Island View Land Management: 258 Helmcken Road Zoning Text Amendment Letter (Attachment B)
Formal letter from the developer committing to a minimum 150m2 cafe space as a tangible community amenity.
Text Amendment for Land Uses at 258 Helmcken Road
Attn: Leanne Taylor Director of Development Services
Cc: Jeff Chow Planner Township of View Royal 45 View Royal Avenue Victoria, BC V9B 1A6
Dear Ms. Taylor:
It is my honour to present you with this zoning text amendment application to facilitate a much-needed range of commercial uses for the commercial space located within the property at 258 Helmcken Road, View Royal, BC (the “Subject Property”). The intent of this application is to alter the allowable commercial land uses allowed within the current CD-26 Island Highway /Helmcken Zoning to include a broader range of community-supported uses. The scope of this application does not extend to alter any of the existing residential uses or anything affecting the current form, character, parking or density of development. This application is chiefly to facilitate a series of additional commercial uses.
Uses Sought:
The uses applied for in this application would be in addition to Grocery and would include:
- Café – minimum inside space of 150m2;
- Medical;
Office;- Retail;
- Personal Service Establishment.
The uses included will be contained to the current commercially designated space within the approved Development Permit and Building Permit plan set last provided to the Township of View Royal on July 7th, 2022. The land-uses contemplated will be executed for eventual business licence as defined within the Township of View Royal zoning bylaw. The space considered for these spaces will include the 656 m2 of commercial area and will utilize the 29 stalls provided under the zoning bylaw.
In reflecting on the feedback provided by Mayor and Council during the September 9th, 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting and in discussions with Township planning staff, it was decided to eliminate the request for the use of “Office” from the zoning application and to instead ask for the use of “Personal Service Establishment”. It was felt that the list of proposed uses, coupled with a vibrant café space committed within the south-west corner, would provide adequate community benefit while minimizing traffic and parking impacts. In the event Mayor and Council forward this application to Public Hearing, we will remain to be receptive to ideas, concerns and suggestions pertaining to appropriate and feasible land uses and ensure the spirit and intent of the ground-floor commercial space maintains the public interest.
Community Benefit:
We acknowledge that the restriction of land-uses on the ground floor of this o must create a demonstrated community benefit to the Town and neighbourhood. The purpose of the requested uses as stipulated by the applicant is to ensure that the benefit is clear and the intended uses are delivered as a trade-off for the density achieved at the time of rezoning.
The intent of these uses are to provide a “Tangible Amenity” to the Town of View Royal as stipulated within the Townships Community Amenity Contribution Policy (2019). The Town asks for these contributions to be of “Clear Value to the Town.” Through discussions with Town staff and through receipt of feedback from the immediate neighbours during our open house held on August 19, 2025, it is determined that the proposed uses (specifically café and medical office) were desirable to the neighbours.
While “Community Benefit” is a subjective matter, we believe in working to create alignment between the stated needs of the community and Township of View Royal. In careful review of the Town of View Royal 2023 – 2026 Strategic Plan, we have found the following alignment with the proposed ground-level land uses and the strategic priorities of Council and the Town:
- Livability Goal 4: Ensure proximity to services: Percentage of residential properties more than 800m from commercial node or mixed-use centres
- Sustainable Development Goal 2: Increase skilled employment by increasing attractors for primary care providers to work in View Royal.
Additionally, the Town of View Royal contributes to the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) who in 2023 at a Local Leadership Forum identified the strategy to Attract and Retain Family Doctors. It is through this they have began leading a facilitated Family Doctor Stakeholder Roundtable which identified “the need for clinic space modernization (vibrant workspaces, integrated team environments, different types of clinics in operation, and ready to welcome physician, etc.)” as a significant barrier to delivering healthcare in the region (SIPP Roundtable to Attract and Retain Family Doctors, November 2024).
Minimum Café Space Commitment
Upon receipt of feedback from esteemed members of View Royal Council at the September 9th, 2025 Committee of the Whole, it is clearly understood that placing a feasible, minimum standard around a guaranteed café space is a desire of council. To that end, the applicant is prepared to enter into a site-specific zone which restricts a minimum of 150 m2 for retail café space in the south-west corner of the ground-level Commercial Retail Unit space. The balance of the space will be programed with the balance of uses sought and/or any other feasible uses deemed to be of a substantial community benefit by the neighbourhood and Township.
Background:
Through a series of Council and public engagements throughout 2020 – 2021, when the Subject Property was being considered for zoning and Development Permit issuance, the applicant committed to the use of Grocery on the ground level. The site-specific, comprehensive zoning bylaw was ratified by the council of the day to restrict the ground-level use to only Grocery as that was seen to be a significant neighbourhood need.
From Development Permit issuance in 2022 through until Occupancy issued by the Town in June of 2025, the applicant has been working diligently with their commercial retail and leasing team at Colliers to source a high quality, local grocery store operator who would satisfy the intent of the zoning bylaw and provide value for the neighbourhood. This went as far as signing one market-discounted lease agreement with a small, artisan provider who eventually could not materialize financing to support the cost of starting-up and operating a store in the space.
Through further economic analysis, it has been determined that the site-specific location and modest size of the Commercial Retail Unit Space and size of the property is not ideal for a grocer; Further, economic challenges facing the region and Country have stifled business investment of this type.
Rezoning Intent:
The applicant intends to create a minimum of two (2) commercial retail spaces in the allotted and existing ground-floor space in the Subject Property. The two primary uses the applicant intends to support includes but is not limited to (1) a local, neighbourhood café; and (2) a medical office. There will be no alteration required to the building, to the parking, loading or common areas to facilitate this land use change. The land-use bylaw proposal as articulated will also enable additional spaces to support a vibrant, service-oriented commercial neighbourhood hub at this critical intersection.
Preliminary feedback from the Town of View Royal, residential purchasers in the newly completed Subject Property, and neighbours around the development have expressed interest in seeing a local coffee shop in this location; further, in alignment with the strategic initiatives of the Township, medial offices would work to enhance quality of life of View Royal residents in supporting health, longevity and aging-in-place.
We anticipate that the size of the local coffee shop retailer will be anywhere between 100 – 150 m2. We anticipate a medical office or professional service office user will require between 95 - 140 m2 of ground-level space Supplemented in this application are two (2) market analysis’ provided by Colliers. These reports reference recent commercial leases within the Victoria core and West shore to determine the desirable and deliverable commercial retail unit spaces for both cafes and medical service offices. The intent of this report is intended to verify the market interest, demand and viability of the café space.
Servicing:
Analysis by our planning and engineering consultants has concluded that the proposed change in uses should not have a negative impact on building or offsite servicing. This includes water, sewer, fire suppression and storm management; further, the proposed uses should generally reduce the overall impact to the Townships infrastructure network.
Through a cursory planning review of typical trip generation reports from previous land-use applications in View Royal and within other suburban municipalities within the Capital Regional District; it is also anticipated that the proposed land uses should reduce peak traffic trip generation and should alleviate some of the transportation demand pressures that were raised during public input and Council discussion during different phases of this application.
Community Engagement:
The applicant and the land-use planning team at Island View Land Management intends to conduct neighbourhood engagement over the required 400m radius. This engagement will take place in the proposed space of the Subject Property and a separate summary report will be provided. Neighbours, residents of the Subject Property and any interested property owners will be invited to this open house and afforded an opportunity to learn and share their ideas, concerns and feedback in an inviting and fair space.
Minimum Café Space:
In receipt of feedback from the neighbourhood, Mayor and Council and Township staff, the applicant is prepared to commit a minimum of 150 m2 of ground floor space and associated outdoor seating, parking and loading and servicing areas to facilitate the use of a Café. This space is only a minimum and we will of course entertain operators interested in creating a larger café space as well. In the event a local café provider is unable to lease the entire minimum space, we are prepared to discount their rent to ensure that the space is viable and the community interest is protected. We want to ensure that, in addition to the Medical Office and/or Personal Service or Retail uses proposed, the community benefit of a vibrant, active and neighbourhood-focused gathering space that was attempted with a small Grocery store use is now lived up to with the vision of a feasible, neighbourhood café.
Closing:
On behalf of the applicant of the Subject Property, it has been a pleasure to work with the Township of View Royal and the applicants’ team to develop this application. As ‘the Royale’ development has completed with Occupancy and over fifty (50) new residents have happily moved into this property, it is important to create meaningful commercial space that will benefit the current and future residents of this community. While the applicant worked thoroughly to attract a Grocery tenant and fulfill their commitment to the Township and Council, they were unsuccessful. It is important to evaluate the community need, desires of the neighbours and impact to the neighbourhood in determining ideal uses for this space. We maintain the introduction of café, medical and additional service commercial space will create the type of vibrant, high-value neighbourhood that View Royal residents will continue to be proud to call home.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this application and please be in touch if you have any questions, concerns or feedback.
With respect,
Niall Paltiel President
We gratefully acknowledge that the ancestral land on which we work are within the traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, specifically W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip) and SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) Nations.
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