Council moves marina rezoning one step further
Council’s Planning and Governance Committee this morning voted to put a City Staff-authored marina rezoning bylaw amendment on the agenda for tonight’s full meeting of Council.
This is City Hall’s latest attempt at ending the possibility of a mega-yacht marina next to the Songhees lands.
City Planner Alison Meyer presents the marina lot rezoning proposal to the Governance and Priorities Committee this morning. Councillors Lucas and Luton look on. Photo by Robert Randall © VibrantVictoria.ca.
The bylaw amendment would rezone the provincially-owned waterfront lot to a site-specific zone that would put severe limits on the size and scope of any large marina or other heavy or industrial use. The new zone would be called the “MS-6 Zone, Lime Bay District” and would effectively put an end to current bylaws that technically permit a wide variety of heavy industrial uses on the Songhees waterfront.
Planning staff said that the preservation of view corridors, particularly the two streets that bookend the marina site, were one of the factors taken into consideration in the move to limit development of the water lot. Councillor Geoff Young agreed with the idea of preserving view corridors but noted that not all views are created equal, noting that while City staff thought the views looking south from the Songhees were worthy of permanent preservation, a glance across the water proved otherwise. Young noted that while the view from the intersection of Kimta and Cooperage revealed an attractive view of the entrance to the harbour and the Olympic Mountains, the view from Paul Kane Place offered merely the sight of James Bay’s massive Shoal Point condominium.
Councillor Young was the sole dissenting vote against putting the rezoning bylaw on tonight’s agenda.
Take part in a discussion on the Songhees marina proposal by following this link to the VibrantVictoria forum.
Copyright © 2010 by VibrantVictoria.ca. All rights reserved.
Responses to this Headline or Article
The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's [Vic West] Victoria International Marina | Proposed thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:
dasmo
Apr 12, 2012 at 1:25 pmMarina-man, Sounds like a brutal bureaucratic minefield to navigate...You most certainly have my sympathies there. it took my late father four years just to get a building permit once... I think having kayak / small vessel integration of some sort would go a long way into better community integration. It would benefit the yacht owners as well. This way they can take their Whitehall Tyee's out for an evening spin with less hassle. Perhaps something integrated into the lower areas of the commercial buildings?
dasmo
Apr 12, 2012 at 1:57 pmMike, with maximum respect, please don't mischaracterize my words, this way I can stop posting in this darn thread in order to stick up for myself! I don't live in the Songhees, I didn't claim people in the Songhees are " the working man's neighborhood fighting gentrification". (Although I would find it surprising to meet someone there who has spent three times as much on their boat than their condo.)
I am tossing in my opinion on the project and how the mega yacht aspect of the marina does not offer much to the neighborhood, IMO. I think the commercial is a very welcome addition and a marina is a good fit there in general, it's too bad it's not (or can't) be one for us city dwellers.
Mike K.
Apr 12, 2012 at 2:51 pmQuote: I'm 65 and I have my condo in the Songhees and I can stroll down to my boat to work on it before taking it out in the spring.
I'm not sure what it is you may have meant when you wrote the above, but I took the above to mean you live in the Songhees.
With respect to my other comments, you asserted that "There is not one person in the Songhees with a 2 -20 million dollar Yacht waiting for a place to park it," to which I replied that there
You further asserted that the average income in Vic West is $75k and therefore this marina will not service the boats of any locals. But your numbers sidestep the obvious wealth within the Songhees neighbourhood where this marina will be built. Plenty of condos in the Songhees are valued in excess of $1-million and we can be certain that there are residents there with enough wealth to afford expensive vessels.
I mean no disrespect either, dasmo, I'm just responding to your statements as I interpret them through my own point of view and knowledge of the Songhees neighbourhood :)
VicHockeyFan
Apr 12, 2012 at 3:01 pmQuote: (Although I would find it surprising to meet someone there who has spent three times as much on their boat than their condo.)
65'ers starting at $100k:
Lots of Songhees condos for over $1M
Bingo
Apr 12, 2012 at 8:54 pmI like the concept of this marina. However, as a former boater I would like to see more protection from the prevailing westerly winds that blow into the harbour. If you check out other locations in the harbour you will see that boats are tucked away out of the westerly winds such as at West Bay, and on the windward shore at Fishermans Wharf.
A rock breakwater to protect the wharves and reduce the swell will make this location more appealing to the yacht owners.
Quote: I'm not so sure this marina will cause many of the problems raised. In fact it will bring sorely needed commercial services to this part of Vic West and make good use of the shore.
Image
