Hot dogs, pancakes and parks. What do these have in common? Most of us love them, well a lot of us.
The Lions Club has provided Sooke residents with opportunities to enjoy these things for many years. The Lions have owned a small public use park on Murray Road since it was purchased in 1965 for a few thousand dollars. The property is recognized as an open space park in Sooke’s 2020 Parks Plan and zoned park in our Official Community Plan.
It is Sooke’s oldest park and in past decades has had swings, slides, washrooms and even a merry-go-round. Sooke children have enjoyed this park for decades and residents have sat in the shade of the park’s 200-year-old Sitka Spruce. The Lions Club is ready to move on to other projects and has put the the park up for sale. The club has a private business buyer that wants to build a three-storey office building threatening both public use and Bruce the Spruce, a heritage tree.
The buyer requires the park to be rezoned to commercial use to complete the purchase. Neighbourhood residents and many others are objecting to this rezoning and want Sooke to purchase the park. Over 500 mid-rise homes have already been approved by Sooke in the neighbourhood around the park. Both our town council and the provincial government are forcing the neighbourhood surrounding the park to absorb Sooke’s highest densities.
It is the only local park where I can take my grandson to play catch, for neighbourhood families to play safely and is an excellent spot for our seniors bocce games. Having had tax-free status for nearly 60 years and having been purchased for public enjoyment, not as an investment, the Lions Club has some obligation to ask Sooke to purchase the park rather than rezone it to commercial use.
Our town’s rapid growth has many challenges. Getting rid of this historic park in our downtown core is a sacrifice that neighbourhood residents should not have to make. A private for-profit wellness business may operate for a time but may move on. Public parks are forever with proven health and wellness benefits.
Thank you Lions Club for years of hot dogs, pancakes and years of enjoyment in this historic neighbourhood park.
William Wallace
Sooke
