as well as the objectives and policies, must be treated as an integrated whole.”
Climate Change and Energy – Work towards climate change
mitigation and adaptation to address the diverse impacts of
climate change, including water and energy conservation,
reduction of greenhouse gases, and effective management
of environmental resources, land and infrastructure.
Natural Environment – Protect and enhance the natural
features that make the community environmentally and socially
healthy and resilient, including the terrestrial and marine
ecosystems, foreshore habitats, creeks, and tree canopy.
Neighbourhoods – Sustain the characteristics of Oak Bay`s
neighbourhoods that contribute to a sense of place and
attachment to the community.
Built Environment – Conserve the community’s
architectural, streetscape and garden heritage while also
embracing creative new design approaches that complement
the community’s character and reflect changing needs.
