HERE WE GO AGAIN
This just in from a reader:
“Just had a look at the North Saanich Council agenda for Monday, June 1 and noticed that Dan Boot is going to present a marina proposal. It sounds like it is the original one…”
Does anyone have details of the original proposal? I sure hope council sticks with their direction of no re-zoning and n0 amendments to the OCP for this site. or is this what Deep Cove will look like in the future:
Below is NSO post of Mar 26, 2009:
Pub/Marina Proposal and Being Proactive
I would be careful to act on the suggestion made by one council member to put forward ideas they would be happy with but thinking it through is a good idea. Council can reject any proposal that does not fit in with the Official Community Plan, or if any required rezoning is out of character with the neighbourhood. The new Mayor and the “majority” of council members strongly support the OCP and maintaining the rural character of the district..
Just because a property owner has allowed a property to become run down, that does not give any reason that the owner should be allowed to redevelop it, rezone it, or change the neighbourhood. There are many properties in North Saanich that could be called ‘run down’ why does this one deserve special attention? Many of the ‘run down’ properties are also much more visible from the road, it is actually difficult to tell there is a ‘marina’ there.
In my view, a property owner should be responsible for proper maintenance. The marina could be renewed as is – if the owner were willing to maintain it.
The owner may have put this last proposal out only as a way to see what kind of opposition they would get. So, please be careful that you don’t get caught up in “one” councillors comments. Councillor Fea is publicly on record as stating she does not support the current OCP and would like to see numerous amendments to it i am sure, particularly where development is concerned. So yes it would be wise to be cautious as to where this is all heading, maybe it is going exactly where the owner wanted it to go. High density condos, and I am sure councillor Fea would be pleased to have a number of residents clamering to have the OCP amended to allow just such a development here. It would be difficult for folks if a proposal was put forward for the condos and council was consistent in their support of the OCP and turned it down. There are some good ideas floating around about using the marina for a community place and maintaining it’s small footprint.
The OCP was developed by the residents of North Saanich, it is our guideline for development and as much as neighbours might think it is a good idea to put forward ideas for the use of this property please remember the bottom line is the OCP and i would hope all ideas put forward would not need to have it ammended or the lots rezoned.
On another note does anyone know if North Saanich granted the marina any concessions for having the pumping station on their property?
The photo you show is somewhat exaggerated don’t you think? It would be better to show the actual proposal otherwise people may be mislead.