Transcript: Regular Council Meeting - 2026/06/29

Speaker A · All right,

Speaker B · we're ready to go. Then sign a call to order. The regular council meeting. Councillor Newton, Councillor Thompson are absent this evening. Motion to approve the agenda, adding late correspondence. 1111. Moved. Second. Thank you. Any discussion? Seeing none.

Speaker B · Any opposed? None. Carried. Motion to close the meeting under section 90 sub 1C. Thank you. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Any opposed? None. Carried. All right, we'll take a moment then.

Speaker C · It's.

Speaker D · All right.

Speaker B · Good evening, everyone. And we're resuming our meeting from earlier. We've gone through approval of the agenda. We are now at item 6, adoption of the minutes for June 15 Special Open Council as well as the regular council meeting of the same date. Somebody move the minutes, please. Moved. Seconded. Thank you.

Speaker B · Any errors, omissions or changes? Anyone opposed to the minutes? Seeing none. That motion carries. Any business arising from the minutes? Seeing none. Verizon report from the June 15, 2026 closed council meeting. The volunteer firefighter honorarium and Community Service Agreement 1 Council Adopts Policy 01 Fire Volunteer Firefighter Honorarium Policy 01 Fire Central Saanich Volunteer Firefighters CSVFFA Community Service Agreement and 2 Direct staff to enter into a community service agreement between the district of Central Saanich and the Central Saanich Volunteer Firefighters Association.

Speaker B · With that I'll move to public questions and feedback. This is an opportunity to come forward and for up to 2 minutes offer comments or questions.

Speaker E · Service.

Speaker C · This.

Speaker F · I'm just going to get you to

Speaker G · turn the mic on.

Speaker C · That's important.

Speaker H · I thought it was.

Speaker I · It was nice and echo on my side. So. Good evening. My name is Scott Verloon and I live on Central Sanich Road with my wife and three children. For reference, we're part or we're in between Tanner and Keating Crossroads, the detour route for the overpass project. I've stood before you a couple of times over the last three years regarding the safety of our road and while I'd love to get into some of the other issues that still plague us to this day, I'm going to focus on a singular issue. Speeding. I was able to get the engineering department to install speed strips and they were kind enough to provide me with the findings so that I could present them to you as Council must first vote to approve for a reduction in speed limit down to 40 before engineering can proceed with any traffic calming measures.

Speaker I · These strips were installed in May and as the days passed, the trend goes in the wrong direction. The percentage of speeders increase, probably because drivers became more comfortable with them simply not being loose debris on the road. Wednesday, May 6 was the first date and was also the low point in percentage of speeders. Of the 2,865 vehicles passing in front of our house that day, 1,907 were speeding. Again, we're not.

Speaker B · You're gonna run out of time here because it's a two minute segment.

Speaker I · Please. I've waited.

Speaker B · I've got your application.

Speaker F · Three years.

Speaker B · I've got your application.

Speaker I · Yeah.

Speaker B · It will be approved for the next meeting, which will give you 10 minutes rather than two.

Speaker I · I need like 90 seconds.

Speaker J · Please.

Speaker I · I've waited three years.

Speaker B · You want to do that instead of this?

Speaker I · Yes. This versus that.

Speaker B · Fine.

Speaker I · Okay. I appreciate that. So these strips were installed in Maine. As the days pass, the trend goes in the wrong direction. The percentage of speeders increases, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so Wednesday, May 6th was the first day and was also the low point in percentage. So here's the statistics again, because they're just outstanding. 2,865 vehicles passing in front of our house. 1,907 were speeding. Again, we're not talking about the odd one or a minority. We are talking about a clear majority of vehicles. 66. 56% were speeding. And this is the low number for the week. It gradually increases to the point where by the end of the recordings, Tuesday, May 12, of the 2,736 vehicles, a whopping 71. 45% were speeding.

Speaker I · I know my time is limited for tonight, so I won't get into some of the other stats like max speeds recorded, but let's just say it's disgusting what I will say. And I'm sure you've all heard the various stats as relates to speed. Whether the significant differences in stopping distances required at various speeds and road conditions or. Or how pedestrian survival rates increase by 300% when speeds traveled are reduced from 50 to 40. To expand on this, at 40 kilometers an hour, 6 out of 10 pedestrians survive. At 50 it reduces to 2 out of 10. And at 60, 0 out of 10 survive. Everyone who lives on this road plays a game of Russian roulette every day.

Speaker I · Whether it's the kids walking to and from school, people riding their bikes or walking their dogs, or simply backing out of their driveways. Given these reckless drivers, personally, after three years, I'd like to be able to.

Speaker E · Sorry,

Speaker I · I don't know why it hit me to play freely on our front yard or have a lemonade stand. Geez, sorry about this. So as a parent, I'm not going to allow this blatant endangerment to continue and nor would any of you if the shoe were on the other foot. So I'm asking you to please make a motion and vote tonight to reduce the sleep speed limit on our road now and don't defer it to be part of phase two as it currently stands. My communications and engagement with the Engineering department and Central Signage Police support this change.

Speaker C · Thank you.

Speaker B · Sorry about that. That's okay. Councillor Peltier,

Speaker J · thank you. Appreciate the time you've taken in this submission and it's not easy, both public speaking and when you're chatting about your family's safety. So I commend you on that and appreciate your patience here. Just through you as chair to our engineering department, what would be the implications

Speaker I · or

Speaker J · impacts if council did decide to move forward with this direction this evening or in the short future?

Speaker K · Thank you. Through the mayor. Typically this would have to. Well, this would have to be a bylaw amendment to the previously speed reduction bylaw that we've carried out. This was one of the sections of

Speaker F · road that we were proposing as part

Speaker K · of phase two to go with and a couple other sections around the area. But it would require us to bring

Speaker F · back a bylaw to reduce the speed.

Speaker B · Anything further, Councillor? No. Okay, thank you. We'll ask you to take your seat for the time being. There's still opportunity for other speakers. Of course, course. So.

Speaker F · Okay.

Speaker B · Yeah.

Speaker D · Good evening, your worship and council. I'm David Spence. I live at 6880 Wallace Drive. As you know, I have a particular interest in trees. The planting of urban trees and the caring for them, the retention and propagation of them, and in particular how trees represent various community activities. So when I received this last week information about the National Tree Day coming up in September, I said, ah, I know who to share that information with. And so I am here with you this evening to present to you information about how National Tree Day in September is in the middle of National Forest Week. And in addition to the emphasis on trees in that way, the Canadian Urban Forest Conference is happening in the middle of October in Quebec City with the theme of growing cities while growing Urban forests.

Speaker D · And so I would like to impart a couple of questions with you this evening. The first one is that in regarding the integrity of Central Saanich and ecological balance and harmony, what might be the intentions for tree planting in September that the municipality has, especially in regard to the commemoration of 75th anniversary?

Speaker D · The second question is, might there be any intention to have someone represent Central Saanich at the Canadian Urban Forest Conference in Quebec City in October? I Leave those two questions with you.

Speaker B · We'll receive them as they were given and have a conversation with staff about the potential for certainly the first one. The second one. I'm not aware of anyone as a delegation from Central Saanich necessarily, either from council table or. Or the public at this point. Being anticipated.

Speaker K · Yeah.

Speaker B · Councillor king.

Speaker H · Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's been 12 years since Central Saanich has had the Tree Appreciation Day every year. And so that initially started, I believe, in November, but now I'm curious to know what's projected for this year for Tree Appreciation Day, if we know at this date.

Speaker G · Thank you through the chair. Tree Appreciation Day is anticipated to be end of September, early October. And we did receive a grant for tree planting in Tanner park this year.

Speaker B · Wonderful.

Speaker H · Thank you.

Speaker B · In that case, I would suggest it aligns perfectly with the information just given to us by Mr. Spence. Thank you.

Speaker D · And will there be an opportunity for community people to be involved with the planting of those trees in Tanner Park?

Speaker B · There always has been in the past, so I can't imagine why there wouldn't be.

Speaker C · Absolutely. Well, in 2025.

Speaker G · Sorry, I forgot the year.

Speaker C · It was a school district event, and

Speaker G · so it was just students from the school, but is ordinarily. Yes, it is open to the broad

Speaker C · community as we anticipate this year's event to be.

Speaker B · There you be.

Speaker D · And there will be information available.

Speaker B · Yeah.

Speaker D · Good. Thank you very much. Have a happy Canada Day and may the forest be with you.

Speaker B · Likewise.

Speaker F · All right.

Speaker B · This is, of course, the opportunity. If there are any other speakers who have questions or feedback before we move on, by all means.

Speaker E · Good evening. Thank you for your time. Getting on to the other gentleman there who must live down the road from me. I'm Stuart Walker, 2300 Tanner Road. And a lot of the issues with traffic are always right now when you got 300 cars coming off a ferry every hour and the lights at Sayward are backed up so far, they're starting to turn down Tanner, and then they realize they're heading the other way and they just cause congestion at the bottom of the hill and they turn back up.

Speaker E · And it's just an ongoing problem with. With traffic. But a lot of the solutions, I've given a few to engineering, but kind of fallen on deaf ears over the years. Drove commercially for 30 years. I've been here for 30 years. Traffic's gone up 200 to 400%, whereas the population's only gone up 50%. And a lot of this is due to all the commercial trucks. Keating Pit and Butler Pit. I guess what I'm asking is are you going to keep on leasing land for trucking firms? Because they all come up here, they don't live here, they don't really care about our neighborhoods. But this constant communing and trying to get to Keating area is never going to make our neighborhood safe as far as I can see.

Speaker E · But I guess my question would also be I know you've changed the speed limits but it's kind of been done in a way where only one side of the street is 40k, the other side is still 50. But I think that's going to be fixed. Amy said that I think to me in a letter. But there's just been too many. I still see the same old things. Trucks, trucks driving, semi trucks driving down our streets. It's not even a trucking route. It's just. I don't know what the solution is. But I've just seen a lot of kind of questionable things the engineering has done. They change the intersection by Keating elementary, move the crosswalk down and then they moved it back to where it was. And then they put 30k signs on dead end roads like livesay and off hunt where nobody lives.

Speaker E · I don't really understand that. Decades ago you cut Lucille in half which is just. I don't know, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. All these things that are done and they gotta reband aided and be done again. So I guess all I can say is maybe we can get some community support groups in on some of these decisions about how traffic is handled. And other than that I can go on, but I won't. But anyway, that's all I had to say. Thank you.

Speaker B · Just checking for a final time if there are any other speakers who wish to come forward with questions or comments. Seeing none, we'll move to the next item in our agenda. Councilor Peltier?

Speaker J · Yeah, I'll just move that the district ask staff to bring forward phase two of the speed reduction bylaw in regard to Tanner Ridge specific Tanner area at a upcoming council meeting for consideration.

Speaker B · Is that clear enough direction? Okay, I'll take the seconder. Thank you. Any discussion on the matter? Any opposed? None. Carried. Okay, we'll move then to the central Saanich Volunteer Firefighter association presentation. Welcoming Greg Mitchell.

Speaker E · Fantastic.

Speaker A · Thank you mayor council for having us this evening. My name is Greg Mitchell. I'm the president of the association. I've been involved with the department and the association for 13 years. And when I'm not firefighting or engaged with the association, I'M part of Mitchell's Farm, which has been in the community for a very long time.

Speaker F · Hi there, my name's Pat Humphries, been on the department for eight years now, coming on nine. When I'm not at the department, I've got a family within Central Saanich, kids go to Brownwood elementary and I also own and operate a business out of the Keating Industrial park with almost 300 employees.

Speaker A · So we're here to tonight to provide a bit of background on the Central Saanich Volunteer Firefighters association, the role it plays in the community and how it supports long term health of the department.

Speaker A · So a little bit about who we are. The association supports our members, but it also serves as one of the main connection points between the fire department and the community. We help organize events, support local causes, create the relationships that keep members connected to both the department and the district of Central Saanich. So a little bit about the our community impact. As you can see, some of these numbers, you know, show the scale of the association's overall involvement. It's not one or two events a year that we're engaged and committed to. Our members are out at schools, parades, food drives, fundraisers, youth events, indigenous community events and local festivals.

Speaker A · This work all happens outside of normal emergency response duties and it represents hundreds of hours, volunteer hours that are put in by all of the members of the association throughout the year. So some of the, some of the events, again as I mentioned, there's quite a range. We've got youth focused, little league school, right? Whether it's elementary schools or middle school, requests to come out and engage, community events, Brentwood Bay Days festival and the parade, and other items like or events such as the Sanderson Community Christmas, other causes or other engagements.

Speaker A · We support local food security, healthcare, fundraising, indigenous communities and first responder or veteran causes. So this table shows the association community role is consistent and broad. These are not isolated requests. The association has become a dependable group for community events across Central Saanich and the peninsula. And our members are often the ones coordinating staffing and making sure these events are supported and staffed. So why this matters in a paid on call department, retention matters. Training firefighters takes time and money. Many members have opportunities to move on to career departments. And the members who stay long term are usually the ones who feel connected to the department, to each other and to the community they serve.

Speaker A · These are some of the things that we do when it comes to supporting our members and internal engagement with the association. So every Monday night, or if it's a long weekend, a Tuesday night we do post training night dinners. And it's not just about the food. You know, this opportunity gives all of us a chance to interact with one another. We run a two hall system so we don't always interact with all the members at calls and so on and so forth.

Speaker A · So post training night dinners are a great opportunity for everyone to engage and catch up. We also host family events, spouses nights and throughout the year. And the matter of those are for the same reason in a paid on call department. Family connection is a major part of keeping people engaged over the long term. And I believe that throughout, you know, this kind of model and this approach, retention is built through relationships. And that's what I think our association is so strong on. So beyond emergencies, our members are already responding to calls and attending training. On top of that, the association members spend hundreds of volunteer hours organizing and attending community events.

Speaker A · This supports public trust, youth programs, local fundraisers, food security and community celebrations. So what council support enables us, it helps us keep this work sustainable. It supports community engagement, member retention, family support, but also connection and a benevolent assistance. The funding is not just supporting association activities, it is supporting the people and the relationships that help keep experienced firefighters, but also community minded and motivated individuals connected to the department and the community. So thank you mayor and council for the opportunity to present this evening. We appreciate your support every year and. Yeah, happy to answer any questions.

Speaker D · Great.

Speaker B · Thank you for taking the time and actually doing this. I think it's the first time that this has happened in this way. So I think it adds to the overall work that has long been done by the Volunteer Firefighter Association. Now that it's paid on call, it still requires people to come forward and serve as you do. So thank you for that. I will look to members of council. Councilor King, I saw your hand.

Speaker H · Well, yeah, I want to say a huge thank you for the hundreds of hours and for, for doing something that we cannot match and that is the. Well, we can support, but we can't have the heart as much as you do in terms of building, you know, the connections with people and keeping people motivated in the way that you do. So thank you for that and I guess I just wanted to appreciate that you've come and presented and. Yeah, I think that that's a. It would be awesome if that continued, you know, just to highlight the great work that you've done and you know how pivotal it is for retention. So thank you so much.

Speaker B · Thank you, Councillor Peltier.

Speaker J · Thank you. Is there going, is the funding request going to be coming as a separate

Speaker L · item or through the Mayor. It was done in a closed meeting. And so we rose and report on it. We rose and reported on it this evening. And so Chief Lee is going to be working through the service agreement, but the update to the amount based on the policy is going to take place January 1, 2027.

Speaker J · And with that, I guess my concern or request is just that it is now sustaining and it will, you know, so there won't be any surprises in the future as far as the required demand goes for increases through the mayor.

Speaker L · Yes, we built in regular increases through the policy and it'll be approved through council on an annual basis through the financial planning process.

Speaker J · Thank you.

Speaker B · Seeing no further hands. Again, thank you for taking the time to come this evening and of course all the hundreds and hundreds of hours that everyone puts in.

Speaker A · Thank you very much and appreciate your time.

Speaker E · Very good.

Speaker B · Moving to the next item, we are on to a presentation by BC Transit, item 10. 2 regarding the Victoria Regional Transit Plan. And we welcome Elise Wren and Levi Magenbir from BC Trans Transit.

Speaker F · Thank you very much, Mayor and Council for having me here tonight. My name is Levi Megaber. I'm the manager of Service planning for the Victoria Regional Transit System and joined by Elise Ren, Manager of Government Relations. Really looking forward to providing an update to Council on the draft Victoria Regional Transit Plan, both for information but also to receive feedback and input. So what is the Victoria Regional Transit Plan and what are we hoping to accomplish with it? First of all, this is looking to update the 25 year vision for the transit system. The last time we did a long range plan like this was in 2011. A lot has changed within the region, so it's high time that we looked at updating the long range strategic plan for transit within the region.

Speaker F · We are also looking to develop comprehensive network and route design guidelines. We've seen a lot of change within the region very rapidly and so these guidelines are intended to allow us to be flexible and nimble as the region continues to evolve. So we don't have to update this plan every five or ten years to stay current. Finally, the plan will really look to guide future infrastructure investment, both in terms of operations and maintenance facilities, to grow the fleet, but also in terms of supporting major initiatives like rapid transit throughout the transit system. Before we talk about the plan, I think there's value in just briefly talking about some of the milestones that we've achieved within the transit system over the last five years.

Speaker F · So the first is our electronic fare collection technology, umo allowing People to pay using their smartphone or with a reloadable card. And last month we just finally launched debit and credit tap to pay, which was an exciting milestone for the transit system. We launched our first rapid bus within the region in 2023 with the 95 Victoria Lankford Blink. So we are now carrying over 11,000 people per day on that route, which is exciting to see that ridership continuing to grow. Work continues on rapid transit initiatives, including the Highway 1 infrastructure. So with the bus lanes being extended from Mackenzie all the way to the Callwood interchange area, battery electric bus continues to roll out.

Speaker F · We have 25 battery electric buses operating within the transit system right now, many more coming in the next several years. We had the Handy DART facility in View Royal just complete last year, allowing us to expand Handy DART for the first time in over 10 years, which is a huge success. And then finally the province launched the Kids 12 and under ride free program in 2022. And we've seen the youth demographic growing in terms of our ridership. So it's great to see our future generation of riders really stepping up to the plate with the implementation of that policy. In terms of current service within Central saanich, we have six primary routes serving the area, three of them regional, with Route 70, 72, I guess 71 operates through as well.

Speaker F · 70, 72 and 75 primarily, and then three local routes, 81, 83 and 87 in the Sanichton area. The Sanichton Exchange, it's one of the highest ridership areas within Central sanich, carrying about 500 boardings and alightings per day. But we also see quite a bit of ridership to other key destinations such as the Keating Industrial Park, Brentwood Bay and Butcher Gardens as well. In terms of public engagement, we had a lot of people come and speak to us through the process. Almost 1900 people filled out our online survey and we Talked to about 350 people through our open house events, sort of one on one conversations, which was great.

Speaker F · We had a number of stakeholder groups that we engaged throughout the process multiple times. So that's all the neighborhood and community associations across the region, major employers and key institutions such as the ferries, YYJ, UVic and other major local institutions. And then we engaged very closely with local government staff throughout the process as well. We had a number of targeted workshops to make sure we're aligning the future of transit with updated official community plans, transportation master plans, et cetera. What did we hear through engagement? I would say that the biggest thing we heard is people want more frequency and they want more reliability with their transit system system. Number one, we received a huge amount of feedback and input about rapid transit.

Speaker F · People want more rapid transit, they want it faster. About 80% of our open comments were pertaining to rapid transit in some way, shape or form. And you'll see that reflected in the draft plan and key initiatives in the draft plan as well. And then finally, just a desire for simplified routes and network structure and more direct connections throughout the region. So I talked about the network and route design guidelines. I won't go into too much detail. Ultimately, what are the network and route design guidelines trying to do? First of all, they're a demand based framework. So we really want to use this to support investing in service where we know there's going to be more ridership. So that's one component.

Speaker F · Another key component is providing clarity to the public, local governments and to BC Transit as well around if a community builds a certain type of development that it's really clear to everybody what type of service we'll provide as a transit agency and will allow us to continue to evolve as the region grows. So that brings us to the crux of the plan, which is our 10 big moves to move the transit system forward over the next 25 years. I won't get into all of them because we don't have a lot of time, but I will say that about 50% of the big moves are rapid transit oriented.

Speaker F · And and that really aligns with what we heard through public engagement. With respect to the Central Sanich area. The most relevant big moves are the Peninsula rapid bus line. One thing we heard recently is the importance of improved connections to yyj. So we've been sure to clearly articulate that within the plan that that will be a core crux of the transit system in the future is providing those improved direct connections to yyj. Additionally, I would say development of the frequent transit network and modernizing the conventional transit system is another key initiative that will really provide benefits to Central Sanich in the future. And then finally, the Handy DART modernization as well should improve the customer experience for those taking our Handy DART services within the region in the future.

Speaker F · So going into a little more detail, what do we mean by network modernization? The first piece is we're looking to build at a frequent transit grid. This really is looking to align the improved service within the region with where we're seeing the most demand for development and ridership. And what does that mean for Central Saanich? That means better connections for Sandichton, the Sanich Hospital Keating Crossroad and Brentwood Bay, which are some of the highest ridership areas within Central Saanich and highest density as well. Beyond the frequent transit grid. There's also some new service types that we're going to be looking at that could potentially have benefits and applications to Central Sanich. And I think the key one there is the regional Express service.

Speaker F · So it's a new service type that we're looking to roll out across the region. And then finally, I would say in particular for Central Sanich, with a lot of low density areas, we've got this new service type called digital on demand, which, which to paraphrase you could call it Uber. For buses where people have an app on their phone, they can request a ride and the bus sort of with an algorithm optimizes the pickup and drop off within a defined area. So there's the potential to look at that as the service type either to replace low frequency coverage routes or potentially to supplement it. So that's something we can look at in the future as part of the network modernization.

Speaker F · In the short term, we have some constraints to service expansion over the next sort of five plus years until our next maintenance operations and maintenance facility is completed. So there's some opportunities we can look at to improve the network even in the short term with limited expansion. And some of that includes reducing service duplication, harmonizing our bus stops, which essentially just means spacing them a little farther apart, particularly on major corridors, and then finally to invest in bus speed and reliability. We've seen significant decreases in transit travel speed over the last five years. And so any way we can speed transit means we can get more service to people for the same resources. Handy Dirt modernization.

Speaker F · We're in the process of securing a technology improvement that helps with the customer experience for booking trips and also helps with optimizing how services delivered out on the road to once again get more rides for our existing resource envelope. So this is gonna be a big step towards improving the customer experience while also improving the amount of service we can put out on the road. As I mentioned, the View Royal Handy Dirt facility was recently completed so we can now expand transit or Handy Dirt service for the first time in over 10 years. So what does this mean for Central Sanich? I think as I spoke to previously, the Peninsula Rapid Bus is a long term initiative that will improve service levels to and from the Central Saanich area in the future.

Speaker F · How we're framing this within the draft plan is phasing towards full Rapid Bus with some regional express service which I spoke to earlier in the presentation. So some of that would include direct service between downtown Victoria and YYJ while still continuing to serve the key destinations on the Peninsula, modernizing the network. So we talked about digital on demand, so that's something we'll be exploring. And then for Central Sandich itself, what can you do to help support transit moving forward into the future? I think the first thing is continuing to prioritize your development and density, where we're planning better transit service. And then the other piece is continuing to improve accessibility at bus stops where you're seeing more ridership, ensuring there's an accessible pad, and continuing to invest in transit shelters at higher ridership stops to improve the customer experience.

Speaker F · So before I talk about next steps, I just want to indicate this is a very ambitious plan. The amount of investment required to achieve all of the goals and initiatives within this plan are going to require all the partners within the region to come to the table in a different way than we have historically. So that's both BC Transit in terms of how we design the network, the province in terms of the amount of funding and potentially funding levers that are available to support transit, and local governments in terms of how we prioritize transit on roadways and the accessibility of bus stops. So with that in mind, in terms of next steps for this plan, we're in the process of wrapping up all of our presentations to municipalities.

Speaker F · So this is actually our last presentation on the roadshow, so save the best for last after tonight. We'll be presenting an update to the commission in July for feedback and then ultimately approval in September after the plan is approved. One of the next steps is we're going to be looking to do some network restructuring based around the network and route design guidelines, and that will include some significant public and key stakeholder engagement to support that process as well. So with that, I want to thank you very much for having me here today and looking forward to answering any questions you may have and any feedback you may have about the draft.

Speaker B · And of course, wearing both hats is Mayor of Central Saanich and Chair of the Transit Commission. Thank you to both of you for going around to all councils and indeed, saving the best for last. Thank you, Councillor King and then Councillor Graham.

Speaker H · Oh, thank you, Mr.

Speaker E · Chair.

Speaker H · Thanks to the presenter. I guess a common theme over the past decades has been all, you know, common, I mean, a regular call for improved transit service. The point that I think had been mentioned, that people are asking for more trips, has been a consistent one for that long. And there's always limited resources. And so what I've noted is the case is that places that grow have gotten more of the resources and in the past we've heard that if there was more density, more growth, more that sort of thing, then potentially you'll get more transit service because there'd be more riders potentially, et cetera.

Speaker H · So one I would like to focus on the material improvements or increases in ridership in Central Saanich as a result of growth density and whether or not that's come to fruition. And you can encourage or discourage as you wish. I noted. I just did a quick look at the times that the buses frequent say out First Nation and I think it's six out of 37 times and that really hasn't changed much since traffic transit started going into SEOT First Nation. So it largely, it's very sporadic in terms of going all the way to Jimmy Road in Seoul and for some folks that's their only way to get to and from destinations. So it's critically important.

Speaker H · What I'm doing in that question is, or that point is highlighting that it's not always just about the volume of people but the importance of the trip to people getting to work, getting to a hospital, etc. There may not be as many people, but it may be critically important for them as a lifeline. So there's the question about growth and how that's manifested itself in Central Saanich in terms of seeing improvements in service for transit. And I was hearing in the presentation a jumping, please excuse me, between

Speaker E · the

Speaker H · global desire or regional desire, I should put it in terms of comments and the wish list and how that can benefit Central Saanich and then also wanting to know how does that help within Central Saanich? Not just yes a person wanting to go downtown can benefit from a rapid bus going through Sanichton, but how are we seeing improvements within Central Saanich in terms of between Brentwood, Saanichton, these sorts of areas as well. Thank you.

Speaker F · So through the chair, just a couple quick follow up comments to some of the questions you embedded in there. The first thing I'll say is very recently we actually changed the 82, 87 and we actually made a pretty significant material improvement to service to Seyut Nation over. I think it was almost tripled the number of trips that went through Seyut and that was within the last couple years, which was a huge accomplishment and step forward with a recent change to the 8287. The other thing, our network and route design guidelines, they'll include some base coverage considerations that says regardless of how much density you have, if you have transit service you'll get this certain minimum level of service.

Speaker F · I think what the plan is really looking to do is as the region continues to grow, where are we prioritizing those further investments? The other thing I'll say is Central Sanchez actually has really quite good transit service frequency for the amount of population and density we see. And we also recently improved service on the 75 multiple times because we've been seeing pass ups and challenges sort of in the Keating area and Butchart. So over the last couple years we've added many trips to the 75 largely in peak periods. But yeah, yeah definitely seen some investments in Central Sanich in the last several years.

Speaker B · Councilor Graham.

Speaker K · I guess so Digital on demand. Do you mean as in wi fi on the bus or do you mean as in tracking the buses?

Speaker B · No, on demand would be an Uber type service where the bus a different show up would come to you. It would be different from the fixed route system that has typically been the model within the region. But on some I mean it could be an example right where it may be that certain time periods are better served by an on demand where an individual rider summons and the route dynamically changes on a day to day basis.

Speaker K · Okay, that actually ties into another one of my thoughts too because Waymo's coming quite a long ways and and especially for the smaller routes like the Brentwood Loop say out perhaps there's probably other examples where you could just have a Waymo vehicle coming back and forth at some point. I guess that would require provincial changes to accommodate that. But that would be then tie into the on demand aspect. I don't know if that's been.

Speaker B · I'm not sure on demand is anticipated to be autonomous necessarily at this stage. They're probably separate tiers for the purposes of this. It would be a smaller vehicle with

Speaker K · an operator an idea and I'm not sure how the app works. I haven't taken. Well that's not true but I haven't taken a public transit in a while. Is there like a bus? Is it currently tracking where the bus locations are and an estimated ETA then of when the bus will be there?

Speaker B · Yes, perfect.

Speaker K · That's what I figured. And the last thing that I that strikes that I hit on because it comes up all the time of people trying of the desire to lower speed limits to save lives. But the flip side is and I've heard is that is the and it's been identified as a concern tonight is just the time it takes public transit. The length and just the impact, I would assume, of lower speed limits on public transit would probably be potentially significant if everything's dropping from 50 to 40 or 30.

Speaker F · Yeah. So through the chair, we have seen some significant slowing of transit within the region over the last five to 10 years and we have seen a significant number of speed limits reduced across the whole region. Ultimately, safety is BC Transit's number one priority. But I think it is important to recognize that, you know, if we do reduce speed limits, that potentially has an impact to transit. So we are really looking forward to working with municipalities in the future to identify those opportunities where we can get transit moving a little more quickly while still balancing those community safety challenges that we're trying to address with reduced speed limits.

Speaker K · Since those statistics and that tracking has been occurring, it would be interesting to get actual cost impacts of what those numbers translate into

Speaker F · through the chair just really quickly. We've been seeing about 1. 5% degradation year over year for the last five years on average. So it adds up pretty quickly. And that's a compounding impact to operational cost every year.

Speaker B · Thank you, Councillor Riddle.

Speaker M · Thank you. And thank you very much for the presentation question through the chair to you. Something that I've observed and heard quite a bit anecdotally and in conversation, just speaking with folks that are working in local businesses in Sydney, in the Keating area and the airport, the hospital, like a lot of those folks are coming from the west shore is what I'm hearing. And so I'm curious, when we think about like they're driving, we can see the traffic patterns have shifted. So when we're thinking about getting bums out of seats, making our roads safer, reducing emissions, to me that does seem like a route we should probably try and figure out because often they're coming so early in the morning there's not even a way to get here in time for work.

Speaker M · So just curious, first if you've seen any data or gathered any information on that, and second, if you've put your mind to, if not a direct bus link, then an easy path with clear connectors that would make sense for, you know, a significant number of people coming out this way for work to choose that option.

Speaker M · Thanks.

Speaker F · So through the chair, we didn't clearly articulate it in this presentation, but one thing we are contemplating within the 25 year horizon is moving closer to a 24 hour service span. We know there's certain major employers such as YYJ that currently have shifts starting at 3:00am, 4:00am we may not be able to serve them all, but I think over a 25 year time horizon we can look at opportunities to improve access to ensure we're covering more opportunities for people to travel. A transit system that does everything for everyone, doesn't serve anybody. And so we have to make some really challenging trade offs and decisions about how we connect the network.

Speaker F · And so I think right now the concept we've got is the Uptown Mobility hub is a key project we're working towards and that becomes this centralized node where there's more frequent service connecting to the West Shore and then also up to the peninsula. And so the hope is once that exchange is constructed and we continue investing in service frequency and the improvements that we've identified there, that those connections become easier, more frequent and it becomes more convenient for more people to take transit in the future. So thank you for your question and we're building towards it.

Speaker B · Thank you, Councillor Peltiel.

Speaker F · Thank you.

Speaker J · Initially, I guess I'm curious when you're talking about municipalities like central Saanich and just noting the fact that we have a majority of the land base that is highly rural and then some very well contained areas in Brentwood, Sanichton and the Keating area, like when you say we're well served relative to our density, is that on average across the span of the municipality where our density is less than 500 people per square kilometer, or are you taking into account that if you took the population of Sanichton Village and Brentwood Bay Village, we would actually have a larger population than the town of Sydney?

Speaker F · Yeah, it's a great question through the chair. I think when you look at the average density of the corridors we serve within the central Saanich area, there is a very high level of transit service frequency. There are a lot of ways to look at this, of course. And I will also say that there are certain key destinations like Butchart that really pushes up ridership beyond what the population density currently generates. And so because of some of these special anchors within the community with extra travel demand, we're able to provide more service than we generally would for communities with the density on average that Central Saanish has.

Speaker F · That's not to say that we're not planning to further improve service, but just sort of with the current sort of density average density we see in comparison to other parts of the region, there's quite a bit of service frequency. If you look at it from a service frequency to average density perspective.

Speaker J · Yeah, I guess just when I look at like how housing and job growth somewhere, again I'll just pick on Sydney for a second because why not? Like, I'm seeing quite a bit of like, you know, regional transit hub investment and infrastructure and other things there that we're not necessarily seeing in places like the, you know, Sanichin Exchange or you know, along West Sanich and Wallace and Brentwood. So I'm just curious, in addition to the transit piece, the infrastructure investment, like with the growth projections that we're looking at as a municipality, is that something that can be expected as part of this plan?

Speaker F · Yeah, great question through the chair. The Peninsula Local Area plan that we did back in 2022 did identify some investments at the Sanichton Exchange. We have made some minor improvements to the exchange. In the short term I think there's an operator washroom and I believe there has been a, a new shelter installed at one of them, one of the stops. But yeah, there's more, more work to be done for sure.

Speaker J · And then one of the questions I have like, as far as, like, you know, noting that the 70 and the 72 and 71, that I think goes through Central Sanit, but doesn't actually physically stop in Central Saanich right now. I did a few years ago and like, this is actually when I initially first got on council, I actually chatted to the Underwood family who owns the CP property at the base of the pedestrian overpass at Mount Newton and the TransCanada Highway. And you know, it's the property with the white spot on it and the boulevard of that property as its cp and then eventually Ministry of Transportation land.

Speaker J · There was an interest in further paving of that area to create a park and ride and then take advantage of the pedestrian overpass and everything. And I'm just curious, with the investment in those transit stops along the highway, is there a potential to actually see investment in a park and ride in the District?

Speaker F · Yeah, great question through the chair didn't actually include it, but I should have. The plan will be identifying the need for additional park and ride space on the Peninsula. There's a couple potential locations that have been earmarked previously that we'll be carrying for forward. I think one is around the say Word intersection. I know at one point we'd been looking kind of at the Island View and the Mountain Newton areas. And so I think once again we would love to continue conversations if there's land or other opportunities to pursue for, for park and ride capacity. We know we need more. It's a real challenge when you serve low density areas like the, the Peninsula more broadly.

Speaker F · And we need to create those opportunities to make it easier, easy for people to access the higher frequency service where it's where we're seeing more ridership and park and rides are a great way to help facilitate that.

Speaker J · Thank you. Appreciate you being here and for that answer and commitment. Hopefully in the short term, I'd just add that I went to a CRD function last week talking about this transit service that they're contemplating. And I just, I guess as one member, I just sincerely hope that we continue focusing investment directly into transit through municipal support, regional support or public private partnerships. And I just, you know, they kept referencing Translink as something that is desirable for us to emulate. And I just, I could not be more against that. So I really hope that we can continue to directly work with transit and directly see meaningful investments in our neighborhoods. Thank you.

Speaker B · I didn't ask him to say that, but he's right. All right, I think that is all the speakers. So thank you again for taking the time to come to present this evening. All right, Council, We are moving on to item 11. 1. This is an opportunity to be heard. Item 1111 with respect to 8055 Thompson Place. It's a development variant permit and it's going to be introduced by our community planner. And I understand the applicant is available as well for questions, so please take it away.

Speaker G · Thank you very much. The district has received a development variance permit application for 8055 Thompson Place. The property contains a single detached dwelling in an existing detached accessory dwelling unit located above a workshop and storage area. The applicant is seeking a variance to increase the permitted habitable floor area of the detachment accessory dwelling unit from 90 square meters to 122 square meters. The proposal involves converting approximately 20 square meters of existing storage space into habitable living space, constructing an enclosed staircase to provide interior access between the upper and lower levels, and making a minor addition to the building footprint associated with the staircase. The detached accessory dwelling unit was originally constructed at the same time as the principal dwelling to support multi generational living.

Speaker G · The applicant is advised that the proposed changes are intended to better accommodate a family member with accessibility needs by providing additional living space and accessibility improvements within the dwelling. As the mayor mentioned. The applicant is in attendance and is happy to answer any questions.

Speaker B · Okay, thank you. I'll look to members of council. Councillor Graham, it's not really a question

Speaker K · of the applicant, but the 90 square meters has been something that used to be.

Speaker F · I think it used to be.

Speaker K · Was it. Isn't it like a provincial standard? Isn't There a reason why that 90 square meters is so common in so many different.

Speaker B · So it was in the building code for secondary suites. And as I understand, the ALC, when they created the ADU designation, applied that 90 square meters. It was subsequently removed from the building code for secondary suites, but it stayed on as the alc and then we copied it, as I recall, for rural lands. But I'll look to staff just to confirm that that's where the 90 square meter sort of flowed through from.

Speaker D · Yeah.

Speaker F · Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Speaker B · Yes, that is correct.

Speaker K · The ALC has a limit of 90

Speaker A · square meters for their detached accessory dwelling unit. So we apply that to our rural lands as well.

Speaker F · Just recognizing that it is secondary to the principal dwelling.

Speaker K · Yeah. Okay. And then it was in the building permit for related to secondary. Okay, that's fine then. Thank you.

Speaker B · Yeah. Any other questions? There is a recommendation that Development firm variance permit PL001935 for 8055 Thompson Place.

Speaker C · Have we done the call for participation from the gallery?

Speaker B · That's a good point.

Speaker C · Thank you.

Speaker B · It is an opportunity to be heard. I apologize if the. There is anyone in the gallery who wishes to come forward to address the matter of the development variance permit calling for a second time. A third time. Okay, so moved. Moved.

Speaker C · Thank you.

Speaker B · Seconded. Thank you. Any further discussion on the matter, Councillor Peltier?

Speaker J · Yeah. I'd just add that in my experience over the last decade or so, I think that the applicant and their family have been, you know, tremendous stewards of this property in the area above and beyond many times. And so I'm happy to support the recommendation.

Speaker B · Okay. I'll put the question. Any opposed? None. The motion carries. Item 13. 3, council member reports. If there are any seeing. None. We'll move on to item 14. 1. District of Central Saanich 2025 annual report to be introduced by our CAO.

Speaker L · Good evening, Mayor and council. It is my pleasure to present the District of Central Saanich's 2025 annual report.

Speaker G · The.

Speaker L · The annual report is much more than a legislative requirement under the community charter. It is our opportunity to demonstrate accountability to our community by reporting on our performance, our financial stewardship and the progress we've made toward achieving council strategic priorities. 2025 was a year of implementation. Council had established a clear strategic direction and our focus shifted from planning to delivering across the organization staff work to balance the day to day delivery of municipal services while advancing significant strategic initiatives that will benefit our community for years to come.

Speaker L · The report demonstrates progress across each of council's strategic priorities. From infrastructure renewal and active transportation to housing accessibility, environmental stewardship, public safety and organizational effectiveness. While many accomplishments are visible in our community, some of the most important work occurred behind the scenes. Throughout the year, we continued strengthening our integrated planning and reporting framework, bringing together strategic planning, financial planning, asset management, workforce planning and service delivery into a single coordinated approach. This work isn't always visible, but it strengthens decision making, improves accountability, accountability and ensure we are planning not only for today, but for the long term. One of the defining themes of 2025 was investment.

Speaker L · The District continued to renew and replace critical infrastructure while making improvements that enhance safety, accessibility, recreation, transportation and environmental sustainability. These investments are guided by our asset management plan and long term financial planning, ensuring that decision decisions are made strategically rather than reactively. Equally important were the partnerships that helped deliver these outcomes. We continued to strengthen relationships with the Wassainich nations, neighboring municipalities, the Capital, regional District, senior governments, community organizations, volunteers and residents. These partnerships allow us to achieve more together than any one organization could accomplish alone. I'd also like to acknowledge that residents have experienced property tax increases over the past several years. We recognize that every increase has an impact on households and Council has worked diligently to balance affordability with maintaining the services and infrastructure our community relies on.

Speaker L · Like municipalities across British Columbia and Canada, Central Saanich is facing the reality that much of the infrastructure built decades ago is reaching the end of its useful life. Roads, water and sewer systems, parks, facilities and public safety infrastructure all require ongoing renewal. Increasingly, local governments are investing not to expand services, but to replace aging assets and maintain the service levels our communities expect. Council has taken a disciplined approach through long term financial planning, asset management, reserve contributions and securing external grant funding wherever possible. These investments help reduce future costs, protect community assets and ensure our infrastructure remains reliable for future generations. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without our employees. Every project completed, every service delivered and every challenge addressed reflects the professionalism, expertise and dedication of staff across the organization.

Speaker L · I would also like to thank Mayor and Council for your leadership and commitment to long term decision making. Your strategic direction provides the foundation that allows our organization to plan with confidence and deliver meaningful results for our community. As we look back on 2025, I believe the report demonstrates an organization that is financially responsible, forward looking and committed to continuous improvement. I respectfully present the 2025 Annual Report for Council's consideration.

Speaker B · Thank you. Any questions? The next item very closely linked, the 2025 Statement of Financial Information does call for a motion. There's an opportunity for questions, I guess on an interrelated basis. So if there are any otherwise I will simply move to item 14. 2 and look for the recommendation that the District of Central Saniches 2025 Statement of Financial Information be approved.

Speaker K · So moved.

Speaker B · Thank you. Moved and seconded. Any further discussion on the matter? I'll call the question and look for those in opposition. None are opposed. The motion carries. Item 14. 3 is a report on the 2025 Community Service Agreement.

Speaker B · Our corporate officer is available for questions. The report is for information. If there are any questions on this item. Seeing none, I will move to item 14. 4. The CRD Zero Waste Events Grant Application to be introduced by our communications and engagement specialist for climate

Speaker C · through Meredith Council. The 75th anniversary is a unique opportunity for the district to be the host of a community wide event. I'll keep this short and sweet in line with the strategic priorities. We aim to demonstrate climate leadership to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And for this event what that looks like is focusing on on transportation and waste which together are responsible for roughly 3/4 of emissions in the community. The event budget already factored in sustainable options for transportation. So that includes a free BC Transit shuttle to hop on and hop off all day between the event, Stelli's parking lot, library parking lot and the Sanderson Bus Exchange.

Speaker C · As well as a secure bike locker for up to 350 bikes and a marked route through Centennial Park. So we're really, really pleased to have applied for and received the CRD Zero Waste Events grant to implement our plan on the other side of things for waste reduction and diversion at no added cost to residents. This is a great opportunity to pilot strategies that have diverted up to 97% of waste away from the landfill at large scale events in other communities to share what works with local event organizers in Central Saanich and to inform future district events. Thank you.

Speaker B · Thank you very much. There is an opportunity for questions if there are any. Councillor King.

Speaker H · Not a question, just appreciation and yeah,

Speaker B · thank you very much. Did you want. Did somebody want to move the recommendation? Moved. Seconded. Thank you. Any discussion on the recommendation? Seeing none. Any opposed? None are opposed. The motion carries. Thank you again. Item 15. 11, the zoning bylaw update. Bylaw number 2270 and our community planner is going to introduce the item.

Speaker G · Hello everyone. I'm here to provide a brief summary of the engagement process and the work undertaken on the Zoning Bylaw update. Staff undertook comprehensive multi channel engagement to ensure broad input, transparency, transparency and ongoing dialogue throughout the project. This included multiple check ins with council which provided regular updates and opportunities for direction at key milestones. In addition, a committee of the whole meeting was held so Council could hear directly from the public on the proposed changes. Four public open houses were held over two engagement phases, providing in person opportunities for residents and interest holders to learn about the project, ask questions and provide feedback directly to staff.

Speaker G · An online comment form was also made available throughout the engagement process process, allowing participants to provide feedback at their convenience and ensuring accessibility for those who are unable to attend in person. Staff also conducted direct outreach to affected property owners, including rural landowners and those whose properties were subject to proposed zoning changes. This ensured that those directly impacted had targeted opportunities for discussion. Engagement further included referrals to the Peninsula and Area Agricultural Advisory Committee which provided input focused on activity, agricultural impacts and land use compatibility. The project was also reviewed three separate times by the Advisory Planning Commission which provided technical and planning focused feedback to support Council's decision making process. APC at their last meeting made a motion supporting the proposed zoning bylaw.

Speaker G · Turning to the proposed zoning bylaw changes, the next slides summarize key updates. In the general regulations section, new provisions are proposed for shipping containers and floodpain plain areas along with minor administrative updates to the definitions and agricultural zones for commercial zones, setbacks have been refined to better align with best practices from the Sanderson Village design plan. A new intensive commercial zone has been introduced to help bridge the gap between commercial and industrial uses in Keating and short term rental accommodation and hotels have been separated into distinct uses for greater clarity in industrial zones, the Gateway Park Comprehensive Development Zone is proposed to be integrated into the broader light industrial zone with daycare added as a permitted use.

Speaker G · Density is also proposed to increase slightly to align with increased building heights previously approved by Council in 2025. In the institutional zones, density and height creases are proposed to support Fire hall number one within the general institutional designation to support efforts to streamline the overall number of institutional zones in residential zones. The Update reintroduces the R1 excess zone to support single detached homes and duplexes on smaller lots. Building size regulations in the RN and the RC zones have been better refined based on experience gained through implementation of the small scale multi unit housing legislation. In addition, SIX's existing multi family residential zones are consolidated into three streamlined zones to improve clarity and usability for rural zones. The six existing zones are being streamlined into three aligned with the official community plan.

Speaker G · A 25% agricultural lot coverage limit is proposed in the rural forest and rural shoreline zones and principal dwelling size is limited to 500 square meters in the rural agriculture and Rural forest zones. Proportional lot coverage standards are also introduced across all rural zones based on parcel size. Finally, there are no major changes to the proposed water zones in terms of next steps. Should council give first and second reading to the bylaw? The next step in the process will be a public hearing. Thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Speaker B · Thank you. Are there any questions? Otherwise I'll look for first reading of bylaw 2270. Please. Moved and seconded. Thank you. Any opposed? None carried. I'll look for second reading and referral to a public hearing. Please.

Speaker C · Please.

Speaker B · Moved. Thank you. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? Any opposed? None carried. Okay. 15:12 is the heat pump financing program Local area Service bylaw number 20 and there's a recommendation. Thank you. I'll take the whole thing is moved the recommendations 1 and 2. Is there a seconder? Thank you. Any discussion? Any opposed? None carried. 1513 is the Heat Pump Financing Program LAS Bylaw 22722026 for adoption and a seconder.

Speaker H · Thank you.

Speaker B · Any discussion? Any opposed? None carried. 1521 is 559 Sinenus Drive rezoning text amendment for lot coverage and our community planner is available for questions. Otherwise there is a recommendation for adoption of the bylaw. Moved. Seconded. Thank you.

Speaker B · Any further discussion? Councillor King? Just moving.

Speaker H · Going from 5 to 15% coverage seems a lot.

Speaker B · A lot of it's a big change. Pardon staff, can you comment on the

Speaker G · overall scale just through the chair? The the parcel is a bit of an anomaly within the district. It is significantly smaller than the rural lot surrounding it. So I don't anticipate this would be a common occurrence. It's just for this specific property.

Speaker B · Okay. With that I'll call the question. Any opposed? None carried. New business item for next meeting calendar meetings for information, items of correspondence if anyone wishes to bring forward. Councillor Riddle.

Speaker M · Thank you very much. So through you to staff. 18. 2. So there's a request to consider a crosswalk at Benvenuto and while drive and I can't believe it but I don't think that that one's come forward that I've seen. So I'm just curious if staff have considered that at any point and if you have any comments on that request if this is going to go to the traffic safety committee or not.

Speaker K · Thank you. So this will be going to the traffic safety committee. We do actually have a quite a long list of crosswalk requests and we can only carry out so many years.

Speaker F · We do have a prioritized list that we're trying to work through.

Speaker K · We take this into account and we see how it fits in with our priority list. And we'll fit it in where we

Speaker F · feel it meets there. And we'll get back to the letter writer on it.

Speaker B · Okay. Any other items of correspondence. Otherwise, I'll accept a motion to adjourn. Is there a seconder? Thank you. Any opposed? None. Motion to adjourn is carried. We are adjourned. Thank you all.