Special Infill Housing Bulletin Concerns August 17, 2022
Note: Oak Bay Watch’s original intention was to explain to residents, ahead of their completing the District’s Resident Infill Survey, the drawbacks of Council’s initiative to densify Oak Bay’s single-family neighbourhoods with infill development. However, now the Resident Infill Survey questions have finally been published it is obvious that more information is required.
It is Important that residents understand that they are asked to provide their level of support for the many types of infill promoted by Council but are given only minimal “selected” details and choices.
The Municipal Hall website, Infill Initiative preamble states:
“The types of infill housing that will be considered are”:
However, no information is provided about lot size, number of renters per infill unit, enforcement procedures, cost to taxpayers, how the many impacts will be addressed as per the official Community Plan’s Housing Objectives etc.
This is akin to failing to show the appearance or specifications of an item, then asking the purchaser to write a blank cheque, with the cost being filled in later by the vendor. Without the details and conditions, residents’ responses will render the findings invalid.
Note: Regarding the Secondary Suite Process - On July 18, 2022 Council members decided on their personal secondary suites’ conditions and restrictions to bring to the September 8, 2022 Public Meeting. Then, ignoring most of the public’s input, Councillors Ney, Appleton and Green voted against almost all restrictions.
Some secondary suite conditions decided on by Council on July 18, 2022 were never provided to the public, e.g. the number of renters allowed per household in addition to the existing home owner's family. Council arbitrarily decided on adding up to six occupants - four more than the present two additional non-related renters.
Saanich started with three renters in 2010 and increased this to five in 2020. It has been reported that this has increased their municipal service costs and property taxes.
Infill Drawbacks:
There is usually no requirement to consult with, or notify neighbouring property owners in the building permit application process for a laneway house, or garden suite.
There is no guarantee that Council will not permit 2 storey garden and laneway structures causing shading, loss of views and privacy issues for neighbours
Environmental damage: loss of greenspace and natural assets. The loss of trees and vegetation will make Oak Bay hotter in the summer months as well as place more pressure on the already fragile infrastructure (see appendix #1).
Note: Residents have been asked to chose between loss of green space and trees or alternatively, street parking, when an infill unit is added. The choice is: more parked cars on Oak Bay’s streets, often limited to one-lane. Or damage to the environment, urban forest and fragile, already stressed infrastructure, especially storm drain and sewer systems). This is a "Hobson's Choice" - No choice at all.
Neighbour Impact: If the number of additional tenants Council proposes for infill development can be six plus the family of the primary unit, this would have a substantial crowding impact on neighboring properties. Adding population, with no additional District revenue to pay for services will mean more taxation for residents without this additional offsetting income.
Subdividing Large Lots: (Note: a large lot is not yet defined) This could mean adding a second mega detached house given the excessive lot coverage Council allows. Where Uplands fits in has not been discussed
Duplexes: (see Appendix #2): Lot size, building size, and parking requirement not provided.
Multiplexes: Again no information was provided regarding: lot size, building size, and parking requirements and as importantly where in single-family neighbourhoods will they be located.
It is not clear what the reason is residents have not been provided with this basic information. What purpose would be served by withholding It? After all isn’t it needed to inform the requested level of support for the considered types of infill housing? Perhaps the concern is, that if it were provided, it would influence resident support.
Resident input might be different if they were told that should infill development be approved, the damage to Oak Bay will be loss of greenspace and natural assets (the majority of which is on private single-family property). And that next door, they could have six more residents and cars, or a triplex.
This Impact information is readily available from other communities (See examples Appendix #1)
This is most likely the worst resident survey ever provided by the District because it lacks professional integrity as it provides heavily biased information in favor of infill housing. It also fails to explain the conditions, restrictions and impacts of the variety of infill types being considered by Council; and by answering the questions, residents have no idea what they are agreeing or disagreeing to.
It should not be relied upon to form the basis of Council’s decision on such a significant issue.
Infill housing will not provide affordable housing however, it will negatively impact residents and the environment in many ways. It will also change Oak Bay however, not for the better.
If you plan to take part in the infill survey please consider the information in this bulletin. However, be aware there is so much misinformation and half truths provided in the Infill Survey Questionnaire that we strongly suggest before you respond to the Survey you pick up a copy, available at the Municipal Hall, the Monterey, Henderson and Oak Bay Recreation Centres.
---------------------------------------------------
Appendix #1: Infill Impacts: Urban Forest Degradation
Vancouver Sun August 6, 2022: Green Space Crunch: Not enough parks and too few parking Spaces
Vancouver’s Ecodensity Initiative is under-fire. "A Statistics Canada study on “urban greenness,” which used satellite images to determine the amount of vegetation in cities compared to “grey” areas that consist of buildings, impervious surfaces, bare soil and low density vegetation listed Vancouver as one of the cities with the largest reduction in urban greenness from 2001 to 2019."
Tree Canopies Lower Temperatures – Oak Bay (currently) has the largest tree canopy in BC.
Top 5 Benefits of Trees
Energy Savings, Flood Protection and Lower Taxes, Reduced Stress and Improved Health, Added Property Value, Necessary Part of a Healthy Environment.* Energy Savings: trees provide lower temperature that help lower energy bills?
Taxes: Natural assets significantly reduce the need for engineered assets, as they limit water runoff, flooding and property damage.
Added Property Value: A Community that has its streets lined with trees not cars, is more desirable.
Improved Health: trees have proven to reduce stress, anxiety and improve well-being.
Trees and vegaitation also improve soil and water conservation, store carbon, moderate local climate by providing shade, regulate temperature extremes and improve the capacity to adapt to climate change.
Vancouver Sun November 22, 2021: Laneway homes — alleyway facing, small residential units built on existing properties — can significantly reduce home values in more affluent neighbourhoods, a new study shows.
Appendix #2: Duplexes – Lot size and other specifications omitted.Home
It is possible Council may consider a 50 ft lot a big lot. For example: in 2014 at a Committee of the Whole meeting Council attempted to move forward with a zoning change that allowed duplexes on 50 ft lots (an average lot in Oak Bay). Residents pointed out this zoning change was not part of the public consultation and it was removed from the recommended zoning change.
Note: Oak Bay Watch’s original intention was to explain to residents, ahead of their completing the District’s Resident Infill Survey, the drawbacks of Council’s initiative to densify Oak Bay’s single-family neighbourhoods with infill development. However, now the Resident Infill Survey questions have finally been published it is obvious that more information is required.
It is Important that residents understand that they are asked to provide their level of support for the many types of infill promoted by Council but are given only minimal “selected” details and choices.
The Municipal Hall website, Infill Initiative preamble states:
“The types of infill housing that will be considered are”:
- Detached Suites (laneway houses and garden suites are an example)
- Duplexes (a building with two units that are independently owned)
- Triplexes (a building with three units, independently owned)
- Townhouses (a building with multiple units, independently owned)
- Heritage Conversions (converts existing heritage home into multiple units)
- Subdivision of Larger Lots (larger lots can be subdivided to allow for new single detached homes)
However, no information is provided about lot size, number of renters per infill unit, enforcement procedures, cost to taxpayers, how the many impacts will be addressed as per the official Community Plan’s Housing Objectives etc.
This is akin to failing to show the appearance or specifications of an item, then asking the purchaser to write a blank cheque, with the cost being filled in later by the vendor. Without the details and conditions, residents’ responses will render the findings invalid.
Note: Regarding the Secondary Suite Process - On July 18, 2022 Council members decided on their personal secondary suites’ conditions and restrictions to bring to the September 8, 2022 Public Meeting. Then, ignoring most of the public’s input, Councillors Ney, Appleton and Green voted against almost all restrictions.
Some secondary suite conditions decided on by Council on July 18, 2022 were never provided to the public, e.g. the number of renters allowed per household in addition to the existing home owner's family. Council arbitrarily decided on adding up to six occupants - four more than the present two additional non-related renters.
Saanich started with three renters in 2010 and increased this to five in 2020. It has been reported that this has increased their municipal service costs and property taxes.
Infill Drawbacks:
There is usually no requirement to consult with, or notify neighbouring property owners in the building permit application process for a laneway house, or garden suite.
There is no guarantee that Council will not permit 2 storey garden and laneway structures causing shading, loss of views and privacy issues for neighbours
Environmental damage: loss of greenspace and natural assets. The loss of trees and vegetation will make Oak Bay hotter in the summer months as well as place more pressure on the already fragile infrastructure (see appendix #1).
Note: Residents have been asked to chose between loss of green space and trees or alternatively, street parking, when an infill unit is added. The choice is: more parked cars on Oak Bay’s streets, often limited to one-lane. Or damage to the environment, urban forest and fragile, already stressed infrastructure, especially storm drain and sewer systems). This is a "Hobson's Choice" - No choice at all.
Neighbour Impact: If the number of additional tenants Council proposes for infill development can be six plus the family of the primary unit, this would have a substantial crowding impact on neighboring properties. Adding population, with no additional District revenue to pay for services will mean more taxation for residents without this additional offsetting income.
Subdividing Large Lots: (Note: a large lot is not yet defined) This could mean adding a second mega detached house given the excessive lot coverage Council allows. Where Uplands fits in has not been discussed
Duplexes: (see Appendix #2): Lot size, building size, and parking requirement not provided.
Multiplexes: Again no information was provided regarding: lot size, building size, and parking requirements and as importantly where in single-family neighbourhoods will they be located.
It is not clear what the reason is residents have not been provided with this basic information. What purpose would be served by withholding It? After all isn’t it needed to inform the requested level of support for the considered types of infill housing? Perhaps the concern is, that if it were provided, it would influence resident support.
Resident input might be different if they were told that should infill development be approved, the damage to Oak Bay will be loss of greenspace and natural assets (the majority of which is on private single-family property). And that next door, they could have six more residents and cars, or a triplex.
This Impact information is readily available from other communities (See examples Appendix #1)
This is most likely the worst resident survey ever provided by the District because it lacks professional integrity as it provides heavily biased information in favor of infill housing. It also fails to explain the conditions, restrictions and impacts of the variety of infill types being considered by Council; and by answering the questions, residents have no idea what they are agreeing or disagreeing to.
It should not be relied upon to form the basis of Council’s decision on such a significant issue.
Infill housing will not provide affordable housing however, it will negatively impact residents and the environment in many ways. It will also change Oak Bay however, not for the better.
If you plan to take part in the infill survey please consider the information in this bulletin. However, be aware there is so much misinformation and half truths provided in the Infill Survey Questionnaire that we strongly suggest before you respond to the Survey you pick up a copy, available at the Municipal Hall, the Monterey, Henderson and Oak Bay Recreation Centres.
---------------------------------------------------
Appendix #1: Infill Impacts: Urban Forest Degradation
Vancouver Sun August 6, 2022: Green Space Crunch: Not enough parks and too few parking Spaces
Vancouver’s Ecodensity Initiative is under-fire. "A Statistics Canada study on “urban greenness,” which used satellite images to determine the amount of vegetation in cities compared to “grey” areas that consist of buildings, impervious surfaces, bare soil and low density vegetation listed Vancouver as one of the cities with the largest reduction in urban greenness from 2001 to 2019."
Tree Canopies Lower Temperatures – Oak Bay (currently) has the largest tree canopy in BC.
Top 5 Benefits of Trees
Energy Savings, Flood Protection and Lower Taxes, Reduced Stress and Improved Health, Added Property Value, Necessary Part of a Healthy Environment.* Energy Savings: trees provide lower temperature that help lower energy bills?
Taxes: Natural assets significantly reduce the need for engineered assets, as they limit water runoff, flooding and property damage.
Added Property Value: A Community that has its streets lined with trees not cars, is more desirable.
Improved Health: trees have proven to reduce stress, anxiety and improve well-being.
Trees and vegaitation also improve soil and water conservation, store carbon, moderate local climate by providing shade, regulate temperature extremes and improve the capacity to adapt to climate change.
Vancouver Sun November 22, 2021: Laneway homes — alleyway facing, small residential units built on existing properties — can significantly reduce home values in more affluent neighbourhoods, a new study shows.
Appendix #2: Duplexes – Lot size and other specifications omitted.Home
It is possible Council may consider a 50 ft lot a big lot. For example: in 2014 at a Committee of the Whole meeting Council attempted to move forward with a zoning change that allowed duplexes on 50 ft lots (an average lot in Oak Bay). Residents pointed out this zoning change was not part of the public consultation and it was removed from the recommended zoning change.