Attachment 8. Environmental Overview - Brian Wilkes and Associates Ltd.

Brian Wilkes and Associates Ltd.

December 2, 2011

Mr. Greg Burke Pemberton Homes 150 – 805 Cloverdale Ave Victoria, BC V8X 2S9

Dear Mr. Burke

Regarding: Development Permit Application

The lot at 283 Kerwood Ave in View Royal was visited December 1, 2011. The lot fronts onto Esquimalt Harbour. Mr. Burke, the lot owner, is proposing to build a house on the lot with an attached patio on the seaward side, and redevelop an access path to the existing small deck on the shoreline just above the high water mark. Surveyors have marked the 15m setback from the natural boundary of Esquimalt Harbour. The setback is a requirement of View Royal under Section 36(2) of the Land Use Bylaw.

The house will not encroach into the 15m setback, but its south wall will be close to the 15m line. (see Figure 1). The proposed patio, walkway and other landscape features will occupy a small portion of the land within the setback. The patio and two small areas for decorative plants will occupy an area roughly corresponding to the top of the steep bedrock embankment down to the water. The construction within the setback will entail building a rock wall along the top of the embankment and backfilling behind it to the appropriate grade to install a patio made of pavers. The plan calls for a new path with sets of 1.5m wide stairs to descend to the deck on the shore. Approximately 10% of the area within the setback would be used for these purposes; the rest will not be disturbed.

We were asked to prepare an environmental overview for the site regarding this development plan, and particularly if there are concerns that it calls for some encroachment into the area within the setback. Most of the northern ¾ of the lot has already been stripped of vegetation. The focus of this overview is the southern-most portion where the house meets the 15m setback, and within the setback area.

The site slopes gradually from Kerwood Ave. toward the water except for a steeper embankment within 10m of the water. This break in slope creates a low bluff approximately 5-7m above the high water mark. The bluff consists of bedrock. The bedrock at the top and parts of the face of the bluff is covered with a relatively thin and patchy soil. There are pockets of deeper soil supporting small Garry oaks, shown on Figure 1 as oak clumps. The rest of the area covered by the setback consists of patchy thin soils or rock with a thin moss cover with no soil beneath. The site appears to have been disturbed in the past, and we are advised that a small house pre-existed our site visit. It appears that previous owners of the lot may have encouraged some grass growth along the top of the bluff.

The vegetation within the setback consists of both native and invasive plants. Principal shrubs included Nootka rose and snowberry. Ground flora is not a prominent feature at this time of year. What was observed consisted of dried grasses and basal rosette plants such as hawkweed and dandelion. A search was conducted for the seed heads of camas, or other spring flowers but none were found. The entire area is poised to be taken over by Himalayan blackberry, which is quite thick in patches on the lot and within the setback area.

There was no observed deer browse on the shrubs on site. There were no observed raptor nests or tree cavities that appeared to be potential bird nesting sites. The site, including the area of setback appears to be a relatively poor growth site with thin soils and low biodiversity, that is being taken over by blackberry.

The Harbour Atlas on the CRD web site classifies this piece of shoreline as complex bedrock with pocket beaches. There is no pocket beach on this property. The atlas states that the View Royal segment of the harbour shoreline still has one half of the native vegetation or natural shoreline intact. Based on observations from the site visit, we believe some of this site has been disturbed in the past, although the steep slope closest to the water still appears to be relatively undisturbed, except for the pre-existing path to the deck.

Based on this overview assessment, in our opinion limited patio and walkway development within the setback at the top of the embankment, as shown in the plan in Figure 1, poses minimal environmental risk and will not have a significant impact on the shoreline and upland habitat. The proposed redeveloped pathway and stairs will provide a hardened surface for the owners to safely gain access to the waterfront, reduce possible erosion of soils caused by foot traffic, and will minimize off path impacts The development also offers an opportunity to remove much of the invasive blackberry now growing on the lot and in the setback area.

Yours truly,

Brian Wilkes and Associates Ltd.

Brian Wilkes, M.E.S., R.P.Bio Principal

Fig. 1. Proposed House, Patio and Landscaping, 238 Kerwood Ave

Photos