Municipality of North Cowichan
Committee of the Whole
AGENDA

Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 5:00 P.m. - 6:00 P.m.

Municipal Hall - Council Chambers & Electronically

This meeting will be conducted by video conference using the Cisco Webex platform. This meeting, though electronic, is open to the public and will be streamed live and archived for viewing on demand at www.northcowichan.ca.

Members of the public may attend the Municipal Hall [7030 Trans-Canada Highway] in person, or join the meeting electronically to participate during the 'Public Input' and 'Question Period' portions of the agenda. Please visit northcowichan.ca/virtualmeeting for instructions on how you can connect online or you may dial 1.844.426.4405, enter 1# for English, enter the meeting ID 2771 591 8121, and then enter the meeting password 1111.

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

As soon as there is a quorum present after the time specified for the Council meeting, the Mayor shall call the meeting to order. If there is no quorum of Council present within 15 minutes of the scheduled time for the meeting, the Corporate Officer records the names of the members present and those absent, and adjourns the meeting until the next scheduled meeting.

2.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Purpose: To consider any items of business not included in the Agenda that are of an urgent nature they must be introduced and approved at the time the agenda is adopted. Matters must be taken up in the order that they are listed unless changed at this time.

• Recommendation:

  THAT the agenda be adopted as circulated [or as amended].

3.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Purpose: To consider if there were any errors or omissions prior to adopting the minutes of previous meetings of Council.

3.1

Minutes from the January 13, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting for adoption

• Recommendation:

  THAT the minutes of the meeting held January 13, 2026 be adopted, as circulated.

4.

PUBLIC INPUT ON AGENDA ITEMS

Public Input is an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on matters included on the agenda. The maximum number of speakers to be heard during the public input period is limited to five (5), and each speaker is allotted up to a maximum of three (3) minutes to provide their input. Members of the public must register at least 10 minutes and not more than 30 minutes before the meeting using the webform available on North Cowichan’s website. Please visit Addressing Council to access the webform and for instructions on how to participate. Speakers are asked to state their name and residential address when commencing their address to Council, as per Council’s Public Input and Meeting Conduct Policy.

5.

STAFF REPORTS

This section includes reports from staff requiring a decision of Council and/or staff presentations.

5.1

Draft Biodiversity Protection Policy Report & Presentation

Purpose: To present, jointly with Diamond Head Consulting, a draft of the North Cowichan Biodiversity Protection Policy report to the Committee of the Whole, and to receive feedback and comments prior to finalizing the report. 

• Recommendation:

  THAT the Committee of the Whole direct staff to:

  1. Refer the draft Municipality of North Cowichan Biodiversity Protection Policy, prepared by Diamond Head Consulting and dated February 2026, to the upcoming Environmental Advisory Committee meeting for comment.
  2. Consider and incorporate the Environmental Advisory Committee comments, to the extent reasonably practical, into the final Municipality of North Cowichan Biodiversity Protection Policy.
  3. Incorporate the following Committee of the Whole comments into the final Municipality of North Cowichan Biodiversity Protection Policy:
     1. [insert comments]
     2. …
     3. …
  4. Present a final Municipality of North Cowichan Biodiversity Protection Policy to Council for adoption in June 2026.

5.2

2026 Operating and Capital Budget

Purpose: To provide the Committee of the Whole information on the 2026 – 2030 operating and capital budget and seek direction to move forward with the preparation of the financial plan bylaw. A staff presentation will be provided at the meeting.

• Recommendation:

  THAT the Committee of the Whole direct staff to prepare the 2026 – 2030 Financial Plan Bylaw as presented in the 2026 Operating and Capital Budget report dated February 10, 2026, from the Director, Financial Services.

5.3

2026 Utility Budgets

Purpose: To provide Council with background information on 2026 utility rates for water and sanitary sewer, and to seek Council direction to incorporate the proposed budgets in the 2026-2030 financial plan. A staff presentation will be provided at the meeting.

• Recommendation:

  THAT the Committee of the Whole directs staff to prepare the 2026 – 2030 Financial Plan Bylaw as presented in the 2026 Utility Budgets report dated February 10, 2026, by the Director, Financial Services.

5.4

Request for Growth Infrastructure Engineering Position

Purpose: To consider creating a new position to address staff resource constraints in the engineering department to advance growth infrastructure and support undertaking capacity assessments for land development applications.

• Recommendation:

  THAT the Committee of the Whole recommends that Council establish a growth infrastructure engineering position, to be partially funded through the Province’s Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program Community Transition program, subject to receipt of funding approval and annual budget authorization.

6.

QUESTION PERIOD

Members of the public shall be provided an opportunity to ask questions of Council regarding matters discussed at the meeting and shall be allotted up to 30 seconds each to ask their question. Question Period is limited to 15 minutes.

7.

ADJOURNMENT

Once all the business is done and over with, the Mayor may declare the meeting adjourned without requiring a resolution of Council.