3761 New Homes delivered to Oak Bay....Where do you want them??

From our friends in South Oak Bay.

I am hoping some of you were present or streamed the Town Council Meeting on the unveiling of the proposed scenarios put forth to have 3761 new homes built in Oak Bay, also known as the Official Community Plan (OCP).

This is of course, mandated by BILL 44, brought down by the present Provincial Government. 

There will be Open Houses in May to showcase the 3 scenarios. There may be a fourth date but we don't have that yet

• May 21st

• May 22nd

• May 24th

  
  
  
  

Notices are to be sent out I am told, but based on past experience, such things arrive too late or not at all. CONNECT OAK BAY is where you will get all the info you need.

https://connect.oakbay.ca/official-community-plan-update

The process for approval has been expedited (past Official Community Plans have had a longer period to go over) so time is of the essence for ALL Oak Bay residents to have a say on the scenarios presented. This OCP will affect us all in the next twenty years, however will greatly impact the younger people and families. 

We need to have the younger families represented at these Open Houses!!  It is their future in Oak Bay!!! So please pass this along to neighbours and friends alike.

Provincial Bills sneak in due to lack of engagement and then many of us say "What Happened"? 

The Power Point presentation outlining the 3 scenarios and each's impact on the communities was presented April 22nd. There are maps depicting the build proposals. I will try and forward the PowerPoint when I find it. (It is worth seeing prior to the Open Houses). 

The following was taken from the April 22/25 minutes of the Committee of The Whole:

 https://oakbay.civicweb.net/document/145454/

SCENARIOS:

 A) Transit oriented growth - this scenario envisions higher density development that is focused on the existing main bus routes and the future anticipated high frequency transit corridor along Foul Bay and Henderson Roads and along Oak Bay Avenue. 

B) Distributed growth  - this scenario proposes low to medium density development including small scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) and ground oriented townhomes distributed throughout most of the community. Higher density development is similarly dispersed between the Oak Bay Village and the smaller neighbourhood centres. 

C) Concentrated Village growth – this scenario presents a focus on higher density development that is focused around the Oak Bay and Cadboro Bay Villages, existing secondary village areas, and near other important community amenities.   

There will be a possible survey at the Open Houses.  A thought would be to have a large easel with paper where residents could write down their  "Pros" and one for "Cons"on each. (I will see if that can be done).

This is extraordinarily important. How residents in Oak Bay engage will dictate its future and we are on a shortened timeline.

Please pass this along and find information on :https://connect.oakbay.ca/official-community-plan-update

Thank you and have a good weekend......Cyndra