Council unanimously widened the City’s five-building rental retrofit pilot so taller buildings can qualify and unused seismic places can go to greenhouse-gas reductions. It also asked staff to study whether a future version could cover more buildings, strata and commercial properties, or cooling work. Council kept patio fees at their 2026 rates, with annual Consumer Price Index adjustments, rather than allowing the scheduled jump in 2027. The most contested decision was a proposal to ask Island Health to close The Harbour safe consumption site; it was defeated after councillors raised concerns about neighbourhood impacts as well as overdose deaths and access to health services.
Generated from the recording's captions and the official minutes.
The consent agenda bundled the April and May Committee of the Whole minutes and the 933 Douglas Street development variance permit. The bundle passed unanimously. The minutes and permit were to return for final consideration at a future daytime Council meeting.
The April 23 minutes were approved as part of the consent agenda. The chair said they would return for final consideration at a future daytime Council meeting.
The May 21 minutes were approved as part of the consent agenda. The chair said they would return for final consideration at a future daytime Council meeting.
The permit application to update the Victoria Foundation’s building signs passed with the consent agenda. The chair said the permit would return for final consideration at a future Council meeting, likely in a couple of weeks.
Allow the proposed development at 933 Douglas Street to have more sign area than normally permitted: up to 20.6 square metres on Broughton Street and 14.6 square metres on Douglas Street. The development still has to meet the other sign rules. The permit and its approval have two-year expiry conditions if construction does not substantially start or the permit is not issued, respectively.
Official wording: That Council, after giving notice, consider the following motion:
1. "That Council authorize the issuance of Development Variance Permit No. 00298 for 933 Douglas Street, in accordance with plans submitted to the Planning and Development department on April 29, 2026, subject to:
a. Proposed development meeting all City Sign Bylaw requirements, except for the following variances:
i. increase the cumulative sign allowance on the Broughton Street frontage from 9.24m2 to 20.6m2
ii. increase the cumulative sign allowance on the Douglas Street frontage from 3.75m2 to 14.6m2
2. That:
a. The Development Variance Permit lapses two years from the date of this resolution if construction is not substantially started within this timeframe; and
b. The approval of this Development Variance Permit lapses two years from the date of this resolution if the Development Variance Permit is not issued within this timeframe."
The pilot offers qualifying older rental buildings a property-tax exemption to help pay for retrofits, including switching from gas heating to heat pumps. It is capped at five buildings: three for greenhouse-gas reductions and two for seismic work. One greenhouse-gas place has been approved, another application is pending, and no seismic applications have come in. Staff said 27 buildings had received retrofit assessments and 41 more were registered, while only one greenhouse-gas place remained under the current rules. Council unanimously agreed to let unused seismic places go to greenhouse-gas projects if there are no seismic applications, and to remove the six-storey height limit while retaining the five-building cap and the requirement that buildings be at least three storeys and built before 2000. A second unanimous motion asked staff to study possible future program options and report back; the pilot itself was not expanded beyond five buildings. Staff plan a full review in 2027. Councillors also discussed who would bear the tax shift: staff gave an estimate of about 50 cents per $100,000 of residential assessed value for the participating properties, and said the original estimate for five projects ranged from a 0.1 to 0.8 per cent increase in the residential tax rate.
Agreement
Councillors supported keeping the pilot capped at five buildings while widening eligibility to help fill the remaining places and gather evidence for the 2027 review.
Councillors agreed that staff should research possible future options, including other building types and cooling measures, before recommending whether to expand the program.
Disagreement
Councillor Gardiner questioned whether removing the height limit could draw the pilot away from relatively affordable older rental buildings, and raised concerns about the tax impact and the need for data on existing exemptions.
Other councillors argued that broader participation could help the City learn from more types of retrofits and support climate goals; the final pilot changes and research direction both passed unanimously.
Ask staff to bring back changes so the pilot’s greenhouse-gas-upgrade stream can serve up to five rental buildings instead of three, while keeping the seismic-upgrade stream at no more than two and the whole program capped at five buildings. Remove the six-storey maximum so rental buildings of three storeys or more can qualify. Staff would also return in 2027 with a full review and recommendations for what happens next.
Official wording: That Council direct staff to:
1. Bring back amendments to the Market Rental Building Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw for Council’s consideration to adjust participation criteria as follows:
a. Increase the availability of the GHG emissions stream to five rental buildings (up from three) while maintaining a maximum of two in the seismic upgrade stream (program remains available to a maximum of five buildings total, on a first-come, first serve basis);
b. Rental buildings must be three storeys or more (remove the six-storey maximum height limit).
2. Report back in 2027 with a full pilot program review and recommended next steps.
Ask staff to explore whether the program could cover more buildings each year, strata buildings, or commercial buildings, and to look at a new tax-exemption stream or another way to help owners of electrified buildings install heat pumps or other cooling equipment to deal with extreme heat.
Official wording: That Council direct staff to report back on options to expand the program to potentially include some or all of the following:
More buildings per year;
Stratified buildings;
Commercial buildings;
And explore a new stream of the RTE, or another funding mechanism, to address electrified buildings facing extreme heat and in which the property owners seek to install heat pumps or other such cooling technologies.
The bylaw’s scheduled 2027 patio-fee increase would have doubled rates from the 2026 amounts. Council instead directed staff to remove the future staggered increases and keep the 2026 base rates, with annual Consumer Price Index adjustments. Staff said the City would review patio fees alongside other demands on curb space, and that a predictable, moderate increase would help businesses plan and offset administration costs. Councillors also noted that patios enliven downtown and village areas while using public space.
Agreement
Councillors supported avoiding the large scheduled increase while retaining annual Consumer Price Index adjustments.
Councillors agreed that the broader curbside review should inform future fee structures.
Ask staff to change the patio fee schedule so the planned staggered increases are removed. The 2027 base rate would stay at the 2026 level, adjusted for inflation.
Official wording: That Council direct staff to:
1. Bring forward amendments to the Patio Regulation Bylaw (#23-052) to:
a. Update the Area Rate Table in the Bylaw to remove future staggered rate increases, maintaining the 2027 base rate at 2026 levels plus a CPI increase.
Councillor Gardiner moved that the Mayor ask Island Health and the Minister of Health to end The Harbour’s operations, with the stated aim of pressing for a change in approach before the site’s federal exemption expires in June 2027. She argued the site was linked to street disorder and proposed shifting toward treatment and supervised access to prescribed medication. Opposing councillors said closing the site could push drug use into streets and parks, increase pressure on hospitals and emergency services, and remove a point of connection to health care, treatment and housing supports. They also cited letters from local medical and support workers, residents, and families affected by addiction. The Mayor said the City was already talking with Island Health about improving site operations and called for other municipalities and senior governments to share responsibility. The motion was defeated: Councillor Gardiner voted in favour; seven councillors and the Mayor opposed it, while Councillor Kim was away.
Agreement
Councillors acknowledged serious impacts on people who use The Harbour and on nearby residents and businesses.
Several councillors said the City needs continued work with Island Health and provincial and federal partners; councillors differed over whether closing the site would help or worsen conditions.
Disagreement
Councillor Gardiner argued that The Harbour had become a focus of disorder and that Island Health should be pressed to change its model.
Councillors opposing the motion argued that closure could increase deaths, public drug use and pressure on hospitals, and remove an important route into health and support services.
Councillor Gardiner said the City needed to take a harder stand to prompt change; the Mayor said the current partnership work was progressing and that a stronger intervention could harm it.
Ask the Mayor to urge Island Health to close any safe consumption site at The Harbour as soon as possible, and to ask the federal Minister of Health not to renew the site’s exemption when it expires on June 30, 2027.
Official wording: That Council request the Mayor formally request:
1. By letter to, and in conversation with, Island Health President and CEO Kathy MacNeil, and Board Chair Leah Hollins, that Island Health cease operations of any Safe Consumption Site at “The Harbour” in the City of Victoria at the earliest opportunity.
2. By letter to Hon. Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, stating that the City of Victoria requests that the federal exemption (s.56.1) to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act related to ‘The Harbour” located at 941 Pandora Avenue, not be renewed at the end of the current 3-year exemption which expires on June 30, 2027.