Perhaps it was the sight of the heavy excavator perched on the back of a big lumbering truck, slowly moving along our street early this morning, bound for another older smaller Oak Bay character home waiting to be demolished. Or sounds of the excavator crunching, splintering and breaking apart, piece by piece, beautiful old … Read more
land use
Housing Affordability in Oak Bay A two-part public forum on housing affordability in Oak Bay, sponsored by the Community Association of Oak Bay, brought packed audiences to both sessions held February 24 and March 3, 2018 at Windsor Park. The following summary is based on my notes and observations of presentations and one of the … Read more
This week, our local CBC radio show “On the Island,” with host Gregor Craigie, did an interview with a community leader who works for the San Juan Island Housing Trust in Washington State. The Trust is committed to providing affordable and attainable housing by creating a neighbourhood of recycled homes that come from other … Read more
On August 13, 2003, the Capital Regional District Board adopted a “landmark agreement,” the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), cited in a report prepared in March 2003 titled The Capital Regional District Growth Strategy: Herding Cats Onto the Road of Sustainability, prepared by the University of Waterloo’s Department of Environment and Resource Studies. At the time, … Read more
I am re-posting this article because in the last few weeks, I have had many Oak Bay residents talk to me about their concerns at the rate of small house demolitions occurring in Oak Bay. Even a well known mortgage broker friend of ours raised this issue in a conversation this week. “Have you driven … Read more
Oak Bay Heritage has been going strong since the mid-1970’s in Oak Bay. The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation and Municipal Heritage Commission work together to promote heritage and history every year through a wonderful lecture series organized by the Foundation and promoted across the community and region. These lectures are always well attended, donations are … Read more
The new Oak Bay Council announced that over the next three months, it will review roles and responsibilities of its advisory commissions and committees, avenues for meaningful volunteer involvement that signifies a commitment to citizen engagement. A priority of mine during the last municipal election, it makes good sense to review, from time to time, … Read more