Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association

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Public Hearing JUNE 20 re Housing Occupancy Limit of Unrelated Residents

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING for the purpose of a
PUBLIC HEARING will be held in the SAANICH MUNICIPAL HALL COUNCIL
CHAMBERS, 770 Vernon Avenue, Victoria, BC, V8X 2W7, on SATURDAY, JUNE 20,
2020 at 10:00 A.M., to allow the public to make verbal or written representation to

Council with respect to the following proposed bylaw.
A. ZONING BYLAW, 2003, AMENDMENT BYLAW, 2020, NO. 9608
HOUSING OCCUPANCY LIMIT OF UNRELATED RESIDENTS
The intent of the proposed bylaw amendment is to delete the word “four” in the definition of “Family” in Section 2 and replace it with “six”; and to delete the word “four” in section 5.20 and replace it with the word “six”.
As per Saanich Zoning Bylaw 8200 “family” is defined as: “one or more individuals who by reason of marriage, heredity, adoption, or choice live as a household; provided that the number of persons unrelated by blood or marriage shall not exceed four; excludes boarders, daycare children, or groups of persons forming a monastery, seminary, convent, or similar religious group.”
Section 5.20 of the Saanich Zoning Bylaw 8200 currently reads:
“5.20 Limitation of Residential Occupancy by Unrelated Persons
Notwithstanding any other provision of the bylaw, where a dwelling unit is occupied
by two or more persons unrelated by blood or marriage, the total number of persons
unrelated by blood or marriage occupying the dwelling unit, including boarders shall
not exceed four.”
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure social distancing, the Municipal Hall is
closed to the public. Therefore the proposed bylaw and relevant reports may be inspected or obtained from the Saanich website at https://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/local-
government/mayor-council/schedule-agendas-minutes.html from June 5, 2020 onwards.

We strongly encourage residents to submit their support or opposition in writing to
council@saanich.ca.  Enquiries and comments may be submitted by mail or by email and must be received no later than 12:00 p.m., noon, Friday, June 19, 2020. All correspondence submitted will form part of the public record and may be published in a meeting agenda.
 Send your comments to Council by emailing council@saanich.ca
 Mail your comments by post to Legislative Services, District of Saanich, 770 Vernon
Avenue, Victoria, BC V8X 2W7.
 Leave your written comments in the dropbox by the main door at Municipal Hall, 770
Vernon Avenue.
This Public Hearing is to be convened by electronic means as authorized by Ministerial Order No. M139, “Local Government Meetings and Bylaw Process (COVID-19) Order No. 2”.

Alternatively, you may register to speak by telephone at the Public Hearing by:
 Emailing the meeting date and agenda item you wish to speak to; or
 By calling 250-475-5501 and specifying which meeting date and agenda item you
wish to speak to.
In either instance, you must have access to a telephone, provide a telephone number that
can be used to contact you and an email address where instructions can be sent to you.
The deadline for registration is 12:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2020.
An opportunity to phone in during the meeting will be available, please watch the
webstream for details.
All meetings are streamed live on Saanich.ca
Legislative Services Division
District of Saanich
770 Vernon Avenue
Victoria, BC V8X 2W7
E-mail: council@saanich.ca
Phone: 250-475-5501 Web: Saanich.ca

PLEASE cc QCHCA at qchca@qchca.org with your letters or emails so we can ensure your views form part of our QCHCA response.

Public engagement in Council meetings and public hearings during Covid

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Saanich’s Legislative Clerk has advised that, “in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure social distancing, the Municipal Hall is closed to the public. Therefore the proposed bylaws, permits and relevant reports may be inspected or obtained from the Saanich website at https://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/local-government/mayor-council/schedule-agendas-minutes.html from May 20, 2020 onwards. We strongly encourage residents to submit their support or opposition in writing to council@saanich.ca

Enquiries and comments may be submitted by mail or by email and must be received no later than 12:00 p.m., noon, on the day of the meeting. All correspondence submitted will form part of the public record and may be published in a meeting agenda.

  • Send your comments to Council by emailing council@saanich.ca
  • Mail your comments by post to Legislative Services, District of Saanich, 770 Vernon Avenue, Victoria,

    BC V8X 2W7.

  • Leave your written comments in the dropbox by the main door at Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue.
  • Alternatively, you may register to speak by telephone at the Public Hearing by:
    • Emailing the meeting date and agenda item you wish to speak to; or
    • By calling 250-475-5501 and specifying which meeting date and agenda item you wish to speak to.

In either instance, you must have access to a telephone, provide a telephone number that can be used to contact you and an  email address where instructions can be sent to you.

The deadline for registration is 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

All meetings are streamed live on Saanich.ca.”

FREE webinar on Community Food Resources, April 22, 3 – 4 pm

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CRFair is hosting ‘FOOD RESOURCES IN YOUR COMMUNITY’, a free webinar on April 22 at 03:00 PM

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KTBgaPjbSZKEbi7YBtvHAg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
———-

Food Resources in your Community is part of a new food literacy webinar series presented by the Food Literacy Working Group. This working group is hosted by the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable and is part of the Good Food Network.

The webinar will explore the various food resources available currently during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Capital Region (Sidney to Sooke up through Port Renfrew and the Southern Gulf Islands). We will discuss where individuals and families can access food supports, how to access them, what information they need to know in order to access these resources, and how these resources can be used to help feed individuals and families.

Our Speaker:
Sonja Yli-Kahila
Coordinator of the Food Share Network
———–

What is Food Literacy?
Our working definition of Food Literacy:
“Food literacy includes food skills and practices that are learned and used across the lifespan to participate within a complex food environment.
Food literacy also means appreciating the social, cultural, economic, physical and environmental factors related to food.”

Message from Mayor Haynes re April 20 agenda item on amalgamation

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QCHCA received the following message from Mayor Haynes through the Saanich Community Association Network (SCAN) today:

Given the reality of the COVD-19 pandemic situation, as you know there are two reports coming to Council on Monday from my desk. One provides council with the opportunity to consider the Citizens Assembly, the other open a discussion on the budget.

Given the high public interest in these, and thinking further on the memo/reports on these two items to Council I will be looking to do the following:

1) On the Citizens Assembly, the #3 motion

I will be looking to replace the one noted in the staff report with:

Move:

In the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan with reference to the Citizens Assembly-expand on the current he timing of TBD and add “at a time Council deems is within the resource capacity of the municipality”

2) On my report/memo on the budget

The motion I am looking to bring forward.

Move:

That staff be directed to prepare an amendment to the Financial Plan Bylaw that would provide a tax increase equivalent to the consumer price index of 2.4% and be based on the example outlined in my Financial Plan Discussion Report dated April 15 2020.

If you are able, please could you forward t the Communty Associations, as I believe their members would appreciate being kept informed.

Kind regards,

Fred

Fred Haynes

Mayor

April 20 Council meeting to include item re canceling amalgamation study

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“The District of Saanich is considering cancelling its study into possibly amalgamating with Victoria due to COVID-19” according to CTV News.  The question will be discussed at Council’s April 20th 7 pm meeting.  The staff report recommends that Council “reallocate the original budget for the Citizens’ Assembly of $250,000 to address any upcoming financial issues in response to the COVID -19 pandemic.”  The actual wording in the staff report says “. . . ceasing any further actions until further notice” and “. . . remove the Citizen’s Assembly and consideration of Amalgamation with the City of Victoria from the 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan until further notice.”

Saanich’s website states that “Public input for the Special Council meeting will be accepted via email at council@saanich.ca up until 12:00 P.M., Monday, April 20, 2020.” As per the Order of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Emergency Program Act, Ministerial Order No. M083, public attendance at the meeting is not required.

Read the staff report here.

Message from Mayor Haynes

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Hello Community Associations,

As we are about to go into the amazingly sunny celebratory weekend I wanted to touch base and say hi. As you can see from the various communications coming out of Saanich there have been numerous essential changes as we adjust to the reality of COVID-19. The number one job of Saanich right now is to ensure we’re doing all we can to keep our residents and our staff as safe as possible while maintaining the core essential services you need from the municipality.

You’ve seen a lot of our messaging on that so I won’t repeat it here. As we go into this celebratory weekend I would like to ask your help to message out this weekend to ensure we observe physical distancing, stay safe, stay local, and look out for each other.

The Province has concluded it needs to close the provincial parks. Some of the issues they have faced are overcrowding at car parks and trails, insufficient number of staff available to monitor and educate, and thirdly, the need to encourage people not to travel out of region, out of neighbourhoods, because of health and safety risks.

In Saanich we are keeping our parks open because of the benefits they bring to mental and physical health. We have 170 parks and 100’s of kilometers of trails and beaches. We hope very much to maintain access to all of these. Our ability to do that rests on us. How Saanich residents use the “behavioural vaccines” of social distancing and healthy behaviours to stay well.

Current information, including news releases and updates, service disruptions, and financial and community resources can be found on our website here: https://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/news-events/covid-19-information.html.

On behalf of all our Council and our Staff, have a wonderful, sunny, healthy weekend.

Fred

 Fred Haynes, Mayor

Covid-related changes at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary

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Kathleen Burton, Executive Director of the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary, has asked us to pass on information related to changes at the sanctuary necessitated by the Covid pandemic:
  • PLEASE do not come to the Sanctuary if you are sick.
  • The Nature House is CLOSED so there is NO access to washrooms.
  • The parking lot is closed.  PLEASE do NOT park on neighbouring streets as this is creating difficulties and unsafe situations for them and their families.  If you can’t walk or cycle, consider getting your exercise in a park nearer your home.
  • Please stay on the trails, allowing others to pass at a safe distance (6.5 ft minimum) where the trails narrow.  Proceed in the direction indicated by trail signage
  • Please do not bring your dog. Dogs are not permitted on Sanctuary grounds as per Saanich Bylaw No.8556.

 

Kathleen says staff are doing their best to try to keep the Sanctuary trails available as a place to spend time in nature during COVID-19 but they can only do so if people follow the Public Health Officers orders and respect the neighbours in and around the Sanctuary. 
 
“Without the support of the community, she says, “the Sanctuary may have to close to all visitors, including our neighbours.  Thank you and stay safe.”

UVic seeking feedback re expanding Engineering and Computer Science facilities

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The university in continuing to develop plans for expanded Engineering and Computer Science facilities on campus. Following the advice and recommendation of BC’s top health officials to support social distancing, community engagement for the project has shifted from an in person event to an online survey. The survey will be available online until Friday April 10th. Please find the survey at the following link: https://www.uvic.ca/engineeringexpansionsurvey. Additional project details can also be found on the project website: www.uvic.ca/engineeringexpansion

Cedar Hill Rec Centre and Covid

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The District of Saanich closed all Rec. Centres including Cedar Hill Arts and Rec Centre as announced on the Saanich website on March 23rd, 2020 to reduce the transmission of Coronavirus. More recently, people walking in the Park will have noticed closure of all access to the building and parking lot including the lower pedestrian bridge. One can still walk past the back of the Rec Centre on the Chip Trail.

As reported in Saanich News on April 8th, Island Health has taken over the CH Rec Centre as an ‘assessment clinic’ for people who have been referred by Island Health “for people who have more mild COVID symptoms but are not sick enough to attend the emergency department”. The facility is one of a number of assessment clinics in Victoria that operate as referral-only facilities. For information as to how to care for yourself if you develop symptoms visit Healthlinkbc.ca or to self access go to bc.thrive.health.

April 1st Covid update

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According to a CBC update at 5 am April 1, 2020, “B.C.’s provincial state of emergency has been extended until April 14 after 1,013 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths.

On Tuesday night, Premier John Horgan used a province-wide address to urge British Columbians to do their part by staying home whenever possible and keeping a two-metre distance from other people outside the home.

“What we do today will affect what our doctors, nurses and first responders face in the days and weeks ahead. It will determine how many of us stay healthy, and how much we can do to flatten the curve,” he said.

“You might not feel it in your living room, but everyone in B.C. is pulling together and there are early signs that our actions are making a difference. But we can’t stop now.”By Tuesday afternoon, 128 people were in hospital as a result of the virus, with 61 patients in intensive care. Just over half of all confirmed cases — 507 in total — have fully recovered.

According to Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the peak of the outbreak is still to come in B.C., and it’s crucial that people continue to keep their distance from others to minimize its impact.

“We know that, right now, it is still dangerous for us to be gathering in groups because that’s where transmission can happen. We need to keep that firewall between us for the next couple weeks until we have a better idea of how this virus is moving through our community,” Henry told the CBC.

Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association

Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association