Oak Bay council is left with a handful of outstanding issues after the last session as it decides how to move forward with official community plan implementation.
“We know we’re going to be moving ahead on implementing the official community plan, that’s a multi-year plan, the question is which of the plans do we start with,” said Mayor Nils Jensen.
One decision came quickly last week, as they decided to shift priorities from infill strategy to secondary suite regulation and start on housing strategy with the help of the Advisory Planning Commission.
“The other issue we wanted some more information on was in our active transportation strategic direction, how to balance that work for the next two years,” Jensen said. “The rest of it really was something we built a consensus around.”
The 2017-18 priorities include items to: proactively support reasoned community growth; focus on being well managed and well governed; taking an active role in building a safe, liveable community; develop, maintain and protect infrastructure; recognize importance of diverse transportation options; work collaboratively with region; and recognize and support unique character and heritage.
Proactively supporting reasoned community growth includes investigating secondary suites and a housing strategy, plus potentially determining financial benefits and costs if development cost charges were implemented.
A focus on being well-managed includes web page refresh, establishing a corporate Freedom and Protection of Privacy Program to include training for staff and council, implementing electronic records management, implementing e-billing for property taxes and update of corporate purchasing policy as well as implementing updated budget and payroll software.
Taking an active role in building a safe community includes working on a deer management strategy, Carnarvon Park plan strategy, developing and implementing a urban forest strategy, and reviewing bylaws to determine potential added community uses of the existing parking lot at Turkey Head.
Developing and maintaining infrastructure includes implementing the ongoing asset management plan, the Uplands sewer separation project, and water supply redundancy (complete the Henderson water main and conduct needed studies to prepare options for water sustainability and redundancy).
“In essence, one pipe supplies the entire community. In the event there’s a catastrophe we need a backup source,” Jensen said.
Diverse transportation objectives include speed limits – namely developing a phased plan to introduce council-approved findings from the traffic speed study – as well as pursuing Cadboro Bay Road bike lanes.
“That’s something we’re going to come back to, we’re waiting for some information,” Jensen said.
Working collaboratively includes awaiting CRD direction to address derelict vessels.
“The CRD is presently moving ahead on consideration of model bylaws that can be used in the region,” Jensen said. “Right now we’ve agreed the CRD will take the lead on that. As we’ve seen in Victoria, when they brought action to remove some of the boats in the Gorge waterway, some of them just moved elsewhere. What we need is a co-ordinated effort so we’re not just pushing from one community to another.”
They’ll also continue to strengthen relationships with the Songhees and Esquimalt nations.
Two projects recognize and support the Oak Bay character and heritage – pursuing a community-proposed heritage conservation area and renewal of the cenotaph area in Uplands Park.
“There’s lots on the agenda between now and the end of 2018,” Jensen said. “We still have a couple of outstanding issues before we finalize the priorities but we hope to do that very soon.”
The draft Council Strategic Priorities 2017-2018 document will be referred to a future meeting where the public would be invited to comment.
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com