Oak Bay Watch Newsletter: April 20th, 2017
Council Secondary Suite Legislation $250,000 - Trees & Green Space Zero
On April 18, 2017 the Final Urban Forest Strategy Report and recommendations was the first item on the Council agenda for discussion. The Mayor and the block - vote Councilors decided not to set aside any funding in the 2017 Annual Budget to implement any of the Consultant Company's recommendations. Then, at a subsequent April 19, 2017 Council meeting, less than 24 hours later, the same Mayor and three Councilors passed a motion to allocate $250,000 to move ahead with their densification project as a priority: - the introduction of Secondary Suite legislation in Oak Bay. Councilors Murdoch, Braithwaite, and Zhelka provided strong opposition and voted against this motion.
Once again the Mayor and three Council members, who vote as a block, have let their personal densification agenda override the good and welfare of the community. Mayor Jenson, Councilors Croft, Kerby and Ney have ignored half of Council, Senior Staff, and the Community, in addition to a strong newly released Asset Management Report that warned that the critical state of our aging infrastructure must take immediate precedence over all-else. Irresponsibly, they allocated substantial funding towards legalizing secondary suites in Oak Bay by the end of their term: - a move not supported by residents. Additionally, the Mayor and three council members prioritized a densification initiative that will add significant strain and stress to our sewers, roads and storm drains. This, while allocating vital tax dollars away from maintaining our Urban Forest: - An asset that significantly aids in reducing pressure on our infrastructure, and has been identified as a significant Oak Bay treasure.
Members of the public were invited to speak, but only after all motions and funding had been approved. Residents were critical of the planning process Council had chosen to address the infrastructure crises. One pointed out that an earlier agenda expenditure of $20,000 to replace a failed lateral sewer (lateral) pipe at the Police station, due to its eighty year age, must be taken as an strong indicator. She noted that much of Oak Bay's sewers, roads and storm drains, is 20 years older (100yrs) and is in the same vulnerable condition, and the double-digit millions of dollars infrastructure challenge is exactly what the Asset Management consultants have warned Council about. They must get going on both the financial provisions and the infrastructure replacement itself as soon as practicable and all available funding and resources must be made available.
The Mayor and the half of Council, who voted to approve over-densification, have failed to recognize a big part of this must be to maintain, enhance and protect our current Urban Forest. This is an important community asset and it cannot be pushed to the sidelines. It is not only our trees that make up the forest and are at risk, but also all of our green space. The Urban Forest provides millions of dollars in ecosystem services including the retention of countless thousands of gallons of ground water that our aging infrastructure would have to handle otherwise. This is why the United Nations and many communities have recognized that an Urban Forest is, and must be considered as, a very valuable Community asset. With this in mind disbanding the (watchdog) Advisory Environmental Committee, when this Council took office, was not a wise decision.
The Mayor and three Councilors must somehow be made to understand that basic planning is organized by prioritizing a plans elements in order of importance, including the infrastructure priority identified in the Community Plan and Resident Satisfaction Surveys.