Council advanced Sooke’s short-term rental rule changes to a third reading, despite sharp disagreement over restricting bed-and-breakfast and short-term rental businesses on the same property. It approved a duplex near the shore at 6507 Water Street, but refused to waive the applicant’s road-frontage costs; a nearby resident had raised concerns about slope stability, flooding and archaeological finds. Public comments also put the proposed Through Road Connector under pressure, with speakers split between wanting the road built and fearing the proposed design would cost about $50 million and damage Art Morris Park. Council awarded the municipal hall roof contract for $234,754, approved $1,000 for the music and arts festival, and passed two zoning bylaws, while the transcript’s account of the Catalyst tax-exemption decision does not match the official motions list.
Generated from the recording's captions and the official minutes.
Council adopted the agenda as presented.
Routine: approve the agenda for this meeting as presented.
Staff described proposed zoning rules intended to clarify how short-term rentals work and align them with provincial rules. A host could rent up to two dwelling units, with at least one being the host’s principal residence; the host would not have to stay on site, and the maximum consecutive stay would rise from 30 to 90 days. The bylaw would also bar a bed and breakfast and a short-term rental from operating at the same time on one property. Staff said this would prevent multiple commercial accommodation uses from accumulating on residential parcels. Two members of the public spoke: a local operator said the change could threaten a long-running business that combines both uses, and another speaker questioned the fairness of the rules and asked council to pause for more research.
The official motions list records adoption of the July 13 regular meeting minutes and the July 20 Committee of the Whole and special meeting minutes. This decision is not captured in the transcript.
Routine: adopt the minutes of the July 13 Regular meeting and the July 20 Committee of the Whole and Special meetings.
Thirteen members of the public spoke. Several objected to a proposed $50 million Through Road Connector design they said could reduce space at Art Morris Park, and advocated for a narrower or less costly road that would preserve the fields. Others supported building a connector but asked council to protect the park; one speaker proposed an alternative design estimated at $15 million, including a two-lane road, centre turn lane, sidewalk and bike lane within a 20-metre right-of-way. A resident raised slope, flood, shoreline and archaeological concerns about the 6507 Water Street proposal; the applicant asked council to reconsider the $107,000 frontage cost. Two speakers opposed a permissive tax exemption for Catalyst, questioning its effect on homeowners and whether the medical centre depended on it. A speaker also urged council to seek alternatives to rising E-Comm 911 costs, and the Fred Mill Park Society president defended its rental-rate increases as necessary to maintain the facility.
Council dealt with the consent agenda after members pulled some correspondence for separate handling. The official motions list records adoption by consent of correspondence, the Chief Administrative Officer’s report and the E-Comm 911 update.
Routine: approve the correspondence, the CAO's report, and the E-Comm 911 update through the consent agenda.
Several correspondence items were pulled from the consent agenda, including letters about the Through Road Connector, the short-term rental bylaw and an engineering safety matter. The official motions list records receipt of the specified correspondence for information.
Set aside the listed letters and petition so Council can discuss them at a future regular meeting, and receive the other correspondence from July 8 to 22 for information.
In an update on the Phillips Road connector project, the Chief Administrative Officer said the tender had closed and work was expected to become more visible around September, after a slight delay. The province was expected to provide more information about timing and any road closures; staff said it had discussed school access and advance communication with the school district. Public comments during the question period focused on a different proposed connector, the Through Road Connector, with residents debating its cost, right-of-way and effect on Art Morris Park. Council received the report for information; the transcript shows no decision on either road design.
Routine: receive the Chief Administrative Officer's report for information.
Council received the E-Comm 911 update for information and directed staff to draft a letter to the local Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly about the cost impact on Sooke. A member of the public urged council to examine alternatives and push back against projected cost increases.
Routine: the Committee of the Whole recommended that Council receive the E-Comm 911 report for information.
Council considered four bids for the municipal hall roof and siding work; only Regal Roofing Ltd.’s bid met the requirements. Staff recommended awarding the contract for $234,754, excluding goods and services tax. Councillors questioned the cost and raised concerns that local contractors had not been adequately alerted to the tender. Staff said public purchasing rules required an open bid for construction contracts above $100,000 and local preference could create legal risks. The motion passed, with three votes in favour and two against.
Hire Regal Roofing Ltd. to replace the municipal hall roof for $234,754 plus GST.
Council approved permits and a floodplain setback exemption for a duplex and deck at 6507 Water Street. The proposal reduces the sea setback from 15 metres to 3.09 metres for the dwelling and 1.2 metres for the deck. Approval is subject to a registered covenant securing a 3.62-metre flood construction elevation and compliance with geotechnical recommendations and hazard acknowledgements. Council first rescinded an earlier approval made before required notice was complete. It then denied the request to waive frontage improvements, which the applicant said would cost about $107,000. Staff said the applicant could proceed with the other approvals but would remain responsible for the frontage requirement. One nearby resident had spoken during public comment about slope stability, flood and shoreline risks, and possible archaeological finds; the applicant spoke during council’s discussion about the cost and delay.
Withdraw Council's earlier approval of this development application because the required variance-notice process had not been completed.
Approve a duplex and deck at 6507 Water Street, allow them to be closer to the shoreline than the usual setback, and grant a floodplain setback exemption. The exemption is conditional on registering a covenant that secures the required flood construction level, geotechnical recommendations, and flood-hazard protections.
Require the developer to meet the required road-frontage improvements rather than granting an exemption from them.
Council authorized Sooke Food CHI Society to hold a Harvest Festival and Market at Sunriver Community Garden and Orchard, 2380 Phillips Road, on September 20, 2026. It also waived the society’s administrative fee, commercial-use permit fee and deposit, as it had done in previous years.
Allow Sooke Food CHI Society to hold its Harvest Festival and Market at the Sunriver Community Garden and Orchard on September 20, 2026, and waive the event's administrative fee, permit fee, and deposit.
Council approved a $1,000 sponsorship for the 2026 Sooke Music and Arts Festival. Councillors described community-wide festivals as a good use of sponsorship funds. Staff said a regional tourism committee may later consider how event grants are handled; the current sponsorship budget had $1,362 remaining.
Give the Sooke Music and Arts Festival $1,000 in sponsorship for its 2026 event.
Staff said work on a replacement wastewater bylaw was taking longer than expected because they and a consultant were still trying to build a fair funding model. The model may shift away from a parcel tax and rely entirely on user fees; staff expected to return with a proposal in September. The current $625 parcel tax is tied to a bylaw that ends when the associated debt is paid, so a new bylaw is needed.
Routine: receive the wastewater bylaw update for information.
Council gave the short-term rental bylaw third reading, the last vote before adoption. Councillors discussed the ban on operating a bed and breakfast and short-term rental on the same property. Staff said it was intended to prevent accommodation uses from becoming the main commercial use of residential properties, while the bylaw also clarifies rules and aligns much of the framework with provincial legislation. Staff confirmed the one identified existing combined operation would be legally non-conforming and could continue if it maintained its business licence. The vote passed, with two councillors opposed.
Give the proposed short-term rental rule changes a third reading, advancing the bylaw that updates how Sooke regulates short-term rentals.
Council gave first, second and third readings to a change clarifying housing and accessory-suite rules in the rural RU2 zone. Staff said the amendment fixes ambiguity created by 2025 small-scale, multi-unit housing changes, which could otherwise be read to allow each permitted single-family dwelling to have both a secondary suite and a detached suite.
Give three readings to zoning changes that clarify how many homes and accessory suites are allowed in the RU2 rural zone.
Council discussed a permissive tax exemption for the Catalyst development, including below-market housing units and a planned medical centre. Councillors supporting the bylaw described the exemption as time-limited support for non-profit housing; one noted that the exemption would be phased out by 2030. The public had questioned whether the exemption was needed and whether it would shift costs onto homeowners. The transcript records a unanimous vote after a motion to adopt the bylaw, but the official motions list instead records a motion to receive the application and a separate motion for first, second and third readings of an amended bylaw. The transcript does not capture those official motions as worded.
Routine: receive Catalyst's tax-exemption application for information.
Give three readings to the tax-exemption bylaw, amended so that the exemption for 30% of the property's residential portion phases out by 2030. Staff must publish the required notice before Council considers adopting the bylaw.
Council closed the meeting to the public to receive advice subject to solicitor-client privilege. The official motions list records the motion as carried, but the transcript does not capture a result declaration.
Routine: close the public meeting at 8:26 p.m. so Council can receive advice protected by solicitor-client privilege.
All 18 decisions from the minutes appear under the agenda items above.