Attachment 2. Letter from Applicant re: Request for Rezoning – Eagle Creek Village

Re: Request for Rezoning

The adoption of Amending Bylaws 848 and 849 on July 30th 2013 by the Town of View Royal created the Comprehensive Development – 20 (Eagle Creek Village) zone which forms the zoning and land use structure for Eagle Creek Village, a mixed use development.

The zoning (allowable uses) and design of Eagle Creek Village was envisioned to reflect its location within greater View Royal, and specifically its adjacency to the Victoria General Hospital (VGH), encompassing Commercial Retail, Office and Residential uses, and more specifically components complementary to the primary medical service provided by VGH, such as Medical Clinics, Physician and Dental offices. As a result of early discussions with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, now Island Health, the office building located on the corner of Watkiss and Helmcken was incorporated and designed to accommodate these uses, specially addressing; floor plate size, elevator access and ability to easily modify the building to accommodate any additional healthcare related requirements.

Discussions with potential medical tenants, principle consultants, and consulting surgeons for office space have been ongoing since the project was announced and continue to move forward. In April of this year Island Health announced through a Request for Proposal their requirement for a new ambulatory surgical centre to provide surgical service space to Island Health as a contract provider, but utilizing Island Health surgical staff. While the surgical procedures proposed for the centre are a combination of minor and exploratory procedures, the use of anaesthetics and the general potential for post-surgical complication requires that the surgical centre provide the capability for patient overnight stay, (between one to three nights) to allow full patient recovery. However, the current zoning while allowing for Medical Clinic use specifically excludes overnight stays, please refer to attached Amending Bylaw 849, Section 6 b).

As a result of discussions with Town of View Royal staff our understanding is that a Medical Clinic with provision for overnight stay moves the use from Medical Clinic status to Hospital status. The current zoning does not include Hospital as an allowable use, as a result we are required to amend the allowable uses byway of a rezoning to include Hospital as an allowable use.

In summary, the ability to accommodate the surgical centre, meeting all regulatory requirements is extremely important to the success of this portion of Eagle Creek Village, and we ask for support from Mayor and Council to amend the current zoning to allow this additional use.

Yours truly, OMICRON DEVELOPMENT INC.

Peter Laughlin Director, Vancouver Island

CC:

• Bill Tucker, President and CEO Omicron Development Inc.
• Jessica Ng, Development Manager Omicron Development Inc.
• Jeff Chow, Senior Planner, Town of View Royal