NORTH PARK NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

NORTH PARK<= /span> NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES

2012

NORTH= P= ARK NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION

Min= utes of January 10, 2012 Meeting

Pre= sent:

Boa= rd members: Alex Kerr, Penny Bond, Kanoux Larsen, Cameron Speedie, Kim Persley, Charles Joerin, Luke Kozlowski, Linda Bain

Mem= bers: Lorna Rennie, Tristan Trotter, Yoka van den Ber= g

Gue= st: Bill McKechnie, Councillor Shellie Gudgeon

Reg= rets: Nick Montgomery, Sharon Klein, Cst. Nicki Schnare<= /span>

Cal= l to Order: Alex called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. C= ouncillor Shellie Gudgeon was welcomed to her first meeting with NPNA.

Pre= sentations — Bill McKechnie (Fe= rnwood Community Association):

1. = Grant St. Project

= 226; The project would create a pocket neighbourhood on = Grant St. f= rom behind Mount Royal Bagels to Chambers St.

= 226; Vehicle access would be very limited (single lane with 10 Km/H speed limit). There would be residential parking on both sid= es, with a pedestrian sidewalk down the middle.

= 226; This block is part of the Vic= toria greenway.

= 226; The City is working slowly on changing the landscaping.

= 226; The plan is to have the project in place in 2013.

= 226; All residents of Grant St. are in agreement. There is an increased sense of neigh= bourhood with this project.

2. = Fernwood Urban Village

= 226; This village is a co-housing project at Chambers and Grant Streets.

= 226; There are 31 housing units which are strata title, with five designated ren= tal units.

= 226; Currently there are 18 members, with a demographic of age 40s - 60s.

= 226; Members are engaged in planning for multipurpose common areas, guest rooms, ecological measures (e.g. growing food for use by theco-housing community). Renters

must be approved by members of the community.

= 226; Members will have as much privacy as they wish, but there will be opportuni= ties for shared community activities (e.g. shared dinners).

= 226; This type of co-housing originated in Europe; this project is unique in Victoria.

= 226; The project plans will go to a public hearing within four months.

Q &= amp; A:

= 226; Financing for the Grant St= . project will come from various City funds.

= 226; Concerns were raised about security with limited vehicle access, including police cars, on Grant St. Increased lighting was recommended by NPNA.<= /o:p>

= 226; Fernwood Community Association would appreciate a let= ter from NPNA to the City in support of the Grant St. project.

Min= utes:

Mot= ion: The minutes of the December 13, 2011 meeting were approved.

Moved by Kanoux, seconded by Luke, carried.

Rep= orts:

1. Treasurer — Kanoux Larsen

= 226; The bank balance is $10,051.61.

2. = Chair — Alex Kerr

= 226; The December 900 block Pandora meeting was cancelled as the chair was away. A p= hone poll of members indicated no pressing concerns.

= 226; Blair Mart still is looking for a new space within the North Park neighbourhood.

= 226; There is concern about the ongoing vacancy of the commercial space at the northwe= st corner of North Park and Cook Streets. A= lex will talk to the owner about his plans.

= 226; Todd Doherty and Alex met with representatives of St. John the Divine about their site re= -development. They still are brainstorming. = St. John’s and First Metropolitan are working jointly about planning for their large halls; possibly one hall will be more for community oriented use, the other for rental to outside groups. St. John’s plans to demolish the pink cottage= on the Mason St. side of its property and rebuild; three public service agencies would like = to rent there. St. John’s asked what kind of space NPNA would like.

= 226; Alex met with Councillor Shellie Gudgeon about = the activities of NPNA.

= 226; There will be a meeting on January 11 at Victoria Lawn Bowling Club about changes to Beacon Hill Park.

= 226; There is a casting call for a documentary/reality show, “Unwelcome Neighbours”, to be filmed locally.

= 226; The East Indian community is holding a fundraising dinner and dance on January = 14 to raise money for the Pingalwara charity group= .

= 226; Shanghai Noodles, at Quadr= a St. and Queens Ave. has re-opened.

= 226; Serious Coffee has been sold. The new owner is Eric Park.=

3. = City of Victoria —<= span class=3DSpellE>Councillor Shellie Gudgeon

= 226; Shellie is committed to “strong communities build strong cities”= ;. Ideas about how she can help NPNA are welcome. She has a great deal of experience from the development of Quadra Village, which she = is happy to share.

= 226; There are City grants available for neighbourhood projects.

= 226; The weekly City bulletin, in a version edited for neighbou= rhood items of interest by Councillor Chris Coleman, = will be shared with NPNA.

= 226; Shellie has booked space at S.J. Willis School for a discussion about community amalgamation, on February 7. More informat= ion about this will be forthcoming.

= 226; The result of the traffic count for Cook St through the North Park Village<= /st1:PlaceType> has been requested.

4. Communications —Cameron Speedie

= 226; Cameron did not attend this month’s police board meeting. Minutes of = the meeting are available at http://www.vicpd.ca/index.php?page=3Dboard-meeting-information. Recently th= ere have been more break & enter crimes in our neighbo= urhood, with one arrest.

= 226; It is important to report minor crime incidents to the police non-emergency nu= mber so that the police can add them to their statistics.

= 226; Tagging has been quite active lately. Another painting party is needed in t= he Spring.

= 226; The wrap on the Bay and Quadra= St. power box was stripped off by vandals. The City will replace it. There are wraps with community branding in the Harris Green and = Oaklands neighbourhoods. This type of branding would be = a good idea for North Park.

= 226; The North Park Village website needs more content= .

= 226; Cameron will be working at Fort McMurray, so will be unable to attend many NPNA meetings. He will continue to work with NPNA in the background.<= /span>

5. = Land Use

Nothing to report.

6. Membership/First Metropolitan — Penny Bond

= 226; There is one new individual member.

= 226; A letter was sent to the Site Re-development Committee at First Metropolitan outlining NPNA’s thoughts about possible community uses for the church hall.

= 226; This year is the 150th anniversary of First Metropolitan. There will be man= y special events<= /span>. This information will be sent to the NPNA website.

7. = Safety — Luke Kozlowski

= 226; Tristan Trotter is concerned about the speed of traffic on Mason Street. Luke will contact Cst. Nicki Schnare about whether speed bumps could be installed. Luke will contact Brad Dellebuur at City Hall about getting better “on= e way street” signage at Mason and Vancouver Streets.

8. Community Empowerment — Kim Persley

= 226; Kim, Sharon and Alex met about the next NPNA festival. Sharon is working on a City 150 Grant application, which should be ready for submission by the end of this week.<= o:p>

= 226; The festival talent budget has been increased this year. There are plans to inc= lude a NPNA heritage walking tour as part of the festival. Shellie suggested that NPNA also could be involved in “Jane’s Walk” in May; fund= ing is available. More information is at www.janeswalk.net/

= 226; The City was contacted about rental of the 150 tent for the festival.

= 226; Kim will do a final check for conflicting events in June, before confirming the festival date.

= 226; Kim’s office is considering holding an Amelia St. block party.<= /span>

= 226; The Gathering Place on Cormorant St. no longer sells prepared food, but continues to function as a convenience store.

Old Business:

1. = United Way Community Tables Project —Charles Joerin, Tristan Trotter

= 226; Community Tables’ meeting dates have been re-scheduled several times, which has made regular attendance more difficult.

= 226; Visioning is to conclude at the February meeting. The final meeting in March will focus on implementation.

2. = Motions from AGM

= 226; Motion by Tristan Trotter was raised from the table:

Whe= reas density bonuses allow for an increase in building heights in return for an income to the City of Victoria and would undermine the intentions of local = area planning to keep the visible landscape at predictable acceptable heights an= d

densities, the NPNA is opposed to such bonusing and asks C= ity Council not to implement this tool.

Dis= cussion indicated consensus from a majority of those present that NPNA should conti= nue to deal with properties on an individual basis as they arise, rather than oppose a city-wide policy.

The= motion was withdrawn by Tristan.

= 226; A further motion from the AGM remains tabled.

New Business:

1. = Tristan requests time at a meeting to discuss visioning for the St. Andrew’s School property. This will be scheduled for the March meeting. This topic of discussion will be publicized to the members prior to the meeting.

2. = Shellie thanked the board and members of NPNA for their work as volunteers on behal= f of the neighbourhood.

Adj= ournment:

The= meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Mot= ion: Luke

Next meeting: 7:00 p.m., Febuary 14, in Room 200 at = First Metropolitan United Church, 932 B= almoral Road. All interested residents are welcome.

NORTH PARK= NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION

Minutes of February 14, 2012 M= eeting

Present:=

Board members: Alex Kerr, Penny Bond, Ka= noux Larsen

Members: Lorna Rennie, Mary Adams, Councillor Shellie Gudgeon

Guest: Barb Smith (Community T= ables)

Regrets: Cameron Speedie, Kim = Persley, Charles Joerin, = Luke Kozlowski, Linda Bain, Nick Montgomery, Sharon Klein, = Cst. Nicki Schnare<= /o:p>

Call to Order: Alex called the meeting to o= rder at 7:05 p.m.

Minutes:=

Motion: The minutes of the Jan= uary 10, 2012 meeting were approved.

Moved by <= span class=3DSpellE>Kanoux, seconded by Mary, carried.

Reports:

1. Treasurer — no report available

2. Chair — Alex Kerr

• Alex attended the Our = Place meeting. There still are some problems in front of <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Central Baptist Church. Fencing of = this area must comply with new City= guidelines, which has delayed this undertaking.

• Alex attended the 900 = block Pandora meeting. Generally things are going well. Many more people now are housed; others have dispersed, so the area has calmed down. The 900 block meetings will now be held every two months rather than monthly.<= /span>

• A person who appeared = ill was loitering around the = Seventh Day = Adventist Church. Victoria PD= and ACT now are helping with this person.

• The owner of Pandora Pharmacy is not proceeding with demolition of the building in the foreseeab= le future. Interior renovation is being done for now.

• BC Hydro has ordered t= he City to remove banners and their hardware from all telephone poles by the e= nd of March. Alex met with City Downtown Coordinator Mike Hill and Councillor Shellie Gudgeon about options for banners. Possibilities are to put up new poles or to use the median on Cook St. at= Grant St. a= s a site for North Park Village signage. Ideas for this me= dian include landscaping. The City will be installing new water lines in this pa= rt of Cook St.<= /st1:Street>, so development of the median could not take place until after this work is done. For the present, the North Park ba= nner design competition is on hold.

• Alex met with the owne= r of the building on the northwest corner of Cook and North Park Streets. Part of this building has remained vacant for a long time. The owner plans to move Pizza Zone into the vacant space at the corner, then develop the adjacent current Pizza Zone space as an ice cream parlour. He is planning to paint the building and suggested collaboration between himself = and NPNA to put a mural on one side of the building. NPNA could apply for a 50/= 50 City grant for a mural.

• The City still is disc= ussing the request from West Coast Baseball for exclusive use of Royal Athletic Pa= rk (RAP) for four months in 2013. NPNA wishes to be included in the discussion= . In November, 2011, a letter from NPNA was sent to the mayor expressing support= for mixed use of the park.

• Alex attended the “Working Together” event, hosted by the Greater Victoria Amalgamation Committee, on February 7. There were 150 people in attendance. There was a conversation format with small group discussions. The event was interesting, went well and there was a positive feeling.<= /p>

• There is a movement af= oot to re-open the Blue Bridge question.=

3. City of Victoria —Co= uncillor Shellie Gudgeon

• The raw data from the “Working Together” event has been compiled and should be releas= ed on February 15.

• Change in garbage coll= ection is under discussion. Responses to a questionnaire to Victoria property owners indicated tha= t cost saving is important; composting and biweekly pick-up are wanted. Backyard pick-up is uncertain.

• Preparations for the C= ity budget are underway.

• Shellie suggested “Wonder Works” and the group who did a mural in Quadra Hillside (MLA Rob Fleming’s office would know the name) as possibilities for m= ural painting in North Park.

4. Communications — no r= eport available

5. Land Use<= /p>

• Alex has kept in touch= with Todd Doherty.

• A new mosque is under = construction in 2200 block Quadra St. Alex has talked with the Imam, who is willing to s= peak to NPNA about this project.

• The property at the northwest corner of Queens= Ave. and Quadra St. is engaged in City approval process.

• Gallery 1580, at the southwest corner of Mason and Cook Streets will soon find out if its lease = will be extended for another year. If so, it would like to hold a monthly artisans’ market in the parking lot.

6. Membership/First Metropolit= an — Penny Bond

• There is one new indiv= idual member.

• Alex reported that the= new owner of Serious Coffee will continue with the NPNA Members’ rewards program.

• Thank-you notes were s= ent to First Metropolitan, for donation of meeting space for NPNA and to Philippe Lucas for his past work as City Council representative.

7. Safety — no report available

8. Community Empowerment<= /o:p>

• Alex reported that we = have not yet heard whether our 150 grant application, for the neighbourhood festival, was successful.

• Alex is fine-tuning the route plan for the North Park heritage w= alk. The walk covers 30 buildings in about 45 minutes. There could be two or thr= ee walks as part of the festival, providing walk leaders are recruited.

Old Business:

1. United Way Community Tab= les Project — Penny Bond, Barb Smith

• Penny gave a brief overview of= NPNA’s activities at the February Community = Tables meeting on Feb. 7.

• There were two presentations a= bout results of the Community Tables survey and about the kinds of projec= ts that can be part of Community Tables.

• Priorities of those present indicated strong support for festivals, community gardens and a community centre or square.

• United Way might provide match= ing funds for projects (e.g. park benches, banners, development of median on Co= ok and Grant Streets)

• The March Community Tables = meeting will focus on implementation of ideas.

• It is hoped that some Community Tables participants might be interested in becoming more active with NPNA, = as there seems to be considerable overlap of ideas.

New Business:

1. Kanoux= reported that Aaronson’s Pharmacy is celebrating its centennial with = an event at 919 Club, on March 3. Cost is $50/person.

2. Kanoux= reported the recent passing of John Logan, of Logan’s pub. There was a celebrat= ion of life at Sands, followed by a gathering at Logan’s. John Logan’s sons will continue to operate the pub.=

3. Visioni= ng for the St. Andrew’s School site will be discussed at the next meetin= g. Extrapublicity within the neighb= ourhood will be done about this agenda item.

Adjournment:=

The meeting adjourned at 8:55 = p.m.

Motion: K= anoux

Next meeting: 7:00 p.m., March= 13, in Room 200 at First Metropolitan

United Church, 932 = Balmoral Road. All interested residents are welcome.

NORTH PARK NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION<= /o:p>

Minutes of Ma= rch 14, 2012 Meeting

Present: &= nbsp;

Board members: Alex Kerr, Penny Bond, Kim Persley, Charles Joerin, Linda Bain

Members: Lorna Rennie, Mary Adams, T= ristan Trotter, Yoka van den Berg, Todd Doherty, Sue B= rown, Harold Stanley, Joan Foss, Art Foss, Paul Seal, Robert Clipperton, Sam Lee, Paul Knapik, Omar Azim, Monique Bottineau

Guests: Mayor Dean Fortin, Lorill Gatner, Martin Batchelor<= o:p>

Regrets: Cameron Speedie, Kanoux Lar= sen, Luke Kozlowski, Councillor Shellie Gudgeon, Nick Montgomery, Sharon Klein, Cst. Nicki Schnare

Call to Order: Alex called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

Agenda:

• The Gallery 1580 presentation is cancelled. Richard Pawl= ey will meet instead with the North Park Village committee about the idea for monthly art sales in the gallery parking lot.<= o:p>

• The mayor’s presentation will take place later in the meeting.

Minutes:

Motion: The minutes of the February 14, 2012 meeting were approv= ed.

Moved by Kim, seconded by Charles, carried.

Reports:

1. Treasurer — no report available

2. Chair — Alex Kerr

• The 900 block meetings will now be held every two months rather than monthly. There was no meeting today.

• The owner of the building on the northwest corner of Cook and North Park Streets plans to move Pizza Zone into the vacant space at the corner, then develop the adjacent current Pizza = Zone space as an ice cream parlour. He is planning to paint the building and is discussing collaboration between himself and NPNA= to put a mural on one side of the building. NPNA could apply for a 50/50 City grant for a mural. This wall would be a good location a design with North Park Village branding.

• Paperwork for the June 16 North P= ark Festival has been submitted. The Hallmark Society will have a tent with his= tory boards at the festival. Alex has completed the plan for a North Park heritage walk, to be offered at the festival.<= /span>

• Alex met with Todd Stevenson from the Parks Department a= bout the Pembroke St. side of Central Park. The flower beds ha= ve been removed because weeding them was too labour-intensive. The Parks Department may put in a few flowers around the trees, as this is = less costly to maintain. Donated outdoor exercise equipment will be installed op= posite the playground.

• A new sign will be coming for Franklyn Green. The bike r= ack will be moved out to where the benches are.

3. City of Victoria= —no councillor’s report available

4. Communications — no report available<= /p>

5. Land Use — nothing to report

6. Membership/First Metropolitan — Penny Bond

• Four new individual members joined at this meeting.=

• 2012 annual fees are payable to Kan= oux or Penny.

7. Safety — no report available

8. Community Empowerment — Kim Persle= y

• A small Victoria 150 Grant was received from the City.

• NPNA will be included in City advertising and now also i= s in the CityVibe guide.

• The next step is to get in touch with the vendors and entertainers for the festival.

• The festival poster will be similar to the one used last= year.

9. Police Report — no report available

Old Business:

1. United Way Community Tables Project — Penny Bon= d, Charles Joerin, Tristan

Trotter

• The March <= span style=3D'font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-b= idi-font-family: Helvetica-Oblique'>Community Tables meeting focused on implementation of ideas. Four

areas of particular interest were identified:

• North Park Festival

• Greenways and even= ts related to frequently travelled commuter routes through

North Park

• Development of a community centre with space for meetings and many other kinds of events. Crystal Pool and St. Andrew’s site both were discussed as possible locations.

• Asset map and pamp= hlet about North Park to make people more aware, enco= urage local involvement, include some things just outside the boundaries (e.g. Our Place, CBC). Kiosks and/or poster boards are being considered. Three people= will meet this Friday to work on this idea. Alex reported that Cameron already h= as worked on an asset map using a Google Maps overhead shot. A business list is avail= able at northparkvillage.ca or by link from npna.ca. Alex will obtain what Camer= on already has and forward it. Kim has ideas for an events calendar.

New Business:

1. St. Andrew’s School property is for sale as one or two packages, for approximately $10.5= M. The diocese acquired the property in about 1850. When Vancouver St. came

in, the property was divided, so that the parcel which currently is occupied by= MacDonalds was split off from the other two (the gym = back to Mason St.= and the school back to Mas= on St.). The sale does not include the MacDonalds parcel= , as it is a revenue-producing site. The plan is that the school would lease the property back until 2014, when the new school construction is completed in another location. There have been no offers yet, as far as we know.

• The existing zoning is irrelevant; the property would be re-zoned after it is sold. The Official Community plan (OCP) for the front = on Pandora Ave. limits height to 10 storeys. The back part could be different.

• None of North Park, H= arris Green or the Downtown Residents Association has a community centre. The St. Andrew’s gym, with land extending to Franklyn Green,

is a possible location for a shared community centre. The OCP includes provisi= on for new park areas in Victoria.

• There was consensus that NPNA should host a facilitated session, open to the public, on visioning for the St. Andrew= ’s property, probably at the end of March.

Details of time and location will be sent out when available.

• The diocese will vet the people interested in purchase, regarding their plans for the property. This might influence who they sell = to. NPNA should try to meet with the diocese and its realtor.=

2. North Park<= /st1:PlaceName> Village — Lin= da Bain

• Slow progress is being made. The group is reviewing the = OCP and its interpretation of an urban village. Notes from the meetings will be posted on the bulletin board at the corner of North = Park and Cook Streets. Questions can be emailed to npna@npna.ca.

• The village group is hoping to recruit a City liaison person.

• The banner project is on hold. We need to work with the = City to develop a new plan for hanging banners, since they no longer can be hung= on Hydro poles.

Presentation on Royal Athletic Park — Mayor Dean Fortin

• A letter was received from NPNA about opposition to sing= le use of Royal Athletic Park (RAP).

• Use of RAP by West Coast League baseball would be much different from previous use by the Victoria Seals. West Coast League is a l= ocal area league with teams in the Pacific Northwest and interior BC, therefore less travel is involved, which reduces league co= sts. Though run as a professional league, it is a college league; the players are not paid.

• The season is June, July and part of August with 50 - 60 games/season; this results in about 30 home games.

• Tickets are $6.

• Having the West Coast League is good for the City and North Park, and good for economic development.=

• “Exclusive use agreement” means that the lea= gue would be responsible for concessions etc. during their alloted time. They would be allowed to use volunteers.The City does ongoing major maintenance. The league must allow for special events (e= .g. Folk West festival) and must negotiate dates with them. They also must negotiate with the Highlanders soccer team.

• The City is continuing to work on revenue receipt (e.g. $1/ticket sold) for the use of RAP. The mayor hopes they will make more partnerships with local organizations.

Q & A summary:

• Year-round use of RAP is desirable. The City would like = to bring in more special events that would help subsidize local activities. Councillor Marianne Alto will be bringing forward an = idea that for the 10 week “exclusive use period” of West Coast League there could be sponsorship, which could include giving RAP a special name d= uring that time. Naming rights can bring in a lot of funding.

• Parameters for sponsorship need to be set fairly. The Ci= ty will come back with principles around naming rights.

• Music promotors such as Folk= West and Rifflandia use the park. There still are so= me neighbourhood noise issues.

• Noise issues also exist with sports as there is loud mus= ic and announcers, as well as a portable generator near a residential area. Th= ere is an 11 p.m. shut-down for RAP. “Intermediate zone” noise restrictions are a little more generous than limits for entirely residential areas. The City can continue to work on adjustments related to noise.<= /o:p>

• Scheduling conflicts between Highlanders soccer and West Coast League baseball can be resolved if planning starts early enough.=

• Use of volunteers under exclusive use agreement would af= fect only CUPE members who are designated “auxilliary= employees” (i.e. called in only for special events). Negotiation will= be necessary.

• NPNA recommends that the RAP PA system be of the kind th= at is designed to work in stadiums, which is different from the current set-up= .

• NPNA hopes to be consulted about what is happening at RA= P. A meeting should be set up with the City, the operator and either the NPNA me= mbership or board.

• Taxes pay for the park to exist. The City cannot subsidi= ze teams or events, therefore no tax money is being= used to finance teams. The City’s $1/ticket fee goes towards park maintenance.

• Options for City involvement with the St. Andrew<= span style=3D'font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Helvetica'>= ’s school property could be:

• design charette for a 6 - 8 = block area to reflect both community values and what is reasonable

• trade-offs re: green space

• engagement of whatever develo= per comes forward and asking the developer to meet with NPNA<= /p>

• including commercial spaces in the development to keep people engaged in the area during the day

• get the conversation going now

• The City cannot insist that developers include rental un= its, but developers cannot ban rentals. The City could encourage building of sma= ller units, at less cost, and including amenities and services in development.

• The City is moving forward on economic development, which will develop more revenue. An “economic development cabinet” is being put together, including a variety of stakeholders.<= /p>

• Surveys show people are willing to have small tax increa= ses in return for good services.

• People may email mayor@victoria.ca if they have specific questions.

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Next meeting: 7:00 p.m., April 10, in Room 200 at First Metropolitan United=

Church, 932 Balmoral Road. All interested residents are welcome.