City Meetings

Municipal government in BC strives to be accessible to the citizens it serves. Municipalities are governed by the Local Government Act and the Community Charter.

Local citizens are elected by the community to serve on City Council. All meetings are open to the public and members of the public can speak directly to Council during the public participation portion of the meeting. When Council is considering a rezoning or official community plan application, a public hearing may be held to allow Council to hear directly from citizens. Citizens can also participate directly by volunteering on committees or commissions.

With input from citizens, city staff, committees and other stakeholders, Council makes decisions to establish bylaws and policies that are the basis for how we provide services and plan for the City's future.

Attending meetings is an important way to learn about and influence decisions about your community.

In addition to meetings, the City uses a wide range of tools to gather your input:

• Open Houses
• Surveys
• Workshops
• Community Meetings
• Public Hearings
• Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings

Your input will be most effective if you understand the Public Participation Process:

• Who is responsible for making the final decision?
• What are the steps in the decision making process?
• What are the factors and considerations that will weigh into the decision?
• What are the timelines?
• What are the venues for public input?
• Will there be an open house, survey, public hearing or other opportunities for participation?

There are different avenues to communicate with Council or Committee regarding items on an agenda:

• Written Submissions
• Meetings
• Delegations

Written Submissions

Want to submit a written submission for an upcoming meeting? You don’t need to attend a meeting to have Council or Committee consider your input.   

Written Submissions will be received in one of the following ways:

• By email: Send to corporateservices@colwood.ca
• By mail: 3300 Wishart Road, Colwood, BC V9C 1R1
• In person: Drop it off at City Hall (address above)

Deadline: All submissions must be received by noon on the day of the meeting.

Important:

• Your submission must be about a topic listed on the meeting agenda.
• It will be appended to the meeting agenda of which it was received for.
• After the meeting, it will be posted on the City Meetings Webpage under Written Submissions. 

Addressing Council at Public Meetings

Regular meetings of Council and Committee of the Whole are open to the public.  Opportunities are provided at each meeting for members of the public to ask a question or comment on items contained in the agenda.  Citizens may also request to appear as a delegation before Council to address issues they feel are of importance to the community. 

Tips for Preparing to Address Council or Committee of the Whole

• Find out the process for the meeting that you wish to present at or observe a meeting in advance.
  • Residents of Colwood or non-resident property owners will be provided the first opportunity to speak.
• Twenty minutes is allotted for the Public Participation Period.  The time allotted may be extended upon a majority vote of council.
• When approaching the podium state your name and address clearly and speak directly into the microphone provided.
• Communicate effectively and remain “on topic” clearly addressing the issue at hand.
  • Topics addressed should be directly related to matters of city or community concern not normally dealt with by city staff as a matter of routine.
  • Topics should be addressed briefly and directed through the Chair.  Debate with, or by, any member of Council will not be allowed.
• No commitments shall be made by any member of Council in replying to questions.  Matters which require action to be taken by council will be referred to a future meeting for consideration.

Delegation to Appear Before Council

What is a delegation?

A delegation is a presentation by a person or persons on behalf of an organization or association wishing to appear before Mayor and Council.

How to Apply:

To appear before Council, you must submit a Delegation Request to the Corporate Services Department at least fourteen (14) business days prior to the meeting.  Delegations are not confirmed on the agenda until you are contacted by the Corporate Services Department.

Application

Submit to Corporate Services at least fourteen (14) working days prior to the meeting (inclusive of correspondence and background materials)

Audio/Visual

Audio/visual presentation material, handouts, video or PowerPoint, must be received with the application to distribute with the agenda.

Meeting Time

Delegations are usually heard at the start of the meeting.

Meeting Date

See the Council and Committee of the Whole Meeting calendar on our website. 

Time Limit

Delegations will be provided ten (10) minutes to address Council with five (5) minutes allotted for discussion.  Speaking times may be extended by a majority vote of Council members present.

What are the steps involved?

1. Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis.
2. No more than two delegations will be permitted at each meeting.

What to Include:

• A completed Application to Appear as a Delegation.
• Presentation materials, handouts, video or PowerPoint, must be submitted with your application.  This will allow for advance testing to ensure your presentation runs smoothly.  You may wish to contact us in advance of preparing your audio or visual presentation to confirm the technical specifications of our presentation equipment.

What is the process?

The Corporate Services Department will communicate with the delegation’s contact person to confirm a place on the agenda, and to facilitate any audio/visual support that is required.  Background information submitted with the application and presentation material will form part of the agenda package and will be published on the website.

Visual presentations must be in compliance with the federal Copyright Act and by speaking at the meeting, you grant the City of Colwood license to publish the presentation materials.

When will it be scheduled?

Every effort is made to assign the earliest possible meeting date.  A delegation is not confirmed on the agenda until contacted by the Corporate Services department.  Once the application is reviewed, the delegation may be referred to a committee or staff for direct action or response as deemed appropriate.

Restrictions on Subject Matter:

Council does not hear delegations on subject matters that have been subject to any of the following:

• Considered by Council at a closed meeting;
• Before the courts or subject to legal action;
• Claim for damages against the City;
• Bylaw enforcement action by the City;
• A Public Hearing held in accordance with an enactment that is a pre-requisite to the adoption of a bylaw;
• Application before the Board of Variance that is pending or has been decided;
• Has been referred to a Committee or staff;
• An issue that public input opportunity is scheduled on the matter;
• Development application that is currently under consideration and which a public input opportunity will be held.

What to Expect at the Meeting:

• The delegation will be introduced by the Chair of the meeting.
• The delegate should than proceed to the podium.
• Please be sure to state your name and address clearly at the start of your presentation and speak directly into the microphone provided.
• Direct your presentation to Council and communicate through the Chair.
• Delegations will be provided ten (10) minutes to address Council with five (5) minutes allotted for discussion.  Speaking times may be extended by a majority vote of Council members present.
• A Council Member may ask questions of the Delegation to clarify or correct information but must not enter into debate.

Please note:  Meetings of Council and Committee of the Whole are webcast on the City website.  Your image and personal opinions may be collected and disclosed as part of Council proceedings.

At the beginning of a City Council meeting, Council members adopt the minutes of the most recent previous meeting and read any correspondence or proclamations. A ‘proclamation’ is an official announcement.

This is followed by public participation and delegations (persons or groups wishing to speak to Council). 

Then the agenda is discussed. Members of Council can ask questions about items and discuss the issues. 

Making a motion and voting

Once an item has been discussed, a member of Council issues a motion (or makes a proposal for how to move the item forward) so that a decision can be made on the issue. Another member of Council is asked to ‘second’ (or agree with) the motion before it can be considered. Then all members of Council vote on the issue. Once a decision has been made, City staff are responsible for putting it into action.

An agenda item can be:

• Adopted: Council has adopted the item without any changes;
• Amended: Council has made some changes to the item before adopting it. These changes are called ‘amendments’;
• Deferred: Council has postponed making a decision about the item to a future meeting;
• Referred: Council has sent the item to a committee or staff for further study or action, before Council will make a decision;
• Received: Council has received the item for information only and will take no further action; or
• Defeated: Council had decided it will not move forward with the item.

The majority of Council meetings, including discussions, questions, and voting are open to the public. In some cases, however, when Council needs to consider private information (such as legal or personal information), as allowed by law, City Council temporarily meets in a ‘closed’ or 'in camera' session which is not open to the public.

We want to make it easy for you to have a say in the decisions that make Colwood a connected community that we all take pride in.

• Join us at City meetings. You are welcome to just sit and listen, or you can speak during the public participation portion at the beginning of the meeting.
• Watch Council meetings online.
• Subscribe to receive updates about City news, events and meetings.
• Join the conversation on Let's Talk Colwood
• Use our Action Request form to bring an issue to our attention.
• Follow @CityofColwood on facebook, instagram, twitter and youtube
• Drop by City Hall at 3300 Wishart Road or give us a call at 478-5999.