Newsletter April 7, 2021 Community Priorities - "Inaction is not an Option".
In late 2013 Oak Bay announced it was reviewing the zoning Bylaw regulations governing single-family dwellings on standard lots and that two sessions were to be held on December 11, 2013.
1. “ Targeted to Professionals: Planners, Developers, Architects,
Builders, Residential Designers, or other professionals who have
knowledge or experience with Oak Bay or other jurisdictional land
use regulations”.
2. “Targeted to the general public: for interested residents” .
The Zoning Bylaw regulation review was the result of a four-year campaign and many earnest appeals by residents to Council to correct the Zoning change mistake in 2007. This change had resulted in a staff reported “inconsistency in the Zoning Bylaw” that permitted houses with lot coverage far in excess of the zoning specified 25%.
The facts are: residents were divided into small groups, and "Targeted Professionals have much greater zoning knowledge or experience than Oak Bay residents. This meant that “Targeted Professionals” not only had a greater input advantage, but residents would have no information about the Development Industry's input or the other resident groups' input in their session.
This process, and the questionable selection method, made the whole consultation process unreliable and lacking transparency. Additionally, any recommended zoning changes that resulted in unforeseen consequences would have no impact on the Targeted Professionals unless they happened to live in Oak Bay.
Appendix #1 sheds some light on which of the two December 11, 2013 sessions had the most influence on the subsequent Floor Area (zoning) Review Committee’s recommendations
As it turned out unforeseen consequences did indeed result. However, this was not reported until April 3, 2018 at an in-house Advisory Planning Commission (APC) training session conducted by a member of the 2014 Floor Area (Zoning) Review Committee (FAR). He explained to APC Commission Members and the Planning Staff Representative that too many exemptions had been recommended by the FAR Committee and approved by Council and this allowed, and has continued to allow, developers to “build to the maximum”.
Why his excessive-lot-coverage revelation was omitted from the Advisory Planning Commission minutes, or apparently not reported to Council, remains a mystery to this day.
Unfortunately, as indicated, the 2014 Far Committee outcome has been the continuation of overbuilding and over-development of standard and non-standard lots. This type of over-densification continues to have the same, environmental, character changing and harmful impacts on neighbouring properties as the 2017-2014 Zoning Bylaw change mistakes.
While placing old and new development side-by-side is acceptable, the fact that the new mega house, more often than not, is many times larger than the neighboring homes is not. These mega homes take away views, privacy and sunlight and dominate the streetscape {See Appendix #2).
Oak Bay Watch Perspective
This Council is more than two years into its 4-year term yet they have not even started to try to get a handle on this serious harmful over-development issue. Or for that matter on the other major crises facing the Community. These crises will be identified and explained in much more detail in future Oak Bay Watch newsletters.
By failing to act on the overwhelming resident concern: - excessive-lot-coverage, Council has clearly demonstrated that they favour developers' interests over environmental preservation and the community’s interest (see Appendix #1)
The latest Island Health issue states: “Exposure to forests (and this includes urban forests) boosts our immune systems”. It goes on to explain in detail 7 more important health benefits that an urban forest provides.
The Planning Department has not only not scaled back development and excessive lot coverage that has destroyed and is continuing to destroy the urban forest on private land (as previously explained) but they are now actively promoting densification initiatives that will do much more destruction and damage.
What is most disturbing to us, and we are sure to most residents, is that the important impact issues facing the District have not been prioritized. The District’s leadership certainly knows how to hire more and more expensive administration staff and consultants, but falls short when it comes to prioritizing and marshalling the District’s resources and funding for the community’s crises interventions.
Oak Bay Council led by staff do not understand when it comes to the Community’s crises “inaction is not an option”.
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Appendix #1
The following Developer’s perspective and reasons for wanting (and lobbying for) the maximum lot, floor area coverage explains how Oak Bay, catered to the Development Industry’s interests. This led to more demolitions, more environmentally damaging clear-cuts, less affordable housing and many overly large, expensive houses “built to the maximum”.
Appendix #2.
Are these invasive mega houses disproportionate to the lot and the streetscape what residents really want?
Is this the future of Oak Bay?
Are these invasive mega houses disproportionate to the lot and the streetscape what residents really want?
Is this the future of Oak Bay?
It was recommended by the Heritage Commission, and it was an expectation by Council, that the following mega house was to be aligned with Oak Bay’s built heritage.
