Harbour-Centric

James Bay Neighbourhood Association

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

On the Harbour

If all of the mega projects proposed for the James Bay and the Victoria harbour area proceed as scheduled, the next five years could be very messy. And that is in addition to projects already approved or under construction. Think of the number of the trucks and workers these projects will require. Think of the materials to be moved. Think of the housing required for non-resident workers. Where will they enjoy their downtime? Are there enough flaggers to keep traffic and materials moving smoothly?

Blue Bridge

Just over 60% of Victorians approved the November 20th referendum to borrow $49.2 million to replace the Johnson Street Bridge.

Waste Treatment

At the November 10, 2010 meeting of the JBNA, Bruce Cuthbert, a resident of Esquimalt, presented a case for undertaking a socio-economic and community development impact assessment of the proposed Capital Regional District (CRD) Core Area Liquid Waste Treatment Plant, and particularly of its proposed location at McLoughlin Point. He expressed concern that the proposed facility would crimp Esquimalt's future revitalization plans and not be the best use of waterfront lands. He asked for support from JBNA members for his proposal for a pre-decision socio-economic assessment.

Royal B.C. Museum

Also at the November 2010 meeting, Pauline Rafferty, CEO, provided an overview of the Royal B.C. Museum Development Proposal. The proposal is designed to meet RBCM needs for both collections and display space for the next 100 years. Plans include a twin-towered collections and office building as phase one and a second phase galleria building of smaller overall height. Existing green space, tree coverage, and historical on-site buildings, will be maintained and provision has been made for about 300 stalls of underground parking.

The Netherlands Centennial Carillon will be relocated to the east along the Belleville Street frontage, on new seismically upgraded foundations. View corridors will be preserved by avoiding excessive massing. A hydro-thermal heating system will be installed with provision for supplying heat to government buildings in the vicinity. The proposal will likely be considered by the City's Governance and Priorities Committee in December with a Public Hearing to follow in 2011.

Completion of the collections building is estimated to be within five years from construction start, with the galleria building taking shape during the following five years. Project timing will depend upon the success of the RBCM's capital funding drive.

Marina

Plans for a scaled-down mega-marina in VicWest have been resubmitted to the federal government for approval. Although it originally appeared that 52 moorage spots were required to make the project financially feasible, it now appears that the proposed marina can be successful at 1/2 the size, with just 29 slips. Public comment on the revised proposal will be accepted by Transport Canada until December 27, 2010.

The city has done what it can to restrict the project size by downzoning the adjacent provincially-owned water lot. Will the federal and provincial approval agencies involved now acknowledge safety concerns and strong local opposition to the project?

Will the scathing report prepared by QualaTech Aero Consulting in September 2010 be accepted as valid public comment? The Executive Summary of the Report states: Prior to any further changes taking place in the infrastructure and operations of the Victoria Harbour, there should be a new Hazard and Risk Assessment followed by the preparation of a Safety Case, taking into account the very latest national and international standards and recommended practices.

The initial 'Systems Safety Review (Risk Assessment)' of the Victoria Harbour, was undertaken by Transport Canada 10 years ago with a future time horizon of 10 years. Thus the said review is now expired and obsolete, as are the subsequent reports arising from it. Furthermore, there have been significant changes to a number of relevant national and international standards.

An up-to-date Safety Case for the Victoria Harbour Water Airport is in all of our interests.

Development Status Report

- Victoria councillors did not close the door on the rezoning application for the 8-storey condominium proposed for 257 Belleville Street, choosing to request a more detailed economic analysis of the proposed compensation to the city for increased density, prior to reaching a decision. Many of the adjacent neighbours remain convinced that the proposal is too large and too dense for the location. Are there other options worth examining?

- The developer for 640 Michigan Street has completed the re-zoning process and received a development permit with reduced setback requirements on all sides of the property.

Downtown Core Area Plan (DCAP):

Chris Gower, Senior Planner, City of Victoria, provided an overview of the Downtown Core Area Plan at the October 2010 JBNA meeting. Key features include: (a) cross-town access, (b) a harbour ampitheatre concept, (c) five primary districts within the downtown core, (d) the overlap of the downtown core with James Bay and other adjacent neighbourhoods, (e) the desirability of preferential treatment for pedestrian, cycling and public transportation over the private automobile, (f) preservation of heritage buildings and the historic commercial district, (g) the importance of harbour pathway continuity and development, (h) the relevance of streetscapes and gateways, and (i) the density bonus transfer system.

Some of the following concerns were raised by the presentation:

(a) will the system plan use transportation demand management techniques to control traffic flows?

(b) will transportation planning include tourist bus traffic in and around the downtown core and in James Bay?

(c) will the amphitheatre concept (a building step-back and street-state perspective) trap foul air generated by cruise ships, float planes, helicopters, and other large motor vehicles?

(d) if Government Street is to maintain or enhance its role as a pedestrian precinct, shouldn't tour buses be banned from using it as a pick-up and drop-off location?

(e) should Government Street between Wharf and Herald be closed to all vehicle traffic, except for early morning deliveries, thereby becoming a real pedestrian precinct?

(f) if pedestrian access to the harbour is to be provided through a continuous and well-developed harbour pathway, how does one deal with customs and immigration security for ships, boats and planes that dock along the harbour frontage?

(g) should the City expropriate properties along the inner harbour to ensure that development along the inner harbour is kept fully under City control?

(h) is the implementation of DCAP going to be affordable, given that average household income in Victoria is lowest out of all the CRD municipalities, and property tax rates are highest?

(i) if DCAP requires amendments to neighbourhood plans and zoning bylaws, what input will JBNA and James Bay residents have into amendments that affect the DCAP areas that fall within James Bay?

(j) will DCAP affect zoning for any areas within James Bay that are not included within the areas designated as part of the DCAP?

Gower's answers indicated some sympathy for Government Street becoming a real pedestrian precinct and an understanding that JBNA and James Bay residents would be consulted about changes affecting the DCAP areas that fall within James Bay. There appeared to be an understanding that the status quo would prevail for all re-zoning requests within James Bay that lie outside the areas designated as part of the DCAP, although socio-environmental policies (other than zoning) remain at the discretion of City Council.

The meeting broke into three Community Circles to discuss Transportation & Mobility Issues, James Bay Overlay, and Vision as it relates to the Downtown Core Area Plan. The conversation at each Community Circle was summarized and forwarded to the City Planning Department.

Highlights of these conversations included the following observations:

- Planning for Government Street should focus on the functions required by an aging resident population.

- Victoria harbour is not the busy, congested harbour that has been asserted. It could be a much more active harbour, with enhanced industrial and recreational use; however, all uses must become environmentally friendly or neutral.

- The DCAP pays insufficient attention to people movement problems associated with tourism, and particularly with cruise ship tourism. The use of large highway buses for tourist travel within Victoria is a major socio-environmental problem.

- Why should Yates Street and Fort Street become two-way streets? The current one-way pairings (Yates/Fort and Pandora/Johnson) seem to work efficiently. How many additional dedicated bicycle lanes would be required for these new two-way streets, and what would it do to traffic flow and cross-town access?

"Create a City for residents, and the tourists will love it;

create a city for tourists and it will not be livable"

JBNA Meeting Recording Secretary

The JBNA asks you to consider volunteering to be recording secretary for JBNA general meetings. Duties include taking minutes, circulating draft minutes to the Directors for comment, and revising minutes. You do not need to be a 'voting member' of the JBNA to volunteer.

Discussions to ensure the installation of Air Quality Monitoring equipment prior to the 2011 cruise-ship season are underway.

Watch for the announcement of proposed changes and improvements to Beacon Hill Park roads and trails from the Parks department in 2011.

Next Month

Join us on Wednesday, December 8th at James Bay New Horizons (7 to 9 pm) for a proposal on Earthquake/Emergency Preparedness, an Information Session on the Realignment of St Lawrence Street (Simcoe to Erie) by Barry Norman of the City Engineering Department and a development proposal for 403/411 Kingston Street.

A Christmas Social will follow.