127 replies to this topic

[Ms. B. Havin]

From today's T-C, [url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=89602ce9-24a0-4509-aa2e-09393497176e&k=28464:9d9b4]New Oak Bay bylaw would stem tide of monster homes[/url:9d9b4] (what "tide," where?). Excerpts:

Oak Bay's plan to stop "monster homes" replacing the character homes the municipality prides itself on will go to council next month, after a meeting last night saw 45 people receive a lesson in municipal planning.

Like a patient grade-school teacher, Oak Bay director of planning Nigel Beattie laid out the complex issue of floor-area ratio -- the formula regulating how big a house can be.

The bylaw has a profound impact on the community, as some residents found out when several large houses replaced smaller character homes on large lots.

Comment: here you see newspaperism at work, as a "tide" gets translated into "several" -- or vice versa. Do something thrice, it's a "tide," do it half a dozen times and it's a veritable tsunami... :roll:

For an average 6,000-square-foot lot, that would mean a maximum gross-floor-area cap of 3,875 square feet. The majority of Oak Bay lots are about 6,000 square feet, so the bylaw deals with most of the residential land.

Those with larger lots could apply for a development variance permit to build a larger home. "In this day and age of climate change, I think 4,000 square feet is plenty," said Oak Bay resident Jean Sparks.

It's good to know that OB residents know what's good for everyone "in this day and age of climate change"...

I'm not sure why this is provoking my sarcastic streak, but there you have it...

[G-Man]

I'm not sure why this is provoking my sarcastic streak, but there you have it...

Oak Bay seems to do that to a lot of us

[aastra]

"In this day and age of climate change, I think 4,000 square feet is plenty," said Oak Bay resident Jean Sparks.

And if somebody else doesn't think it's plenty but thinks Jean Sparks uses too much electricity, where does that leave us?

[Ms. B. Havin]

^ Another point re. energy usage/ square footage: if you build a 4000 sq.ft. house that's totally energy-efficient (and relies on renewables as well as recycled materials, eg. floorboards, etc.), you'll probably use way less energy (particularly to heat & maintain it) than if you live in a 2000 sq.ft. older house that's uninsulated and has single-pane windows (no storms).

If you took infra-red photos of some of those older OB charmers, you'd see the heat leaking out of every crevice. But I guess if you're rich enough to build a big house, you're profligate with resources, whereas if you're parsimonious to the point of not having the money for insulation, storm window retrofits, etc., then you're saving the planet. :roll:

[aastra]

I found this old letter in the SSP archives while I was looking for something else.

Oak Bay stands on its own

Times Colonist
Saturday, November 26, 2005

Re: "Oak Bay pays its way," letters, Nov. 23.

Kudos to the writer for defending Oak Bay against the suggestion that it might have chipped in a little something toward the cost of the Tall Ships Festival.

Why should Oak Bay care if tourists come to Victoria? Oak Bay's a world-renowned tourist destination on its own. Cruise ships steam regularly into the Oak Bay marina. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the municipality to take advantage of its many fine hotels, restaurants, museums and other attractions.

Why should it care whether downtown Victoria prospers -- Oak Bay's entrepreneurs are fully occupied by its bustling retail and commercial core. Its mandarin class all work at the stately Oak Bay legislature.

Oak Bay's professionals staff its world-class hospitals, and its lawyers, accountants and financiers ply their trade in Oak Bay's gleaming office towers. If they want to relax after work -- a movie, a play, a concert, the opera -- hey, the bright lights of Oak Bay Avenue are right there.

How does Oak Bay need Victoria? Like a bedroom needs a suburb, maybe? Like tweed needs a curtain? Something like that.

Robert McConnell,
Victoria.

[Holden West]

Oak Bay's legendary pie man
After 39 years, he's ready to retire
Column by Darron Kloster, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, April 28, 2007

The legendary Pie Man of Oak Bay is putting away his plates and closing the oven door for good next month.

Jack Galbraith, who has owned Robertshaw Specialty Pies for 39 years and provided legions of families with his signature Melton Mowbray and steak-and-kidney pies as well as crisp apple and other fruit pies, is retiring and selling his spot in the quirky little shop on the 2800 block of Foul Bay Road.

Galbraith said health issues and age have forced his hand. " I'm 77 and I think it's time I took it easy," he said. "I'm just kind of disintegrating." Galbraith said he had "some illness last summer" and open-heart surgery a few years ago, without elaborating.


Pie man Jack Galbraith at his Oak Bay shop. At age 77, he's decided to retire.

A pizza place is currently negotiating a new lease in the space, which is included in the tidy row of shops in the Dean Heights neighbourhood on the Lansdowne slope. Galbraith expects to close in mid-May.

Robertshaw's kept a faithful following with a wide menu that included homemade soups, Cornish and Danish pastries, sausage rolls, shortbread, carrot cake and Nanaimo bars, to name a few.

A few tables and chairs also made a warm gathering place for coffee regulars.

The shop got its start from the Lundin family who built the commercial strip in the 1950s, said Galbraith. In 1961, it became known as Robertshaw's -- a play on the names of the new owners, Mrs. Robertson and Barry Grimshaw, a well-known local actor and set designer. Galbraith took it over in 1968.

He said he's given "hundreds" of young bakers their start in the business and has had his own kids and now his grandchildren working in the kitchen. "None of my offspring appear to be interested in this, so there's no one to carry on, really," Galbraith said. "I would have liked it, but if they don't I can't do anything about it."

[Holden West]

Times Colonist:

Oak Bay Hardware, considered one of Oak Bay's longest-running businesses, is up for sale. Paul and Brenda Hickman, who have owned the municipality's only hardware store for the past 22 years, want to retire and have listed a freshly signed five-year lease for the busy little store for $125,000.

The couple, in their mid-70s, took a river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow last year and it "gave us a bite to do it," says Brenda. The 1,600-square-foot store has been around since the early 1920s and is widely known for an inventory that ranges from china and giftware to paint and gardening and the tiniest of screws, springs and those hard-to-find replacement pieces.

The Hickmans bought Oak Bay Hardware from Jack and Greta Harness, who owned it for 50 years. Hickman said recent openings of two hardware stores on the Oak Bay-Victoria border hasn't hurt the business.

"We're holding our own," said Hickman. "It still has a reputation of if you can't get it anywhere else, you can get it here. Oak Bay residents have been very loyal." She said there haven't yet been any serious offers. Call 598-4222.

[gumgum]

Oak Bay News:
Suite rules delayed once again
April 18, 2008

[Holden West]

All you armchair experts--here's your chance to show us your managerial genius:

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

District of Oak Bay

The District is looking for a thoughtful and respected leader who will guide the management team while offering the active support that its senior staff needs to be successful. Preferred candidates will be hands-on, detail-oriented productive workers themselves while at the same time having the perspective to plan for the future, along with the flexibility to help department heads deal with non-routine issues as and when they arise.

[VicHockeyFan]

^

Preference will be given to candidates that are not only hands-on, but have LARGE hands capable of heavy lifting. Pre-interview testing at Tinto St., Monday February 8th, 2:00pm.

That's strange.

[Barra]

VHF - where did you get that quote about the hands? I didn't see it in the posting.....

[gumgum]

^I think he was joking.

[gumgum]

Secondary suites, development key issues at Oak Bay protest
Mayor promises town-hall meeting where concerns can be considered

[...]But the main issues seemed to be concern over council considering legalizing secondary suites, an issue that hasn't been decided yet. Public meetings are planned for sometime in May.

Several are also concerned over potential redevelopment of the Blair Gowie home, a Samuel Maclure-built home at 2031 Runnymede Ave. Builder Bruce Wilkin has asked Oak Bay for permission to subdivide the lot, carving off a 1,115-square-metre (12,000-square-foot) portion that would be sold to pay for renovations to the 1916 heritage house.

"Developers have bought up the land and now when you drive around, you see ugly modern building close together, trees cut down — it's changing the nature of Oak Bay," Lupin said.

The group is not against development, he said, but want it done in keeping with the nature of the area, the Official Community Plan and maintaining the current population density.[...]

Read more: http://www.timescolo...l#ixzz1HOBImDxM

[akimbo]

Anybody ever gone for a workout at the new and improved Oak Bay Rec Centre? The view from the cardio area is hilarious. Just wall to wall midrise buildings from one end to the other. No break in the view whatsoever.
.

I'm new to Victoria and have joined Oak Bay Rec Center. The exterior architecture looks promising, but the inside is pure 80's bunker. Lord, what on earth were they thinking when they designed the pool: plastic rocks and palm trees, hideous water slides sprawled over the pool like a monster, dim light, cramped change rooms with micro non-functioning lockers, and, as the writer above describes, a tiny view obliterated by midrise buildings. What's wrong with 'poolness' i.e. space, water, light: the magic of light dancing on water. It's what people pay thousands of dollars for to experience on their expensive vacations. The modest little pool I used to swim at was designed with light in mind and we adored it for that reason alone. What happened here?

[Bingo]

The modest little pool I used to swim at was designed with light in mind and we adored it for that reason alone. What happened here?

Most people go there to swim and workout and many will disagree with your point of view.

Where did you come from, and why would you join if all you want to do is complain?

[Rob Randall]

^This website was set up in 2006 to provide a forum to trumpet the good and complain about the bad.

I haven't been to the Oak Bay pool but I note other local pools benefit from generous natural light. Does the OB pool have a skylight?

[arfenarf]

Oak Bay Rec has some high windows but nothing like the huge skylights at the Crystal. Although I must say that swimming under the darkened skylights at the Crystal in the middle of the winter is a little depressing. And they drip. (ptui)

Akimbo, the pool got a retouch during the mid-2000's upgrade but the heart of the rec centre is, indeed, a bit vintage. The workout area, view or not (and, Aastra, I don't know how OB could have forced a view of the Sooke Hills into the complex across the street ) is a huge improvement over the old one.

OB Rec's pool is at its finest in the evening. Around nine, the lights get turned down, the music changes, and the place goes very, very mellow. It could go creepy (Crystal can), but it doesn't. The vibe is kind and peaceful. I don't care for the lap-swimming culture at OBR in general: they do this weird big "O" shape across two lanes instead of interweaving them they way they do at the Crystal, but if I need a night workout, I'll go to OBR every time.

First thing in the morning? Crystal. 100m, and it's all business. Except for Aging Sore-Shoulder Diva, who will swim in the fast lanes come hell or high water. I've actually set my alarm for 0500 to work around her because it's clear she's not changing her ways.

[Bingo]

^This website was set up in 2006 to provide a forum to trumpet the good and complain about the bad.

Calling it the "world's ugliest pool" is a bit of a stretch.

[aastra]

Gotta love it when somebody replies to a post that was made almost five years ago!

I think I was making a point about how communities in which people tend to be overly concerned about resisting development and its negative consequences (areas such as Oak Bay) often end up shooting themselves in the foot. In this instance "a scattering of slimmer, taller buildings" would have been absolutely out of the question, but I bet a donut that it also could have been quite a bit better than what's there now. Take a look at an aerial of the complex across the street. The way the buildings are angled and staggered, it's as if the massing was intended to prevent anyone from being able to see through the middle of the block:

http://www.bing.com/...y=b&FORM=LMLTCC

(Yes, I realize that complex was developed and redeveloped over a span of decades, but you get my point...)

As for the recreation centre itself, I'd say it's better than it's ever been (all things considered). It was always my favourite recreation centre in Victoria and it still is. The renovations of a few years ago were very good for the most part.

[Bingo]

An Oak Bay family forced from their home by high carbon monoxide levels has hired an independent environmental monitoring service to gauge their safety.

On Friday, after blasting started on the empty lot beside their Woodlawn Crescent house, Chris and his wife, Joanne, arrived home and heard the carbon monoxide alarm ordering them to leave the property.

On Tuesday, Oak Bay placed a stop-work order on blasting at the empty lot beside their house in case it is the cause of high carbon monoxide levels.

The Robertsons believe there is a correlation between the high carbon monoxide levels and the blasting. “It does happen and it’s especially seen in areas with naturally fractured rock and underground water,

both of which are features of Bowker Creek watershed,” Chris said. - See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.Gg1Efvp2.dpuf

 

The home is on a street behind the Oak Bay Firehall, not far from Bowker Creek.

The creek goes into a culvert at Monterey Ave. under the firehall parking lot and some playing fields before re-emerging at Monteith Street.

At one time "the Bowker Creek ravine beside the firehall became the municipal garbage dump in 1914"

Any connection to the fumes?

http://www.webturf.c...ory/milestones/