Email dated February 7, 2023 from C. & G. Lavoie, Re: OCP Restart Plan

Draft Community Plan

From: Cathy Lavoie
Sent: February 7, 2023 9:43 AM
To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca
Subject: Draft Community Plan

Date: February 7, 2023
To: Mayor and Council, View Royal
From: Catherine Lavoie and Glenn Lavoie
re: Tonight’s Coucil Meeting

Mayor and Council:

We are writing with regard to Item 8.1 a) on the agenda for this evening’s Council Meeting:

Staff Recommendation:

THAT Council receive the report titled “Draft Official Community Plan Update – Restart Plan” from the Community Planner for information.
AND THAT Council restart the Official Community Plan update and move forward with the final phase of the project.

We participated in the online survey regarding this update, and have spoken to people who participated in the ZOOM workshop. It is our belief that the process for development of the proposed OCP update has been unfair, due to a bias towards densification promoted in both the survey and the workshop. We did not feel that residents were given adequate information or time or space for response. Further to that, the proposal does not appear to be an update, but rather a major change to the OCP.

We have noticed that the current OCP seems to be just a baseline, and is frequently ignored as developers request and are granted changes, especially in height and density. We are particularly alarmed by a lack of provision for parking on many projects. With the much denser zoning proposed in the new Draft, we foresee developers going even further than they do now, and building heights and densities growing unchecked as a result.

We ask that Council not restart the OCP update or move forward with the final phase of this project. The current project has been flawed from the start. Work needs to be done by the new Mayor and Council and — especially — by the residents of View Royal.

We encourage Mayor and Council to reject the Staff Recommendation 8.1 a).

Sincerely,

Catherine and Glenn Lavoie
285 Helmcken Road