A recent letter to the editor referred to the unanimous decision of the previous city council to approve, in the name of density, the demolition in James Bay of an existing low-cost rental housing complex, Village Green, together with two nearby houses. These are to be replaced by a greatly enlarged, market-priced complex.
There are lessons in this deeply flawed development approval that the new council must absorb if it is to make more informed and considered decisions about the future of this city when it returns to discussions of how, or where, or whether, to increase density.
Contrary to what has been approved for Village Green:
• don’t create housing opportunities for new residents by evicting existing community residents;
• don’t demolish scarce low-cost and affordable rentals to build high priced market rentals;
• further to modern environmental thinking, don’t demolish at all where there is scope to add, transform or reuse;
• don’t eliminate greenspace to build sunless concrete jungles with almost no setbacks from the street;
• don’t approve development where there is no Local Area Plan to use as a guide;
and, above all,
• don’t ignore the input and wisdom of the neighbours who understand their community, its environment, and the density stresses that already exist there.
Finally, I would particularly like to emphasize a further lesson for the new council in the context of this egregious decision: do not destroy mature, “bylaw-protected” trees, and flowering trees that are iconic to Victoria, without seeking alternatives to their removal.
The Village Green decision will result, to the detriment of the entire community of Victoria, in the loss to this city of at least 13 huge shade trees and all of the flowering plum boulevard trees..
Is there anyone now who does not understand the vital importance of the urban forest, particularly in this era of rapid and devastating climate change?
Yes, apparently, the previous council, which did not bother to ask the developer to vary its design in order to prevent at least some of this loss of trees.
One of the councillors even queried, in the course of the public hearing, why it was necessary to consider trees at all when looking at development proposals.
The residents at Village Green have been evicted from this community but, for this brief moment, the trees still stand.
I invite you to visit the 100 block of Menzies Street before the chain saws arrive. Be amazed by the massive poplar which can be seen from downtown buildings; look through to the courtyard at the towering ash and elm; contemplate the fact that spring will no longer bring flowering plum to this part of the city.
Have a look while you can, because soon this will all be concrete.
Like the previous letter-writer, I am hopeful that we will see more careful, community-focused, and environmentally-sensitive decision-making from the new council, and an end to these recent years of density and development anywhere, and at any cost.
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