Camosun Community Association

News

Your opinion matters to Saanich Recreation!

Posted June 11, 2009

This notice comes to us from Saanich Recereation. Be warned that surveymonkey.com uses Microsoft aspx pages, which are not friendly to my favourite W3C compliant web browser. Suggest you use MS Internet Explorer or possibly Mozilla to claim your chance of a prize:

Saanich Recreation is asking for your opinion. We need your help so we can improve our level of service to you.

By participating in the survey you could win some really terrific prizes too. You'll only need about 10 - 15 minutes of your time to do the survey. Only one survey per household is to be completed. We are requesting that the adult over the age of 18 in your household who had the most recent birthday to be the one to complete this survey.

Note that incomplete surveys will be deleted and NOT included in the survey results. To get to the survey, just click on this link (please carefully read the survey instructions before commencing the survey):

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gQQY55D_2fcB5q2EsLRITmEA_3d_3d

Prize Giveaway Rules:

You must enter into the prize giveaway to be eligible for the draw (see last page of survey)
You must be 18 or older to enter the prize draw
Prizes will be awarded through a random draw from the names entered into the contest
Chances of winning depend upon the number of entries we receive
Prizes have no cash value and are to be accepted as awarded

List of Prizes to be given away:

25 - Single Use Saanich Recreation Adult Drop-in Admission Passes
10 - Single Use Saanich Recreation Family Drop-in Admission Passes
3 - Saanich Recreation Adult Annual Access Passes (valued at $385 each)
3 - $50 Saanich Recreation Gift Cards
3 - Rounds of Golf for 2 at Cedar Hill Golf Course
2 - $50 Gift Certificates to your choice of one of the following Restaurants:
Kelsey's, Milestones, Montana's, Swiss Chalet or Harvey's
1 - $50 Gift Certificate to Boston Pizza
10 - $10 Gift Cards from Thrifty Foods
45 minute Theraputic Massage from Leftcoast Health

Saanich Study to Look at the Legalization of Secondary Suites

Posted May 20, 2009

Sharon Hvozdanski, Manager of Special Projects for Saanich, is seeking feedback from Neighbourhood Associations, within and outside the proposed study area, regarding the proposal to look at the legalization of Secondary Suites.

The CCA lies within the study area.

The goal of the study is to look at the issues and possible regulations regarding the potential legalization of secondary suites, with residents and property owners of single family homes in a defined geographic region. Depending on the outcome, a similar process could be replicated in other areas of Saanich.

The study will gather feedback using

mail survey
online survey
open house(s) & paper survey
meetings with key stakeholders

so you should have plenty of chances to express your views on this topic.

The timeline for the stakeholder input reads April - May 2009 on a memo dated April 29, 2009; let's hope that's extended somewhat to make up for the lost month of April.

Read the full memo here.

What the CCA is All About

Posted March 1, 2009

The recent debate around affordable housing and specifically the question as to if and when Saanich will legalize secondary suites has gotten much press lately. Your CCA has had a voice in this debate, too.

To help you undertand the role of the CCA, please have a look at the articles of our constitution and our bylaws on the "About Us" page.

Saanich's Draft 2009 - 2013 Strategic Plan

Posted February 16, 2009

We've recently received and posted the draft of the latest version of the Saanich strategic plan , which sets out the five-year vision for the municipality.

This has particular relevance to the issue of affordable housing and secondary suites, as discussed in this article that sets out the CCA's view and proposed involvement going forward.

We encourage you to provde comments on the overall plan or any parts to Saanich and/or the CCA.

Hillside Mall Pitches 20-Store Expansion

Posted February 10, 2009

The proposed $60-million project includes mostly fashion outlets and and overall upgrades.

Hillside Shopping Centre would undergo a $60-million expansion and renovation under a proposal heading for review at Victoria City Hall on Feb 5, 2009. See this Times Colonist article of February 5th, 2009. In the article, it was reported that the Oaklands Community Association is in favour of the proposed development.

Being just outside our boundary, the management company, Vic 20, was under no obligation to consult with Saanich or our community association. However, the CCA did provide feedback along with the Oaklands Community Association in 2006 regarding traffic control and crosswalks along North Dairy and Shelbourne. Subsequent to these discussions, Vic 20 did not return our telephone calls and did not communicate with us.

Saanich Official Community Plan

Posted January 29, 2009

New information about the Saannich Official Community Plan has been posted to our Affordable Housing page.

CCA Supports Saanich's LocalMotion Grant Request for Bowker Creek Greenway

Posted January 9, 2009

The CCA was pleased to hear that Saanich is to request a grant from the provincial LocalMotion Program for funds toward initiatives that include the Bowker Creek Greenway. Here's the message of support that your association sent to Saanich Council.

January 7, 2009
Mayor and Council,
Municipal District of Saanich
770 Vernon Ave
Victoria, BC
Canada V8X 2W7

Re: Bowker Creek Greenway

The Camosun Community Association supports Saanich's LocalMotion grant application. We congratulate staff for preparing the application. This will do more than just advance Phase 2 of Saanich's Centennial Trails. Implementing the Bowker Creek Greenway will help fulfill a long-standing commitment from the 1998 Shelbourne Local Area Plan. It will also support the important greenways-related objectives of the 2003 Bowker Creek Watershed Management Plan. The CCA is an active partner of the associated Bowker Creek Initiative.

Partnership and collaboration are important themes of the Bowker Creek Initiative. We look forward to working closely with Saanich staff, the Bowker Creek Initiative and its community partners. Greenway objectives need to be coordinated and integrated with the other goals of the watershed plan. Community input is important to ensure that this takes place.

Yours truly,
Camosun Community Association
Sheila Critch, Vice President

Sustainable Saanich Initiative

Posted December 9, 2008

At our last AGM, Paula Steel of City Green Solutions presented on the Sustainable Saanich Initiative. Here are some links you can use to find out more on this topic:

City Green has an online homeowner summary grant chart you should examine before you undertake any home renovations. Also, check out the info on the upcoming Residential Energy Efficiency workshop.

CCA Public Announcement

Posted December 8, 2008 by Sheila Critch

Public Announcement
December 2008

I wish to thank all members who came out to the Annual General Meeting and showed their support for the CCA on November 27th.

I'm very excited to report that the membership elected a new thirteen-member board of directors! Returning directors to the board are Yves Bajard, Tim Janzen, Sheila Critch and Al Lubkowski. New directors are Marianne Alto, Tom Celuszak, Michael Crowe, Mike Divell, Ian Graeme, Caleb Horn, Jim Lauder, Niels Anthonsen and Joel Witherington.

Six residents volunteered to work directly on the Richmond School Committee and eight residents now comprise the Secondary Suite Committee.

On behalf of the Association, I would also like to thank the previous board for their service and commitment over the past year, particularly, Andrea Gleichauf, Brenda Nielsen, Margaret Anne McLennan, Dave Ross and Carol Giskemo, who are stepping down this year.

We are really excited about the diversity of age and experience within our new board, the value of a strong community association and opportunities for the coming year.

Furthermore, there is still room for everyone's energy, and if you wish to come along to our next meeting, (time and location to be announced) you are welcome to contact any of our new board members through our web site.

Sheila Critch
Vice President
Camosun Community Association

Welcome to this Year's Directors and Volunteers

Posted December 2, 2008

On November 27th, the CCA AGM was held, and we're pleased to tell you that community members stepped up to the challenge that the CCA was facing with regard to recruiting new and more directors and volunteers. At a time when it's easy to think you can have no impact on what elected officials do - as evidenced by our low voter turnout in recent federal and municipal elections - the CCA provides a collective and balanced voice for our community to these officials.

Not all the director roles have been filled, but that will be sorted out as we move ahead and discover peoples' strengths and interests. For now, the current list of directors appears as follows:

Director Position	Name
SCAN Liaison Secondary Suites Community Gardening	Yves Bajard
Treasurer	Tom Celuszak
Vice President Secondary Suites	Sheila Critch
Secondary Suites	Michael Crowe
Emergency Preparedness Community Gardening	Mike Divell
Director at Large	Ian Graeme
Newsletter Distribution	Caleb Horn
Director at Large	Tim Janzen
Richmond School	Jim Lauder
Director at Large	Al Lubkowski
Secondary Suites	Niels Anthonsen
Newletter Editor	Joel Witherington
To be determined	Marianne Alto

Soon to follow will be an additional list of volunteers, who with several of the directors will make up the CCA's issue-focused committees. Once we have contact information confirmed, you'll also see changes to this web site's contact page.

CCA Constitutional Bylaws

Posted November 24, 2008

Planning to attend our AGM this Thursday? Then perhaps you'd like to read our CCA bylaws before the meeting.