Re: the letter 'Oak Bay residents living in fear of densification.'
Oak Bay isn’t a museum. It’s a place people need to live.
Thoughts and prayers for the lost sunbeam that once kissed your hydrangeas. But sunlight, silence, and free curb storage for private vehicles are not deeded rights. The street is public space, not your third garage. And three-storey townhouses aren’t “towers” anywhere outside of Hobbiton.
The “my net worth just dropped a few hundred thousand” bit is doing more work than the December sun in Oak Bay. What has dropped is the ladder for anyone under 40, for newcomers, and for workers who keep this region running. Locking neighbourhoods at 1958 densities so existing owners can protect vibes and hedge heights is exactly how we got a housing crisis.
Infrastructure? Old pipes don’t age backward just because we freeze a city in amber. New homes bring DCCs, tax base, and actual humans who pay for upgrades. That’s called a functioning municipality.
Parking? If six cars on your street ruin your day, that’s an argument for better transit and walkable density – exactly what townhomes support. Cities are for people first, not permanently reserved asphalt for idle SUVs.
“Neighbourhood character” isn’t manicured lawns and empty bedrooms; it’s neighbours you can afford to know. It’s kids who can stay near their grandparents, teachers who don’t commute an hour, and small businesses with customers within walking distance.
Oak Bay can choose to be a postcard or a community. If you want a perfectly preserved diorama, there’s a museum on Fort Street. The rest of us would like a livable region where the next generation isn’t priced out to protect someone’s afternoon sunbeam.
Joe Bowker
Langford
