June 11, 2025
Town of Sidney Council Meeting Highlights: June 9, 2025
Sidney BC
Highlights from regular Council meetings provide a brief summary of some items of broad public interest. The summary is not inclusive of all agenda items. Please refer to sidney.civicweb.net/Portal for the full agenda, minutes, and webcast.
Council gives first two readings to zoning amendment allowing shipping containers in parks to support disaster water supply
Council gave first two readings to a zoning amendment allowing shipping containers in parks, in order to facilitate disaster water supply. A Public Hearing will be held on the proposed zoning amendment on June 23rd.
The Town of Sidney is set to become the first municipality in the Capital Regional District (CRD) that is ready to deliver safe drinking water to the community from a secondary source in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake. The Town’s goal is to be equipped to provide an emergency supply of four litres of water per person per day for at least five days, through distribution stations that are located near most residents.
This summer, the Town will be installing steel storage containers with decorative screening at three locations in Sidney:
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- Rathdown Park in Northeast Sidney
- Southeast Sidney (location to be determined)
- West Sidney (location to be determined)
The containers will serve as Community Points of Distribution for safe drinking water, as well as other supplies if needed. The CRD has 14 blue hydrants in the region connected to seismically resilient pipes. Until now, the Town lacked a way to distribute water from these hydrants to an estimated 13,500 community members and visitors, if needed.
The emergency preparedness work is made possible through a grant from the Province under the Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding program and the BC Growing Communities Fund.
Staff Report Video
Council adopts a policy to review Council compensation every four years, with any increases taking effect for the next elected Council
Council have adopted a policy to ensure Council renumeration is considered every four years, rather than at irregular intervals. Staff will undertake the review prior to the end of each Council term, with increases taking effect for the next elected Council. Recommended compensation will be based on the median level of compensation for seven similar local municipalities. The proposed policy uses best practices from the Union of BC Municipalities’ Remuneration Guide and supports Council’s Strategic Plan goal of organizational excellence.
Staff Report Video