ANNUAL REPORTS AGM
February 12, 2003 7:30 p.m.
St. Matthias Church Hall
Victoria, B.C.
President’s Report
Last year, we welcomed six new members to the board of directors: Brian Allen, who brings his background in health care and his personal experience of a neighbourhood emergency; Helmut Hissen, who has produced and conducted our membership survey, compiled the results and chaired the committee to amend our constitution and bylaws; Leigh Large, who brings his sound business sense; Gordon McAllister, who has spent much time and effort on his own project; Doris Schuh, whose knowledge of parliamentary procedure as well as health care issues has proved most helpful; and Marcia Beckett, who brought her financial background to the duties of Treasurer. Unfortunately, Marcia was unable to complete the year. They join the two members who had just completed their first year: Honya Androsoff, who is passionate about dealing with graffiti and has found all the contacts for us; and Frank Ryan, who brings his knowledge of construction and his wonderful Irish humour. We were pleased to welcome back to the board, after her break from duties as a director, Leida-Marie Grant who has such a vast knowledge of zoning regulations and issues..
Following the departure of the Treasurer, David Clark, our Secretary, kindly took on the additional role of Treasurer as permitted in our bylaws. We owe him a vote of thanks. David continues to work on the Garden, with very little assistance or encouragement. Cecilia Peters continues to cater to our needs at meetings and to arrange what has now become an annual party. Janet Simpson, vice president for the past year, also held the roles of RNA representative to the Community Association Network, chair of our traffic committee and, when required, filled in as alternate secretary. Janet is retiring from the board this year and will certainly be missed by all of us.
With a board of increasing numbers, it was no longer possible to continue to meet in the homes of individual directors. The Friends of Government House came to our rescue and have kindly permitted us to meet in the cottage. For this, we extend our most sincere appreciation.
Our appreciation also goes to the board and staff at Craigdarroch Castle - for not one but two things. To be invited to hold our social gathering at the Castle is a privilege which we value. The event is always most popular and well attended. In addition, they supply a pass for one free admission to the Castle to every member of the RNA. This is included with the receipt and membership card that you receive by mail.
Every committee has worked hard and devoted much time and effort to its duties. As usual, traffic and zoning occupy the most. I shall leave reporting to the committee reports but I should like to recognize members of the zoning committee who are not directors - Tony Beckett, Kathryn LeSueur and Maggie Thompson, also John Jukes, who brought his engineering background. John has now moved from Rockland and will be missed.
For the past few years, the Victoria City Council has appointed one Councillor to each neighbourhood. This has proved a great benefit to all. Rockland has been most fortunate to have Jane Lunt as our liaison. She has attended our board meetings, has been a great support and a great communicator. Thank you, Jane, most sincerely.
Catherine SpencerCommunications
1. The Web Site (www.rockland.bc.ca)
In its first full year of operation the Rockland website has received 3660 hits
or about 10 per day. (Increased volume was noted in the last three months.)
The site requires continuous attention, not only by the association but by its public.
There are so many sources of information and ours is only one. We hope that, as the association grows, the usefulness of this immediate source of specific information will become more immediate. We now feature:
The Board of Directors
The Constitution and Bylaws
Annual reports
City and CRD Links
Neighbourhood features: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Craigdarroch Castle,
Langham Court Theatre and Government House
Photographs
The new Board of Directors will be asked to consider the content of the site and the best ways to maintain it.
Costs to maintain the List-serv and Web Page are estimated to be about $150 per year.
(A new invoice has not been received to date)
2. The List Serv ("mailto:neighbours@mm.rockland.bc.ca"
This service was developed as a means to inform Rockland residents of neighbourhood issues and events. It has built an audience of 128 individual addresses. The service was not seen to be an exclusive member benefit but was expected to reach anyone with an interest in Rockland. Much more may be done with this opportunity as more residents and members are connected to email. Information is distributed faster and reduces the costs of newsletters.
The service is moderated. That is, all messages are screened by the webmaster prior
to being sent on to the whole group. The list is not available to anyone except your webmaster.
3. The Newsletter was produced twice this year. It is expensive to produce and distribute. It is hoped that, over time, the Web and List Serv will reduce its need.
submitted by Donald Hamilton
Community Association Network
Issues Discussed at C.A.N. Meetings This Year
1. SaveRail Coalition efforts to revive freight and passenger service on the E&N.
2. The structure of C.A.N. and its role in addressing City and regional issues.
Whether or not C.A.N. should take on a Land Use Review role with Downtown
or act as an advisory committee to the City.
3. A standard form for development review to be used as a guide for developers,
the City, and zoning committees and fine-tuned with use.
Addressing the need for better liaison with City planners, the C.A.N. meeting in April
was devoted to presentations from and discussions with the City planning department.
4. Middle school restructuring and its impact on transportation needs.
5. Common Ground's Greenways mapping.
6. The Multiplex and its impact on neighbourhoods.
7. Recommendation for additional firefighters.
8. The Regional Growth Strategy and its impact on neighbourhoods.
9. The Light Rail vision
10. Changes to Community Policing - introduction of a problem-solving model
using mobile units rather than stationary locations.
11. The Community Charter
12. The City's harm-reduction strategies and their impact on neighbourhoods.
13. Dan Marzoco, the new City arborist, introduced himself and discussed new initiatives.
14. Proposal for a three-sector, multiple-community, primary health care network.
15. New liquor-licensing legislation.
and, as always, individual neighbourhood associations presented local
concerns for discussion and possible action.
Janet Simpson, C.A.N. representative
Emergency Preparedness
1. The committee held three meetings during the year. Representatives from
the City Emergency Preparedness Team also attended these meetings.
2. Regular courses, free of charge, in emergency preparedness, are provided by
the City for the residents of Rockland, Fairfield and Gonzales neighbourhoods.
These courses are usually held in the Fairfield Community Centre.
The dates of these courses are posted on the Rockland web-site.
Courses are provided on :-
(a) Individual and family preparedness,
(b) Fire Extinguishers,
(c) Basic Search and Rescue,
(d) Disaster First Aid, and
(e) Grab and Go Bag workshops.
3. A large container with emergency materials has been installed in the small park
on Terrace Avenue. There is also a container in the James Douglas School at the
corner of Moss and Fairfield. The keys to these containers are held by the Victoria Fire
Department and by Dan Cochran, Cyril Close, co-ordinator, Emergency Preparedness.
4. The City provided emergency vehicles for demonstration purposes at the
Moss Street Paint-in.
5. A copy of the City Emergency Plan is available for use by the Association.
A.B. Allen, Chair, Emergency Preparedness Committee
Garden
The goal of the garden is to feature native plant species that will thrive locally with
little or no additional watering. The volunteers work to control persistent weeds and encourage native species well-adapted to local conditions.
There is an opportunity to develop interpretive signage to identify and characterize featured plants, and to improve the paths within the garden.
If you would like to participate, contact volunteer coordinator Dave Clark at 383-3764.
Graffiti
The thrust to remove all trace of the defacing scrawl of graffiti has been met with a lack of consistency, vigilance and co-ordination on the part of the City. According to Councillor Helen Hughes, the focus of the City is on the Downtown Business community. We believe that a more integrated community thrust is required to address the graffiti issue in Victoria and it is the mandate of this committee to initiate a strategy to tidy up Rockland.
Recently, there appears to be a collective willingness on the part of some of our corporate citizens to meet and discuss some positive solutions. With leadership of elected officials, a plan that is feasible could be established to allocate monies even to private companies to achieve a solution.
The wall of molasses was budged a little when the City painted out poles with a lovely sage grey paint only to be met with budget restraint. John Kalimeris, of "Goodbye Graffiti" has continued to attend promptly to Canada Post boxes as soon as called.
Fred Cowan, of Telus, is committed to responding to calls on Telus property as he prepares a plan.
The number to contact for Pattison bus shelters has been changed to 1-800-663-5657. Annelise Bromley manages traffic issues and requests the following: street location, number of the shelter, name and telephone number of the caller and the date of call.
This specific information will be passed on to their contractor and Ms. Bromley will
verify the removal of the graffiti by telephone.
We are pleased to report that fridge magnets with all necessary telephone numbers to call for graffiti removal are being prepared and will be made available to all members. Please put the magnet on your fridge and Make the Call! Your effort to assist is greatly appreciated. Please take note of the new names and numbers on the website, www.rockland.bc.ca as well as the new list in this report.
State the date and location of your call.
B.C. Hydro 1-800-224-9376 Ron Nixon
City Signage 361-0425 Brian Robertson
Canada Post 386-4747 Goodbye Graffiti John Kalimeris
Graffiti Hotline 361-0466
Pattison Bus Shelters 1-800-663-5657 Anneliese Bromley
Shaw Cable Boxes 475-7286 Joel Aplin
TAG (Victoria Police) 995-7399 (insert box # 9509)
Telus 388-8617 Fred Cowan
Victoria Bylaw Officer 361-0206 Tim Weckend
Honya Androsoff, Graffiti committee
History
Our collection of historical odds and ends continues to grow at its modest pace,
revealing lots of interesting vignettes and anecdotes about our neighbourhood's past.
I invite anyone interested to call me 952-7786 (at work, where I keep the files) or email "mailto:bpaterson@odlumbrown.com" if you would like to browse through the articles
or to bring some of your own to be photocopied. If you know any anecdotes or information that I should add to our little collection, they would be most welcome.
Beverly Paterson, History Committee
SocialThe annual party for members of the Rockland Neighbourhood Association was held on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at Craigdarroch Castle from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. "The Castle" always makes us feel most welcome and we thank the board and staff for their hospitality to this lovely location. There was a large attendance.
A delicious repast was catered by "Cook’s Day Out".
Our plan is to "party" again in the Fall of 2003.
Cecilia Peters, Chair, Social Committee
Traffic and Safety
Speeding
Traffic-calming measures have two main purposes: to make our streets safer for everyone and to make our neighbourhoods more pleasant for residents, pedestrians and cyclists. One such measure is the 30 km speed limit on Rockland. In response to concerns about speeding on Rockland, the police spent one hour in March writing out eleven speeding tickets. Since then, many residents have written to me both to confirm the need for a
30 km limit and to complain that they want to be able to drive more quickly along that street.
Volume
Two changes in the Gonzales neighbourhood are likely to increase the volume of traffic in Rockland. One is the new Gonzales Neighbourhood Plan and its approval of increased density through small lot houses and secondary suites. The other is the plan of Glenlyon Norfolk School to change its main entrance from Maddison to Richmond. Our concern is that this new entrance will exacerbate the problems at the Despard / Richmond
intersection, increase traffic along Richmond and Despard and highlight the need for a crosswalk on Richmond. To date, responses from the City have been less than encouraging.
Transit
Because of low ridership on the Richardson bus route, B.C. Transit is very likely going to cut back service to a few trips downtown in the peak hours of the morning and a few back to Gonzales in the afternoon. A "Fairfield Community Shuttle" is being proposed for off peak periods on weekdays. B.C. Transit is still in the process of designing this service, so your input is vital.
Contact June Klassen, B.C. Transit, Victoria Planning Department
Tel: 995-5695 Fax: 995-5639 E-mail: "mailto: June_Klassen@bctransit.com"
Visit their website for project information: "http://www.bctransit.com"
(go toVictoria and look under What's New!)
Parking and Idling
Your traffic committee has also been involved in the parking concerns during the Art Gallery's Post Impressionist Masterworks exhibition and The Group of Seven Western Canada exhibition and in the problem of tour buses idling on Rockland Avenue.
Sidewalks
"Temporary repairs" have been made to the sidewalk on Pemberton between Angus and Rockland as a result of residents asking us to bring up the safety issue with the City.
Janet Simpson, Chair, Traffic Committee
Zoning
1322 Rockland Ave, the former Caroline Macklem Home: Over the past eight months, the zoning committee has heard three different proposals for this property.
On July 17th, 2002, Mr. Greg Boorman held an Open House at the site to present a proposal for a seniors’ independent living project. On November 4th, 2002, he presented another. The Rockland Neighbourhood Association, at the request of immediate neighbours, wrote to Mr. Boorman expressing their opposition to the third proposed development. On January 28th, 2003, Mr. Boorman, held a second Open House at which he presented his fourth proposal for developing the property into a seniors’ independent living facility of approximately 70 - 80 units housing 80 - 85 people with construction of several 2-story buildings for a total of 23,360 sq. ft. of new buildings on the property.
52 people attended the Open House. On January 31st, 2003, the City received an application from the developer however, as it was incomplete, it has not yet gone forward.
A community meeting will be held once a formal completed application is submitted to City Hall. Once a formal application is received it is anticipated that a public hearing would take place in 4 to 6 months time.
St. Charles Manor, 1006 St. Charles Street and 1020 St. Charles Street:
On December 12th, 2002, the committee held a meeting for neighbours to discuss expansion plans for the current care facility to the adjacent North property of
1020 St. Charles Street. St. Charles Manor specializes in treatment for those suffering from dementia. The proposed development includes constructing a 2-storey 10,000 sq. ft. building and connecting the two houses, 26 additional beds and additional staff parking. 21 neighbours attended the meeting with the majority opposed to the development.
As of February 10, 2003, City Hall has not received a formal rezoning application from
the owners, Neil and Peggy Beswick. A community meeting will be held once a formal application is submitted to City Hall. Once a formal application is received it is anticipated that a public hearing would take place in 4 to 6 months time.
1036 Richmond Avenue: The owners have recently obtained conditional approval
to subdivide their property into two 5,000 sq ft lots. The new lot will gain access off Beverley Place.
910 Richmond Road: The owners are proposing to subdivide off a 5,000 sq. ft. lot, creating a panhandle lot with the remaining property. The new lot would gain access from Lyman Duff Lane. The City is currently reviewing this request and a public hearing date has not been scheduled.
840 Pemberton Road: This site was the former home of Pemberton House
(the Greater Victoria Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Society). On June 17th, 2002,
the zoning committee held a meeting for neighbours to receive their input. In September 2002 the rezoning application was approved at a public hearing. Construction is now well underway. Developer Mike Miller, of Abstract Designs, has subdivided the property into one 8,000 sq. ft. lot for a single family dwelling, has moved the existing building onto the remaining 12,000 sq. ft. lot and is converting it into three, 3-level strata units.
1413/1415 Fort Street, at the corner of Fort Street and Carberry Gardens:
The house has been moved and new construction has started.
Developer, Bruce Wilkins of Zebra Design, is building four, 4-level townhouses.
The committee is considering how best to communicate with Rockland residents on rezoning applications and are considering two options:
· Information sent via email or,
· Posting the information on the RNA website.
The committee responded to requests from the City for input on two important policy items, the Small Lot House Program and the Development Permit Application Form.
Regarding the Small Lot House Program, the board unanimously agreed to support the statement, "small lot house program is inconsistent with the Rockland Neighbourhood Plan and therefore is not supported by the association." This program would not preserve the character of our neighbourhood. Small lot development recommends lot sizes of 2,798 sq ft, considerably less than the required 8,000 sq ft (R1-A) and 5,000 sq ft (R1-B). Zoning districts R1-A and R1-B cover the majority of our neighbourhood. Besides input from Rockland, City Hall received only one other submission from a community association on this important topic. In June, this item was of interest to local media with
a story in the Times Colonist of the association’s views on small lot development .
The Development Application Information Form is intended to make information consistent and therefore a better communication tool for all involved in a proposed development. It is in the early stages of being adopted for use by the planning department. The form is an initiative of the Community Association Network (CAN) and has the endorsement of City Hall.
RNA Zoning Committee: Tony Beckett, Leida-Marie Grant, Helmut Hissen,
Kathryn LeSueur, Frank Ryan, Catherine Spencer and Maggie Thompson.