On Monday, Nanaimo city council met for its regular council meeting.
Council heard a presentation on Hammond Bay Traffic management by staff from the Regional District of Nanaimo. The Departure Bay Pump Station and Forcemain Twinning projects will require major upgrades to the sewer system under Hammond Bay. City water main, storm and sanitary sewers will also be upgraded at the same time.
The plan to minimize travel disruption during the major project is to turn sections of it under construction into a one-way street southbound, with construction starting at the north end of Hammond Bay down to Departure Bay.
“Speaking of someone who lives in Departure Bay, the concept of having a toilet that I can safely flush for four years is very important to me,” Mayor Leonard Krog said.
A report on the State of the Nanaimo Economy by Amrit Manhas, the city’s economic development officer, was presented to council.
There was an increase in development with $386.8 million of building permit values in 2025, with 59 per cent of that coming from major public sector development projects such as student residences at Vancouver Island University. Rental supply in Nanaimo increased by 292 units last year but vacancy rates shrunk to 2.2 per cent and rents rose by 8.2 per cent. The living wage for Nanaimo was $24.40 per hour, a 2.6 per cent increase from 2024.
Manhas said the city needs to continue to try and expand housing diversity and support workforce attraction and retention with mid-size and larger employers as well as small businesses.
A housekeeping amendment to the Respectful Spaces Bylaw added a new provision that would allow the city to post a code of conduct in a municipal facility in order to regulate use of electronic devices. The bylaw passed unanimously.
A bylaw to seek council approval to borrow $10,570,000 from the Municipal Finance Authority for phase one of the Public Works Yard Update over 20 years passed with Coun. Tyler Brown opposed. This is part of a larger project that council has authorized up to $76,680,000 in borrowing for the project. City staff estimated that the city would need to borrow part of the larger sum roughly once a year as the project is built.
Staff presented the final phase of the Woodgroove Area Plan. The bylaw to incorporate it into the city plan passed first and second readings unanimously. The bylaw will now be referred to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, Snuneymuxw First Nation, Snaw-naw-as First Nation, the District of Lantzville and the Regional District of Nanaimo. A public hearing on the plan will follow the referral process.
A liquor licence application for The Old City Station Pub at 150 Skinner St. was approved to allow liquor service before 11 a.m. during 12 scheduled World Cup matches.
Council passed a rezoning application for 2565 Departure Bay Rd. from Three- and Four-Unit Residential (R5) to Row House Residential (R7) with site-specific density to facilitate a 19-unit, multi-family development featuring three-bedroom townhouses.
Coun. Ben Geselbracht recused himself from the discussion and vote due to a potential perception of a conflict of interest as he has investments with the same financial management firm that the property owner works for.
The rezoning passed second and third readings unanimously and directed staff to secure the conditions of rezoning before its final adoption.
A series of quarterly reports from the BC Ombudsperson Office gave the city what Mayor Krog called “an excellent grade.”
A motion by Coun. Geselbracht for an implementation plan for recommendations from the 2026 Building Permit Function Review and to provide quarterly updates on the progress of implementing those recommendations failed with Mayor Krog and councillors Sheryl Armstrong, Erin Hemmens, Ian Thorpe and Janice Perrino opposed.
Mayor Krog called Geselbracht’s motion “great politics but poor governance” and said “It’s not our job to manage the staff; our job is to support staff in what we ask them to do.” | 
