TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT MEMORANDUM
MEETING DATE: February 9, 2026 Report No. DEV-26-004
TO: Special Joint Council Meeting with the Advisory Planning Commission
FROM: Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT: Discussion with the Advisory Planning Commission (APC)
INFORMATION:
The Advisory Planning Commission is a statutory body that has been established pursuant to Sec 461 of the Local Government Act to advise Council on all matters respecting land use, community planning, or proposed bylaws and permits under Divisions 4 to 14 of Part 14 that are referred to it by Council. Council relies on the recommendations of the APC to help inform their decision making on applications that have been referred to the APC. Although Council always appreciates the recommendations of the APC, it must be remembered that the APC is advisory, and Council is not required to follow its recommendations. Recently, members of the APC have expressed concerns about their role and their relationship with Council. This prompted the Chair of the APC to send an e-mail to Council via one of the appointed Council liaisons requesting that the Advisory Planning Commission Bylaw, No. 2792, be amended to allow members of Council to be appointed as non-voting members of the Commission. In addition, the Chair requested that the Advisory Planning Commission Bylaw, No. 2792, be amended to so that there are separate Bylaws for each of the APC and the Design Review Committee (DRC).
In response to this e-mail, on November 20, 2025, the Chair of the APC met with the Chief Administrative Officer to discuss overall concerns. At this meeting the idea of a joint meeting between the APC and Council was discussed. This meeting was followed up with a meeting between the Chair and Bill Brown, Director of Development Services on December 30, 2025, at which time specific issues were discussed including setting up a joint meeting between the APC and Council, as well as the proposal to have the two liaison Councillors made non-voting members of the Commission and, separating the Advisory Planning Commission Bylaw into two separate bylaws, one for the APC and one for the DRC. It was agreed that these and other matters of concern would best be discussed at a joint meeting of Council and the APC.
At the January 20, 2026, meeting of the APC, staff announced that the joint meeting with Council would be held on February 9, 2026, and invited APC members to submit agenda ideas to the APC’s Committee Coordinator/Recording Secretary. Several items have been submitted. The agenda is deliberately general in nature to allow for a broad discussion as well as a discussion on specific items including but not limited to:
- Proposal to have the two Council liaison appointees become non-voting members of the Commission.
- Separating the Advisory Planning Commission Bylaw No. 2792 into two separate bylaws, one for the APC and one for the DRC.
- A discussion on development cost charges and amenity cost charges.
- Anticipated development at CFB Esquimalt.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council request that staff return with recommendations or impact assessments (dependent on the scale of the request) for any actions identified by Council during their joint meeting with the APC.
Body
REVIEWED BY:
1. Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services, Reviewed
2. Ian Irvine, Director of Finance, Reviewed
3. Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer, Concurrence
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
There are no attachments to this memo.