Opposition to new housing in Oak Bay
10 years to approve a four-storey, 14-unit condo project
When BC announced its initial housing targets, Oak Bay was on the list. CHEK: Oak Bay mayor says it likely won't meet provincial housing quota, advocates call for less red tape.
Includes this infuriating story:
Take the fierce opposition in 2019 to the Oak Bay United Church’s attempt to convert their parking lot into roughly 100 units of rental apartments 250 metres from Oak Bay Village. They received so much pushback and not enough assurance it would pass at council, the church withdrew its application.
Quotes Rob Berry of Homes for Living:
Housing advocates in Greater Victoria say Oak Bay’s response shows a lack of political willpower.
“Mansions are auto-approved every day in Oak Bay,” said Robert Berry with group Homes for Living. “There’s no reason that couldn’t be a row of apartments.”
“Oak Bay, in under 10 pages, could write a policy saying you’re allowed to build townhouses in Oak Bay, and they could quite easily hit their housing target numbers. The fact is the mayor… faces a lot of pressure from homeowners that are quite wealthy in Oak Bay not to ruin their neighborhood character,” he said.
Why is Oak Bay on the province’s list? That’s pretty clear:
A story from last week: Oak Bay council finally approves condo project after 10 years.
Oak Bay council finally, unanimously, approved condo project The Quest after more than 10 years of rejections.
In the end, it took just a minute for Oak Bay council to approve its most contentious and controversial development, and Large and Co. developer, Pam Colpman, can’t believe it’s finally happening.
“Well, thrilled. I mean there is nothing else to say,” said Colpman on Thursday. “It’s been 10 years, and it actually still feels a little surreal. It doesn’t feel like it’s happened. It’s a great feeling to actually move forward.”
First proposed by Large and Co. Development more than a decade ago, council rejected the four-storey condo development several times, including in 2022, when councillors refused to allow a public hearing.
Wealthy NIMBYs are especially disconnected from the needs of greater society. They’re also fearful of seeing some of the homelessness and related aspects that exist in downtown Victoria. What they don’t realize is that their current zoning increases homelessness and makes it more likely to show up in their neighbourhoods.