Environmental Advisory Committee

Active Transportation Advisory Committee

Community Initiatives Committee

Go to www.oakbay.bc.ca for details

Greetings cyclists and pedestrians of Oak Bay!

Last Monday evening, Oak Bay Council approved the mandates of 4 citizen advisory committees. The municipality will shortly be advertising for residents to participate in these committees.

One of these advisory committees, the Active Transportation Advisory Committee, has a mandate to make recommendations to Council on infrastructure improvements that will improve walking, cycling, and accessibility for those using mobility aids (e.g. wheelchairs, scooters, etc.) or pushing baby prams.
As background material, please refer to the Oak Bay Active Transportation Strategy prepared for Council in September 2011.

Please consider participating on this committee! It’s desirable for the committee composition to be of persons with varied backgrounds, of both genders, and ideally some broad age representation. I am particularly urging female walkers/cyclists to make a contribution.

More information will be published shortly by the municipality in the Oak Bay News and on the municipal website, so watch for it coming soon. It will include instructions on to apply to be on the committee.

Better Neighbours:
A plan for improved CARSA project consultation efforts by UVic.

http://www.uvic.ca/resources/carsa.php

Ralph Archibald, our Birding guy, is away at the end of January, so there will not be a Bird Walk.

We are planning a Public Meeting with presenter Grant Keddie, Curator, Archaeology, Royal BC Museum. It will be on Thursday evening, March 8, at 7 pm at Windsor Park Pavilion.

Please check our blog for more info on what is happening: friendsofuplandspark.wordpress.com

Mark Earth Day, Sunday April 22 on your calendar for the Uplands Park Celebration picnic with music, nature walks and family fun.

Anyone interested in joining ivy removal days, please email me at mlidkea@shaw.ca.

Yours naturally,
Margaret Lidkea and Kathleen Matthews

The CRD has advised that if your regular pick up for recyclables was missed on January 18th because of snow conditions it will be picked up at the next cycle in two weeks.

If you prefer you can take it to the Municipal Yard for recycling.

Oak Bay residents are now paying more for water and sewer services.

The average homeowner will pay about $518 for both services this year, up $16 from 2011. Municipal treasurer Patricia Walker said the increases are necessary to offset last year’s drop in revenue caused by a large reduction in water use.

Mayor Nils Jensen said the decline is part of “a trend in the region for people to use less water.”

Residents are watering their lawns less and replacing 20-litres-per-flush toilets with six-litre models, he said. The low-flush toilets alone represent a 40,000- to 80,000-litre water saving annually for a family of four.

The rate increase, to $1.961 per unit (100 cubic feet, or 2,845 litres), was approved during a special council meeting last week. The new sewer fee charge is $1.0189 per unit of water used.

editor@oakbaynews.com

Fraser Campbell wants to raise chickens in his backyard.

But his 1189 Roslyn Rd. home and backyard are too small to get a chicken permit under Oak Bay’s existing Animal Control Bylaw, which governs chicken coops and the number of birds a homeowner can keep in their yard.

That may soon change.

Oak Bay’s new mayor and council last week asked planners to look at ways to make it easier for people such as Campbell to get a poultry-keeping permit needed to raise chickens in the municipality.

“There’s no reason why on a small lot you cannot have five chickens,” said Campbell, a web developer who works from home. He estimated it takes about 16 square feet per chicken to keep hens.

He said urban food production is important on Vancouver Island, which grows less than 10 per cent of its own food and would be in dire straits if an earthquake or other natural disaster shut down the ferries for a longer period of time.

Council is looking to make a bylaw amendment, but needs more information before changing existing regulations.

In addition to reducing chicken permit lot sizes, council wants planners to look how Saanich and the City of Vancouver deal with the issue of limiting the number of chickens and chicken coops.

One councillor, Kevin Murdoch, said Oak Bay has “eight official chicken coops” inside its boundaries and at least another 25 unofficial coops and small flocks.

Last September the previous council told planners to prepare a bylaw amendment to reduce the lot size required for keeping poultry.

Roy Thomassen, director of building and planning, recommended the lot size be reduced to 557 square metres – large enough for three chickens and down from the previous 745 sq. m minimum which allowed for a coop and five chickens. The existing bylaw allows for up to 10 chickens on lots larger than 4,047 sq. m.

Murdoch, noting there have been no complaints to the municipality about clucking chickens, called the existing rules “bizarre” and restrictive to people who want to produce their own eggs.

Doug Clarke has a coop and five chickens in his backyard at 1199 Hampshire Rd.

The modest flock lays three to five eggs daily.

“I haven’t bought eggs in three years,” Clarke said.

He knows another dozen Oak Bay residents who also want to raise egg-laying chickens. It’s all part of a growing movement towards food security, which involves growing some of the food you eat – something he said the new council “is gung ho about.”

Clarke, who built his own chicken coop to comply with Oak Bay’s standards, spent about $300 on recycled and salvaged wood, compared to the $800 to $1,200 most others pay for a pre-built coop.

The henhouses are inspected by Oak Bay before a permit allowing chickens is issued.

Clarke said it takes “commitment” to raise chickens. He’s proud to show his two children, aged three and five, where food comes from.

“I want my kids to know food does not just come from the market.”

editor@oakbaynews.com

• Public Works/Finance/Emergency Services Section (Coun. John Herbert) – Public works manages municipal infrastructure such as water, sewer, and waste disposal. The finance section oversees financial policy and co-ordinates the district’s budgeting process, while emergency services concerns Oak Bay’s fire and police departments.

• Land Use and Planning Section (Coun. Pam Copley) – Responsible for the administration and application of municipal land-use regulations, building permit process and zoning bylaws. Will play a key role in revising Oak Bay’s Official Community Plan.

• Parks and Recreation Section (Coun. Tara Ney) – Oversees Oak Bay’s five recreational facilities and numerous green spaces and handles many key environmental issues relating to the greening of the community.

• Active Transportation and Community Section (Coun. Michelle Kirby) – Will focus on strategies developed in the Oak Bay Active Transportation Plan, and other community initiatives.

• Environment and Regulatory Section (Coun. Kevin Murdoch) – Will look at ways the municipality can encourage things like green building, and other environmentally sustainable development practices.

• Heritage and Culture Section (Coun. Cairine Green) – Concerned with ensuring heritage issues are taken into account during all phases of municipal planning; preservation and promotion of heritage and cultural touchstones in Oak Bay.

Sometime around Christmas five gravesites in the 152 year old Jewish
Cemetery (consecrated 1860) were defaced with hateful symbols and slogans.
Let’s stand together against these cowardly and hateful acts and show our
support for positive community relations.
Rabbi Harry Brechner will lead a brief vigil for respect and inclusivity in
our community, inviting community leaders to raise their voices in support
and bringing people together in positive action.
If you can join us you are most welcome. If you are unable to attend please
use your newsletter, blog, or other social media to join us in reminding
Victoria that if we value a healthy, safe and inclusive community we each
must take responsibility and do our part.
PLEASE re-circulate this message as widely as possible, let’s have a great
turnout and show how a healthy community reacts to hate crimes.
For further information and to send your messages of support please contact
Congregation Emanu-El info@congregationemanu-el.ca
or Rabbi Harry Brechner at
rabbiharry@gmail.com