Letter received February 6, 2023 from D. Macaulay, Re: OCP Restart Plan

Mayor and Council,

Having worked as a member of the 2011 OCP Community Committee, I am very familiar with the current OCP and the 2011 discussions/work that went into creating it.

Regarding the 2022 OCP update, I participated in both the online survey and the ZOOM workshop and I found both experiences very frustrating due to the bias towards densification promoted in both processes. I do not recall any bias in the 2011 public involvement processes.

The stated purpose of the update was to focus on seven key strategic areas. I agree with that list. Then the Scope of Work states: “Transition areas were added around existing Neighbourhood Centres and and Community Corridors”. No indication is given as to who added these areas, nor is there an explanation provided as to the reason transition areas are needed. Was it Council, the town planners or the consultants? I doubt it was the residents of View Royal.

My home is located on Bessborough Avenue and is in one of the proposed transition areas.

Both the online survey and the workshop included the image shown below as illustrative of what could happen in the Helmcken corridor and adjacent neighbourhoods. The consultant at the workshop said the image was “generic”. However if you flip the online illustration, it matches the block bordered by the Old Island Highway, Helmcken Road and Bessborough Avenue.

In this proposed approach to densification or “transition”:

• The tall buildings would be built on the sites of the motel and Thrift Store on the Old Island Highway. Because the land slopes down from the Old Island Highway to the ocean, those tall buildings would overlook the harbour neighbourhood.
• Moving down the block, the townhomes would be located on the west side of Helmcken Road and the north side of Bessborough Avenue.
• The south side of Bessborough Avenue, where I live, would remain as Large Lot Residential while the lots across the street would be changed to Residential.

In addition, the map called OCP Form and Character DP Areas Proposed Changes, has all residential areas in the town designated IR. The definition of this change states:

“Residential” is replaced with “Intensive Residential DPA. Intensive residential DPA establishes objectives and form and character design guidelines for small lot intensive residential (lot size less than 360m2) and ground oriented multi-family residential development.

Immediately upon my reading of this draft plan, these two changes jumped out. As stated in the first sentence of the Scope of Work, the update of the 2011 OCP was not supposed to be a “major OCP re-write”. From my perspective it looks like a major change for my neighbourhood and for any resident whose land is currently zoned “Residential”.

I would ask that Council not restart the OCP update or move forward with the final phase of this project. The current project is flawed and the work to date needs to be looked at by the new mayor and Council and the residents of View Royal.

Regards, Don Macaulay 296 Bessborough Avenue