Housing, inclusivity and respect for all were themes from Greater Victoria’s core-area mayors they gave their inaugural addresses after being sworn in.
Esquimalt has the ability to develop into a true “live, work, play” community, Mayor Barb Desjardins said.
“For a community that saw a decline in population from 2006 to 2011 to a community that has seen significant growth since then, council’s focus must turn to optimizing this growth, maintaining our diversity and creating community benefits as we evolve,” Desjardins said in her inaugural address.
“We are seeing a significant shift with the influx of young families to Esquimalt. At the same time, we have an aging population and must ensure we provide ‘aging in place’ options for the elders of our community, seeking their wisdom and advice,” she said.
Desjardins said she would like to see the township undertake a development-capacity assessment.
She called for a complete inventory of housing options in the municipality from single-family homes, to condos and rental suites. “I am sure this data is already available, and it could provide an understanding for council so that future development can respond to need and balance.”
Issues raised on the doorstep during the campaign included problems with urban deer, medical services and transportation, she said.
The closing of the Esquimalt Treatment Centre in December will mean only one medical clinic within the VicWest/Esquimalt area, leaving four doctors for about 25,000 people.
“Traffic, and issues related to transiting our community were also a key theme at the doorstep, and council will be looking at ways to mitigate traffic and enhance transit in our community,” she said.
Desjardins thanked her mayoral opponent John Roe for highlighting the problem of aging stormwater drains, saying that their repair, replacement and upgrading will continue over the next four years.
Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said the top concerns heard during the election campaign were retaining green space while providing more housing. “Others included transport, economic development, protecting the urban-containment boundary, respecting the Agricultural Land Reserve, revitalizing agriculture, support for young families, improving recreational amenities, cost-effective services and the citizens’ assembly to examine amalgamating Saanich with Victoria,” Haynes said in his address.
Both Haynes and Desjardins touched on the importance of diversity.
“As we witness the recent horror in Pittsburgh, the importance of standing together in mutual regard for our diversity, and the role of elected officials cannot be underestimated,” Haynes said.
“There is no room in Esquimalt for the hate and racism that we have seen growing in some corners of the world. Esquimalt is a safe, diverse community,” Desjardins said.
In Oak Bay, Mayor Kevin Murdoch congratulated his new council for earning the trust of the residents and challenged them to work for all. “Now we are elected, we no longer have a subset of ‘constituents.’ We will, each and every one of us, work to represent all of Oak Bay in our decision-making,” Murdoch said.
He urged his council not to be afraid to make tough decisions.
“We need to focus on results and not be afraid to make decisions and be held accountable for those decisions. That is democracy.” This includes: timely action on the deer file; addressing the future use of Oak Bay Marina and Turkey Head; and considering larger land-use applications in a way that gets to decisions more effectively and consistently, Murdoch said.
Murdoch said Oak Bay has to move quickly to address housing needs. The Official Community Plan “identifies a number of key activities around housing and other land-use issues: we have an obligation to legalize and regulate the housing options our community needs, and start that process right away,” he said.
In her inaugural address last Thursday, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said she plans to initiate a four-year plan outlining what Victoria council aims to accomplish this term. It will be revisited regularly to check progress.
Helps received huge applause from the audience when she called for a restoration of good manners to public debate. And as part of that, she asked citizens to honour the council with the benefit of the doubt, as well as “powerful questions.”
“We really need to restore civility and decorum to public dialogue,” Helps said.
— with a file from Richard Watts
