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Woodwyn Therapeutic Community; Central Saanich


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#21 Sparky

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Posted 08 July 2014 - 10:38 AM

There is more to this story than Richard Leblanc is sharing. This topic is not as simple as "opening their hearts".

 

It's about how we govern ourselves as a society that includes laws and bylaws and how to comply with those laws or how we go about changing those laws should they be deemed to be inappropriate.

 

Municipal councilors are obliged to uphold the law or follow a process of change if warranted. 



#22 lanforod

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Posted 08 July 2014 - 10:41 AM

Very onesided press release there. What's the story from Central Saanichs POV?

#23 Sparky

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Posted 08 July 2014 - 10:46 AM

We have a VV member that is a CS councilor. Perhaps he might chime in on this topic.

#24 JohnN

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Posted 08 July 2014 - 07:00 PM

Woodwyn: "We asked for a small release from the ALR of 2 acres out of 193 acres to place the housing and common areas, but were rejected by Counc

 

With two recent Woodwyn press releases of 23 and 25 June about donations of accommodation trailers, might the request by Woodwyn's ALR release of 2 acres in addition to the housing already on site have spurred the Central Saanich legal action?

 

Interesting that local group that lost bid to buy Woodwyn include Farmlands Trust ,  (letter 1, letter 2) with NDP-stalwart Carol Pickup as chair.

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:)

#25 tedward

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Posted 09 July 2014 - 08:26 AM

The PR from the farm says:

No effort to accommodate the farm and its residents has ever been made by the District over the years

 

Why exactly should the District make any effort to "accommodate" any project they do not support?

 

If this project is so great then why have the people of the District not been convinced it is worth supporting and voted in municipal elections for candidates in favour?

 

Change the project or try somewhere else.

 

 


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#26 spanky123

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Posted 09 July 2014 - 09:49 AM

I know Richard from his earlier projects with the homeless downtown and have followed Woodwyn since its inception. I am not bashing Richard, the homeless or the hundreds of volunteers that have dedicated time to this project but I think that the original goal and what this project have become are two different things. I also think that some of the people who have attached themselves to Woodwyn recently have objectives which are more self-serving.

 

If there are in fact 1,500 homeless people in Victoria then any prospect of Woodwyn having any meaningful impact on helping with that problem is nil. From what I recall reading, Woodwyn has averaged low single digit participation from the true homeless population. When you consider the millions of dollars of time and money invested in this venture I can't see how it is the best use of funds supporting the homeless.



#27 CarlonCouncil

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Posted 15 July 2014 - 09:58 PM

Good Evening,

The issue at Woodwyn Farms is about land use, the protection of ALR lands and ensuring the safety of publicly occupied buildings within the District. Here is a copy of the Rise and Report from our last Central Saanich Council meeting on Jul 7/14:

"Re: Notice of Civil Claim

On June 30, 2014 in the Supreme Court of B.C. the District of Central Saanich filed a Notice of Civil Claim against Woodwyn Farms and Creating Homefullness Society.
The Notice seeks from the court:

A declaration that the Defendants using the Property for: institutional uses; Commercial uses; Office uses; More than one dwelling unit; Recreational vehicle and mobile home park uses; Assembly uses; and/or Campground uses; are in contravention of the District’s Land Use Bylaw;
A declaration that the use of a barn on the Property as a store and coffee shop is not a farm market under the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation and is not a permitted use in the A-1 zone and is therefore in contravention of the District’s Land Use Bylaw;
A declaration that the use of a barn as a store and coffee shop without a building permit approving this change of occupancy is in contravention of the District’s Building Bylaw No. 147, 2003, and s. 1.1.1.1© of the BC Building Code;
An order requiring the Defendants, and all persons having notice of this order, to permanently cease using the Property for institutional uses, commercial uses, office uses, more than two dwelling unit, recreational vehicle and mobile home park uses, assembly uses, and campground uses;
An order requiring the Defendants to clear all the Canada thistle on the property on an annual basis before the Canada thistle goes to seed, and in any event no later than June 30.

We are not aware as of today’s date that the Defendant’s have responded to this claim."



This statement can be viewed on the District website:
http://www.centralsa...t July 2014.pdf

Carl
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#28 D.L.

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Posted 15 July 2014 - 10:47 PM

Thank you for the clarification

 

I wonder if there's anywhere that would allow the multitude of uses that this project requires



#29 lanforod

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Posted 16 July 2014 - 08:33 AM

Thank you for the clarification

I wonder if there's anywhere that would allow the multitude of uses that this project requires


Sure. Native land!

#30 D.L.

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Posted 16 July 2014 - 09:26 AM

I wonder how much Native land is suitable for farming



#31 CarlonCouncil

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Posted 22 July 2014 - 09:00 PM

Here is a link to the Notice of Civil Claim which has been filed by the District of Central Saanich in the Supreme Court of BC:

http://www.centralsa...Civil Claim.pdf

It is available for download from the District website.

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#32 Sparky

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 05:50 AM

^ Thank you for that link Carl. Everyone interested in this topic should read this claim.

 

I am sure that I am not alone in thinking that the society that is operating this institution has good intentions to help the disenfranchised. There is however an onus to abide by the rules of use of any given property.

 

This society has taken it upon themselves to disregard the rules and regulations that govern us all.



#33 Holden West

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 06:44 AM

 

 

This society has taken it upon themselves to disregard the rules and regulations that govern us all.

 

Likely the majority of people reading these posts live in dwellings that were the result of asking local government for some sort of variance or rezoning. Central Saanich claims they are merely enforcing the rules but it's increasingly looking like it's more about washing their hands of the messy problem of homelessness.


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#34 dasmo

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 07:41 AM

Ya, the homeless are Victoria's problem...
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#35 Sparky

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 08:02 AM

Likely the majority of people reading these posts live in dwellings that were the result of asking local government for some sort of variance or rezoning. Central Saanich claims they are merely enforcing the rules but it's increasingly looking like it's more about washing their hands of the messy problem of homelessness.

 

Likely the majority of people reading these posts are living in dwellings that received approval for some sort of variance or rezoning.

 

"but it's increasingly looking like it's more about washing their hands of the messy problem of homelessness."

 

Here is a perfect example of where these discussions come off the tracks. What evidence do you have that would suggest that they are NOT just simply enforcing the bylaws in response to complaints from it's taxpayers?



#36 tedward

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 09:24 AM

Likely the majority of people reading these posts are living in dwellings that received approval for some sort of variance or rezoning.

 

So what?

 

Are the rates of approvals for variances or rezonings 100%? Are council not allowed to reject such applications?


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#37 dasmo

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 09:29 AM

I live next to a light industrial zone whose tenants violate many bylaws on a consistent basis. We have received very little support from the city bylaw department. In fact when we got an tiny bit of support from one officer they were fired! 



#38 Holden West

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 09:35 AM


Here is a perfect example of where these discussions come off the tracks. What evidence do you have that would suggest that they are NOT just simply enforcing the bylaws in response to complaints from it's taxpayers?

 

Au contraire, I am actually targeting the core of the issue: the will (or lack thereof) to make change. Let's not fool ourselves, we all know there is a huge grey area covering what is currently permitted and what is actually happening and what needed goals can be achieved. Again, a lot of us reading this thread are living in "illegal" suites that local government knows about and tolerates. Other jurisdictions are tackling homelessness with solutions that require re-writing the rules on land use and zoning.

 

Land use rules evolve. After all, zoning was introduced to the west coast in order to control Chinese immigrants.

 

What I'm saying is there is a lot of leeway for CS to work with the farm to come up with a mutually beneficial solution. If residents don't want anything to do with this, that's fine--their choice.


Edited by Holden West, 23 July 2014 - 09:43 AM.

"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#39 Sparky

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 10:19 AM

^ Exactly. Homelessness is not the issue here. Land use is.

Having said that, there is a process to change land use. Until that process is successful, the owners are obligated to abide by current statutes, not ignore them.

#40 Holden West

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Posted 23 July 2014 - 10:56 AM

^ Exactly. Homelessness is not the issue here. Land use is.

Having said that, there is a process to change land use. Until that process is successful, the owners are obligated to abide by current statutes, not ignore them.

 

And there's the problem. Woodwynn's initial proposal was given the cold shoulder by council. Woodwynn went ahead anyway which forced council into taking an even harder line. Both sides are entrenched and now there's a lot of bad blood.

 

The ALR concerns are valid. Any exception to the ALR rules might inspire some greedy developer to exploit loopholes, carving out more and more chunks of farmland for development. However, there are always ways to ensure worthy exceptions are strictly one-offs that can't be replicated elsewhere.


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

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