A PROPOSAL TO THE TOWNSHIP OF VIEW ROYAL WITH RESPECT TO A NEW PARK ON WATKISS WAY ROAD

TITLE OF CONTENTS

PROPOSAL 1 TERMS 1 BACKGROUND 1

1. THE PROPERTY 1
2. VIEW ROYAL 2
3. THE PROPERTY OWNERS 3
4. THE PRICE 3
5. THE FUNDING 3 SCHEDULE I VIEW ROYAL AREA 5 SCHEDULE II BENEFITS OF PARK TO VIEW ROYAL 7 SCHEDULE III.1 FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 1 9 SCHEDULE III.2 FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 2 10 SCHEDULE III.3 FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 3 11 APPENDIX I PROPERTY MAPS APPENDIX II MUNICIPAL BOUNDARY

PROPOSAL

That the township of View Royal (View Royal) enter into discussions with the District of Saanich (Saanich) to ensure that a remarkable piece of property, sited on Watkiss Way Road, is saved as parkland (Watkiss Way Park), in perpetuity, for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future residents of View Royal and Saanich.

TERMS

Within the body of this report, reference is made to “Watkiss Way Park”. The name was chosen for working/planning purposes only. The name “Watkiss Way” will likely eventually be amended. The term “Park” may eventually refer to all, some, or none of the property, as alternate words may be necessary in its place.

BACKGROUND

In 2011, the current owners listed the property described in this report for sale.

During the listing period, a project was undertaken to determine the possibility of the property becoming a municipal park.

1. THE PROPERTY

1.1 Property:

Watkiss Way Park (park) is a thirty acre parcel of property (APPENDIX I) which lies immediately beside Watkiss Way Road. Twenty-eight acres lie to the north of the road, and a small, separate 2 acre parcel lies to the south.

The Victoria General Hospital (VGH) is directly across the road.

The larger piece is roughly “banana-shaped” as it arcs with the road around the VGH property. This section begins approximately opposite the Emergency road entrance into VGH and ends at the Main entrance (Hospital Road).

The smaller piece lies at the intersection of Watkiss Way and Hospital Roads.

1.2 Ecology of Park:

The park is comprised of five ecological zones: the wetlands, the forest, the meadows, the watercourse, and the knoll.

Extensive detail on these zones is also contained in electronic format (see 1.3, Electronic Files, following), and, hence, is not duplicated here.

1.3 Electronic Files:

A comprehensive amount of information (both written and pictoral) about the property is available in electronic format. There are two sources:

• a website at: www.watkisspark.com
• and a more comprehensive written report at: http:bit.ly/VBCHOf

Readers are advised to consult these two files in conjunction with this document.

2. VIEW ROYAL

2.1 Location of Park Vis a Vis View Royal

The park resides entirely within Saanich. The property, however, physically touches the View Royal municipal boundary (APPENDIX II) at its west, south and east borders.

The western contact is 290.3 metres (952.3 feet) in length, and the southern and eastern contacts are 70.7 (231.8) and 121.715 (39.3) metres (feet) respectively.

2.2 General Area of View Royal, and Other Relevant Issues

Extensive detail about the View Royal neighbourhood surrounding the park is provided in Schedule 1, following. This schedule also includes several other relevant issues.

2.3 Benefits of Park to View Royal

Extensive detail about the benefits of the park to the surrounding View Royal neighbourhood is provided in Schedule II, following.

3. THE PROPERTY OWNERS

The Cameron family is the long-time owners of the property.

The family has been consulted about all aspects of this proposal, on an on-going basis.

During the discussions, they have expressed the family’s strong support for preserving the property in its native state, in perpetuity. Specific covenants will likely be required to effect their request.

4. THE PRICE

In 2011, the property was listed for sale at a price of $1.8 million, however it did not sell. The property is assessed at approximately $1.4 million.

In order to see the property saved in its current state as a park, the family has offered, as a donation, a significant discount to the assessed value.

The final price (the agreed-upon price) shall be negotiated between the owners and the municipality(ies).

The owners shall receive no less than the agreed-upon price, whether by means of funds, or property value, or a combination of both, whichever the case may be.

5. THE FUNDING

One critical factor in the proposal for a park is, of course, the cost of acquiring the property.

For funding purposes, the following three different options have been identified as possibilities. i) Outright purchase of property ii) Severance of 2 acre parcel and up-zoning by Saanich in exchange for remainder iii) Severance of 2 acre parcel and up-zoning by View Royal, in exchange for the remainder to be shared between View Royal and Saanich.

These options are more fully discussed in Schedule III.1, III.2, and III.3 respectively, following.

Note: These options are presented for discussion purposes only. They do not necessarily represent all possible options. The actual transaction will be subject to negotiations between the various stakeholders.

SCHEDULE 1: VIEW ROYAL AREA

1. NEIGHBOURHOODS OF VIEW ROYAL

Several View Royal subdivisions are very close to the park. They are, as follows:

• Meadow Park Lane - an approximately 16 home subdivision to the immediate west
• Stoneridge Drive – an approximately 80 home subdivision on the immediate southwest.
• Erskine Lane - a townhouse complex to the immediate south of Watkiss Way Road
• Helmcken Road - a mix of residential homes and townhouses along the Helmcken corridor.

2. SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC FACILITIES IN THE LOCAL AREA

Significant public facilities in the local View Royal neighbourhood include:

• VGH - the hospital resides directly across Watkiss Way Road.
• Eagle Ridge School - the school lies approximately 1/3 mile southwest of the property on Watkiss Way Road.

3. SIGNIFICANT PRIVATE FACILITY IN THE LOCAL AREA

Eagle Creek Village, a new, large mixed-use residential-retail facility is currently under development at the corner of Watkiss Way and Helmcken Roads. This property is immediately east of the park.

4. VIEW ROYAL PARKLAND IN THE NEAR VICINITY:

View Royal has several pieces of parkland in the near-by area. They include:

• “Stoneridge Wetlands”, abutting the park
• Aldersmith Park, and
• Knocken Hill Park.

Also, the designated parkland area of the new Eagle Creek development will border (and effectively extend) the park.

All are within easy walking distance.

5. VIEW ROYAL OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN (OCP), 2011

The OCP, Pg. 28, notes, with respect to the “Hospital Neighbourhood”:

“…the planned Northern Gateway Community Corridor and Hospital Neighbourhood Centre anticipate the development of higher density housing and other uses that will benefit from and support VGH and the regional rapid transit stop (planned near Helmcken Road and the Trans-Canada Highway).”

The OCP, Pg. 114, states:

“ The Hospital…Neighbourhood in particular has very little parkland and is physically quite isolated from parks located south of the Trans-Canada Highway and in the northwest portion of the Town.”

6. CRD PARKS/TRAILS IN SURROUNDING VIEW ROYAL AREA

The following CRD parks within View Royal are also quite near-by:

• the Galloping Goose Trail
• Francis King Park, and
• Thetis Lake Park.

All are within reasonable hiking distance.

SCHEDULE II: BENEFITS OF PARK TO VIEW ROYAL

1. ACCESS TO LOCAL RESIDENTS AND WORKERS

An important benefit of the park will be to provide public access to a currently private piece of property, for individuals residing, working, or visiting the local View Royal neighbourhood.

The property will be easily accessible to:

• Stoneridge Drive, Meadow Park Lane, and Erskine Lane subdivision residents
• Helmcken Corridor residents
• future residents and workers of the new, in-progress Eagle Creek Village Development
• future residents of the proposed Northern Gateway Community Corridor, and
• future residents and workers in the proposed Hospital Neighbourhood Centre.

The park will promote the overall physical and mental well being of users of the park.

2. PROTECTION OF LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

Although situated wholly in Saanich, the park will protect a significant green space on the municipal boundary of View Royal.

3. CONNECTIVITY

Linking green spaces areas together (connectivity) is a means of expanding the benefits for both the environment and the public they serve.

The park has a natural connectivity to the following green spaces in View Royal:

• Galloping Goose Trail (View Royal section)
• Knocken Hill Park (View Royal section)
• Stoneridge Wetlands
• Aldersmith Park
• Eagle View School

A longer term possibility for the park includes connectivity with:

• Francis King Park
• Thetis Lake Park, and
• the proposed regional rapid transit station at VGH.

4. TEACHING RESOURCE

The park would be an excellent outdoor resource for teaching Eagle View School students about the local, unique ecological flora and fauna of the park.

5. HEALTH-RELATED RESOURCE

Right next door to VGH, the park will provide patients, visitors and staff with a quiet, natural, outdoor setting for exercise, relaxation, enjoyment and/or recuperation/rehabilitation.

6. LEGACY FOR VIEW ROYAL

The park will provide a long lasting legacy for the many thousands of current and future View Royal residents and workers.

The young, mid-aged, and seniors will all have the opportunity to enjoy this unique property and share the wonderful experiences of its green spaces in perpetuity.

As users visit this park, they will truly marvel at the vision, the leadership, and the commitment of those who worked so hard to bring this park to fruition.

SCHEDULE III.1: FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 1

The first option for funding the purchase of the property is a normal real-estate transaction. The current owners will receive the agreed-upon amount in exchange for title to the property (see map next page).

Downside:

1. The source of funding must be established.

Upsides:

1. A relatively straight-forward real estate transaction.
2. Reasonably timely (in comparison to potential alternatives).
3. Reasonably low transaction cost (in comparison to potential alternatives).

SCHEDULE III.2: FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 2

The second option for funding the purchase of the property is through a “non-cash” transaction between the current owners and Saanich. In this option, the separate 2 acre parcel at the intersection of Watkiss Way and Hospital Roads is:

• severed from the remainder of the property
• excluded from the urban containment zone via amendment of the boundary
• excluded from the Agricultural Land Reserve, and
• up-zoned consistent with land in the immediate View Royal area.

At completion, the current owners will receive the agreed upon amount in property, rather than in funds. In exchange, the current owners will transfer title to the remainder of the property to Saanich (see map next page).

Downsides:

1. The 2 acre parcel must be severed from the remainder of the property.
2. The 2 acre parcel must be excluded from the urban containment zone, by way of boundary adjustment.
3. The 2 acre parcel must be excluded from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
4. The two acre parcel must be up-zoned.
5. The two acre parcel must be valued.
6. Title to the twenty-eight acre parcel must be transferred.
7. The added complexity of the transaction process.
8. The time involved in concluding the above procedures.
9. The transaction costs involved in concluding the above procedures.

Upsides:

1. No significant requirement for cash.
2. Title to the 28 acre parcel of property is received by Saanich free of any capital cost above the agreed-upon price.
3. The process is acceptable to current owners.

SCHEDULE III.3: FUNDING FOR PARK – OPTION 3

The third option for funding the acquisition of the property presumes that, for whatever reasons, Saanich is unable to acquire the property by way of Option 2.

In this option, a small municipal boundary adjustment is made to transfer ownership of approximately 7 acres of property from Saanich to View Royal (See maps next pages). Once that procedure is completed, the subsequent steps for Option 3 are similar to Option 2, other than being completed by View Royal rather than Saanich.

At completion, the current owners will receive the agreed upon value in property, rather than in funds. In exchange, the current owners will transfer title to the remainder of the property as follows:

• approximately 4+ acres to View Royal, and
• the remainder of approximately 24 acres to Saanich.

Downsides:

1. A (minor) municipal boundary adjustment must be completed.
2. The approximately 7 acre parcel must be severed from the 24 acres.
3. The 2 acre parcel must be severed from the 7 acre parcel.
4. The 2 acre parcel must be excluded from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
5. The 2 acre parcel must be up-zoned.
6. The two acre parcel must be valued.
7. Title to the 4 and 24 acre parcels must be transferred.
8. The added involvement of the provincial government.
9. The added complexity of the transaction process.
10. The additional time involved in concluding the above procedures.
11. The additional transaction costs involved in concluding the above procedures.

Upsides:

1. No significant requirement for cash.
2. Title to the 4+ acre parcel is received by View Royal in exchange for its management of the Option 3 process.
3. Title to the 24 acre parcel is received by Saanich in exchange for the municipal boundary adjustment.
4. Titles to the property are received free of any additional capital cost above the agreed-upon price.
5. The process is acceptable to current owners.