Meeting of Board of Directors

April 14, 2004

Friends of Government House Meeting Room

Directors Present: Catherine Spencer, Helmut Hissen, Dave Clark, Doris Schuh,
Leida-Marie Grant, Brian Allen, Giorgio Amarilli, Susan Bartol-Drinker,
Linda Foubister, Jane Lunt, Ethelyn McInnes-Rankin, Mary Picard.

Guests: Councillor Chris Coleman, Kathy Summers, David Feys.

Presentation from Craigdarroch Castle
Executive Director, Kathy Summers and Caterer, David Feys.
Plan to cater to four groups of 500 Japanese Tourists (total 2000) July 5-7 and July 10-12
Steps taken to reduce direct impact on the neighbourhood.
Group is 85% female, top performers in a marketing company that deals in cosmetics.
 
Other events - Early June a barbecue "meet and greet" for immediate neighbourhood
1st annual Ceileidh.

Bench for Neighbourhood Garden - working on a historically accurate bench - to be anchored.

Wall reconstruction - restoring staircases and add gates.
15 foot strip of land at the base of the wall on the west side belongs to the castle.

Visitor Centre: design ideas are gelling and there will be consultation with City Councillors and planning staff; then consultation with neighbours.

Meeting called to order 20:04

1.  Agenda:  Motion: (SBD/EMR) approval of agenda    Carried

2. Minutes of March  10, 2004:
Motion:  (DC/LMG) approve minutes as amended    Carried

Business arising from the minutes
CS contacted Kevin Doyle to get additional background on the issue of the closure of the Victoria Land Title Office.
Given the Heritage objectives of the RNA, and the fact that Vancouver Island was once a colony separate from New Westminster (the proposed destination of the documents currently housed in Victoria LTO), board members may wish to express their views to relevant Government Officials.

DC  will get addresses of Abbott, O'Riordan and Bond to all Board Members ACTION

(Helmut Hissen joined the meeting)

3. Financial Report
General Account   $5501.56
Base Funding Account  $  518.33
Garden Account  $2090.98
Monument Account  $  814.60

Motion:  (DC/HH) to accept the financial report   Carried

4. Correspondence:
Invitation to Fairfield Community Annual General Meeting April 24th
Vandalized Street sign at Cyril Close
Invitation to Royal Athletic Park murals opening
Letters from Craigdarroch Castle and the City WRT Japanese catering
Craigdarroch Castle Society AGM 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 21 April
Government House plant sale, Garden Tours schedule
City - Noise bylaw
        - Minutes of council meeting
        - notice of Public Hearing for rezoning application 1020 St Charles Street
  - 910 Richmond - copy of letter from City  - approval with variances
  - E-mail from Ron Bell re: rezoning

Telephone calls -
SBD number of care homes possibly increasing?
Actual trend is fewer facilities over past decades
(170 down to 70 in Rockland since 1978)

5. Councillor's Report: Chris Coleman:
- St Charles Manor comes to council this week April 22nd.  Aging in place an issue. This is the first application considered under the new VIHA rules.
-1322 Rockland - new owner wants to introduce a development proposal
- Board of Variance approved an 11 foot wide building on a 15 foot wide lot on Shakespeare Street.  There are 100 other similar-sized lots, so could be more applications. City Council has introduced zoning regulations to prevent this happening again.
- Dogs off leash - 10 identified option parks - recent tour.
Hope to initiate 5 of these by September
- Block Watch - next meeting there will be a presentation to RNA Board.
Bev Stewart is the paid coordinator. Will link into police response.
- CC and LMG will meet to discuss next steps how to improve the communication between Planning, Engineering and the communities.
- Private Property Maintenance Committee. Is a quasi-judicial committee dealing with enforcement actions such as garbage, illegal suites. Applicant must decommission the suites and then make application for legal standing. The net of coordinated communications is catching an increasing number of non-compliance. (e.g., apply for business license; assessment, planning)
- Recreation Renewal - Some resistance from other associations. Open house responses were almost 70% in favour. There is concern that the voting demographic was not reflective of the recreating public. Premise is that status quo is not acceptable. Invitation to look at the plan and be constructive in proposed changes.
- Response to question from HH: APC will not be developing policy and guidelines with regard to seniors’ housing.  A much broader stakeholder group will be involved in those discussions.

21:00 (Chris Coleman left the meeting)

6.  Committee Reports

Environment - article on care of Garry Oak trees submitted to newsletter
Walking tour - draft application for matching grant of $2,100
   - publish walking tour, on the basis that we will work to generate the content.
     May 1st is the deadline for a matching grant.

Garden ­ Bench.  Work party this Sunday.  Both Dave and Janet Simpson have gone through the Saanich orientation and are certified to salvage plants.
EMR and spouse recently certified.
Sign in process - required a letter to Mortimer's Monumental, authorizing purchase of material for the sign.

Newsletter - Looking for last input.  To go to press within a week (or two).
SBD article on the welcome package. Tent Caterpillar article?
Price list for advertising is posted on the web site.

Land Use
- 824 Richmond Road - Letter sent to City.
 On agenda for next Committee of the Whole.
- 1057 Moss St. - ready to organize a neighbourhood meeting but on hold pending getting permits sorted out.
- 1322 Rockland - LUC went to view the property. Assisted living proposal, approximating the previous proposal. Recommended that owner speaks directly to the neighbours.  Held information sessions over tea.  SBD has been to 2 sessions - 6 people at one, along with VIHA reps, architects and 15 neighbours at the other.  An alternate proposal for development for subdivision could result in 8 to 12 separate properties/strata title on the main building.
- LMG would really like to get feedback from those of the quiet majority who are intimidated by the charged atmosphere at a public meeting and its politics.

VIHA is very supportive of the current proposal.

ACTION: Get information on trends on elder care beds within Rockland and within the City.  Article in the newsletter to invite feedback.

Land Use Coordinating Committee
Will not step in on secondary suite issues.
Kate Forster (Burnside/Gorge) and Catherine Spencer are collating
the Terms of Reference, policies and procedures of a wide variety
of neighbourhood associations to find common ground.
3 recommendations:
- LUCC be the recipient of  focus issues;
- be stakeholder for input into City Planning Department work plans; and
- be the clearinghouse for technical information coming from City Planning to neighbourhood associations (too late for input into work plan this year but early input for next year).

Traffic and Safety - Road work October 30 to November 28th to finish up Pemberton Road.  Next action on Neighbourhood Transportation and Management Plan in 2005 .

C.A.N. - Secondary Suites workshop on May 5th at City Hall.

(21:50 EMR left the meeting)

Electronic Communications - DH will speak to June RNA board meeting

Strategic Plan - would like to revisit and adopt it for the present board.
     Vote will be called the May meeting.

7. Date and Place of Next Meeting:
 May 12, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. in the Government House Volunteers’ Centre
 It's getting close - but better bring a flashlight.

8. Close of meeting -
Motion: (BA/SBD)  to Adjourn      Carried

Meeting closed at 22:10