Precinct Palaver

James Bay Neighbourhood Association

An on-going feature on land use & planning - to alert, inform, and prompt community action - and to celebrate success!

It was standing-room-only for over 120+ concerned citizens who turned out for the November 2013 monthly meeting of the James Bay Neighbourhood Association (JBNA). The agenda item capturing residents attention was the Province of BC Application for Re-Zoning of the Legislative Precinct; specifically South Block - sided by Menzies/Michigan/Government & Superior Streets, and Q-lot: sided by Menzies/Superior & Kingston Streets.

These provincially-owned properties are being sold by the BC Government for private development. The application is an attempt to clarify zoning and related issues so the sale of land can proceed. Brian Sikstrom, Victoria City Planning and David Greer, Real Estate Shared Services BC made brief presentations.

A series of recommendations for development for these properties, developed through extensive community consultation, formed part of the Victoria Accord, an agreement between the Province and the City. The Urban Design Manual and Built Forms Guidelines was a major component of the Accord. (Links to documents at jbna.org). The Accord expires in June 2014. The City will need to seek renewal for any unsold land.

Issues and objections raised by residents following the evening's presentations were NOT, in the main, directed to the rezoning but to issues of trust of the governments involved, the unknown nature of the proposals, and the absence of a recognized public consultation process. Subsequent questions and answers clarified the following details:

• Rezoning is required because of a change of definition which occurred in 2007. Current zoning does not permit government offices on South Block, making current offices legal non-conforming. The BC government has committed to a minimum 180,000 sq ft lease back for government offices (comparable to existing areas of office space) in any new development on the site.
• Commitments to the community in the Victoria Accord are "expected", but not specified. Every change to the Accord MUST be an amendment. The current re-zoning application 'does not mean that the Accord is being sidestepped.' Provincial obligations will be transferred over to the developer, written into sales agreements as covenants, etc. Walkways extending from Michigan to Superior at Parry and Powell streets was cited as an example.
• Concern was expressed that existing heritage houses are vulnerable; the Accord calls for the houses to be moved and restored. Councillor Madoff confirmed that the houses are on the city heritage list and that they can be designated either before or after the houses are sold/moved. Concern was expressed that the houses could be isolated in a move to Q-lot. The response was that there is more than one possibility for relocation sites, but all relocation is expected to be in James Bay and on South Block or Q-lot. Only the owner of the heritage houses can apply to the City for official designation.
• Height restrictions vary - 5 storeys on South Block (with 3.5 storeys along Menzies) and up to 6 storeys on Q-lot.
• The current park on Q-lot is not included in the present land sale package.
• Traffic management concerns are covered by a Master Development Agreement (MDA) requirement already in place. No transportation study has yet been done; depends on what is proposed. A study will need to be done to mitigate traffic effects as part of any development.
• Provisions for underground parking (more than is currently available) are included in the Accord.
• The JBNA recognized and has been preparing for the potential problems surfacing with this land sale. The Accord was presented to the community at the February 2013 JBNA general meeting. The JBNA Board has subsequently approached the City about public process to review amenities that meet current James Bay needs rather than the 1994 identified needs.

Fifty residents remained for the evening's 2^nd presentation, the sidewalk installation planned for Montreal Street between Simcoe to Niagara Streets in 2014. This small two block area includes a community garden, a toddler park, and tennis courts, as well as residential. The speed of cruise ship related traffic is an ongoing problem because the south end of the street crosses Dallas Road and dead ends at Ogden Point. The proposal may include new curb, gutter and sidewalk on the east side, catch basins, wheelchair ramps as well as street paving.

Nick Armstrong & Jordan Sundher, from City of Victoria Transportation Dept, Engineering and Design, presented two possible options: a straight sidewalk, cutting through the end of the community garden, which would permit parking on both sides of the street, or a 'not-straight' sidewalk, which would veer around the garden, with parking restricted to one side of the street.

This sidewalk project is to be undertaken while the two blocks are repaved.

The question and answer period following the presentation clarified the following points:

• the width of the current road with sidewalks varies from ten metres at the north end to 7.5 metres at the south end, near Niagara.
• studies have not been done to determine the current number of parking spots available, the number proposed in either scheme or the occupancy rate.
• the proposed sidewalk is the result of a community consultation in 1996. The City Pedestrian Master Plan proposes sidewalks on every street in the city, and this is an ideal time to install them while street re-paving is being done.
• projected budget - $150,000 for the roadwork and up to $100,000 for the sidewalks.
• standard sidewalk width of 1.65 metres is proposed.
• speedbumps are not an option to slow speeding traffic as they are designed to reduce speed to 40 km/h (the current speed of 80% of existing traffic). Parked cars calm traffic.

The purpose of this presentation was to solicit feedback to the Engineering Department from James Bay residents. Please send in your comments. The presenters committed to returning next year with final plans.

Marg Gardiner gave a presentation on Competing Interests: Marine and/vs Float-Planes in Victoria Harbour which will be covered in a later column.

Board Development - Expression of Interest for 2014-2015 year:

If you are a James Bay resident and interested in serving on the JBNA Board in 2014-15 please contact Marg Gardiner, Tom Coyle, or any other member of the Board to discuss expectations and commitment. It is important to ensure that any interested resident will fulfill membership requirements early in 2014.