The City of Victoria has given up on the idea of moving all customer service counters to the main floor at City Hall.
"We found that it was a really big challenge," said Alison Meyers, assistant director of the city's customer service initiative.
The goal of major renovations to City Hall is, in part, to reconfigure the space to be more welcoming.
A survey of people coming to City Hall revealed 5,000 people visit the customer service centre on the first floor every month.
The second floor, home to development services, engineering and permit and inspections, is visited by about 2,000 to 4,000 people per month.
"We feel there's a real opportunity to establish a counter on the second floor of City Hall that focuses on serving development, that focuses on serving business," said Meyer.
Other project plans include an elevator for improved accessibility, and a washroom on the main floor. Services will also be brought up to the third "ghost floor."
The project also includes replacing the sprinkler system and continuing seismic upgrades.
Renovations are set to start in April and be complete by mid 2013.
"We know it's going to be stressful and disruptive," said Meyers. "We are working to manage that."