134 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

There is no reasonable rationale for them going so far deep off McKenzie and Quadra with their zoning changes.  They could have the same reason for also doing the same with 10-Mile Point or Richmond Road or Shelbourne all the way to Mt. Doug.   Broadmead also gets a carve-out.  Why?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2025 - 11:57 AM.

[dasmo]

I'm pretty much on the municipalities side when it comes to preemptively planning and upzoning land directly on main and arterial roads. If your SFH is directly on Quadra, I understand why you might complain and not like it, but tough beans, you're on a main road. There are quite a few old estate style homes on the west side of Quadra between the Pat Bay and McKenzie, and some of those are on huuuuge lots.

I'm not so favourable of going several blocks off the main roads with this plan. Max one short city block, IMO - which should still give TONS of uplift and room for developers to build out. There is also still a lot of empty land in places along McKenzie that I've no idea why they aren't incentivizing those.

It's not preemptive planning. It's retractive planning. This is not bare land. 

[dasmo]

What good is a law if the authorities can just change it on a whim? You invest two generations of your labour into a home that has a foundation of laws that gives you security with that. from land titles to land use laws of your surroundings. What this does is enables them to do this. It gives them consent. It might as well be bulldozing homes. 

[Victoria Watcher]

Expropriating with an added percentage and bulldozing might even be a BETTER way to achieve the goal. Start with the first house after the big intersections and move along them offering a buyout. Didn’t Burnaby get rich doing this? They have $2B in the bank.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2025 - 12:27 PM.

[dasmo]

Expropriating with an added percentage and bulldozing might even be a BETTER way to achieve the goal. Start with the first house after the big intersections and move along them offering a buyout. Didn’t Burnaby get rich doing this? They have $2B in the bank.

GAZA style but with a buyout option. 

[lanforod]

Nobody is making these folks sell and build a big condo building! 

[Victoria Watcher]

No. But if a big condo building goes up on two or three sides of your bungalow it’s less nice.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2025 - 01:01 PM.

[Barrister]

Not just less nice but if a big building goes up besides you it drops the market value of your house. 

[Victoria Watcher]

Sometimes.

[Mike K.]

It’s tricky. If you don’t sell, you could end up with an orphaned lot that singularly won’t achieve much, and will be devalued relative to its peers.

You may actually need to sell to get fair market value for your lot when a developer wants to put together an assembly. I always encourage people to do some research to see how their lot fits into development scenarios.

Sometimes you hold the keys, sometimes you’re dispensable. Here’s a lot that ended up unsold because the owner wanted too high of a price. Now projects are going up around it.

https://maps.app.goo...ps.preview.copy

[Blair M.]

It's pretty safe to say that, if you purchase a house, or already own a house anywhere in the vicinity of one of our main drags, you're open to substantial development on your block, likely in your lifetime at the rate the region is growing.

 

It's fairly easy to purchase well away from those areas of Saanich though, once you identify areas where there are no apartments or condos for half a mile in any direction.

You certainly don't have to be off sewer or far away from conveniences to find an abundance of those neighbourhoods easily just by scanning Google Maps.

 

Think Strawberry Vale, Marigold, large swaths of Cordova Bay, Majestic in Gordon Head, and on and on - and stay away from big intersections, which seem to attract deveolopment whatever neighbourhood they're located in.

These aren't enclaves for the semi-wealthy like Ten Mile Point or Broadmead, home prices are fair and average for the region.

 

The apartments and condos may never be that far away these days within the CRD, but with a little foresight, and a detailed scan of Saanich's assorted OCP's, you can avoid being involved in any sort of massive development of the block your house sits on for at least the next century, if not much longer.

Edited by Blair M., 13 February 2025 - 06:30 PM.

[Barrister]

Instead you will get a really large missing middle development that overshadows your house and yard. Plus the joys of construction noise. 

[Mike K.]

As we see with Saanich, the municipality can at any time just override a community vision.

Quadra-McKenzie communities just went form SFDs -> Missing Middle -> 6-storeys in the span of 18 months.

[Mike K.]

Latest statement from Saanich:

Saanich now has a path forward for the Draft Quadra McKenzie Plan (QMP), following a Council Meeting where Council provided staff with direction on next steps for this significant plan.

Following an overview of the key themes drawn from the public feedback, Council was presented with land use, transportation, and process options for advancing the Draft QMP. Informed by public input, Council has directed staff to:

Revise the Draft Plan land use framework, with a focus on reducing density in the Quadra North area;
Defer any modification of McKenzie Avenue vehicle lanes and specific transit priority measures to a future process in consultation with BC Transit; and
Bring a revised Draft Plan to Council for another check-in, before launching another round of public engagement.
“We appreciate people taking the time to share their opinions on this long-term vision for the future of this important area,” says Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock. “We’ve heard you, and we’re making refinements to ensure the QMP can address Saanich’s growth while also making life better for residents over time. This is a plan that belongs to all of us, and it will continue to evolve to respond to the needs of our community. We encourage folks to be part of the next phase and look forward to hearing from you as we move towards finalizing this critical plan.”

More than 3,300 individual comments were received during the draft plan engagement process. In-depth analysis of individual comments is ongoing, and will inform additional changes to specific Draft Plan policies and land use designations.

Based on Council direction, a Council check-in on a revised Draft Quadra McKenzie Plan is expected in late Spring and would be followed by public engagement sessions targeted for Summer/Fall 2025.

The QMP presents a vision for the next 20-30 years that looks to address the climate and housing crises and lays the foundation for creating healthy communities that feature a diversity of housing options, active transportation infrastructure, vibrant public spaces, and services and amenities within walking distance for residents.

[Victoria Watcher]

Council asked staff to revise the plan with a focus on reducing density in the Quadra North area. Moreover, changes to McKenzie Avenue vehicle lanes and transit priority measures will be carried over to a future process in consultation with BC Transit.

Council also approved an additional round of public engagement before finalizing the plan. To support this, $30,000 from the Housing Accelerator Fund has been allocated. This would extend the current timeline for plan completion by up to eight months according to a staff report.


https://www.vicnews....acklash-7843460

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 February 2025 - 01:28 AM.