Mount View Colquitz Community Association
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LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT
 See also our Information for Developers which outlines various issues that may arise for any new development project in our area. The Saanich information site is at    Active Developments

                Role of the MVCCA in the development process
   The MVCCA will meet with developers at various stages of the process with two main purposes:
           To encourage development in line with the form and character of our neighbourhoods.
           To encourage developers to thoroughly consult with the community through meetings with directly affected neighbours.
    Saanich Planning Dep’t formally asks the MVCCA to respond in writing to all development applications within our boundaries. The MVCCA is asked whether it:   • Has no objection to the project;   • Generally has no objection with suggested changes or concerns;    • Does not support the project (please provide reason).   It is the policy of the MVCCA to reflect what we have heard from the community.


               Active planning applications                           current as of: 15 January 2021
  
  Blanshard St., 3561, Units E107 and E109  (upper level of the Uptown mall)  to allow a Non-Medical Cannabis Retail
                 Store operated by the Liquor Distribution Branch
     approved by council 16 June 2020         Planning Dep't Report
     Canterbury Rd, 665   subdivide lot     info from developer     Planning report          
                   30 Nov. 2020 council meeting - project sent to public hearing
     Crease Ave, 50/54 (Budget property)  15 & 5 storey condos total 159 units plus commercial
    
Crease Ave, 86  rezoning application to create one additional residence         location      elevations          site map
                                 application referred to Public Hearing  -    set for 25 Jan. 2021               Planning Report
     Douglas St, 3351  -  addition of parkade at back  - development permit only    approved  July 20, 2020
     Douglas St, 3366 (Red Lion Inn)  development permit amendment to make renovations which include 7 new hotel rooms
                    site map                    elevations
    
Douglas St, 3415  (old gas station site in front of Uptown)   -  rezoning to build two storey commercial building  
            with above ground parking. Owner is a numbered company (Calgary) which is  a subsidiary of Imperial Oil. 
                   site picture                site map               elevations                  landscape

     Dupplin Rd. 472 &476   construct  two storey office/warehouse/sales building under existing zoning 
              site map        elevations       landscape        revised site map       revised elevations          revised landscape
                                MVCCA comments to Saanich Planning have been submitted
     Kamloops
Ave., 195  duplex -   site map  elevations   landscape    Planning Dep't Report      approved 14 July 2020
     Nora Place, 591  subdivision to create two lots       location   site map   
    
Raymond St. South, 3656    -  six/seven  storey  condo units       site map      elevations      landscaping
                                   new interior layouts         new site map     new elevations           new landscaping               
            application changes June 2020 - updated information     Planning Department Report       
Late correspondence                                           
                  June 30  MVCCA application summary           Abstract Project under development in Victoria   1301 Hillside Ave.
                  Community Meeting via ZOOM    July 11   summary   
        Planning Department Supplemental Report  Aug 27 2020
        Motion at council that "prior to a Public Hearing, a covenant be registered to secure that no building permit be issued until BC Housing
        approves the Affordable Home Ownership Program.” and “That prior to a Public Hearing, the applicant provide staff with a land lift analysis
        to verify the community contribution proposed.”
                           land lift analysis provided


   Tillicum Rd, 3661    subdivision to create one additional lot.     site map      elevations         landscaping
   
    Uptown Phase Four  3440 Saanich Road   2020 NEW Design plans    see more information
  
    Whittier Townhouses  (3446-50 Whittier and 3421-31 Harriet)    23   three-storey townhouses
               revised elevations             revised site                   revised  landscape

                          at 7 Dec. 2020 council meeting  - project sent to Public Hearing          Planning Report

Approved (but not yet built)
     
Nigel valley multiple projects  - 811 units   see more information
      Tolmie, 760, Superstore property development permit 2010   ON HOLD
      Uptown Phase Four  rental apts.    see more information

Under construction (or recently completed)
      Cadillac, 309   - subdivide lot
      Roderick St., 760 -  three story pet hospital  
     


Pet Hospital   760 Roderick St.   Dec. 2020
Picture
Picture
    3415 Douglas St.  (old gas station site in front of Uptown)



                      

Picture
       Short Street Condos 
           Sept 2019











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Overview

     Development in Saanich neighbourhoods takes place in the context of municipal and regional policies. The adoption of the Regional Growth Strategy in 2003 designed to protect agricultural and rural areas, led to the need to increase density in existing neighbourhoods.  MVCCA both understands and supports urban densification. We understand also that densification can happen in a beneficial way or it can destroy a community.

While the District of Saanich supports the development of “complete communities”, it sometimes forgets that the communities in which the projects are being built are already complete. MVCCA has a role to help Saanich to remember this and to ensure the needs of resident tax payers are given the full consideration they deserve.

     The Colquitz part of the MVCCA is a suburban landscape, rolling down to the Colquitz River.  It has not seen development itself, but has been impacted by development at the nearby Tillicum centre. The "Mount View" part of the community, however, has seen constant major development.

       ln 2007, when the Mt. View Colquitz Community Association was first incorporated as a society, the neighbourhood that stretched from Douglas at Saanich Road north up Carey to McKenzie Avenue and west to the Island Highway was very different than it is now. Large pieces of undeveloped land existed, including a transitional school district property that graced the neighbourhood with stands of trees, large fields for ball games and dog walking, rocky outcrops affording views of the Olympics, and, on a clear day, Mt. Baker. Most of these properties, while designated for some form of high density development in the Local Area Plans, had yet to be rezoned.

     The rezoning and repurposing of these lands were ushered through the Saanich Municipal planning process piecemeal, with the result that residents were not able to adequately consider the cumulative impact of the developments. At meeting after meeting, we asked for an Action Plan for our neighbourhood. While one was planned, it never materialized, despite our entreaties. Now viewscapes are gone, grassy hillsides have been converted to hardsurface cliffs, and habitat for the admittedly plentiful Killdeer dug up, built up and paved.

     Some very positive results of these developments has been the installation of crosswalks all the way down Carey Road, road redesigns at Ralph and Carey, and a "complete street" modification to Tillicum Road that includes sidewalks, bike lanes and street trees between Carey and the Trans Canada Highway.


     Saanich is recognizing its need to rethink the current out of date local area plans for all Saanich neighbourhoods, including those of the Saanich Core local area plan and Carey local area plan, in which the MVCCA neighbourhoods are featured. Hopefully, there will be an end to piecemeal planning in our area. An initial meeting was held on November 27, 2013 between the Saanich Planning Department and representatives of all community associations to consider the design of the local area plan process.  One result is the   Uptown - Douglas Corridor study.


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