87 replies to this topic

[HarrisonGreene]

They already trashed the 17 storey proposal here.

[Victoria Watcher]

A commentary by a former president of two Canadian universities who was born and raised in Victoria and lives in James Bay.

 

A construction project ­proposed for James Bay envisions a ­massive brutalist tower to be built on a parking lot in a ­residential area that is already characterized by unusually high density and traffic congestion.

 

This huge influx of high-end market-priced condos would rise 14 storeys above ground, ­dwarfing nearby structures.

 

Despite the opposition to this proposal expressed by more than 90 per cent of ­respondents during its public ­engagement process and by the city’s ­professional planners on all three occasions when they were asked for recommendations, last spring, Victoria council moved it forward to the public hearing stage required because it involved changes in the then Official Community Plan and bylaw regulations.

 

For the following six months, nothing apparently happened on this file.

 

Last week, city staff were asked by some constituents for an update on scheduling the promised public hearing, but they received no response.

 

After a search of the city’s website over Thanksgiving weekend, residents discovered that:

 

• The matter has been placed on council’s agenda for determination at this Thursday’s meeting, without informing those who have been asking about it;

• The public hearing has been cancelled since the recently railroaded OCP revision forbids one to be held in such cases; and

• This citizen-silencing has been justified because the new OCP conditionally permits such disproportionate erections if they’re located within the “Inner Harbour District,” to which this site was quietly shifted during the OCP revision.

 

What kind of a railroad is city council running here?

 

The proposed project will do nothing to advance ­affordable housing in Victoria, despite Coun. Dave Thompson’s ­curious claim that somehow it will bring about what he calls “aging into affordability”; most of the ­community “amenities” ­proposed as “sweeteners” by the developer are neither needed nor wanted in that vicinity and will do more harm than good to the neighbourhood (including a traffic-jamming day care centre, in an area deemed not long ago by the Ministry of Education and Child Care to be “already well served”); and the project’s ­proponent has recently been fined for “repeated and high risk” workplace safety violations.

 

 

https://www.timescol...rocess-11342520

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 October 2025 - 01:35 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Boundary has moved, so no need to listen

 

 

The Times Colonist has published a stream of letters opposing a proposal for a high-rise building in James Bay on the site bounded by Quebec, Montreal and Kingston Streets.

 

Objectors have pointed out that it is not what the city needs: It provides expensive investment properties instead of affordable housing, is out of keeping with the neighbourhood and will dominate the skyline.

 

Rezoning the site would have required a public hearing. Opposition was gearing up for that hearing. However, it will not now happen, thanks to the revised Official Community Plan.

 

While attention was on the plan rather than the details, the revised OCP quietly moved the boundary of the Inner Harbour District one block to the south, from Quebec Street to Kingston Street. This neatly changed the zoning of the site so that the development can proceed without a public hearing.

 

 

https://www.timescol...r-yard-11342501

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 October 2025 - 01:37 AM.

[Mister E.]

#oldmanyellsatclouds

[Mike K.]

There are same-sized buildings in the immediate vicinity. Not just the area, but on adjacent blocks. This project will fit right in.

[Victoria Watcher]

Plans to build a 14-storey mixed-use tower in James Bay will be in limbo for several more months. Victoria council has directed staff to review the project again to make sure it fits with the city’s newest land-use guidelines.

 

The property bordered by Quebec, Montreal and Kingston streets — currently largely a surface parking lot — has been proposed by developer Mike Geric Construction to be the site of 108 homes, to be realized in a 97-unit tower and 11 three-bedroom townhome units.

 

The developer also has plans for a cafe and a daycare space on the site. The latter would be sold to a non-profit operator for $1.

 

The project, which had been narrowly approved in principle by council earlier this year, was scheduled for a public hearing on Oct. 9.

 

But a major update to Victoria’s Official Community Plan on Oct. 2 means that there will no longer be one.

 

Victoria senior planner Rob Bateman confirmed to council that the project cannot have a public hearing as the Local Government Act prohibits public hearings for projects that fit within a municipality’s Official Community Plan.

 

Staff said they don’t think the project will require council to make further OCP amendments under the new plan, but acknowledged that a full review — involving the planning, parks, and engineering departments — under the new guidelines has not been done.

 

Mayor Marianne Alto asked to refer the project back to staff to ensure that a full review of the project under the new guidelines is made, saying that it “warrants a thorough second look.”

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...hanges-11363104

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 October 2025 - 04:49 AM.

[Sparky]

^ That's the way you do it. There is a housing crisis that is inconveniencing people that don't live here yet dontchaknow. Existing residents be damned. 

 

Good for you. 

[aastra]

The pic in the TC's article shows a much wider tower than was evident in the original concept, does it not?