{"videoId":"https://video.isilive.ca/victoria/Compact%20Encoder%201349_COTW_2026-10-01-12-04.mp4","source":"isilive_vtt","segments":[{"t":4,"text":"Councillor Coleman is way today, and so he is unable"},{"t":6,"text":"to join us. Today we have for consideration at committee"},{"t":10,"text":"a presentation. To land use matters and one item of"},{"t":14,"text":"new business. But of course, before we begin, we always"},{"t":18,"text":"like to take a moment to groan to ourselves in"},{"t":21,"text":"a recognition and expression of gratitude to the two nations"},{"t":24,"text":"on whose territories are city sits in its entirety. The"},{"t":27,"text":"Songs Nation and the GoSepsum Nation. It is well known"},{"t":31,"text":"to everyone, I think, who's been here in the City"},{"t":33,"text":"of the Extraordinary event that took place yesterday on September"},{"t":36,"text":"30th on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and"},{"t":39,"text":"the Powell that occurred at Royal Athletic Park with the"},{"t":43,"text":"support of the City of Victoria and other municipalities. And"},{"t":46,"text":"I think the thousands of people who showed up during"},{"t":48,"text":"the day yesterday indicate growing awareness of the importance of"},{"t":53,"text":"building relationships with the nations from a municipal government perspective,"},{"t":57,"text":"but also on a personal and an individual perspective as"},{"t":60,"text":"well. It's certainly throughout the day. There were so many"},{"t":63,"text":"different opportunities to learn and reflect and enjoy a variety"},{"t":67,"text":"of different offerings. It really was quite extraordinary. And another"},{"t":73,"text":"example of how important it is for all of us"},{"t":76,"text":"who have the ability to be partners and to look"},{"t":81,"text":"for those opportunities to build an understanding a common understanding"},{"t":86,"text":"of how useful, important. And I guess rewarding it is"},{"t":89,"text":"as kind of a funny way to say it for"},{"t":91,"text":"all of us to navigate whatever we can in creating"},{"t":94,"text":"relationships with the nations wherever we are. With that extraordinary"},{"t":99,"text":"example of what we can do together, it's important for"},{"t":103,"text":"us to start our meetings as we do every time."},{"t":106,"text":"Just acknowledging the stewardship of the two - nation's in"},{"t":108,"text":"particular on whose territories we sit and to note that"},{"t":112,"text":"our relationship as a city with COSOPSum and Song. He's"},{"t":116,"text":"in the La Quanten people in general has become very"},{"t":118,"text":"rich, very nuanced, and we appreciate the fact that they"},{"t":122,"text":"continue to be willing to work with us in so"},{"t":124,"text":"many different ways looking at different programs and projects and"},{"t":127,"text":"opportunities that we hope will benefit all of those of"},{"t":130,"text":"us who have the privilege of living here in these"},{"t":132,"text":"territories. And so as we always do, we like to"},{"t":135,"text":"say thank you and express our gratitude and respect by"},{"t":137,"text":"saying hi tricky CM or Archicasiem Nikhilia, which is the"},{"t":140,"text":"simplest terms to use, which most of us now know"},{"t":142,"text":"how to say just as to say thank you. And"},{"t":146,"text":"I honour all of those who are listening, who are"},{"t":147,"text":"here today, not just in this chamber, but throughout the"},{"t":150,"text":"city who take a moment each day to do one"},{"t":152,"text":"simple act that perhaps will change the life of someone"},{"t":155,"text":"a little bit more for the better. I should guess"},{"t":157,"text":"you have an Aquilia. I would just note actually, briefly"},{"t":164,"text":"not charge your mark so much, it's just a note"},{"t":166,"text":"that today is October 1st is the beginning of small"},{"t":168,"text":"business month. And so we always have an opportunity to"},{"t":172,"text":"take a moment just to acknowledge how critical is the"},{"t":174,"text":"impact of our small businesses in Victoria. We have really"},{"t":177,"text":"an amazing array of unique small businesses, which are one"},{"t":180,"text":"of the things that attract people to visit us. And"},{"t":182,"text":"one of the ways that we have well - paying"},{"t":185,"text":"and family supporting jobs for all of our residents here,"},{"t":188,"text":"many of our residents here. And so we do a"},{"t":190,"text":"proclamation at the beginning of that month, every year. We've"},{"t":192,"text":"done so again this month, and I would urge all"},{"t":194,"text":"of our folks who are here either as residents or"},{"t":198,"text":"visitors to make sure that they take the time to"},{"t":200,"text":"grow out and interact with and support and patronize all"},{"t":204,"text":"of the amazing small businesses that exist here in the"},{"t":206,"text":"City of Victoria. I'm not aware of any late items"},{"t":210,"text":"that need to be add to committee today. And so"},{"t":212,"text":"I would look then for someone to move approval of"},{"t":214,"text":"the published agenda. Thanks Councillor Loughton. Second did by Councillor"},{"t":219,"text":"Kim. Any comment on the public agenda. Let's go ahead,"},{"t":223,"text":"Councillor. Thank you. On July 30th, I asked for a"},{"t":227,"text":"list of organisations charged with attempting to get people on"},{"t":231,"text":"the streets and in our park support or supportive housing"},{"t":235,"text":"and organisations funded to monitor those on the streets or"},{"t":239,"text":"other organisations, which have been delegated the task of relationship"},{"t":242,"text":"building with those on the streets and in our parks."},{"t":245,"text":"And I asked for the amount of receive grant or"},{"t":248,"text":"contract funding by year for 2024 - 2025 and January"},{"t":252,"text":"up to June, 2026. And I was told this information"},{"t":255,"text":"would be provided with the September 3rd report. On September"},{"t":259,"text":"3rd, I once again posed a question, was told that"},{"t":262,"text":"the information would be presented on October 1st. Today, but"},{"t":266,"text":"I don't see it on the agenda. I guess I"},{"t":269,"text":"would have to look to Mr. Rantucci. I believe that's"},{"t":272,"text":"intended to be part of the community safety well -"},{"t":274,"text":"being update next week, which would be the last regular"},{"t":278,"text":"public update of this term. Is that correct, Mr. Renticci."},{"t":282,"text":"Through the mayor, that's correct. That's correct. So that will"},{"t":286,"text":"be on next week's agenda. Great. Thank you very much."},{"t":287,"text":"Thank you. Anything else on the published agenda. Not seeing"},{"t":292,"text":"anything else, solo's in favor. Anyone opposed? That is unanimous."},{"t":297,"text":"Thank you very much for that. There were two items"},{"t":299,"text":"proposed for the consented agenda, item G2, the request to"},{"t":304,"text":"discharge a statutory right away in covenant for the property"},{"t":306,"text":"at 1050, 1050 Pandora Avenue. And item H1, the appointment"},{"t":312,"text":"of a licensed inspector. Would anyone like to remove either"},{"t":315,"text":"of these or add anything else? Not seeing any of"},{"t":320,"text":"that. It's someone like to move the consent agenda. Thanks"},{"t":322,"text":"Councillor Kim, something about Councillor Thompson, all those in favor."},{"t":326,"text":"And I want to pose. That is unanimous. Thank you"},{"t":329,"text":"for that. That takes us up to our presentations. Item"},{"t":332,"text":"F, and I believe we have both, our manager accounting,"},{"t":337,"text":"and our external auditor present today. I'm wondering if both"},{"t":341,"text":"of those folks would like to come up to the"},{"t":343,"text":"centre table for any questions and presentations that they have."},{"t":347,"text":"I believe that is Mr. Lynn and Mr. Sabo. Lovely"},{"t":350,"text":"to see you in person, Mr. Savo. You should be"},{"t":352,"text":"having you in a little tiny screen. Once you're settled,"},{"t":357,"text":"over to you. I think it's just me. Okay? All"},{"t":363,"text":"right. Mr. Lin, but that's fine. Let me just get."},{"t":366,"text":"Now if I recall correctly, this presentation is simply for"},{"t":368,"text":"information. There is no decisions here, correct? It is. Over"},{"t":373,"text":"to you then. And thank you very much for the"},{"t":374,"text":"opportunity to present. It's the planning report in respect of"},{"t":381,"text":"the audit. So it's nothing to report in terms of"},{"t":385,"text":"findings or activities yet. It's to cover our expected activities."},{"t":390,"text":"So, um, I will move through the report and hit"},{"t":395,"text":"the highlights, hit the key items. Uh, there's a number"},{"t":398,"text":"of pages that are information and purpose. And so I'm"},{"t":402,"text":"not going to cover those, but I'm happy to respond"},{"t":404,"text":"to any questions in respect of those at the end."},{"t":407,"text":"Uh, so maybe just, uh, pass through to page four."},{"t":413,"text":"Of the report. And as always, we provide our contact"},{"t":417,"text":"information, uh, for both management and council. If there's ever"},{"t":422,"text":"any need to connect with, uh, any of the people"},{"t":424,"text":"there, just so you have our direct lines and email"},{"t":429,"text":"addresses. Hopefully that never has to be the case. But,"},{"t":433,"text":"um, if there's ever any questions that need to be"},{"t":436,"text":"answered, uh, we're happy to answer questions as well. Uh,"},{"t":441,"text":"page five, uh, outlines the timeline of our expected activities."},{"t":445,"text":"And this is very consistent with prior years. Uh, we're"},{"t":449,"text":"in our kind of scoping and planning phase right now."},{"t":453,"text":"I've had a few initial conversations with management. Just understand"},{"t":456,"text":"what activities are happening during the year and are coming"},{"t":459,"text":"up. Uh, so we're doing that planning work right now."},{"t":463,"text":"We'll do some interim field work starting October 19th. And"},{"t":468,"text":"our final year end field work will begin March 15th."},{"t":471,"text":"We'll wrap up sometime towards the end of March beginning"},{"t":474,"text":"of April. We'll have our clearance meeting with management in"},{"t":478,"text":"mid April. And then expect it to report back to"},{"t":482,"text":"Mayor and Council on May 6th. And then the financial"},{"t":486,"text":"statements and our auditors report will be released shortly after"},{"t":489,"text":"that well in advance of the deadline for filing. The"},{"t":496,"text":"next page six. Outlines the responsibilities that we have for"},{"t":500,"text":"the financial statements, the financial statements are managements. Um, just"},{"t":506,"text":"hit a pop up on my screen and I need"},{"t":507,"text":"to get rid of their managements to prepare and produce"},{"t":513,"text":"from the records. Our responsibility is to provide an independent"},{"t":517,"text":"auditor's report on them to indicate that they are materially"},{"t":522,"text":"correct. And that we work with management to do so"},{"t":526,"text":"in a timely fashion. Um, we also provide what we"},{"t":530,"text":"call management letter points. Those are observations that we may"},{"t":534,"text":"have as a result of the work with recommendations and"},{"t":538,"text":"also managements, uh, responses to those recommendations. And then also"},{"t":544,"text":"to provide our significant findings to Mayor and counsel at"},{"t":547,"text":"the end of the process. The next two pages have"},{"t":552,"text":"to do with, uh, fraud. And I know it's a"},{"t":555,"text":"scary word, but we do have to address the risk"},{"t":560,"text":"of fraud and error in the financial statements. Uh, the"},{"t":564,"text":"prevention and detection of fraud is primarily a management responsibility"},{"t":568,"text":"together with council and establishing a system of internal controls"},{"t":574,"text":"that addresses risks of fraud. It's our responsibility to understand"},{"t":577,"text":"what that system is. Your interactions with management in that"},{"t":581,"text":"respect as well. And also understanding how management addresses it"},{"t":585,"text":"through day - to - day activities. So we do"},{"t":589,"text":"assess the risk of fraud in the audit. And there's"},{"t":593,"text":"a particular point coming up that addresses that. Uh, but"},{"t":596,"text":"the audit is not designed primarily to detect fraud. Um,"},{"t":601,"text":"so I just want to make that clear. It's not,"},{"t":603,"text":"it's not something that we actively look for. It's something"},{"t":605,"text":"that we prepare for in our risk assessment. Page nine,"},{"t":612,"text":"and this is, this is the specific activities that we"},{"t":616,"text":"undertake in order to address fraud because quite often, in"},{"t":620,"text":"fact, almost always fraudulent activities are covered up by a"},{"t":625,"text":"series or one or more journal entries. And so we"},{"t":628,"text":"do address the risk of inappropriate journal entries that might"},{"t":631,"text":"be, um, undertaken in order to hide fraudulent activities. So"},{"t":636,"text":"we understand the process around, um, initiating and approving and"},{"t":641,"text":"processing journal entries. And we ensure that those process are"},{"t":645,"text":"in place. And then we do also, um, test a"},{"t":650,"text":"series of journal entries throughout the year, uh, to ensure"},{"t":653,"text":"that they have a basis behind them and also documentation"},{"t":656,"text":"to support them. Uh, the next page has a number"},{"t":660,"text":"of items on it. And the one at the top"},{"t":663,"text":"is, uh, is just something that, uh, monitoring at this"},{"t":667,"text":"point, it hasn't actually started yet, but the, uh, the"},{"t":670,"text":"partnering agreement in respect of the housing project on City"},{"t":674,"text":"owned land. These partnering agreements often have some complex accounting,"},{"t":680,"text":"um, that results from them. So we are in discussions"},{"t":683,"text":"with management. And in various areas of the city to"},{"t":686,"text":"understand that agreement and to ensure that there's a process"},{"t":689,"text":"in place to account for it properly. I don't expect"},{"t":692,"text":"there to be anything perhaps some disclosure in the financial"},{"t":695,"text":"statements this year, but I don't expect there to be"},{"t":697,"text":"any. Actual accounting result from this in the current year."},{"t":704,"text":"The next point has to do with revenue recognition. And"},{"t":709,"text":"we are required to assess the risk of fraudulent revenue"},{"t":712,"text":"recognition in every audit in a local government audit. It's"},{"t":717,"text":"the revenues are quite, um, they're standard. They're not really"},{"t":723,"text":"subject to manipulation. And so we have rebutted the risk"},{"t":728,"text":"of fraudulent revenue recognition. However, because the accounting standards are"},{"t":732,"text":"quite complex. There is still a risk of errors and"},{"t":737,"text":"inappropriate accounting. So we address those risks and make sure"},{"t":740,"text":"that the revenue particularly restricted revenues are accounted for in"},{"t":744,"text":"the proper period. So we do review a sample of"},{"t":749,"text":"funding agreements, other restricted revenues such as, um, development cost"},{"t":755,"text":"charges and those sorts of things that have restrictions on"},{"t":757,"text":"them and ensure that they are recorded in the proper"},{"t":760,"text":"period. And then the final item on that page, uh,"},{"t":764,"text":"is in respect of collective bargaining agreements whenever there's an"},{"t":767,"text":"expired collective bargaining agreement that has not been renegotiated and"},{"t":772,"text":"agreed to by the end of the year, there is"},{"t":774,"text":"some element of retroactive payment that we'll have to be"},{"t":778,"text":"made if there is increases in compensation and benefits. So"},{"t":783,"text":"we also do discuss with management what their approach to"},{"t":786,"text":"estimating those amounts is and ensuring that that's accounted for"},{"t":789,"text":"properly as well. So maybe just pause at that point"},{"t":793,"text":"because that's a lot of information. And, uh, see if"},{"t":796,"text":"there's any questions. Does anyone have any questions so far."},{"t":800,"text":"Go ahead and guns your cardinal. Thank you. Could you"},{"t":803,"text":"go a bit more, excuse me, into the complex and"},{"t":806,"text":"routine transaction of that, uh, I don't know if you"},{"t":809,"text":"can or if you're able to at this stage or"},{"t":811,"text":"to the housing project you're talking about and the type"},{"t":813,"text":"of agreement and where the risk may be. Uh, I"},{"t":817,"text":"actually can't yet because I don't have all of the"},{"t":819,"text":"details. I wanted to raise it as something that we're"},{"t":822,"text":"monitoring. Um, but what I do understand is that it"},{"t":825,"text":"is an agreement between the city and other, other government"},{"t":828,"text":"organisations. And, uh, anytime that there is a partnering agreement"},{"t":833,"text":"like that, um, we have to make sure that the"},{"t":835,"text":"accounting is done correctly because there are specific accounting rules"},{"t":839,"text":"that gover partner with local governments or any government. I"},{"t":844,"text":"can probably provide more information at, uh, at the year"},{"t":849,"text":"end, uh, meeting in May. That's great. Thank you very"},{"t":852,"text":"much. Question to you mayor. Is this something that is"},{"t":854,"text":"under the delegated bylaw or is this something that will"},{"t":857,"text":"be coming through to counsel as we go through forward."},{"t":860,"text":"Are you specifically asking for a particular partnership agreement? Yeah."},{"t":864,"text":"For the one that he is identified under risk. Mr."},{"t":868,"text":"Zoba, did you specifically identify a particular partnership agreement as"},{"t":872,"text":"risk? Uh, this is, it is. It's the agreement. I"},{"t":878,"text":"believe it's with BC housing. Yes. Uh, and like I"},{"t":882,"text":"said, I don't have all the details yet on it."},{"t":884,"text":"Um, I will probably within weeks or certainly a month,"},{"t":888,"text":"but it still won't allow me at that point to"},{"t":890,"text":"provide a definitive answer on the accounting. So like my"},{"t":894,"text":"role is, is with respect to the accounting, not necessarily"},{"t":898,"text":"with the risk to the city. I see CFO Thompson"},{"t":901,"text":"is leading in. Would you like to add something? Yes,"},{"t":903,"text":"Mayor, just to explain which property we're talking about. This"},{"t":906,"text":"is 9 30 Pandora. So the project Building Housing there"},{"t":910,"text":"and the agreements that the City has and will be"},{"t":912,"text":"entering into with BC housing and also obviously CRD housing"},{"t":916,"text":"is involved as well. So, um, council is already aware"},{"t":919,"text":"of that has already approved that, uh, this is just"},{"t":922,"text":"the accounting for those very, um, from an accounting standpoint"},{"t":927,"text":"complex transactions. Thank you. Thank you. And I thought that"},{"t":931,"text":"was it, but I wanted to clarify by staff. Thank"},{"t":933,"text":"you. Yep. You're welcome. Any other questions at this time."},{"t":937,"text":"Mr. Selby, you have more to add. Do you not?"},{"t":939,"text":"Thank you, Mayor. I don't have anything more to add"},{"t":940,"text":"on the risks in the audit. Um, I will flip"},{"t":945,"text":"to the next page 11, which covers our materiality. And"},{"t":949,"text":"as always, I have to caution that those numbers look"},{"t":952,"text":"big, but they are, doesn't mean that we don't look"},{"t":954,"text":"at, uh, items below those amounts. Uh, those are two"},{"t":958,"text":"guide our analytical procedures. And they also feed into our"},{"t":963,"text":"statistical sampling. And they did, they provided a termination of"},{"t":967,"text":"how many sample items we might choose in particular areas."},{"t":971,"text":"Uh, what they also provide is a guideline in terms"},{"t":974,"text":"of what amount of unrecorded or uncorrected misstatements that we"},{"t":979,"text":"can accept and still issue our auditor's report. I can"},{"t":984,"text":"safely, confidently say that there is never been anything and"},{"t":988,"text":"even approaching those amounts that I can recall. But they"},{"t":991,"text":"are there for our, uh, our guidance. The next page,"},{"t":997,"text":"12 covers the work that, uh, that, uh, the actuary"},{"t":1001,"text":"performs in respect of employee future benefits. So we do"},{"t":1005,"text":"rely on the actuary's work in order to form our"},{"t":1008,"text":"audit opinion. And so we do communicate with the actuary."},{"t":1013,"text":"Ensure that they are, um, abiding by the same independent"},{"t":1016,"text":"standards that we are required to that they're using correct"},{"t":1020,"text":"data. And that their assumptions make sense in the context"},{"t":1023,"text":"of the current environment. Uh, the next several pages are,"},{"t":1031,"text":"uh, informational and purpose. Uh, and so I'm happy to"},{"t":1034,"text":"answer any questions in their regard. I don't, uh, I"},{"t":1039,"text":"don't plan on going through them in detail. Uh, the"},{"t":1041,"text":"one page that I will refer to as page 18,"},{"t":1045,"text":"as always, we do provide some links to our website"},{"t":1049,"text":"where there is always updated information and a specific to"},{"t":1053,"text":"the public sector and sometimes specific to local government as"},{"t":1057,"text":"well. So I do encourage you to have a look"},{"t":1059,"text":"at, uh, at some of those areas. And finally, an"},{"t":1064,"text":"accounting change that is coming will be effective for your"},{"t":1068,"text":"fiscal 2027 year is kind of a reorganization of the"},{"t":1072,"text":"financial statements. Uh, right now, as, as you probably recall,"},{"t":1080,"text":"the balance sheet is not really a balance sheet. So"},{"t":1083,"text":"if you're familiar with private sector accounting and financial statements,"},{"t":1088,"text":"uh, your balance sheet is, uh, ordered a little bit"},{"t":1090,"text":"differently. What is going to happen is that the statement"},{"t":1095,"text":"of financial position will reflect a little bit more closely"},{"t":1099,"text":"what a private sector balance sheet looks like. There are"},{"t":1102,"text":"some other changes in some of the other statements. Uh,"},{"t":1105,"text":"I will say that there is, it will be quite"},{"t":1107,"text":"a bit different. It's not a lot of, uh, technical"},{"t":1112,"text":"effort that's going to be required. But there will be"},{"t":1114,"text":"some time required on the part of management to identify"},{"t":1117,"text":"which accounts are going to be restructured and placed in"},{"t":1121,"text":"different areas. So we will, um, discuss this with management"},{"t":1126,"text":"as time goes on over the next year or so"},{"t":1128,"text":"to make sure that they're on track and that we"},{"t":1130,"text":"can properly audit those changes. I think that brings me"},{"t":1134,"text":"to the end of the report. So I'm happy to"},{"t":1137,"text":"respond to any additional questions. Thank you very much. Any"},{"t":1141,"text":"questions from council for Mr. Zavo? Go ahead, Council Carter."},{"t":1145,"text":"Thank you. And I am very interested in what your"},{"t":1148,"text":"last slide was or what you stated, which is, we"},{"t":1150,"text":"look more like the private sector ones. Is that a"},{"t":1153,"text":"mandate of any kind? Or how is that coming about?"},{"t":1155,"text":"Can you give us some of the background in that?"},{"t":1157,"text":"Uh, it is, it is a mandate that comes out"},{"t":1159,"text":"of the public sector accounting standards board or the public"},{"t":1163,"text":"sector accounting board. It's, it's part of a, um, a"},{"t":1168,"text":"refresh of the entire, uh, what's called a conceptual framework."},{"t":1173,"text":"And I guess it was just determined by the board"},{"t":1175,"text":"that the current set of statements, the way they're presented"},{"t":1177,"text":"now, sometimes causes a bit of confusion. And, uh, I"},{"t":1181,"text":"know I've had discussions with various councils on, uh, on"},{"t":1185,"text":"the format of the statements and how they are quite"},{"t":1187,"text":"different from a traditional private sector set of statements. Uh,"},{"t":1191,"text":"so this has been ongoing for, I would say probably"},{"t":1193,"text":"about 10 years and it culminated in the release of,"},{"t":1197,"text":"uh, of this particular standard about two or three years"},{"t":1200,"text":"ago. Um, it did provide a fair amount of time"},{"t":1204,"text":"to address it. Uh, and then I guess, you know,"},{"t":1208,"text":"what I can do is probably next fall when I"},{"t":1211,"text":"come back for my planning report. I can provide, um,"},{"t":1215,"text":"sample set of statements to show you what it might"},{"t":1218,"text":"look like. It won't be necessarily your set of statements,"},{"t":1221,"text":"but it will be a sample that can provide a"},{"t":1225,"text":"difference between the two. So you won't be doing that"},{"t":1227,"text":"this year or will you? No, that's not required for"},{"t":1229,"text":"this year. It's required for fiscal 2027. Okay. And then"},{"t":1233,"text":"perhaps we don't know who's going to be here, but"},{"t":1236,"text":"we would, would it be possible at that time to"},{"t":1239,"text":"have a, I'm going to say duplicate, not write word"},{"t":1242,"text":"set so we can have transition so that people can"},{"t":1245,"text":"see the difference, old and new without be possible at"},{"t":1248,"text":"all next year? Uh, I can, I can possibly do"},{"t":1252,"text":"that. But I think it's probably actually, it's probably better"},{"t":1254,"text":"for, uh, for management to assemble that comparative set of"},{"t":1259,"text":"statements, um, if the time between now and then want"},{"t":1262,"text":"to put and put them on the spot here, uh,"},{"t":1265,"text":"but it's probably better for management to do something like"},{"t":1268,"text":"that. I can certainly address what the changes are and"},{"t":1271,"text":"why they're made. Um, but, but putting that set of"},{"t":1274,"text":"comparative statements together for the city specifically is probably better"},{"t":1278,"text":"for management to do. Thank you very much. Ms. Thompson,"},{"t":1280,"text":"did you want to comment on that? Um, three year,"},{"t":1283,"text":"Mayor. So that is probably something that we would do"},{"t":1285,"text":"anyway because we have it all set up and we"},{"t":1287,"text":"have to figure out how to transition into the new."},{"t":1289,"text":"So, uh, without having looked exactly at what the new"},{"t":1292,"text":"will look like yet, um, I don't see that to"},{"t":1295,"text":"be a big, um, project. Thank you. Any other questions."},{"t":1303,"text":"I'm not seeing any other questions. As always, thank you"},{"t":1306,"text":"Mrs. Abo. We look forward to working with you as"},{"t":1309,"text":"we continue on through the year. And I'm certain, as"},{"t":1312,"text":"always, when we get back to the actual statements, we'll"},{"t":1314,"text":"have lots more questions. Thank you very much. Appreciate the"},{"t":1317,"text":"time. And thanks for coming in person. That is our"},{"t":1323,"text":"only presentation today. It was a section F. And so"},{"t":1325,"text":"we move on to item G of our agenda today."},{"t":1329,"text":"This is our, uh, first land use item. This is"},{"t":1332,"text":"with regard to the Heritage Alteration Permit with variances application."},{"t":1336,"text":"And the Heritage Designation application for the building at 780"},{"t":1340,"text":"Blanchard Street. I believe we have multiple staff appearing for"},{"t":1347,"text":"this. But I don't actually see our Heritage planner. Oh,"},{"t":1355,"text":"there we are. There we are. Thank you."},{"t":1365,"text":"Good morning. Once you're settled, turn it over to you."},{"t":1372,"text":"Take your time."},{"t":1392,"text":"And of course, once you are settled, if you would"},{"t":1394,"text":"remind the public and council who you are just for"},{"t":1397,"text":"the record, that would be most helpful."},{"t":1409,"text":"Good morning, Mary Council. My name is Charlotte Wayne, manager"},{"t":1412,"text":"of neighbourhood development planning. And I'm here with Crystal Steveno,"},{"t":1415,"text":"senior Heritage Planner, who's here to present this application. Thank"},{"t":1418,"text":"you so much. What are you, Ms. Diveno. Good morning."},{"t":1427,"text":"Um, today I am joined today, Ms. Maine, manager of"},{"t":1431,"text":"neighbourhood development and planning. Thank you. Today I'll be presenting"},{"t":1434,"text":"a Heritage Alteration Permit and variances and a Heritage designation"},{"t":1438,"text":"application for the property at 780 Blanchard Street."},{"t":1449,"text":"The property is outlined in red, an odd shape triangular"},{"t":1453,"text":"site, located between Blanchard Street, Fairfield Road, and Burdet Avenue."},{"t":1458,"text":"This application is for a Heritage Conservation Project and the"},{"t":1461,"text":"proposal is to fully retain, restore, rehabilitate. Adaptively reuse, seismically"},{"t":1468,"text":"upgrade in Heritage Designate the historic building. The application proposes"},{"t":1473,"text":"a change of use to convert this office building into"},{"t":1476,"text":"126 room hotel with food and beverage services, including an"},{"t":1481,"text":"appropriately scaled one - story rooftop edition. Here are some"},{"t":1486,"text":"of the images of the subject property, the top images"},{"t":1490,"text":"is from Blanthard Street. This is the location of the"},{"t":1493,"text":"building's main entrance. And at this location, the building is"},{"t":1496,"text":"two stories. The bottom image is a long fairfield road,"},{"t":1501,"text":"and this Southwest facing side is four stories. So you"},{"t":1503,"text":"can see there's a significant difference in grade on the"},{"t":1506,"text":"site. From left to right, we have a three -"},{"t":1511,"text":"story west - facing elevation on Bradette Avenue. And then"},{"t":1518,"text":"the right image shows the South and East elevations at"},{"t":1521,"text":"four stories. To understand the immediate neighbourhood context, we will"},{"t":1526,"text":"move across the slide clockwise, starting at the top left"},{"t":1530,"text":"and across the street on Birda Av. We have the"},{"t":1532,"text":"Chateau Victoria Hotel. Then at the corner of Burdet and"},{"t":1536,"text":"Blanchard Street, we have the four - story office building,"},{"t":1539,"text":"across the street, a single - family dwelling. And then"},{"t":1542,"text":"at the corner of Blanchard and Fairfield, we have a"},{"t":1545,"text":"nine - story residential building, two residential towers, and the"},{"t":1549,"text":"Marriott Hotel on the opposite side of the subject property"},{"t":1552,"text":"unfair - filled road. In accordance with 611 of the"},{"t":1557,"text":"local government act, council may designate real property in whole"},{"t":1561,"text":"or in part as protected property, and in accordance with"},{"t":1565,"text":"Section 612, a public hearing will be required for Heritage"},{"t":1568,"text":"designation. In accordance with Section 612 and 618 council may"},{"t":1574,"text":"issue a Heritage Alteration Permit. The site is located within"},{"t":1579,"text":"the core stork area of downtown and within the Heritage"},{"t":1582,"text":"Conservation Area 1 commercial Heritage. Since this property is registered"},{"t":1587,"text":"Heritage and Located within the HCA Commercial Heritage Guidelines Apply,"},{"t":1591,"text":"as well as the best practices for Heritage Conservation, the"},{"t":1594,"text":"standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places in"},{"t":1597,"text":"Canada. The British Columbia Power Commission Building was built for"},{"t":1603,"text":"the government of BC and completed in 1950 and designed"},{"t":1607,"text":"by the architect Henry Whitaker in the Art Deco style."},{"t":1611,"text":"Its valued for its contribution to the City's history, and"},{"t":1614,"text":"it holds architectural and aesthetic value. The character defining elements"},{"t":1620,"text":"as outlined in its statement of significance are its location"},{"t":1623,"text":"on the edge of the humble valley. Its four -"},{"t":1626,"text":"story flat - roofed form and geometric massing, the architectural"},{"t":1630,"text":"composition designed to accommodate the sloping site. And it's association"},{"t":1635,"text":"with the BC Power Commission. All surviving art deco detailing"},{"t":1640,"text":"relevant to its 1949 design, as well as the surviving"},{"t":1644,"text":"interior fittings and fixtures related to its original design, including"},{"t":1648,"text":"the spatial configurations and detailing of the third floor chairman's"},{"t":1653,"text":"office. So now we'll move to the architectural drawings. Here's"},{"t":1657,"text":"the site plan where you can see the grey hatched"},{"t":1659,"text":"area at the top right, showing the front entrance and"},{"t":1662,"text":"drop - off area at Blanchard Street. And here we"},{"t":1666,"text":"have the first story and the grade being at Fairfield"},{"t":1669,"text":"Road. Programmatically this plan contains guest rooms and a fitness"},{"t":1674,"text":"centre facing Fairfield Road as well as the hotel support"},{"t":1677,"text":"spaces. Bike lockers, staff rooms, and to the far right,"},{"t":1680,"text":"the loading and waste area on the exterior of the"},{"t":1682,"text":"building. Here we have the second, oops, sorry. Uh, here"},{"t":1689,"text":"we have the second story, which consists of mainly guest"},{"t":1692,"text":"rooms. Level three is where the front entrance is located,"},{"t":1697,"text":"and you can see that you would enter from the"},{"t":1699,"text":"Blanchard Street north side, where you would have lounges and"},{"t":1703,"text":"a restaurant on the left side, including the preserved chairman's"},{"t":1706,"text":"office, a kitchen, and then the right side is mainly"},{"t":1710,"text":"guest rooms. Level four of the historic building is all"},{"t":1715,"text":"guest rooms. And on the roof of the historic building"},{"t":1719,"text":"is the rooftop edition containing more guest rooms, and on"},{"t":1722,"text":"the right side, the outdoor rooftop terrace. As you can"},{"t":1725,"text":"see in this drawing, it's set back from the historic"},{"t":1728,"text":"roof parapet. And finally, the mechanical PEN house on the"},{"t":1733,"text":"top of the addition also set back from both the"},{"t":1736,"text":"historic parapet and the new rooftop edition Building Edge. In"},{"t":1744,"text":"this drawing, we're looking at the Blanchard Street entrance and"},{"t":1746,"text":"front elevation, showing the difference in the grades across the"},{"t":1749,"text":"site. You can also see the non - original exit"},{"t":1752,"text":"stare to the left and the one - story edition"},{"t":1754,"text":"on the top. And the West Elevation and exit along"},{"t":1760,"text":"Burdet Avenue. And here's the four - story South Elevation"},{"t":1766,"text":"Along Fairfield Road. Here they've proposed to remove the original"},{"t":1772,"text":"stair and replace it with a Juliet - style balcony"},{"t":1774,"text":"where the fitness room is proposed to be located. And"},{"t":1777,"text":"to the right, you can see the loading area and"},{"t":1779,"text":"the waist structure. And here's the East Elevation where the"},{"t":1783,"text":"loading bay and waste structure and the exit stair are."},{"t":1791,"text":"So the materials of the addition are modern, but complement"},{"t":1794,"text":"the historic materials. The historic materials include concrete decorative metal"},{"t":1798,"text":"window grills, metal and glass fenestration, and corrugated glass panel"},{"t":1802,"text":"screens. The intent of the addition was to use similar"},{"t":1806,"text":"materials such as metal and fluted glass, but in different"},{"t":1809,"text":"ways so that they are distinguishable from the historic building,"},{"t":1812,"text":"but are quiet and let the architectural detailing of Whitaker's"},{"t":1816,"text":"design standout. The intent is also to restore the facade"},{"t":1819,"text":"to its original 1949 design and replace the existing windows"},{"t":1824,"text":"which are in poor shape with similar units, but with"},{"t":1826,"text":"higher efficiency and thermal properties. Here we have the landscape"},{"t":1832,"text":"plan and the proposal is to remove some existing trees"},{"t":1835,"text":"to enable the improvements to the frontage at the Blanchard"},{"t":1838,"text":"Street entrance, but there are 13 trees being added. This"},{"t":1844,"text":"image is showing the design intent for the outdoor rooftop"},{"t":1847,"text":"terrace located on level 5, which is the rooftop of"},{"t":1850,"text":"the Heritage Building. The following variances are being proposed. The"},{"t":1859,"text":"parking bylaw requires 68th stalls, but only two accessible stalls"},{"t":1862,"text":"are being provided at the front entrance offblatured street. Historically,"},{"t":1866,"text":"this building only had six stalls for the four -"},{"t":1869,"text":"story office building. Due to the existing condition, the bike"},{"t":1872,"text":"share and bike parking, end of trip facilities, location, walkability,"},{"t":1877,"text":"and proximity to downtown amenities, transit and other ways to"},{"t":1880,"text":"travel. Staff find the variant is supportable. The zone also"},{"t":1884,"text":"does not allow for guest rooms to be located on"},{"t":1887,"text":"the ground level. However, since this is an existing building"},{"t":1890,"text":"and they active uses our located at the Blanchard Street"},{"t":1893,"text":"side, the variance is supportable in this case. Um, due"},{"t":1897,"text":"to the existing configuration of the building, the mechanical PENT"},{"t":1900,"text":"house is not meeting the required setback at all elevations,"},{"t":1903,"text":"but exceeding it at other elevations. So staff see this"},{"t":1906,"text":"as supportable. And lastly, the zone only allows for one"},{"t":1910,"text":"building on the site and a new waste area is"},{"t":1912,"text":"being proposed and considered a second building. And due to"},{"t":1916,"text":"its small scale and the need for an appropriate waste"},{"t":1918,"text":"area for this use, this building, or this outbuilding is"},{"t":1921,"text":"supportable. This slide is showing a rendering of the Blanchard"},{"t":1928,"text":"Street entrance and the newly clad exits stare to the"},{"t":1931,"text":"right and the rooftop edition, which is scaled appropriately to"},{"t":1934,"text":"the building. So that it does not take away from"},{"t":1936,"text":"the historic art deco architecture. And here's a rendering showing"},{"t":1940,"text":"of you a Fairfield Road with the addition at the"},{"t":1943,"text":"top. Sorry. And lastly, the Birdette"},{"t":1952,"text":"facing elevation and exit onto PENWELL green. This iconic art"},{"t":1956,"text":"deco building is significant to our city's history in urban"},{"t":1959,"text":"landscape, and it is a public benefit to have this"},{"t":1962,"text":"building designated and adaptively reused to provide much - needed"},{"t":1965,"text":"hotel rooms downtown and staff recommends support for this application."},{"t":1969,"text":"Thank you. Very good, thank you very much. Let us"},{"t":1977,"text":"start with questions. Councillor Heim, go ahead. Thanks Mayor. I"},{"t":1983,"text":"think I've got three questions. We're part of them. Um,"},{"t":1985,"text":"the first is through you, Mayor, if the 25 off"},{"t":1989,"text":"- site spaces disappear, is there anything in this approval"},{"t":1992,"text":"requiring the HOTEL operator to replace them? Menor Steveno. Through"},{"t":2000,"text":"the mayor, no, I do not believe there is. Thank"},{"t":2002,"text":"you. Okay, then follow up on that. If the 25"},{"t":2006,"text":"spaces do disappear, why would staff be supporting this application"},{"t":2010,"text":"with only two on - site parking spaces? Through the"},{"t":2015,"text":"mayor, the building historically has only ever had six parking"},{"t":2021,"text":"stalls, and they were able to, um, work as an"},{"t":2024,"text":"office building, um, with those six, as well as, um,"},{"t":2028,"text":"there is no due to the configuration of the site."},{"t":2032,"text":"There's no way to add more parking. And it's a"},{"t":2034,"text":"Heritage Building. It's being seismically upgraded and there isn't a"},{"t":2037,"text":"way to, you know, dig underneath, um, without jeopardizing the"},{"t":2041,"text":"structure of the building. And there is, as you can"},{"t":2043,"text":"see from the constrained lot, the world's to put them."},{"t":2047,"text":"Um, and there's also been a TDM package that was"},{"t":2051,"text":"quite robust. Um, and we can ask the people in"},{"t":2055,"text":"transportation to speak to that. Um, however, it's also really"},{"t":2058,"text":"well located, um, downtown close to Okay, I can stop"},{"t":2062,"text":"you there. Okay. I appreciate not the desire to put"},{"t":2066,"text":"more on the building itself. But with the plan of"},{"t":2068,"text":"the 25, can I ask through you, Mayor, um, knowing"},{"t":2072,"text":"that this only had six parking spots before, presumably there"},{"t":2077,"text":"was, or was there some arrangement with this office to"},{"t":2083,"text":"have parking close by. The student, do you know that?"},{"t":2090,"text":"No, I do not have the answer to that question."},{"t":2093,"text":"Mr. Kenny, do you have any information on that in"},{"t":2095,"text":"a previous iteration with this building have provided off -"},{"t":2100,"text":"site parking for their office workers at any time, do"},{"t":2103,"text":"you know that? Yeah, through the merit, there's no known"},{"t":2106,"text":"agreements. Um, in place regarding that offsite parking and, you"},{"t":2110,"text":"know, possibly when the building was built in 1950 by"},{"t":2113,"text":"the provincial government, there may be another parquet that they"},{"t":2116,"text":"owned in the area that were being used by staff"},{"t":2118,"text":"or others, but in terms of recent operating models, uh,"},{"t":2121,"text":"were not aware of anything. Okay. So, so we don't"},{"t":2123,"text":"know. All right. Thanks very much. And then, uh, shifting"},{"t":2127,"text":"through you, um, are any existing historic windows or doors"},{"t":2131,"text":"capable of rehabilitation rather than replacement and our staff satisfied"},{"t":2136,"text":"that replacing all of them as consistent with the heritage"},{"t":2138,"text":"value. Council is being asked to designate. Through the mayor."},{"t":2147,"text":"The character defining elements of the windows are mainly its"},{"t":2152,"text":"patterning and its profile. Um, which the applicant plans to"},{"t":2157,"text":"replicate in the new windows, um, yes, there could be"},{"t":2161,"text":"some restoration, but I think with the hotel brand, there's"},{"t":2165,"text":"an ideal to just have them all the same and"},{"t":2167,"text":"work very efficiently. I've been on site and the windows"},{"t":2171,"text":"in many cases are not operable. Um, and don't function"},{"t":2175,"text":"any longer. And are also causing water damage to the"},{"t":2178,"text":"sills. Right. And so just to be clear, there's no"},{"t":2182,"text":"indication that, uh, that a number of them are going"},{"t":2185,"text":"to be, that are okay, are going to be retained"},{"t":2188,"text":"or no. We haven't gone through, um, like a full"},{"t":2192,"text":"assessment of every single window, um, so it's possible that"},{"t":2195,"text":"some could be retained and restored. Thanks. And that would"},{"t":2199,"text":"be up to them to make sure it looks consistent."},{"t":2201,"text":"It doesn't look weird. Thanks. My third question is about"},{"t":2204,"text":"the seismic upgrade. And for a change of use to"},{"t":2209,"text":"126 room hotel, what does 55 percent of current code"},{"t":2213,"text":"mean in practical life safety terms? Is that the standard,"},{"t":2217,"text":"the building code permits for this type of heritage rehabilitation"},{"t":2220,"text":"and will the building permit process require anything further? Steven"},{"t":2225,"text":"O, would you know that? I don't have the answer"},{"t":2227,"text":"to that question. So I would have to rely on"},{"t":2229,"text":"my colleagues for that answer. Mr. Doyle, I'm not sure"},{"t":2232,"text":"if that's something that would come under your purview and"},{"t":2235,"text":"engineering, or can you comment on the degree to which"},{"t":2238,"text":"this plan accomplishes seismic upgrading. Uh, through the mayor, thanks"},{"t":2246,"text":"for the question, not, not something that's part of our"},{"t":2249,"text":"purview in the engineering department, nor my expertise. Yes, go"},{"t":2254,"text":"ahead, Mr. Johnson. Thank you through you, Mayor. I think"},{"t":2260,"text":"those are the types of details that would be worked"},{"t":2262,"text":"out at the Building Permit stage. Okay. And, and again,"},{"t":2267,"text":"just through you, Mayor, just as a lay person, knowing"},{"t":2270,"text":"nothing about this except what Jack and I do with"},{"t":2273,"text":"our home, for example. Does anyone want to at least"},{"t":2278,"text":"tell me that, Hey, 55 percent is great and that's"},{"t":2281,"text":"good enough. I think the question is, do we believe"},{"t":2284,"text":"that what's there is sufficient. PENSTON. Petter put. Who knows."},{"t":2290,"text":"To a certain extent, it sounds as if, um, I'm"},{"t":2292,"text":"more careful analysis of that will come later in the"},{"t":2294,"text":"application process. That's essentially. Yes. Through the mayor, I'm not"},{"t":2299,"text":"a CODA expert. So I wouldn't be able to comment"},{"t":2301,"text":"on that. But, uh, I do know that that type"},{"t":2304,"text":"of analysis will be done at the more detailed sort"},{"t":2308,"text":"of construction and then building permit stage. Um, and, uh,"},{"t":2312,"text":"and so I would leave it to our experts in"},{"t":2316,"text":"that field to determine whether it's meeting a sufficient level"},{"t":2319,"text":"of safety for this type of use. Thanks. And then"},{"t":2323,"text":"to follow up through that mayor, then is there any"},{"t":2325,"text":"opportunity if in the process coming down the road, somewhere"},{"t":2329,"text":"to say, wow, this is not good enough. Would that"},{"t":2332,"text":"make a change in this development? In other words, would"},{"t":2335,"text":"the expectation be that they have to get it up"},{"t":2336,"text":"to, let's say 73 percent or whatever might be appropriate."},{"t":2340,"text":"I know, Steveno. Through the mayor, um, we will be"},{"t":2344,"text":"reviewing their seismic strategy, um, because they do plan to"},{"t":2348,"text":"apply for a text incentive, um, for the tax incentive"},{"t":2352,"text":"program. And so we will be looking at it then."},{"t":2356,"text":"Thanks, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions. Council"},{"t":2359,"text":"Carita? Yeah. I was through the mayor. I was going"},{"t":2362,"text":"to ask also about the tax breaks, but I don't"},{"t":2364,"text":"know if the point is there, is there any clarification"},{"t":2369,"text":"that we could seek now or do we basically need"},{"t":2370,"text":"to wait. Leonard Steveno. Um, they have not applied for"},{"t":2375,"text":"the tax incentive program yet to be eligible. They have"},{"t":2378,"text":"to be heritage designated. And that's, that's what's on the"},{"t":2382,"text":"table today is to be HERH to designate. So it's"},{"t":2384,"text":"one step in the process. But see, sorry. And sorry"},{"t":2387,"text":"if I'm just getting mixed up here, but there's, there's"},{"t":2389,"text":"the tip, but then the tax break for hotels. Right."},{"t":2392,"text":"I'm talking about which are two separate programs. So can"},{"t":2395,"text":"we maybe disagreegate and talk about how those two different"},{"t":2397,"text":"programs might affect this application? Is that Mr. Johnston or"},{"t":2402,"text":"Ms. Thompson? Summaire. I was just going to, um, I'll"},{"t":2406,"text":"start and then maybe I'll hand it over to, uh,"},{"t":2409,"text":"Ms. Thompson if she has something to add, but, uh,"},{"t":2412,"text":"the, we have the direction from council to, um, develop"},{"t":2416,"text":"a program for the tax incentive for hotels, but the"},{"t":2420,"text":"details have yet to be worked out. So, uh, it'd"},{"t":2424,"text":"be too early at this point to, to, um, to"},{"t":2426,"text":"comment on, on how that would apply to this particular"},{"t":2429,"text":"application. Okay. But just if I could just follow up"},{"t":2432,"text":"on that though, I'm starting to try to clear out"},{"t":2434,"text":"the cobwebs of my brain about all this, this finer"},{"t":2437,"text":"points of these policies, but if I'm, if I remember"},{"t":2440,"text":"correctly, the tip essentially freezes property taxes for 10 years"},{"t":2445,"text":"at where they are pre - rezoning. So whatever your"},{"t":2449,"text":"baseline taxes are now, they won't go up if the"},{"t":2452,"text":"rezoning or whatever land use changes are. If I'm remembering"},{"t":2455,"text":"correctly, if that's wrong, then please tell me. I'm just"},{"t":2457,"text":"trying to recall through the mayor. So it's the portion"},{"t":2462,"text":"of the property that is eligible for the Heritage Exemption."},{"t":2467,"text":"So for example, if you build new, the new portion"},{"t":2470,"text":"would not be eligible under the heritage because that's Heritage"},{"t":2475,"text":"related exemption. So it's not the value that's frozen because"},{"t":2480,"text":"the value will change every single year through BC assessment,"},{"t":2483,"text":"but it's the proportion of it. So for example, if"},{"t":2490,"text":"the whole building is heritage and there is nothing new,"},{"t":2492,"text":"um, then it would be a hundred percent of the"},{"t":2495,"text":"value if there is an addition or for whatever reason"},{"t":2498,"text":"something is not eligible completely under the heritage, then that"},{"t":2502,"text":"proportion. So if you have a 10 percent new or"},{"t":2504,"text":"something, um, also another note on the, um, uh, the"},{"t":2514,"text":"hotel exemption that council will be considering later. That is"},{"t":2518,"text":"a revitalization exemption. So that is only the municipal portion"},{"t":2521,"text":"of the taxes that would be exempt for the portion"},{"t":2523,"text":"that would be eligible. Uh, it is, as you know,"},{"t":2526,"text":"for the creation of net new hotel rooms, um, and,"},{"t":2531,"text":"uh, whereas the Heritage exemptions authorities that we love before."},{"t":2538,"text":"So including, you know, the school and, uh, transit and"},{"t":2542,"text":"others. Okay. I think I understand that. And so is"},{"t":2544,"text":"there a scenario in which they are duplicative or once"},{"t":2548,"text":"the plants the other. Or because it's somewhat unique scenario"},{"t":2552,"text":"if you have a building that's also a heritage asset."},{"t":2555,"text":"Cause I don't know if the yet to be determined"},{"t":2558,"text":"tax break system for hotels contemplates a situation like this"},{"t":2562,"text":"when you're dealing with heritage acid. Ms. Thompson? Um, through"},{"t":2565,"text":"the mayor. So you can't have two. You can only"},{"t":2568,"text":"apply one exemption. It's not possible to do two. Um,"},{"t":2571,"text":"so my assumption here is that the property owner would"},{"t":2574,"text":"choose the one that is the most beneficial to them."},{"t":2577,"text":"Uh, if it can be the heritage one simply because"},{"t":2580,"text":"it can exempt broader number of taxing authorities, uh, my"},{"t":2585,"text":"assumption is that they would go with that one, um,"},{"t":2587,"text":"but again, we haven't seen any applications, nor have we"},{"t":2590,"text":"developed the program for the, uh, the hotel. But through"},{"t":2594,"text":"the chair on the assumption that, uh, high percentage, our"},{"t":2598,"text":"high portion of this tax is applicable for the tip"},{"t":2601,"text":"because it's a Heritage Building. And assuming that the tax"},{"t":2605,"text":"reductions apply to all the other taxes like school board"},{"t":2608,"text":"CRD, et cetera, it is possible to imagine that this"},{"t":2612,"text":"building might end up going with the tip rather than"},{"t":2615,"text":"the hotel tax brake program. Wis Thompson? Yes. Okay. Clear"},{"t":2622,"text":"as mud, right? Um, I think I'll shift gear, sorry."},{"t":2627,"text":"Sorry, excuse me. Uh, I was going to shift gears"},{"t":2629,"text":"and talk about the ART sub that's been there for"},{"t":2632,"text":"a while and noting that we just received correspondence from,"},{"t":2636,"text":"from the folks at Viva's indicating their support for this"},{"t":2641,"text":"asset, uh, becoming Heritage designated and converting into a hotel."},{"t":2646,"text":"And I just want to talk about the background on"},{"t":2648,"text":"that. I mean, just a reminder for the public. This"},{"t":2652,"text":"has, this building has been operating as a sort of"},{"t":2654,"text":"subsidized art sub for a number of years. The city"},{"t":2657,"text":"gave, I think a two year grant equivalent to, um,"},{"t":2662,"text":"the remind me what it was to your essentially to"},{"t":2666,"text":"your tax breaker grant equivalent to a tax break to"},{"t":2668,"text":"help keep that building subsidized, knowing it eventually it was"},{"t":2671,"text":"probably going to run out. In the meantime, Vivas has"},{"t":2674,"text":"moved over and began to move over to a new"},{"t":2676,"text":"location over on Cook Street in the former Volvo dealership."},{"t":2681,"text":"But I do recall, and this is maybe through the"},{"t":2685,"text":"chair to staff, uh, and maybe City Manager, I don't"},{"t":2688,"text":"know who handles this file, but we had a motion"},{"t":2690,"text":"back in either 2023 or 2024 directing staff to work"},{"t":2695,"text":"on creating a permanent ART sub downtown. And we had"},{"t":2698,"text":"hoped that this would become it. And at one point"},{"t":2700,"text":"they were trying to raise 13 million dollars to buy"},{"t":2702,"text":"this building. Obviously that was just not possible to do."},{"t":2705,"text":"They've now moved temporarily over to the Volvo dealership. And"},{"t":2709,"text":"so I want to get a sense. Does staff consider"},{"t":2712,"text":"that. Direction to have been fulfilled. Or is it still"},{"t":2717,"text":"ongoing to create a permanent ART sub and find a"},{"t":2719,"text":"home not only for this group, but for other visual"},{"t":2722,"text":"arts groups who are trying to find a permanent location."},{"t":2726,"text":"So just before any stuff, try to answer that question."},{"t":2728,"text":"I will note that it's not actually germane to what"},{"t":2731,"text":"we're considering today, given that we're considering heritage designations. Um,"},{"t":2736,"text":"but as always, did a spirit of generosity. If then"},{"t":2739,"text":"anyone who'd like to spawn to that, you're certainly welcome"},{"t":2742,"text":"to do so. From a staffing perspective. But it is"},{"t":2747,"text":"not what we're considering today and not once before us"},{"t":2750,"text":"is when you're leaning in, did you want to add"},{"t":2752,"text":"something. Thank you to you, Mayor. We did communicate with,"},{"t":2759,"text":"um, stuff in arts and culture and they unfortunately weren't"},{"t":2762,"text":"available to be, um, online at this meeting. But they"},{"t":2767,"text":"did share, um, so information that I'm happy to bring"},{"t":2770,"text":"up at this meeting. Obviously, as counsellor, Carorano has mentioned,"},{"t":2776,"text":"Vivo says that they are actively looking for a long"},{"t":2778,"text":"- term arts hub. The city has supported Vivers with"},{"t":2783,"text":"a number of grants, including cultural infrastructure grants. And so"},{"t":2789,"text":"I think we don't, I can't answer your direct question"},{"t":2793,"text":"in terms of whether that council memotion has been fulfilled."},{"t":2795,"text":"But there have been a number of initiatives to support"},{"t":2797,"text":"the group who are currently using this building. So it's"},{"t":2800,"text":"more contextual information, but, um, I wouldn't be able to,"},{"t":2803,"text":"to answer your question directly about the specific council member"},{"t":2806,"text":"motion. Sure. And to the chair, when it's appropriate, I"},{"t":2809,"text":"would like to have that information back to council to"},{"t":2812,"text":"know where arts and culture at in helping to set"},{"t":2814,"text":"up. Because when we first developed that motion a couple"},{"t":2817,"text":"of years ago at an early version of it actually"},{"t":2821,"text":"mentioned 780 Blanchard, but I think now in hindsight, wisely"},{"t":2825,"text":"did not, because this one didn't work out. But the"},{"t":2828,"text":"idea is to find an art sub somewhere in the"},{"t":2830,"text":"city. Uh, so that these arts groups aren't constantly being"},{"t":2834,"text":"displaced through redevelopment. Councillor Cardona, I've noted the city manager"},{"t":2838,"text":"is taking notes on that inquiry again. So can you"},{"t":2841,"text":"reform your questions specific to this application? Sure. Um, what"},{"t":2846,"text":"would the timeline be if, if this project is approved"},{"t":2850,"text":"and can we have any additional information on what it"},{"t":2853,"text":"will mean for the current tenants there? Ms. Wayne, Ms."},{"t":2858,"text":"Juvenue. It's a timeline on this to start with through"},{"t":2864,"text":"the mayor. I believe their timeline is to start construction"},{"t":2867,"text":"in mid 2027. I don't think I can answer the"},{"t":2870,"text":"rest of the question. Ms. Wayne, anything that you can"},{"t":2875,"text":"add? Okay, just through you, Matt, just further contextual information,"},{"t":2880,"text":"uh, through our colleagues was that, um, and the information"},{"t":2883,"text":"provided by the applicant was that the least that the"},{"t":2888,"text":"current user group have been, um, operating in there has"},{"t":2891,"text":"been extended number of times. So I think it's, it's"},{"t":2894,"text":"already been, um, uh, their awareness of the timeline, um,"},{"t":2899,"text":"has not come as a surprise. And the happiness operating"},{"t":2902,"text":"for longer than originally envisaged. Thank you. Mr. Johnson, yes."},{"t":2909,"text":"Just to add to that, um, just with the correspondence"},{"t":2912,"text":"we've received from the applicant, they continue to, um, have"},{"t":2916,"text":"sort of open lines of communication with the group and,"},{"t":2919,"text":"uh, the society and have, um, continue to try to"},{"t":2923,"text":"support them in finding a new locations. Thank you. Okay."},{"t":2928,"text":"Thanks. I'll leave it there. Thanks for those answers. Thank"},{"t":2930,"text":"you. Councillor Cardner. Thank you. Thank you. This is"},{"t":2940,"text":"a very interesting, um, proposal. And I must say that"},{"t":2945,"text":"something that I'm going to ask first is about that"},{"t":2948,"text":"mural, the biodiversity mural. And I'm going to preface that"},{"t":2951,"text":"by saying this one comes down the hill. That is"},{"t":2954,"text":"the most visible, beautiful thing that we all see. There's"},{"t":2957,"text":"no question. As you come down the hill, it is"},{"t":2960,"text":"so visible. And I understand in the, uh, document before"},{"t":2964,"text":"I said it's going to be just disappeared. And I'm"},{"t":2968,"text":"still not sure from what you said. Is it really"},{"t":2969,"text":"going to be just the cladding? What's going to look"},{"t":2972,"text":"like. Hopefully not just like that. I mean, what's it"},{"t":2975,"text":"going to look like? I don't have a sense of"},{"t":2977,"text":"what's supposed to be substituting that beautiful artwork this air"},{"t":2981,"text":"now. Steven O. Through the mayor, the plan is to"},{"t":2988,"text":"restore the facade to its original state. Um, so it's"},{"t":2995,"text":"painted concrete and it will be painted in its original"},{"t":2998,"text":"colour. There was a Heritage Consultant that provided a historic"},{"t":3003,"text":"colour palette analysis. And, um, they determined what the original"},{"t":3006,"text":"colour was. Um, and it will showcase the original sort"},{"t":3011,"text":"of very simple and streamlined modern art deco features of"},{"t":3015,"text":"the facade. And what colour is that? It's through the"},{"t":3024,"text":"mirror. It's a buff type colour. I would have to"},{"t":3027,"text":"just quickly look up the exact colour for you. It"},{"t":3031,"text":"would be essentially what you're showing in this rendering. Correct."},{"t":3036,"text":"Council Cronur. Okay. Um, okay. Um, decap by downtown CORRAP"},{"t":3044,"text":"plan. The DCAP, the upper floor is supposed to be"},{"t":3045,"text":"set back at three metres. Whereas this proposal is half"},{"t":3048,"text":"that. And I was a bit confused when you just"},{"t":3052,"text":"spoke on your earlier slide, uh, which we could see"},{"t":3054,"text":"there. Whoops. We could have seen it the one you"},{"t":3056,"text":"had. You talk about the penthouse edition. That's just for"},{"t":3059,"text":"the elevator or is that a, what's there? And that"},{"t":3062,"text":"top little story. Steven. The sixth story, shall we say"},{"t":3066,"text":"through the mayor, um, yeah, the sixth story is the"},{"t":3070,"text":"pentose mechanical penthouse. Just mechanical only. Correct. Okay. Um, and."},{"t":3079,"text":"The fifth story is supposed to be residences with the"},{"t":3082,"text":"outside garden space. Through the mayor, um, it's guest rooms"},{"t":3088,"text":"for the hotel and a terrorist. As we're being consideration"},{"t":3093,"text":"of setting it back to what the guidelines say, which"},{"t":3096,"text":"I understand, in other words, the three metre setbacks, because"},{"t":3100,"text":"then actually you'd have more garden space even. There has"},{"t":3104,"text":"had been any consideration of that. Steven. Through the mayor,"},{"t":3109,"text":"um, the penthouse is set back, um, several metres, um,"},{"t":3113,"text":"from many of the elevations except for where it pinches"},{"t":3118,"text":"at the sort of the top north there. Um, so"},{"t":3122,"text":"it should be three metres all the way around, but"},{"t":3125,"text":"in those two cases, or sorry, three cases, um, so"},{"t":3129,"text":"fair field. And the Blanchard side, they're pinched at 1."},{"t":3134,"text":"57. That's due to the configuration of the original building."},{"t":3139,"text":"Um, but because it is a small scale rooftop edition,"},{"t":3144,"text":"we, we do not feel that it is going to"},{"t":3146,"text":"impact negatively on the Heritage Building. You're talking the fifth"},{"t":3152,"text":"story. Sorry, this is the sixth. I'm looking at the"},{"t":3156,"text":"fifth. Cause the fifth is supposed to be three metres"},{"t":3158,"text":"back by the guidelines, correct? Correct. So that's my question"},{"t":3162,"text":"there. So was there consideration of actually, um, respecting the"},{"t":3167,"text":"guidelines. Through the mayor. Um, there's always a bit of"},{"t":3172,"text":"flexibility when it comes to the guidelines. So three metres"},{"t":3176,"text":"is a general rule because this is a four story"},{"t":3180,"text":"elevation being set back less than three metres does not"},{"t":3184,"text":"negatively impact the heritage, uh, character. Okay. There's mention of"},{"t":3190,"text":"the, uh, what was it called now? The stone is"},{"t":3193,"text":"a guideline. So the conservation of historic places in Canada."},{"t":3196,"text":"What do they say about this kind of thing about"},{"t":3198,"text":"the setbacks or anything else when you're adding a story."},{"t":3202,"text":"The standards and guidelines do not provide exact setback amounts,"},{"t":3208,"text":"um, just general rules guidelines to ensure that the, the"},{"t":3214,"text":"overall character inheritage value of a place is not negatively"},{"t":3218,"text":"impacted by any alteration or addition. PENNES Okay, in your"},{"t":3222,"text":"report, uh, it states that there's, it's generally consistent with"},{"t":3226,"text":"decap. Are there other specs? Are there aspects of DCAP"},{"t":3232,"text":"beyond the setbacks which are not respected. Steven O. S"},{"t":3240,"text":"through the mayor. I do not believe there is. Do"},{"t":3245,"text":"we know. I think that would be interpreted as no."},{"t":3250,"text":"Okay. Uh, but it was compared to decap, other aspects."},{"t":3255,"text":"It meets the DCACAP guidelines. For Heritage Buildings. Except for"},{"t":3261,"text":"the setbacks. Okay. Um. In correspondence from the proponent who"},{"t":3267,"text":"sent to, which was sent to council last night, references"},{"t":3269,"text":"made to the HOTAL brand. Is this hotel to be"},{"t":3272,"text":"part of an existing change of hotels? Is it to"},{"t":3275,"text":"be a local hotel? Do we know that. Through the"},{"t":3278,"text":"mare, I do not have that information. Steven, that would"},{"t":3280,"text":"not be a material consideration for this application, would it?"},{"t":3285,"text":"No, it would not. The proposal, not me mentions or"},{"t":3289,"text":"last night, the information we got says hotel brand. And"},{"t":3292,"text":"I'm just trying to figure out what that was meant"},{"t":3293,"text":"by the proponent. Nevertheless, that is not a material consideration"},{"t":3296,"text":"for this application for council. Might be to the taxpayers."},{"t":3301,"text":"Okay. Reducing the parking has been dealt with somewhat. Where"},{"t":3306,"text":"is staff supposed to park. And are we assuming that"},{"t":3310,"text":"no guests will bring cars. Steven O, I believe in"},{"t":3314,"text":"the material there were some information about an arrangement within"},{"t":3317,"text":"nearby public parking parquet, is that correct? Just temporary. Correct."},{"t":3322,"text":"Through the mayor, the applicant has an agreement with, I"},{"t":3329,"text":"think, the province to provide 25 stalls at a nearby"},{"t":3335,"text":"parking lot. I believe it's the public library on Broughton."},{"t":3339,"text":"Thank you. And, uh, if people do bike to work"},{"t":3342,"text":"and they have to be in quite a hygienic thing"},{"t":3345,"text":"since they're going to be clingy and doing other things"},{"t":3346,"text":"with food, are there full lockers and showers for staff"},{"t":3349,"text":"on psych. Through the mayor, yes, there is a full"},{"t":3354,"text":"facility in the, um, ground floor off of Fairfield. Sorry."},{"t":3360,"text":"There is showers, change rooms, lockers. Just for staff? Yes."},{"t":3363,"text":"Okay. Thank you. Um. Okay. I think different comes from"},{"t":3367,"text":"ask a question about you don't have the numbers yet,"},{"t":3370,"text":"of course, cause they haven't applied. I think I saw"},{"t":3372,"text":"my questions for now, Mayor. Great. Thank you. Anybody else"},{"t":3375,"text":"with questions, Councillor Loughton. Good morning. And through you, Mayor,"},{"t":3381,"text":"I just have one quick question. And that's about, um,"},{"t":3386,"text":"the chairman's office that's going to be a, just a"},{"t":3391,"text":"second. I lost by the conference room, I think. Or"},{"t":3394,"text":"there was also mention of it maybe being a restaurant,"},{"t":3397,"text":"just clarification. And really what I want is the capacity"},{"t":3401,"text":"of the conference room if you have that information. Through"},{"t":3406,"text":"the mayor, um, the chairman's office, which is also been"},{"t":3409,"text":"referred to as the conference room is an historic room"},{"t":3414,"text":"that has been retained. They, from what I understand about"},{"t":3416,"text":"the program of this space that they, they would like"},{"t":3420,"text":"to turn it into sort of like a bookable room,"},{"t":3424,"text":"um, I don't know the number capacity. Um, I don't"},{"t":3427,"text":"believe it's necessarily going to be used for conference room"},{"t":3431,"text":"necessarily, but maybe like an event space or like they"},{"t":3436,"text":"had it set up as a listening room, but that"},{"t":3438,"text":"might be more of like a lounge that's like associated"},{"t":3441,"text":"with the sort of bar and kitchen restaurant. Okay. Okay."},{"t":3446,"text":"Thanks. That's it for me. Thanks, Mayor. Any other questions."},{"t":3451,"text":"I had one question. I was referenced to obliquely a"},{"t":3454,"text":"little earlier. Uh, the current mural that's on the outside"},{"t":3458,"text":"of the building was not part of the original design."},{"t":3462,"text":"Is that correct? That is correct. It was designed and"},{"t":3465,"text":"painted in 1994. Right. And so it is not considered"},{"t":3469,"text":"heritage, is that correct? That is correct. It's not considered,"},{"t":3473,"text":"um, a character defining element of the original building. Okay."},{"t":3478,"text":"Thank you for that. That's clarifying. Any other questions. If"},{"t":3482,"text":"the other questions, does anyone have any interest in moving"},{"t":3485,"text":"the staff recommendation? Thanks Councillor Thompson. The councillor Dell's seconding."},{"t":3489,"text":"Councillor Thompson. How do you thank you Mayor? And through"},{"t":3493,"text":"you, thanks very much for the report. I did want"},{"t":3496,"text":"to mention for members of the public that there was"},{"t":3500,"text":"a correspondence provided, uh, in the publicly available materials online,"},{"t":3506,"text":"uh, which was only one letter, um, there were another"},{"t":3509,"text":"four letters that council members received, um, we received them"},{"t":3513,"text":"too late for the, uh, staff to add them to"},{"t":3515,"text":"the agenda. But I'll just, uh, indicate they're from the"},{"t":3519,"text":"downtown Victoria business association, the Chamber of Commerce, uh, Vancouver"},{"t":3524,"text":"Island Visual Art Society and Destination Greater Victoria all in"},{"t":3527,"text":"support of this application. For my part, um, consider this"},{"t":3532,"text":"to be a beautiful, amazing Heritage Building. If anybody is"},{"t":3536,"text":"listening now and hasn't seen it yet, I would really"},{"t":3539,"text":"urge you to go and, uh, take a look at"},{"t":3541,"text":"it. Bear in mind, when you're looking at it, the"},{"t":3545,"text":"buildings don't maintain themselves. Uh, owners maintain them. And generally"},{"t":3549,"text":"only if they're being used, uh, so I'm glad to"},{"t":3552,"text":"see that this is going to get a new use."},{"t":3555,"text":"So it will be preserved and revitalized as has been"},{"t":3558,"text":"discussed today. Um, if buildings become underused or vacant, the"},{"t":3563,"text":"risk is of course that they get under maintained and"},{"t":3565,"text":"go at derelict and end up getting torn down. So"},{"t":3568,"text":"really important that we, um, make sure that our heritage"},{"t":3571,"text":"buildings are actually being used. Um, as far as the"},{"t":3575,"text":"parking spaces go, if those parking spaces disappear, I would"},{"t":3580,"text":"assume that the hotel owner can enter into an agreement"},{"t":3582,"text":"with somebody else to provide nearby parking. Um, I don't"},{"t":3586,"text":"think we need to hold the hands of business owners"},{"t":3589,"text":"about how many parking spaces their guests need or where"},{"t":3592,"text":"those are located. I think they configure it out and"},{"t":3596,"text":"make sure that they're maximizing their profits. Um, again, I"},{"t":3600,"text":"just think it's a, it's a great, uh, reuse of"},{"t":3603,"text":"the building. Happy to see this go forward. Thanks. Thank"},{"t":3607,"text":"you very much. Councillor Dell is the secondary. Yes. I'm"},{"t":3611,"text":"happy also to support this. There's a lot to say."},{"t":3614,"text":"Maybe I want to comment on the arts angle. I"},{"t":3616,"text":"know a few folks in the arts community are going"},{"t":3618,"text":"to be upset. This is a hotel. Um, and speaking"},{"t":3621,"text":"as an arts advocate, I think the arts community understands,"},{"t":3624,"text":"um, this was very, very generous of the, of the"},{"t":3628,"text":"property owner to give this the arts community. They've had"},{"t":3630,"text":"a wonderful, few years there. And they're moving on. I"},{"t":3633,"text":"think that type of, uh, appreciation from the arts community"},{"t":3636,"text":"is what's going to allow more people to give buildings"},{"t":3638,"text":"to the arts community in the future while they're, you"},{"t":3640,"text":"know, slated for development. So, um, I just wanted to"},{"t":3644,"text":"read the letter from Logan Ford really quickly. It says"},{"t":3647,"text":"who's from Vivas. It has always been our understanding that"},{"t":3649,"text":"the use of 780 Blanchard is an arts help was"},{"t":3651,"text":"temporary. We're a grateful to reliance properties for allowing us."},{"t":3654,"text":"And the broader arts community to use a building for"},{"t":3656,"text":"considerably longer than what's originally anticipated. So as much as"},{"t":3659,"text":"we do need to look for permanent space, I really"},{"t":3662,"text":"appreciate developers who can take empty buildings and just hand"},{"t":3665,"text":"them over to the arts community. There's a lot more"},{"t":3667,"text":"buildings in the city that are sitting vacant and owners"},{"t":3670,"text":"aren't nearly as generous as this one has been. So"},{"t":3672,"text":"I hope others will step up and give to the"},{"t":3674,"text":"arts community. I also like this because I think in"},{"t":3678,"text":"many ways, our heritage realization can make buildings even nicer."},{"t":3682,"text":"There's one photo of the power court building back in"},{"t":3685,"text":"1950. And that we're going to say it looks, it"},{"t":3687,"text":"looked pretty ugly back then. Um, I think in many"},{"t":3689,"text":"ways, the arts community has done a better job and"},{"t":3693,"text":"the plans from the proponents will make it even nicer"},{"t":3695,"text":"than it was before. So I know the few folks"},{"t":3698,"text":"out there with a super strict interpretation of Heritage where"},{"t":3701,"text":"it has to be exactly as it was with no"},{"t":3704,"text":"variances, no changes. And I think that's just not the"},{"t":3706,"text":"right way for a growing city to, um, support heritage."},{"t":3710,"text":"So I think this has been a thoughtful, thoughtful response."},{"t":3712,"text":"Um, and I'm not worried about the parking at all."},{"t":3715,"text":"Most times I travel with my family. We don't have"},{"t":3716,"text":"a car. Uh, and I like staying in hotels that"},{"t":3719,"text":"don't have big parking lots all over the place. Um,"},{"t":3721,"text":"I don't understand why we're always obsessed with parking at"},{"t":3726,"text":"hotels. Cause you know, there's, if you need, if you"},{"t":3729,"text":"need a hotel with parking, you can actually search that"},{"t":3731,"text":"on, on expedia and look for one with parking. Uh,"},{"t":3735,"text":"you don't have a demand that every downtown hotel has"},{"t":3737,"text":"parking lot associated with us. So that's not really a"},{"t":3739,"text":"consideration for me. People will figure that out based on"},{"t":3742,"text":"their own needs. And overall, this is, this is great."},{"t":3745,"text":"So I'm happy to support this today. Thank you very"},{"t":3747,"text":"much. Councillor Cardano. Thanks very much Mayor. And I recognise"},{"t":3754,"text":"that, uh, the ART sub is not material to the"},{"t":3756,"text":"decision. Uh, I do support this moving forward. I will"},{"t":3760,"text":"just note that. It was, it is on some level"},{"t":3765,"text":"of shame that the ART sub can't stay there. Uh,"},{"t":3767,"text":"I think probably all of us around the table at"},{"t":3769,"text":"one point or another have gone to their open houses."},{"t":3771,"text":"I think pretty much all of us went there. They're"},{"t":3773,"text":"an absolute blast. It was really cool to see a"},{"t":3776,"text":"vibrant arts community in this city downtown having sub access"},{"t":3781,"text":"to subsidized space and going back to my comments earlier."},{"t":3784,"text":"I think that to my mind that work is ongoing"},{"t":3786,"text":"to create a permanent ART sub. I think the ideal"},{"t":3790,"text":"outcome here would have been that they somehow managed to"},{"t":3793,"text":"fundraise 13 to 15 million dollars and buy the building"},{"t":3795,"text":"and keep it as an ART sub, but that just"},{"t":3797,"text":"wasn't in the cards. It's just way, way too much"},{"t":3799,"text":"capital to try to raise. I think the second best"},{"t":3802,"text":"outcome is this outcome. That the Heritage Building is retained"},{"t":3805,"text":"and enhanced and upgraded and becomes a hotel. That thousands"},{"t":3809,"text":"of travellers and tourists will come and stay out and"},{"t":3812,"text":"get to appreciate. And I think the rooftop amenity will"},{"t":3816,"text":"really enhance what's already there. So my gratitude to the"},{"t":3819,"text":"proponent for sticking with this, I know it's been a"},{"t":3822,"text":"really long. Path and a long journey. And I'm appreciative"},{"t":3826,"text":"that they did make space for the ART sub for"},{"t":3828,"text":"at least a few years, which I thought was very"},{"t":3829,"text":"generous. But these hotel projects are complicated. And I think"},{"t":3834,"text":"some on some level actually kind of risky. So I'm"},{"t":3837,"text":"appreciative that there is anyone who wants to take this"},{"t":3839,"text":"on. And that we're not dealing with some kind of"},{"t":3842,"text":"a proposed demolition of this building. The ideal outcome either"},{"t":3847,"text":"way is that this Heritage A set remains a part"},{"t":3849,"text":"of downtown and humble valley. So given the realities of"},{"t":3854,"text":"where things are at, um, qualms about supporting this moving"},{"t":3858,"text":"forward. And I think it's, it's a pretty good outcome"},{"t":3860,"text":"based upon all the different factors that have played out"},{"t":3863,"text":"of the last few years. Thank you very much. Councillor"},{"t":3865,"text":"Hammond. Thanks Mayor. Uh, if I could get legislative services"},{"t":3870,"text":"to pull up an amendment that I would like to"},{"t":3872,"text":"propose. Just wait for that."},{"t":3886,"text":"And where would this go. Councillor Hammond. Oh, geez. I"},{"t":3890,"text":"was hoping someone would tell me. You can look to"},{"t":3898,"text":"our able Heritage staff to determine where this would properly"},{"t":3902,"text":"make sense. I think. I would probably be under"},{"t":3912,"text":"the permit with variances, I would think. Is that right,"},{"t":3916,"text":"Miss Stevenau? Was that where you would put that? This"},{"t":3918,"text":"is pertaining to an extended agreement for parking. Through the"},{"t":3922,"text":"mayor, yes, I would put it underneath Heritage Alteration permit"},{"t":3925,"text":"with variance's application. Probably be a new VII number eight,"},{"t":3932,"text":"I think under A, one A, eight, I think. Because"},{"t":3937,"text":"it does relate sort of to parking. Just suggest. Does"},{"t":3944,"text":"that make sense? Do you miss Divono just from a"},{"t":3945,"text":"logical perspective of where it fits? It's through the Mary,"},{"t":3948,"text":"yes. Okay. So just to make sure that it was"},{"t":3950,"text":"in the right place. That's all I want to do"},{"t":3951,"text":"is there is seconder for that amendment. Thanks, Councillor Carter."},{"t":3954,"text":"Go ahead, Councillor Hemid on your amendment. Yeah. Thanks, Mayor."},{"t":3957,"text":"And I promise I'm not obsessed with barking. However, it"},{"t":3961,"text":"was the, it's the proponent who actually put this forward."},{"t":3964,"text":"The interesting thing is I think had just come to"},{"t":3967,"text":"us with the amount of stalls that they had that"},{"t":3970,"text":"I wouldn't be concerned about this. But obviously when, when"},{"t":3973,"text":"the proponent is bringing this forward, I got to assume"},{"t":3976,"text":"that their plan is that they will be needing some"},{"t":3979,"text":"offsite parking. And so I thought this was just reasonable,"},{"t":3983,"text":"um, so that it, uh, it would continue in that"},{"t":3985,"text":"way. Thank you, Councillor Gardner, on the amendment. Anything to"},{"t":3988,"text":"add. Thank you. And I quite appreciate the amendment. I"},{"t":3991,"text":"think it's important to know that, uh, you can pretend"},{"t":3994,"text":"everyone's going to use a bike, but a lot of"},{"t":3995,"text":"staff won't be. And staff in the hotel, especially this"},{"t":3998,"text":"one, which sounds, um, that it will have, of course,"},{"t":4002,"text":"amenities, restaurant and what have you, which is very, very"},{"t":4004,"text":"positive. But it means the staff aren't working, uh, should"},{"t":4007,"text":"we say banking hours. And so I think a lot"},{"t":4010,"text":"of them will want to use a car. Uh, just"},{"t":4013,"text":"from a safety perspective, uh, especially if they have to"},{"t":4015,"text":"travel nighttime after restaurants are closed, what have you. So"},{"t":4019,"text":"therefore, I think, uh, again, because the proponent is actually"},{"t":4023,"text":"suggested this, at least at the short term, that it's"},{"t":4026,"text":"obviously something recognised as being necessary. Thank you. Thank you"},{"t":4030,"text":"very much. Just before I go to Councillor Thompson, Ms."},{"t":4033,"text":"Steven, I just want to ask the question about whether"},{"t":4037,"text":"or not this has any unintended impact on the rest"},{"t":4041,"text":"of the provisions. I just want to make sure that"},{"t":4043,"text":"we're not creating a conflict with the other requirements. Through"},{"t":4051,"text":"the mirror, I do not think there's any conflict. Great."},{"t":4053,"text":"Super. Councillor Thompson. Thank you, Mayor. Just a question about"},{"t":4058,"text":"this, actually. Um, given that the mover in seconder, uh,"},{"t":4062,"text":"mentioned the proponent's desire to have this parking as the"},{"t":4066,"text":"rationale for the amendment. I'm just wondering if anyone has"},{"t":4069,"text":"actually taken the time to check with the proponent wherewith"},{"t":4073,"text":"staff about whether this is desired. Ms. TV, no, do"},{"t":4076,"text":"you know if this has been part of the conversation."},{"t":4079,"text":"Or Ms. Wayne either? Through the mayor, I have not"},{"t":4082,"text":"discussed this with the applicant. Okay. Thank you, Richard. That's"},{"t":4088,"text":"all we can do. I know that they don't have"},{"t":4091,"text":"to answer, but I will ask you through you, Mayor,"},{"t":4094,"text":"if the mover or secondary wish to answer that question."},{"t":4098,"text":"Do either the mover or second or know whether or"},{"t":4100,"text":"not that's actually been a conversation? No. Okay. That's fine."},{"t":4104,"text":"All right. Uh, just a second. I've got, um, going"},{"t":4108,"text":"back to that. Nope. Yep. Council Caridona councillor alone. Go"},{"t":4111,"text":"ahead. On the amendment. Yeah. Thanks. In the absence of"},{"t":4114,"text":"knowing what the proponent wants and also not one to"},{"t":4118,"text":"find their hands, but also acknowledging that parking could be"},{"t":4122,"text":"an issue. I'd like to amend this one to simply"},{"t":4125,"text":"make it a consideration. That they can work on. But"},{"t":4129,"text":"if they don't want to do it, they don't have"},{"t":4130,"text":"to. So I would just propose this become a consideration."},{"t":4133,"text":"Perhaps changing the word require to something else. You could"},{"t":4138,"text":"say urge the owner or require supposed to require. It's"},{"t":4142,"text":"up to you. Uh, I could maybe use some help"},{"t":4144,"text":"from staff on that. Miss Wayne. Through the mayor. Um,"},{"t":4150,"text":"just looking at the language in this amendment, um, given"},{"t":4154,"text":"that it does refer to a legal agreement, it probably"},{"t":4156,"text":"is best. Relocated under one B. Yes, I see what"},{"t":4164,"text":"you mean. Steph, could you pull this green up slightly"},{"t":4168,"text":"so that we can see the rest of this. Right."},{"t":4174,"text":"Just before we move that though, Mswane, I think that"},{"t":4177,"text":"the, um, the councillor with and meant to the amendment"},{"t":4181,"text":"is suggesting less about the location of it than diminishing"},{"t":4185,"text":"the requirement to a suggestion. So I'm not sure that"},{"t":4190,"text":"makes any difference to where it's located. Through the minute,"},{"t":4195,"text":"it doesn't make a difference to the location. I think"},{"t":4200,"text":"if the amendment"},{"t":4238,"text":"Just, I think it does make more sense just a"},{"t":4240,"text":"second, Mr. Johnston. To start with. And then Mr. Johnson,"},{"t":4244,"text":"did you wish to speak to the location or to"},{"t":4247,"text":"the potential amendment to the amendment, which hasn't yet been"},{"t":4249,"text":"clarified. Thank you. I was going to speak to the"},{"t":4253,"text":"location, um, just suggesting that perhaps because this is, one"},{"t":4259,"text":"B is specifically preparing and executing legal agreements. Um, and"},{"t":4263,"text":"if this is potentially a consideration of an additional legal"},{"t":4266,"text":"agreement, it might be best to have it as a"},{"t":4269,"text":"new number two, like separate from number one altogether. Right."},{"t":4273,"text":"Yeah. I can see that as well. Okay. Um, that"},{"t":4277,"text":"does make sense to me because it is separate. So"},{"t":4280,"text":"again, with your indulgence count, Councillor Hammond, uh, we'll just"},{"t":4283,"text":"take an unchanged number seven that's there. And actually, if"},{"t":4286,"text":"you can take that out, pull our screen up so"},{"t":4289,"text":"we can see the very bottom of this whole section."},{"t":4294,"text":"So it'll be a brand new number two, which will"},{"t":4296,"text":"push two and three down to become three and four."},{"t":4300,"text":"Mr. Johnson, is that what you were intending or suggesting?"},{"t":4303,"text":"Yes. Yes. Okay. That's what I was suggesting. Okay. Okay."},{"t":4307,"text":"Let's just get that cleaned up. And then I'm going"},{"t":4308,"text":"to go back to Councillor Cardona for some language on"},{"t":4311,"text":"an amendment to the amendment. Okay. That makes sense now"},{"t":4314,"text":"as far as location. So now Councillor Caradona, you were"},{"t":4317,"text":"suggesting, I believe, if I understood you correctly that you"},{"t":4320,"text":"wanted to change the requirement to, that staff discuss what"},{"t":4326,"text":"the proponent. Yes. Okay. So that would be, um, yes,"},{"t":4331,"text":"that. After the word that, that stuff discuss with the"},{"t":4336,"text":"proponent. And then rest of that is fine until you"},{"t":4343,"text":"get to, so the determinant. Then you'd say."},{"t":4354,"text":"If I understand you correctly, Councillor Cartier, you want to"},{"t":4356,"text":"actually delete the phrasing after that. Through the conditions of"},{"t":4361,"text":"the Heritage Alteration Probably amended to require that the staff"},{"t":4365,"text":"discuss with the proponent. Maybe something like the idea of"},{"t":4370,"text":"maintaining access. Yeah. So delete everything right true to the"},{"t":4373,"text":"word hotel. In the second line. And then you can"},{"t":4380,"text":"add in before two. You would say the staff discussion."},{"t":4383,"text":"The option two. The option to maintain access. The rest"},{"t":4387,"text":"of it's still there. Election two, nine, 10. Yes, there"},{"t":4391,"text":"you go. Okay. I think that's what you're describing. Is"},{"t":4394,"text":"that correct? Okay. So there is an amendment to the"},{"t":4396,"text":"amendment. Is there a second or two? The amendment to"},{"t":4399,"text":"the amendment. Councillor Thompson is doing that. Council Cardona on"},{"t":4402,"text":"your amendment to the amendment. Yeah. I'm trying to split"},{"t":4405,"text":"the difference here a bit. Uh, I mean, I think"},{"t":4406,"text":"that the proponents obviously pay really close attention to these"},{"t":4409,"text":"conversations. They've heard some concerns around parking. And this gives"},{"t":4413,"text":"some direction to staff to actually have an explicit conversation"},{"t":4416,"text":"with them about ensuring that they're sufficient offsite parking. And"},{"t":4421,"text":"that can be a consideration of their business plan. But"},{"t":4424,"text":"it also doesn't bind their hands if for some reason"},{"t":4426,"text":"they don't want to do this or it's not in"},{"t":4428,"text":"their business plan or whatever. It's not an obligation, but"},{"t":4430,"text":"at least it becomes an explicit conversation and a consideration"},{"t":4433,"text":"for them moving forward. Coach Thompson, an amendment to the"},{"t":4437,"text":"amendment. Thanks, Mayor. Yeah. I think this is a good"},{"t":4439,"text":"response to the question I raised about whether this had"},{"t":4443,"text":"in fact been discussed with the proponent. I would suggest"},{"t":4448,"text":"not an amendment, but a typo type change options to"},{"t":4453,"text":"maintain perhaps. If the mover is comfortable with that or"},{"t":4458,"text":"is it? Yes. I think that would be sufficient. Okay."},{"t":4461,"text":"Just stick an S on it. Um, yeah, no further"},{"t":4465,"text":"motivation. Thanks. On the amendment to the amendment, Councillor Loton."},{"t":4471,"text":"Thanks and through you mayor. I'm just curious if this"},{"t":4475,"text":"had been discussed. And why it wasn't part of the"},{"t":4478,"text":"recommendation league. Is there a reason why this didn't? I"},{"t":4482,"text":"blew stuff already coming to that it hasn't been discussed."},{"t":4485,"text":"But was it, um, is there a reason why I"},{"t":4489,"text":"wasn't part of the recommendation? Steven O. To the mayor."},{"t":4498,"text":"I think as Ms. Steven O mentioned a presentation that"},{"t":4501,"text":"staff was satisfied that the, uh, transportation demand management package"},{"t":4506,"text":"was sufficient to offset the parking variants and the including"},{"t":4511,"text":"the location of the Heritage Building, the lack of ability"},{"t":4514,"text":"to include parking on the site and the, uh, and"},{"t":4519,"text":"of use, uh, trip facilities for staff. Okay. Okay. Thanks."},{"t":4524,"text":"Okay. Anything else? Yes. Councillor Gardner on the amendment to"},{"t":4527,"text":"the amendment. Yeah. Thank you. And I'm just going to"},{"t":4529,"text":"follow up on the question because it's very appropriate question."},{"t":4533,"text":"Does staff aware of any hotels in downtown core like"},{"t":4536,"text":"that within the city or elsewhere that that many units"},{"t":4539,"text":"with no parking. Is Wayne, Mr. Johnston, would you know"},{"t":4543,"text":"that. The top of your head. Ah, yes, but you"},{"t":4547,"text":"can't. Yeah. Through the mayor. Um, so I think this"},{"t":4549,"text":"is one of the, you know, issues of parking and"},{"t":4551,"text":"hotels in the downtown. So, uh, for example, the Bedford"},{"t":4553,"text":"Hotel on government street doesn't have any access to vehicle"},{"t":4557,"text":"parking. And I believe they utilise, uh, one of the"},{"t":4560,"text":"Robin's parcades. Similarly, the best Western on Johnson Street utilises"},{"t":4565,"text":"City Parque for parking. So, um, you know, we knew"},{"t":4568,"text":"now that existing hotels, I believe the magnolia as well"},{"t":4571,"text":"has quite limited on - site parking. So again, they"},{"t":4574,"text":"look to other parkades available. And, you know, use valet"},{"t":4577,"text":"parking or their websites to drive customers to where they"},{"t":4580,"text":"need to be as far as we understand. Great. What's"},{"t":4583,"text":"the closest? Remind me City Parking Lock to this one."},{"t":4586,"text":"I believe it's 400 metres and then it's the library"},{"t":4589,"text":"parquet. Half a kilometer. And will there be a valet"},{"t":4595,"text":"service. Uh, through the mayor, that would be for the"},{"t":4600,"text":"business to decide. You know, I think we would see"},{"t":4602,"text":"many hotels that do provide that service. Yeah, but this"},{"t":4604,"text":"proponent doesn't that we know of, right? Um, I believe,"},{"t":4608,"text":"you know, they're, again, I can't speak to the business"},{"t":4611,"text":"model, but, um, I would anticipate that they would likely"},{"t":4615,"text":"provide that service. But I was discussed by staff with"},{"t":4618,"text":"them. Through the mayor, no, it was not discussed. Okay."},{"t":4625,"text":"Councillor Hammond. Go ahead. Thanks very much. Just to be"},{"t":4628,"text":"clear, you know, I can, I know not, I can"},{"t":4631,"text":"from what questions I've asked, I will support this, um,"},{"t":4634,"text":"uh, this proposal, uh, it's not that far from my"},{"t":4638,"text":"place. And I don't mind saying when it comes to"},{"t":4640,"text":"parking, it's no skin off my nose, whether they got"},{"t":4643,"text":"parking or not. And being that staff had said they"},{"t":4646,"text":"didn't think it was necessary. And yet the proponent came"},{"t":4649,"text":"up with the 25 stalls. I got to assume they"},{"t":4652,"text":"figured there was a reason. So I just thought, okay,"},{"t":4654,"text":"if the reason, um, then why not, then why not"},{"t":4657,"text":"put it, um, in legal agreement. It doesn't seem to"},{"t":4661,"text":"be too difficult. They could pivot and find something else"},{"t":4664,"text":"if necessary. Uh, and again, I can with the changes,"},{"t":4669,"text":"if this goes ahead, I'll agree to the, to it."},{"t":4673,"text":"Um, I just think that if I were the proponent,"},{"t":4676,"text":"I'd probably be saying, look, we want the 25 spaces,"},{"t":4682,"text":"we've got them, um, but I'm not going to tie"},{"t":4685,"text":"my hands to that. And so I was just thinking"},{"t":4688,"text":"it's probably not a big deal, um, that we ask"},{"t":4690,"text":"them to just come up with that. So I'll oppose"},{"t":4693,"text":"this, um, but, uh, if this goes ahead, I would"},{"t":4697,"text":"even be fine with the amendment as is. Thank you"},{"t":4700,"text":"very much. Anybody else on the amendment to the amendment."},{"t":4703,"text":"And that would be to add the underlined language and"},{"t":4706,"text":"delete the struck through language in the bold number two."},{"t":4711,"text":"Anybody else? Nope. So in favor of the amendment to"},{"t":4714,"text":"the amendment, all those in favor. Councillor Dell, councillor Kim,"},{"t":4719,"text":"council record on it, Councillor Loton, Councillor Thompson and myself"},{"t":4724,"text":"in opposition. Counts your gardener and Councillor Hammond noting that"},{"t":4727,"text":"Councillor Coleman is not with us today. So the amendment"},{"t":4730,"text":"to the amendment is adopted. And so we'll just give"},{"t":4734,"text":"staff a moment to clean that up for us. So"},{"t":4739,"text":"that we know what we're discussing. Very good. And so"},{"t":4745,"text":"we're now back on the amended amendment and Councillor Caridoni."},{"t":4750,"text":"You still have the floor. Anything else? Councillor Loughten, you're"},{"t":4753,"text":"up next. Now the amendment. Um, three married nothing else"},{"t":4757,"text":"for me. This makes sense for anyone else on the"},{"t":4760,"text":"amendment. Councillor Del. Yeah. I'll oppose amendment. It's just, it's"},{"t":4766,"text":"just counsel totally overreaching into a private development. This is"},{"t":4770,"text":"what hotel operators do. They'll have a valet. They'll biparking"},{"t":4773,"text":"this 25. They might buy more. They might buy less."},{"t":4775,"text":"This is how they run their business. So it's just"},{"t":4777,"text":"us getting involved in the nitty gritty of their details,"},{"t":4780,"text":"which we don't need to be doing. We knocked, we"},{"t":4783,"text":"approved a parcade reduction a couple of weeks ago and"},{"t":4785,"text":"the hotel across the site and I inquired about it."},{"t":4788,"text":"And they said, Oh yeah, parking is not an issue."},{"t":4789,"text":"We actually have about five parking rentals. We rent all"},{"t":4792,"text":"across the city. We have a valet. It's not a"},{"t":4794,"text":"concern. So that's how these hotels operate. I mean, this"},{"t":4797,"text":"is, this is almost on par with getting involved in"},{"t":4799,"text":"the menu and the restaurant and making sure it has"},{"t":4801,"text":"vegetarian options or something ridiculous like that. So I think"},{"t":4805,"text":"we need to stay out of this type of business"},{"t":4806,"text":"and I can oppose this on that principle. Thank you."},{"t":4809,"text":"Anybody else on the amendment? Councillor Thompson. Thanks Maria. I"},{"t":4814,"text":"agree with the rationale that councillor Dell just outlined. I"},{"t":4818,"text":"am going to support the amendment though as I think"},{"t":4820,"text":"that the applicant can look at it and say, sure,"},{"t":4824,"text":"or no. Um, and, uh, that this doesn't materially slow"},{"t":4829,"text":"down the proposal. If it had materially lace loaded down,"},{"t":4832,"text":"I would probably oppose it. Thank you. Well, just remind"},{"t":4836,"text":"council that our procedures by law prevents us from directly"},{"t":4840,"text":"quoting or referencing other members of council by name. I"},{"t":4843,"text":"would appreciate it if you would remember that. Anyone else"},{"t":4846,"text":"on the amendment. So you're also in the amendment, all"},{"t":4851,"text":"those in favor of the amendment. Councillor Thompson. Councillor Gardner,"},{"t":4856,"text":"Councillor Hammond, myself, Gulfster Loaton, Council Caradona, Councillor Kim in"},{"t":4860,"text":"opposition, Councillor Dell. Noting one and opposition, that amendment is"},{"t":4864,"text":"adopted. So let's stop, get that there. And coming back"},{"t":4870,"text":"to then the main motion as amended. Councillor Hammond, you"},{"t":4873,"text":"had the last week. You have another chance to speak"},{"t":4876,"text":"if you wish. And then it's Councillor Loven after that."},{"t":4884,"text":"Anything else, Councillor Hammond? Yeah, I know I'm going to"},{"t":4887,"text":"note something. Okay. Yeah. Here we go. Uh, I'll be"},{"t":4895,"text":"sporting this application. Um, this is a significant heritage building"},{"t":4899,"text":"and the current proposal is much more modest project than"},{"t":4903,"text":"the earlier tower proposed. Uh, it was, it would retain"},{"t":4907,"text":"and rehabilitate the former BC power commission building. Formally designated,"},{"t":4912,"text":"um, formerly designate it for Heritage Protection and convert it"},{"t":4916,"text":"into a 126 room hotel with a restaurant and one"},{"t":4920,"text":"story rooftop edition. There are a number of variances, most"},{"t":4924,"text":"noticeably parking, but staff have explained why they arise from"},{"t":4927,"text":"the constraints of reusing the existing Heritage Building. I see"},{"t":4930,"text":"this as a practical way to put an important building"},{"t":4933,"text":"back into Active Use while protecting is Heritage Value. Thanks"},{"t":4938,"text":"very much. Thank you. Councillor Lotner. Thanks. And through you,"},{"t":4943,"text":"Mayor. I'm supportive of this project. And I think that"},{"t":4947,"text":"the heritage work on this is just so important. The"},{"t":4952,"text":"project meets the intent of the standards and guidelines for"},{"t":4956,"text":"conservation of Heritage Places in Canada. And that's really important."},{"t":4960,"text":"And the seismic upgrades. And adaptive reuse. I can't see"},{"t":4964,"text":"this happening in another way or this is a very"},{"t":4966,"text":"good way for this to happen. And as I was"},{"t":4969,"text":"reading the report, it made me think of some of"},{"t":4972,"text":"the conferences I've gone to with the Canadian Capital Cities"},{"t":4975,"text":"organisation. And we, there's different conferences that capital cities host"},{"t":4979,"text":"every year. And this would be the kind of project"},{"t":4982,"text":"that we would gather around to look at and learn"},{"t":4987,"text":"from one another. And I think that this is going"},{"t":4990,"text":"to be a symbol of pride for downtown Victoria once"},{"t":4994,"text":"it's finished. And for the years to come, and it's,"},{"t":4998,"text":"it's incredibly important to maintain these buildings as part of"},{"t":5002,"text":"our history and our, and our civic pride. So I"},{"t":5006,"text":"just want to, you know, tip my hat to staff"},{"t":5009,"text":"and to the proponent for, for bringing this forward in"},{"t":5012,"text":"this way. Um, also this is 126 hotel rooms that"},{"t":5017,"text":"are going to contribute to that 1500 unit target that"},{"t":5022,"text":"we've been, that has been set. So that's also really"},{"t":5026,"text":"important for the vibrancy and vitality and all the things"},{"t":5030,"text":"that need to happen, um, downtown right now. And then"},{"t":5033,"text":"just finally, I wanted to make a comment about, uh,"},{"t":5037,"text":"the, the vivis that's been happening here for the arts"},{"t":5041,"text":"community in the last few years. And that it really"},{"t":5045,"text":"was special. Like touring the vivous site made me feel"},{"t":5050,"text":"like I was in Montreal or Berlin. It was that"},{"t":5053,"text":"kind of level of, um, my colleague here saying, cool."},{"t":5059,"text":"But just the thriving, the way that when artists come"},{"t":5064,"text":"together, because a lot of times artists can't afford places"},{"t":5068,"text":"to work and be. And so to have, you know,"},{"t":5071,"text":"20 or 30 or 40 different arts, modes and forms"},{"t":5076,"text":"of creation all happening under one roof is incredibly special."},{"t":5081,"text":"It, it, um, it creates like an incubator. It's a"},{"t":5087,"text":"space for artists to thrive and create together. So my"},{"t":5091,"text":"hope is that, um, the next council, whoever's sitting around"},{"t":5095,"text":"this table can really focus on where the building like"},{"t":5100,"text":"this can be recreated somewhere else in a permanent home"},{"t":5103,"text":"in Victoria. And I know it's not germane to what's"},{"t":5105,"text":"in front of us today. But I think it's really"},{"t":5108,"text":"important to remember that that is also something that would"},{"t":5111,"text":"be a source of pride. It would also be something"},{"t":5113,"text":"that if, if we were hosting a CCCO conference that"},{"t":5117,"text":"we would tour people through as something that's really special"},{"t":5121,"text":"about Victoria. So, um, just wanted to say that. And"},{"t":5125,"text":"again, just thanks for everyone involved in this and really"},{"t":5127,"text":"happy to support it today. Thank you, Councillor Gardner. Thank"},{"t":5133,"text":"you, Mayor. 7780 Blanchard is a very visible building. More"},{"t":5139,"text":"visible than most due to the location while driving down"},{"t":5142,"text":"the hill into the humble valley. And over the past"},{"t":5146,"text":"many years, I've watched from a distance the earlier visions"},{"t":5151,"text":"offered for this site. It is a really difficult site"},{"t":5154,"text":"with challenges. And I appreciate how the proponent has had"},{"t":5158,"text":"to really think and rethink and rethink for this site."},{"t":5162,"text":"It is very difficult. Well, I would like to sit"},{"t":5165,"text":"back on the fifth floor to meet the guidelines of"},{"t":5169,"text":"three metres. From the schematic showing, the tall billings to"},{"t":5172,"text":"the South already offer or alter the roof line. And"},{"t":5177,"text":"that's, they are now, it's the reality. I also appreciate"},{"t":5181,"text":"that the taxpayers funding, uh, or taxpayers provide a significant"},{"t":5185,"text":"funding, as mentioned by other councillors, uh, of a grant"},{"t":5188,"text":"equivalent to almost two years taxes for the ARCOP to"},{"t":5193,"text":"be established there. And we also, of course, have the"},{"t":5197,"text":"arts and innovation district that has been approved. And, uh,"},{"t":5201,"text":"that will bring forward, we hope. More opportunities in the"},{"t":5204,"text":"years ahead. And finally, do I want that beautiful artwork"},{"t":5208,"text":"to disappear? No, I certainly don't. It's just stunning. I"},{"t":5212,"text":"just appreciate it every time I see it. But that"},{"t":5214,"text":"is not the decision before us today. This is going"},{"t":5217,"text":"to be, um, prominent restoration project from the outside and"},{"t":5224,"text":"inside. So I will be approving this project. Thank you."},{"t":5228,"text":"Thank you. Anybody else. Just briefly at a couple of"},{"t":5233,"text":"things, um, the one thing about this that I do"},{"t":5236,"text":"find regretful is the loss of the mural and the"},{"t":5238,"text":"exterior because it was added at a time, uh, when"},{"t":5242,"text":"the messaging around its content was really important and unique."},{"t":5247,"text":"Um, having said that, uh, because of the other reasons"},{"t":5251,"text":"that this is being redeveloped. And I think back to"},{"t":5254,"text":"the beginning of the presentation from staff where they used"},{"t":5258,"text":"three really critical words, retain, restore and rehabilitate. And having"},{"t":5262,"text":"the ability to do that with a building like this,"},{"t":5264,"text":"which is so unique, is an opportunity, I think, that"},{"t":5266,"text":"we can't miss. The parking issues I think will resolve"},{"t":5271,"text":"themselves. It's a downtown hotel. There is nearby parking. I"},{"t":5275,"text":"can't imagine a hotel whoever this might be not having"},{"t":5277,"text":"valet parking in a downtown core. That's something for them"},{"t":5280,"text":"to decide in the future. The hotel rooms has been"},{"t":5283,"text":"commented as well. And it is already surrounded by taller"},{"t":5285,"text":"buildings somewhat overshadowing them. So the fact that this can"},{"t":5288,"text":"retain this really unique original design is quite spectacular. I"},{"t":5292,"text":"actually think that's the right word. I think it's kind"},{"t":5293,"text":"of spectacular to be able to see this sitting where"},{"t":5296,"text":"it is surrounded by the buildings that do surround it."},{"t":5299,"text":"In a way which will cause, I think, pedestrians, both"},{"t":5304,"text":"residents and visitors alike to really be struck by house"},{"t":5307,"text":"stunning. It is when it's redeveloped, when it's rehabilitated, when"},{"t":5311,"text":"it retains its original look, it may seem a little"},{"t":5314,"text":"out of place in this time, but in the 1950s,"},{"t":5318,"text":"Whitaker design was truly stunning. And if this comes to"},{"t":5323,"text":"be what the images portray, uh, it will be not"},{"t":5327,"text":"just unique, but, uh, really startling and incredible addition to"},{"t":5331,"text":"the architecture of the downtown core. So I have no"},{"t":5335,"text":"reservations about this other than the loss of the external"},{"t":5338,"text":"mural, but in that it's easy to support. And thank"},{"t":5342,"text":"you, Staff, for a very thorough analysis and examination and"},{"t":5346,"text":"report. With that, it has been moved in seconded and"},{"t":5351,"text":"slightly amended. All those in favor. Councillor Thompson, Councillor Gardner,"},{"t":5356,"text":"Councillor Hammond, myself, Council Security Councillor Lawton, Councillor Kim and"},{"t":5359,"text":"Councillor Dell. That is, I believe, unanimous. Noting, of course,"},{"t":5362,"text":"the Councillor Coleman is away. Thank you so much, Steph."},{"t":5367,"text":"That deals with item G1. That would take us on"},{"t":5369,"text":"to item G2. But that was, as you may recall,"},{"t":5371,"text":"placed on the consent agenda. And so that will return"},{"t":5374,"text":"to us at a future daytime council meeting. Uh, that"},{"t":5379,"text":"would also take us to item H1, an item of"},{"t":5382,"text":"new business. That two was on the consent agenda and"},{"t":5384,"text":"we'll return to us for final consideration at a future"},{"t":5387,"text":"council meeting. We do not have any matters of closed"},{"t":5390,"text":"business at committee today. And so I would look for"},{"t":5392,"text":"a motion to adjourn. Thank you, Councillor Kim. Second of"},{"t":5395,"text":"my Councillor Hammond. All those in favor. Anyone opposed. That"},{"t":5398,"text":"is unanimous counsel. I suggest we went a little over"},{"t":5401,"text":"when we usually take a break, but it seemed logical"},{"t":5403,"text":"given our agenda. Let us take a break until 950."},{"t":5411,"text":"945 1045, I'm sorry. 10 to 45, 1045. Let's try"},{"t":5416,"text":"and do that. I know Councillor Hemmon that you have"},{"t":5418,"text":"something else to do that, see what we can get"},{"t":5419,"text":"through. Let's do 1045 when we will resume with our"},{"t":5423,"text":"daytime council meeting."}],"words":14579,"fetchedAt":"2026-10-03T04:12:36.190Z"}