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City of Victoria | 2018-2022 | Mayor and council general discussion


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#2281 Mattjvd

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Posted 19 May 2019 - 10:06 AM

Hey Victoria, this is what a pragmatic and non-ideological council looks like:

https://www.timescol...mmGOe9r1RJO29Ko

A decision to require that 10 per cent of units in new developments have three bedrooms has been rescinded by Esquimalt councillors

“The requirement of 10 per cent could present problems in terms of projects coming forward,” Mayor Barb Desjardins said, adding that 10 per cent might be too much, especially for smaller developments of 20 or 30 units.


They're going about it in the wrong manner. Don't make it a firm requirement. How about waive the first 3 years of property tax on rental project that offer more than 10% 3 bedroom units, or more than 15% of units below market rental rate.
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#2282 RFS

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Posted 19 May 2019 - 10:29 AM

They're going about it in the wrong manner. Don't make it a firm requirement. How about waive the first 3 years of property tax on rental project that offer more than 10% 3 bedroom units, or more than 15% of units below market rental rate.


I agree. More of a carrot less of a stick. That said they just got rid of it altogether because they recognized it would result in less projects altogether. Good for them.
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#2283 rmpeers

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Posted 19 May 2019 - 11:54 AM

They're going about it in the wrong manner. Don't make it a firm requirement. How about waive the first 3 years of property tax on rental project that offer more than 10% 3 bedroom units, or more than 15% of units below market rental rate.


Or why not offer a permanent tax discount for as long as the building maintains a certain number of cheaper rental units?

#2284 Hotel Mike

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Posted 20 May 2019 - 02:29 PM

I agree with RFS. Almost always to use a carrot rather than a stick. But the Isitt type of social justice warriors are so convinced of the rightness of their moral stance, that they are happy to wield the stick.


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Don't be so sure.:cool:

#2285 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 20 May 2019 - 02:37 PM

Or why not offer a permanent tax discount for as long as the building maintains a certain number of cheaper rental units?

 

so that you and i pay for a portion of our neighbours' rent forever?  how about move to where you can afford to live ffs.  i'd rather pay 100% of your moving costs now than a portion of your rent forever.


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#2286 rmpeers

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 08:10 AM

so that you and i pay for a portion of our neighbours' rent forever? how about move to where you can afford to live ffs. i'd rather pay 100% of your moving costs now than a portion of your rent forever.


Well of course they wouldn't do it, because they wouldn't want to forgo the precious tax revenue.

And no I am not keen to subsidize people living in the city if they have the option to just live elsewhere.

Having said that, I honestly don't feel I'm seeing any value from the taxes that I pay the city. IF I could see a shred of evidence that my ever-increasing tax payments were, for example, having an impact in reducing drug addiction, crime or homelessness, at least I could feel like they were serving some greater purpose.

But things just seem to keep getting worse, because the local govt is too busy playing government and cranking out meaningless proclamations.

Note: I realize this post will get me branded as either a communist or a right-wing extremist. Why is there no middle of the road in Victoria local politics?
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#2287 Awaiting Juno

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 02:31 PM

I was walking past St. Anne's the other evening, and couldn't help but notice the state of the boulevard from the North corner of Quadra and Humboldt, to where the property line was of the apartments.  It wasn't mowed...it looked awful.  I know there's a tax for having a boulevard, and I always thought it went towards maintenance, however, I note (even on the boulevard in front of my home), maintenance seems to be lacking.  So if property owners are expected to maintain, why again, exactly is their a boulevard tax?   


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#2288 Nparker

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 02:35 PM

Boulevard maintenance in the CoV is atrocious.


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#2289 Jackerbie

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 02:48 PM

Blocks can opt out of the boulevard tax, but by doing so agree to take over maintenance. Whether it's publicly or privately maintained, probably worth sending a service request to parks@victoria.ca


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#2290 Mike K.

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 02:50 PM

If you’re paying the fee, but not receiving adequate service, you can rally your neighbours to opt out.

The City requires that you receive 2/3’s (or more) support from property owners along your block, and that 2/3’s support must also equate to 2/3’s of the assessed value along that block. If there is more than one owner of a property all owners must sign the petition.

- https://www.victoria...aintenance.html

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#2291 mbjj

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Posted 21 May 2019 - 03:20 PM

We mow our own boulevard otherwise it would look like a hay field. There aren't too many houses due to the way they're positioned so it would be difficult to get the block to agree and those other folks seems to like the hay field look. Pisses us off the way the whole neighbourhood looks though. Same with paying for street sweeping...what damn street sweeping! Cars parked here every day of the year...there is no street sweeping going on.


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#2292 FogPub

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Posted 22 May 2019 - 02:52 AM

^ feel free to take some of the street sweeping we get - damn noisy thing goes by here about every other night, in the middle of the night...


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#2293 mbjj

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Posted 22 May 2019 - 07:09 AM

I would happily take your street-sweeping, esp, in autumn when all the drains are clogged. If the area in front of our house even gets done once a year, I'd be surprised. What are we paying for? At least in France they have guys or gals with those long brooms clearing out the gutters.


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#2294 rmpeers

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Posted 22 May 2019 - 08:53 AM

I would happily take your street-sweeping, esp, in autumn when all the drains are clogged. If the area in front of our house even gets done once a year, I'd be surprised. What are we paying for? At least in France they have guys or gals with those long brooms clearing out the gutters.


Jesus don't get me started on the leaves.

#2295 Awaiting Juno

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Posted 22 May 2019 - 09:26 AM

And when those property tax payers don't see the things they expect to see (pot holes fixed, boulevards mowed, streets swept, etc.) - and are left picking up those tasks, and are also facing significant property tax and utility bill hikes (our water and sewage rates have gone up dramatically), and there is no money because it's been spent chasing problems well outside of the jurisdiction of city council, how is it that we've leaned further into this problem by electing the TV slate?  It's admirable to want to save the world, but if that's your goal, perhaps leave the job of city council to those who actually want to do the job that needs to be done.  It's like hiring someone to mow the lawn, and coming home to discover that the lawn isn't mowed, but they've organized your garage instead.  Why is it so hard to expect that a good job of "the job" be done first before tackling things that are "pet projects". 


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#2296 spanky123

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Posted 23 May 2019 - 08:41 AM

Updated council agenda for this evening outlines (part H) how our taxpayer money is being spent writing letters to various forms of Government which are simply just blown off.

 

https://pub-victoria...English&Item=33

 

Also 45 speakers on the agenda, most of whom want to comment on the horse drawn carriages ban.


Edited by spanky123, 23 May 2019 - 08:43 AM.


#2297 Tom Braybrook

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Posted 23 May 2019 - 05:19 PM

...what a gong show!...

 

https://www.timescol...plan-1.23830920



#2298 sdwright.vic

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Posted 23 May 2019 - 05:22 PM

This is all just their "we can't build a pool" (because we can't afford it) so make up a reason why there is no place to build a pool.
Predictive text and a tiny keyboard are not my friends!

#2299 Mike K.

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Posted 23 May 2019 - 05:23 PM

This could actually be a safety measure against another $125 million boondoggle.

From tommy’s article link:

Victoria might have to abandon the idea of building a new Crystal Pool on Central Middle School grounds if a motion proposed by councillors Marianne Alto and Sharmarke Dubow passes today.
The motion proposes a number of criteria for locating new city facilities — like the pool — including that they not be built on existing green space.

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#2300 On the Level

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Posted 23 May 2019 - 11:14 PM

Midnight and the Council meeting is still going on. 

 

Young says that CoV taxing citizens 500,000 a year to acquire farmland is not a small matter - Collins says this "hopefully" will be accepted by North Saanich, etc, is for "food justice".....Issit says this is 1/100th of a police budget.  Passed!

 

Who owns the farm?  Who runs it?  How much does that cost?  Are the CoV taxpayers on the hook?

 

One last comment.....statements like "food justice" is is a misstep.  It shows a lack of vision of growing your base and being successful.  It is counterproductive, which leads me to believe that Collins doesn't care about the issue but is leveraging a base for something else.



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