Sooke Open for Business
#1
Posted 06 September 2006 - 11:45 AM
Sooke open for business
Sewer system paves way for more development
BY BILL CLEVERLEY Times Colonist staff
Sooke wants everyone to know it’s open for business.
Councillors have agreed to contract with the chamber of commerce to promote economic development in the town, which, with a new sewer system in place, believes it has lots of room to grow.
“We have to go out beyond our borders to tell people that we’ve got a brand new sewer system,” said Rick Kasper, councillor responsible for economic development.
“The existing core population is 5,600. The core sewer area can accommodate growth up to 9,000.”
The municipality’s plan calls for an expansion of the commercial and industrial tax base to take the load off of local residents.
“Residential development is not going to pay the freight for our municipal services. We realized that when we had to bring in a 25 per cent tax increase. Our commercial and industrial tax base is well below 10 per cent, and that’s not good for the overall taxpayer,” Kasper said.
The plan is to set up a five-member economic development commission with the chamber to promote the community, Kasper said. The commission will be made of two council members — Kasper is one — two chamber members and a citizen appointee.
“The theme is Sooke is a place where business and opportunities are growing,” Kasper said.
Council has allocated $12,700 (including a $5,000 one-time startup expenditure) toward the economic development initiative this year and $28,150 next year. Much of the money will offset chamber staffing costs, Kasper said, with the hope of pushing the office hours to five days a week, up from the current 2 1/2.
Sooke is in desperate need of a moderately priced hotel or large motel complex, Kasper said.
Council might want to consider offering tax incentives to entrepreneurs wanting to establish new services such as hotel accommodation in the core area, he said.
It will be the commission’s role to get the message out and that means going out of province, he said.
“There’s no sense in preaching to those who are within your community, because they know what’s available.”
Know it all.
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#2
Posted 06 September 2006 - 01:14 PM
Sookes downtown Core is more populated than Victoria's hahahaa
#3
Posted 06 September 2006 - 01:26 PM
Sooke municipality covers an area of about 50 square kilometres, or more than twice the area of Victoria city proper, but fewer than 9,000 people live there.
We're talking slightly more than one-tenth the population of the city of Victoria over two and a half times the land area.
Methinks this core of 5,600 people that the article refers to is that central part of Sooke that actually resembles modern civilization. Which means the other 3,000 Sookeites are pretty much living in the woods.
#4
Posted 06 September 2006 - 01:45 PM
So the core of Sooke I don't know what they mean by that.
#5
Posted 06 September 2006 - 04:51 PM
#6
Posted 06 November 2006 - 08:33 PM
Times - Colonist Nov 4, 2006.
The way has been cleared for bigger buildings in downtown Sooke.
Sooke council gave final reading this week to the municipality's new zoning bylaw which takes advantage of the newly sewered core by allowing higher buildings, bigger buildings, smaller lot sizes and reduced setbacks.
-City of Victoria website, 2009
#7
Posted 06 November 2006 - 11:23 PM
Aaron
#8
Posted 06 November 2006 - 11:43 PM
-City of Victoria website, 2009
#9
Posted 06 November 2006 - 11:48 PM
#10
Posted 07 November 2006 - 12:24 AM
#11
Posted 05 December 2006 - 09:55 PM
#12
Posted 06 December 2006 - 06:11 AM
If some high-tech company serving the US electronically wants to locate there, fair enough.
#13
Posted 21 December 2006 - 09:22 AM
#14
Posted 21 December 2006 - 12:58 PM
#15
Posted 21 December 2006 - 11:22 PM
#16
Posted 22 December 2006 - 08:50 AM
#17
Posted 29 December 2006 - 12:29 AM
#18
Posted 09 January 2007 - 10:06 AM
#19
Posted 09 January 2007 - 10:09 AM
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