I do not live in Victoria, nor do I reside in Oak Bay. I live in a modern condo development in Vancouver. My home reflects my personal appreciation of the West Coast modern design esthetic. While I approve of some development, lately, when I visit Victoria and see what is happening in Oak Bay, I am appalled.
It is terrible to watch a neighborhood like Oak Bay being ravaged by developers who are intent on demolishing the existing homes and trees for the sake of profit. It seems that nothing is being done to preserve the unique heritage of Oak Bay.
The current development on Monterey Avenue is one such travesty. It is very upsetting that the municipality would allow something so out of touch with the esthetic of the community to be built there. The design of the home being built is not at all sympathetic to the surrounding neighborhood.
Rather than incorporating elements of the environment into their design the developers chose to haul away truckloads of rich topsoil and cut down and sell beautiful, healthy 100-year-old trees, which were home to many species of birds and animals. This is not an isolated incident, the same is happening all over Oak Bay.
I believe that differences should be celebrated and creativity should not be inhibited. However, heritage neighborhoods like Oak Bay need to be protected and developers need to be held accountable for their actions.
Developers should be required to build homes without sacrificing the environment or the esthetic of the existing community. It is important that rules are established to enforce these mandates, and that we look to conscientious developers to take our heritage communities into the future.
L. Frederick
Vancouver