How many Oak Bay residents are aware that in 2024, the provincial government introduced Bill 44, requiring municipalities to remove RS4 (single-family home) zoning and replace it with R4 zoning which allows four houses to be built where there used to be one? The intention was no doubt to increase available housing, to densify, as it is called, so that more families could find homes.
While the intention may have been laudable, the result has been an invitation to developers to buy houses, knock them down, and replace them with four units, often jamming large structures onto any lot which exceeds 3,000 square feet (30 feet by 100 feet). Many homeowners have been blindsided by their neighbour's home suddenly morphing into four. These are expensive houses in a desirable neighbourhood, and there is no intention to make them affordable, but they are definitely profitable for the developer. The Oak Bay planning department is currently considering numerous permit requests that should worry residents.
The Oak Bay community plan specifically warns against multi-unit development in residential areas and makes it clear what the community wishes regarding development. Multi-family structures should be confined to development corridors where such buildings already exist, and there are a number of these throughout the municipality. Parachuting large multi-family buildings into residential communities should be done with genuine consultation and sensitivity to the existing neighbourhood.
One of the worst offenders, far beyond what Bill 44 mandates, is at 2298 Lansdowne Ave. The developers have requested that two massive structures be built on that single lot with 13 townhouses rising up 40 feet and creating a wall facing the adjacent neighbours which is 90 feet long. The neighbours to the north will lose all their winter sun, all their privacy, and much of the equity in their home. In order for their building to be approved, the developers are requesting the creation of an entirely new zoning category and a change to the community plan. This building will be higher, wider, and closer than is permitted under current regulations, and for some unknown reason, the planning department has given the building a green light. Oak Bay residents are facing the real possibility of a similar structure being built anywhere in their neighbourhood. If you are alarmed by the changes that seem to be coming, share your concerns with council members and attend meetings listed on the Oak Bay municipal website.
Margaret Paul
Oak Bay
