The Wednesday, Feb. 1 Oak Bay News noted council narrowly voted in favour of shifting priorities to secondary suites without taking infill off the table.
We now have a council divided as to how to increase population density: infill, secondary suites, duplexes and large developments. Maybe they should reconsider the objective. Will a higher population and density make Oak Bay more livable and sustainable?
Mayor Nils Jensen is quoted in the Oak Bay News as saying council has community support (for secondary suites) together with advice from the volunteer appointed Advisor Planning Commission. The APC does not have a mandate to consult widely, yet has responsibility, among others, to deal with “development policies and initiatives that promote a sustainable community ....” How can it possibly do this and advise council?
An increased population means more cars, more congestion, greater demands on underfunded services, greater wear on infrastructure and more.
Secondary suites increase property assessments and thus property taxes only slightly (if at all), yet will add to bureaucracy and municipal costs if legitimized. More people will not translate into more municipal revenues but shift the tax burden to non-suite properties.
As for community support for secondary suites, the Oak Bay Secondary Suites Review Committee Final Report, June 14, 2010, identified that increased density will negatively affect quality of life, cause congestion, cause additional burden on the infrastructure and cause additional financial burden on the municipality.
Jensen, then councillor, was the chair of that committee. Only one-half of the nearly 2,000 responses were in favour of secondary suites.
The recent OCP survey further refined the community wishes: 78 per cent of OCP survey respondents conditionally agreed to suites provided regulations and standards were adopted; 69 per cent wanted suites regulated in existing homes.
The secondary suites report concluded there was a need to require off-street parking, owner-occupied rentals, inspections and imposition of license fees. So, before legitimizing suites council needs to develop and implement regulations/by-laws that address each requirement. To do otherwise would be to act before doing due diligence and contrary to the community views.
It’s time to pause, reflect and think about where and how council is leading us. Council needs first to evaluate the wider costs to the municipality, develop by-laws and regulations and achieve a real majority buy-in by the community. Real leadership means saying ‘no change’ until this is done.
Rick Lee
Oak Bay