Council approved a set of changes to guide future updates to its Procedure Bylaw, received the draft 2025 annual report and authorized a gaming-grant support letter. The most contested issue was whether to ask the Agricultural Land Commission to remove 8.16 hectares of Colwood Creek Park from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), so the City could add park features such as washrooms, benches and fencing; many hearing speakers feared added costs, safety problems and weaker protection against future development. Council discussed sending the application forward and adding a restrictive covenant to protect park use, but the meeting was disrupted and adjourned before that proposal was decided. The hearing record included five written submissions—three opposed and two in favour—and the ALR application’s next step remains unresolved in this meeting.
Generated from the recording's captions and the official minutes.
Council released a resolution approving ratification of a tentative collective agreement between the City of Colwood and CUPE 374. The agreement covers January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027.
At the public hearing, staff described a city application to remove about 8.16 hectares of the park from the ALR while leaving 1.76 hectares in it. Staff said the existing ALR designation limits new park infrastructure, including features in the park management plan, and reported an assessment finding low to very low agricultural potential because of stoniness, poor drainage and periodic flooding. Staff said the application would not itself change the park’s Official Community Plan designation or zoning, and recommended surveying and formally dedicating the remaining fee-simple parcel as parkland. Speakers raised concerns about washroom vandalism, security, costs, impacts on nearby homes and the risk of future development; others said the land was not suitable for farming and that park improvements were needed. Many speakers called for the creek and pond to be fenced to protect wildlife, and for simple amenities such as benches and tables. The hearing closed without a Council decision.
Council approved a package of recommendations for modernizing its procedure rules. The changes direct staff to review and simplify the bylaw, provide a redlined draft at least two weeks before Council considers it, distribute full Council and committee agendas by Wednesday before meetings, and place unanimous committee recommendations on Council’s consent agenda. They also set speaking limits, provide for 30 minutes of public participation at the start of meetings, require public submissions to be published in searchable form with personal information removed, limit submissions to one per person per meeting, and establish notice-of-motion and workshop rules.
Ask staff to review and propose updates to the rules for Council and committee meetings, aiming to make them clearer, more accessible, and up to date. Staff must give Council a version showing the proposed changes at least two weeks before Council considers the bylaw.
Set a deadline for distributing complete Council, Committee of the Whole, and Select or Standing Committee agenda packages: by the end of the Wednesday before each meeting.
Put recommendations that committees approve unanimously on Council’s consent agenda, where they can be handled together.
Set speaking rules for Council motions: members may speak twice for up to five minutes each, and may also ask questions or comment for up to five minutes before a motion. The member who first brought forward a substantive motion may have a final chance to respond to objections before the vote, even if they have used their speaking time.
Provide 30 minutes for public participation at the start of a meeting, with the option to extend it. Give each speaker three minutes, with up to two extra minutes if the Chair agrees, and offer public participation at the start of each agenda item.
Accept public submissions in writing, send them to Council when received, and publish them in a searchable format with the relevant meeting materials. Personal information would be removed before publication.
Limit each person to one written submission per meeting.
Add a period at the end of regular Council meetings for members to give notice of motions they want considered at the next meeting, with an option for emergency motions. Also bring back a long-term agenda, or a similar tool, to show upcoming Council business, and clarify that giving notice does not prevent a member from making a motion on an item already on the agenda.
Include workshop rules in the Procedure Bylaw: workshops would not make decisions or require a quorum, and there would be no direction about including or excluding notes, tables, or input. The place, time, and topic should be posted; if a workshop is closed to the public, its date, time, and general topic should still be posted.
Council received the draft annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025. The item was part of the consent agenda; the transcript contains no separate discussion of its contents.
Routine: receive the draft annual report for the year ending December 31, 2025.
Council authorized the Mayor to provide Relmagine West Shore with a letter of support for its 2027 Community Gaming Grant application. The item was carried on the consent agenda without separate discussion in the transcript.
Authorize the Mayor to write a letter supporting Relmagine West Shore’s application for a 2027 Community Gaming Grant.
Council debated whether to forward the partial exclusion application to the Agricultural Land Commission and direct staff to survey and formally dedicate the fee-simple parcel as parkland. Councillors and staff discussed the limits imposed by the ALR, the legal protections for dedicated parkland, and residents’ concerns about future development. A councillor proposed adding staff work on a restrictive covenant to protect park uses and changing a proposed referral to the Parks and Recreation Committee so the matter would return directly to Council. The discussion was interrupted before the proposed motion and amendment were put to a vote. The meeting was adjourned, so the transcript shows no decision on the application.
Routine: adopt the agenda for the June 22 Council meeting and Public Hearing as presented.
Routine: approve the June 8 Council minutes and receive the April 20 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee minutes for information.
Routine: adjourn the meeting at 8:27 pm.