Transcript: Council (to follow COTW) - 2026/07/16

Today we have for our consideration a report from one Committee of the Whole, one by law for adoption consideration and several closed items. I will note that we are a full complement today. Councillor Thompson is joining us online. And so before we begin our brief agenda, of course, we always begin our work together when we gather here at City Hall and anywhere actually in the city by taking a few moments to acknowledge and express our gratitude and appreciation for the two nations on whose territories our city sits at its entirety. The LeQuangan people of the Songhees Nation and the Kosapp subnation. We constantly marvel at their ongoing generosity and continuing to work with us and provide their leadership mentoring and teaching as we work together on so many different issues and challenges that face all of our residents. We celebrate the fact that we have a very rich relationship with both nations, and that is very much due to the collaborative nature of the work

that we've done together over the years and also of the sometimes very personal relationships that we have with a number of members, leaders and members, and throughout their community and ours. It continues to be a marvel as we look at our colleagues in other jurisdictions. At how complex and resilient is our relationship with the nations and how much value that brings to the decisions that we try to make every day reflecting, I hope, on all that has happened before in the past, all the challenges that we face each day, and all of the work that we look forward to trying to do to our best and the interest of creating a better future for everyone who is coming after us. With that, we always like to thank them in their own language and that simply is to say, hi, Chica CM or Hexkasiamnaquilia, to say thank you to offer our respect and our acknowledgement and recognition to them and to everyone in our community who

chooses at some point each day to do something that we know will change someone's life. I should guess the omniqualio. I have no remarks to add to that today, and I'm not aware of any late items, so I would look for emotion to prove the agenda. Please Council Coleman, second by Councillor Lauton. Any discussion on the published agenda. Not seeing any, all those in favor. Anybody opposed, that is unanimous. There are three items proposed for the consent agenda, and I will note as I usually do that all of these items, in this case, were unanimous at Committee of the Whole, and they can also be suggested here if they dealt with preliminary readings, but we don't have any of those today. So just for the information of the public, these are three items, item F1AA.

The development variants permit for 933 Douglas Street. F1AB, the pilot project update on the market rental building revitalization tax exemption program. And item F1AC, the patio bylaw fee update. Does anyone wish to remove any of these. Oncer, Caradona. I need to make an amendment to F1AB. So I'm going to remove that one. The market rental building revitalization tax. So that allows us to have two items then, F1AA, and F1AC. Nobody has any issues with those. Councillor Coleman is moving. Councillor Kim is seconding, all those in favor. You want to pose. It is unanimous. Thank you for that. That takes us on to reports of committee, and as we just decided, item F1AA, the 933 Douglas Street Development variance permit, was placed on the consent agenda.

And as a reminder, because we are here at Council, the decisions that we make today on these items are final. And so that item has, in fact, been concluded and its consideration. That moves us on to item F1AB. The market rental building revitalization tax exemption pilot, Councillor Territoria, you asked for this to be removed. What do you think? Yeah, I'll move it first. All right, so we'll have the recommendation moved. Is there a seconder. Councillor Lopez Second, go ahead, Consta, Caradona. Thanks very much. I won't motivate broadly on it, because we did that a week or two ago, but I do want to make one addition to the... I thought it was a motion rising, but I guess we called it an amendment. But to the bullets at the bottom, the Council directs after a port back on dot, dot, dot. More buildings per year, Shotify Buildings, Cornish Buildings. Below that. Uh, and before the Explore a new stream stuff. So a fourth bullet? Fourth

bullet. After commercial buildings, yeah. Yeah, I'd like to add into the analysis NGO non - market affordable housing. So that's essentially just adding something else at Council will rather that staff will report back on. Is there a second tour for the amendment. Thanks, Councillor Loton - Council Cardona, the amendment. Yeah, subsequent to the conversation we had, I was contacted by some members of the NGO non - market affordable housing community folks who are doing really good work in the community to deliver affordable housing who are paying property taxes and queried, I think, very fairly why they could not be scoped into this analysis. Uh, I know it's NGO because it would not scope in CRHC or probably a lot of BC housing buildings, because in many instances, they're not paying property taxes, or they're paying property taxes in lieu. So I just want to scope out the government operators because it's just a different situation.

But who would be scoped in would be GVHS, threshold, what's the other one that was up in Brunside Gorge. You know, other non - market affordable housing providers who are non - government factors, who are paying property taxes. So the analysis would look at the potential for them to maybe be scoped into this program. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are, but it just means that staff would include it along with stratified buildings, commercial buildings as another piece of research to consider when this comes back at some point next year. Thank you very much, Councillor Lauton, as the Secondary of the Amendment just on the amendment, anything to add? Through you, not much to add just the fact that I think that the specification of NGO is really important, and it just makes a lot of sense to look into the feasibility of including the non - market service providers as part of this pilot.

Thank you very much, Mr. Johnston. Do you see any concerns with this? No, that's fine. Okay. Just adding another piece of research. On the amendment only, any other comments? Councillor Thompson. Just a question for staff. Is this something that staff would have been doing anyways? And does staff have any comments on it. Mr. Johnston, anything you'd like to add or inform us about? Through the mayor. We may have included it, but it's nice to have it specified here. Um, so that we'll make sure that we do include that in the analysis and report back. No issues with it being added. Thanks, that's all, Mayor. You're good, thank you, Councillor. Everybody else on the amendment. Okay, on the amendment only, all those in favor. Is anyone opposed? Is unanimous. Thank you very much. Counsel Cardona, you still have the floor on the now amended main motion?

I'll just leave it there, thanks. Councillor Lewin, anything on the main motion? Nothing further. Also on the main motion is mended. Not seeing anyone else on that. All those in favor. You want opposed. That is unanimous. Thank you very much for that. That takes us on to item F1AC, which as I mentioned, was on the consent agenda. And so we have already considered that when we approved the consent agenda. And so that has been finally resolved here again, because we're at Council. There were no items from this morning's committee with the whole meeting that required same day consideration. So that takes us on two item G, G1. This is the bylaw, the housing agreement actually, for 1933 Davies Street, and it is here before us for adoption. Would someone like to move adoption, please? Councillor Kim's moving. And someone else would like to second, perhaps.

Okay, thanks Councillor Caradona. Um, Councillor Ken, any comments. Else Cardona, any comments? Anyone else? Any comments? Okay, no comments on that. So this is, again, the housing agreement for 1933 Davy Street. All those in favor option. Councillor Dell, Councillor Kim, Counsel - Cary, donate, Councillor Lauton, myself, Councillor Coleman at Councillor Hammond, and Councillor Thompson, and opposition. Oh, countst her grandiose, I'm sorry, I didn't see your hand go up. Um, then that is unanimous. Very good. That takes us on then to a number of closed items. And so Mr. Kingsley, I wonder if I might ask you first to remind Council and the public of the Sections of the Community Charter that either require or enable counsel to consider a matter enclosed. Thank you, Mayor. The reasons proposed to close the meeting today are under Section 91E of the Community Charter regarding the acquisition, disposition, or expropriation of landown improvements. Section 91F, regarding the law enforcement matter. Section 91i regarding the receiver advice that is subject

to solicitor client privilege. And Section 92B regarding the consideration of information received and held in confidence relating to negotiations between the municipality and another level of government. Thank you very much. And so for those reasons, may I have a motion to move into close, please? Thanks Councillor Coleman, Second by Councillor Kim. Any discussion, seeing none, all those in favor. Anyone opposed. That is unanimous. Uh, before we go into closed, I will just note for the public that we do not have an evening council meeting this evening. And so our next evening, council meeting, will be next week on the 23rd. And the next time you will see us at committee or council during the day, we'll be also next Thursday, uh, beginning at 9 a.

m. for our Committee of the Whole. So we'll just take a moment to move into closed, and then I will test councils wishes as to whether they wish to begin or extend their lunch break.