What to expect at tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting

November’s Committee of the Whole meeting is happening tonight at Oak Bay Municipal Hall.

Unlike regular council meetings, the monthly Committee of the Whole meetings have members of council seated in a round-table set up for a less formal setting. These meetings provide a forum in which council receives presentations from applicants and staff on items requiring more in-depth explanation, discussion and council feedback.

The meeting tonight begins at 7 p.m.

First topic of business is adopting the minutes from the Parks Recreation and Culture Commission meeting that occurred on Nov. 1.

Following that, there will be three reports from Engineering Services.

The first report is a summary of existing parking regulations in the Oak Bay village area, in particular the area between St.Patrick Street and Fowl Bay Road, one block north and south of Oak Bay Avenue. After analyzing the parking in the area, staff are recommending to not make any changes to the parking, except for the area of Granite Street in the area of Foul Bay Road. That exception is addressed in the second report.

In the second report addressing the parking on Granite Street near Foul Bay Road, staff recommend changing it from the current unlimited parking to a restricted parking zone, namely a “2-hour parking Monday-Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm” area.

The third report from Engineering Services provides a summary of the condition of municipal assets, as well as provides a recommendation that council begin an annual savings program to begin addressing anticipated municipal buildings renewal requirements in the 2020s.

After the completion of the reports from Engineering Services, the meeting will move on to land use applications.

The first land use application is about modifying the exterior of a single family home at 3188 Wessex Close. Due to the modest nature of the changes, staff support the proposed development.

The second application is to get approval to increase signage at the construction site for the development on the corner of Cadboro Bay and Bowker. The developers would like to increase to two construction signs and nine project signs. Staff feel the request is appropriate for the size of the property and support the proposed variance.

Next on the agenda is a land use application for a zoning amendment. It is a rezoning request for a proposed multifamily development at 2326 Oak Bay Avenue, known as The Quest. The proposal fits with the Official Community Plan’s desire for higher density in that area of Oak Bay Avenue, however council has received substantial correspondence from the public expressing concern over loss of trees, overall density, and scale of the proposed building. Correspondence related to this project can be found on the agenda here.

Following that, the Committee of the Whole will hear a report from Corporate Services Director Warren Jones, about adopting regulations restricting the use of single-use checkout bags. The report recommends that if council wants to go ahead with such regulations, it should be directed back to council’s next priority setting session to see where it falls in the context of other priorities.

The meeting will conclude with a presentation of the Draft Community Engagement Report by the Oak Bay Mayor’s Task Force on Community Engagement.