Email dated January 14, 2020 from S. & S. Henry, 3906 Holland Avenue, Re: Proposed Eagles Nest Development

Input on Committee of the Whole Agenda Item: Rezoning of Eagle's Nest

To View Royal Mayor and Council

We are writing to express our concern about the agenda item being presented at the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday January 14, 2020 by D. Foord, Invictus Commercial Investment Corp., Re: Rezoning of Eagle's Nest - 3 and 5 Helmcken Road and 1447 and 1449 Burnside Road W. The developer has not consulted with the community at large regarding this new application; therefore, putting members of the community at large at a disadvantage for providing input on this rezoning application which may also include a request to change the density of these sites. We were under the understanding that the developer would be consulting with the community at large, and would logically have this scheduled prior to presenting his application to the Committee of the Whole so that members of the community would have an opportunity to view and analyze the details of the rezoning application; however, Mr Foord has chosen to only consult with residents of the Hidden Oaks townhouses prior to the Committee of the Whole meeting. He has planned a meeting for Wednesday January 15, 2020, after presentation at the Committee of the Whole on January 14, 2020, and has distributed a limited number of invitations to the meeting, as we have not received an invitation even though we are directly affected by the development (we live at 3906 Holland avenue), and had received an invitation to the other presentations on this development. We also understand that the residents of Hidden Oaks were only told on Friday January 10, 2020 that the rezoning application for this development would be going to the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, January 14, 2020; therefore, putting the Hidden Oaks residents at a disadvantage, and no time to formally apply to make their own presentation to Committee of the Whole. We also were advised that when the residents of Hidden Oaks asked about the number of units the developer was planning for the development the developer would not answer this question. In consideration of this, we can only assume that the developer has no intention of reducing the number of units from his previous application which is far in excess of other development’s density in the area (eg. Eagle Creek residential buildings just down the road). We believe that if the developer is requesting an increased density then the Official Community Plan (OCP) would need to be amended. With regard to a rezoning application to increase the density of these properties, our opinion is that the View Royal OCP was developed with much forethought and vision; therefore, to open the OCP up for amendment in order to provide for a higher density to allow the developer to increase his profits does not seem like the correct thing for the Mayor and Council to do. Allowing this OCP amendment would then open the doors to other higher density development applications wanting an increase. As previously stated, when the OCP was developed it considered the designated density as appropriate for this area.

We have reviewed the Committee of the Whole agenda for the January 14, 2020 meeting hoping to obtain a copy of the rezoning application details in order to analyze and prepare a presentation at the Committee of the Whole; however, the only document attached to the agenda was the Petition and Delegation request form completed by Mr Foord which stated that the they would provide a digital information for display and presentation on View Royal Monitors. We would hope that the members of the Committee of the Whole have at least been given an opportunity to review the details of this rezoning application prior to the meeting; otherwise, they are at as much as a disadvantage as the community at large on this very important rezoning application.

We urge the Committee of the Whole members to recommend rejection of moving this rezoning application to Council as any application to increase the density of this site does not comply with the Official Community Plan, and as well Mr Foord has not done due diligence in consulting with the community at large on this application prior to presenting at the Committee of the Whole, and especially not allowing enough time for the direct neighbours at Hidden Oaks townhouses to prepare their presentation to this Committee of the Whole meeting.

Thank you for your consideration of our input,

Sue and Steve Henry 3906 Holland Avenue, Victoria, BC