Fuming about bike lanes? Think running an Airbnb should be a basic property right? Worried about the future of horse-drawn carriages?
You might not be able to fight city hall, but on Thursday, Victoria residents will have an opportunity to let city councillors know what they’re doing right or wrong, or where their efforts might be better spent.
Victoria will host its first open town hall meeting at city hall at 6:30 p.m., giving residents the opportunity to weigh in on everything from affordability to zoning.
“This is one of the things actually that was in my platform and, I think, was widely supported by council in the strategic plan, so now it’s become everyone’s idea,” said Mayor Lisa Helps.
The city is always engaging residents on specific issues such as rezonings, Helps said, but this is an opportunity for the residents to choose the topics.
“The idea with these town halls, particularly with this first one, is to have an open conversation and just listen to what’s on people’s minds,” Helps said.
“We’ll get to kind of take the temperature a little bit and see what ideas people might have for the 2020 budget year, what’s happening in peoples’ neighbourhoods, what are people happy about or upset about.”
Helps likened the event to a giant version of the community drop-in she hosts at her office every two weeks. If that’s any indication, she said, it won’t be all gripes.
“Sometimes people come because they have an idea.
“Sometimes people come because they’re new to town and they want to see what’s going on in the community.
“Sometimes people come because they’re angry.”
City council has committed to four town halls a year.
Helps expects two will be open-ended and two will have a topic.
The one set for early July is to be about accessibility.
