Its the "beautiful inner harbour" schtick that always gets me, especially when referring to that time-frame...
Just so that I've got it straight "tall" buildings whether now, or in 1978, are/were a bad thing in part because they would presumably ruin the ambiance and character of the "beautiful harbour....?" Do they mean the harbour that among many other world class attractions boasted:
- An oil tank farm plunked literally at the very entrance to said harbour? To be honest I've never really understood the attraction or tourist potential of oil tank farms, but if the NIMBY's say so....
- An ugly, dreary, apocalyptic post industrial landscape on the Vic West side of the harbour that looked like a dress rehearsal for WWIII had been held there....
- The utter cesspool that was and is the Rock Bay waterway and foreshore, (still) one of the most heavily polluted sites in all of Western Canada.....
- A plywood mill further up along the Upper Harbour at Jutland that combined with the other "industrial" harbour operations of the time (Victoria Machinery Depot etc.,) literally poured all manner of industrial crap, pollution and s*** directly into said harbour, resulting in the toxic soup we've been forced to finally deal with in the last decade or so...
- And further along towards the Gorge a waterway so vile and fouled and polluted by said aforementioned activities it most closely resembled and smelled like an open third world sewer particularly in warmer weather....
- And - FINALLY, lest we forget - the Laurel Point site itself, previously a paint factory - perched right on the very doorstep of our "pristine, world class harbour". And, just for good measure/cherry on top, said paint facility also simultaneously housed a soap manufacturing business. Go Google the industrial crapulence involved in producing soap - the remnants of that combined enterprise BTW were dumped directly into said harbour....
.....so,...yeah.....that "beautiful harbour!?"
Because if that is what is being defended and touted as "old time Victoria charm and character" I'd fight tooth and nail to ensure exactly opposite happens, taller buildings and all.....