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Council Moves to Downsize Marina

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:24:09 +0000

Click on the video about to watch an interview with Dianne Carr from Save Victoria Harbour

Click on the video about to watch an interview with Lachlan Maclean, general manager of the Victoria International Marina Project.

Click on the video about to watch an interview with City of Victoria Councillor Pamela Madoff.

Reporting by Lisa Nickol
Videography and Editing by Andrew Ainsley

Septmber 6, 2010

(Update September 7, 2010: Over 40 people spoke at a public hearing that lasted five hours, after which council voted unanimously for this down zoning. B Channel News was there and will bring you a video update soon.)

The Victoria International Marina project, which was first proposed in 2005, faces a potential reduction in size after receiving approval by the federal government. The City of Victoria has tabled a motion for rezoning of their two water lots on the Songhees walkway. The down-zoning, from what the developers say they understand, would probably reduce the numbers of slips planned for the Marina by 40%.

Lachlan MacLean, General Manager for the project said that they found out about this only 24 hours before it went before the council, saying that the report, “was dated a month before that”.

“We were surprised particularly since the mayor had publicly stated in the media that they were not considering any rezoning,” said MacLean.

The City claims this is a result of a process that started five years ago. Councillor Pamela Madoff said that, “this is something that came up first in 2005/2006; there was actually a public hearing that was adjourned at that time. Since that time, what we’ve basically done with the rezoning, that we would like to bring forward to a public hearing is we’ve amalgamated all the policies already existing in our policy documents for the Songhees.”

The developer says that they have been working with the city’s guidelines from the beginning, “we’ve spent the last five years pursuing this project, based on the existing city official community plan, rezoning bylaws, design guidelines, council’s own Victoria Harbour plan, so we’ve followed all the city’s guidelines and policies,” said Lachlan MacLean.

The Developer, along with the public will have an opportunity to speak about the rezoning at a public hearing that is set for September 7th at 5:00PM at City Hall.

The Mayor has said that it’s their role to community to the province what the community’s values are, while the province has said that the city should be talking to the developer and has offered to act as a mediator.

The Developer agrees with the province and wants to talk with the Mayor about this, “The mayor has refused to meet with me, he has cancelled a number of appointments,” said Lachlan Maclean.

However, Save Victoria Harbour does not agree that what the province is suggesting appropriate. The Minister “…invited the city to rezone the property then when the city moved to do that, he offered to mediate and thought that the mayor should be talking to the developer about it. Well, this is not how zoning works at all. There is a process to be followed and the city is following it.” said Diane Carr, Save Victoria Harbour.

The Developer thinks that his project is being targeted, “It’s only rezoning this one lot, it’s effectively reversing the city’s policy and rezoning that has been on this site for two decades, it is inherently picking on this site because it’s only this site that’s being rezoned,” said Lachlan Maclean.

Council’s position is that it’s “only concern is protection of the public ground. There has been some discussion that this is being propelled by condominium owners that want to protect their private views. We have no purview over private views at all, but all of the documents that we have speak to the importance of the public ground and the experience you can have along the walkway and the street head views as well looking out to the harbour. Really that was what was behind the down-zoning that the previous council embarked upon; it was to protect the value of the public ground along the west song walkway,” said Councillor Madoff.

Madoff said that changes would be up to the proponent.

The Developer has said that they would rather engage in dialogue with the city, and has said by, “doing it without a dialogue it could potentially put some of the community amenities and some of those things at risk.”

The Chamber of Commerce warned the City of Victoria, before the down-zoning was tabled, of potential litigation. They suggested that it could cost Victorian taxpayers up to 23 million dollars if the Marina proposal was prevented. The CEO of the Chamber is listed in the supporters section of the development’s facts website marinafacts.ca.

The developer thinks this could affect other businesses looking to invest in Victoria, “When the city starts to challenge those certainties and the reliability of its own policies then it makes it difficult for business to move forward and get the wallet out and invest in the community,” said MacLean.

Save Victoria Harbour wants to see the province deny the request not put the responsibility on the City of Victoria.

“What I would really like to see is the provincial government to step up and listen to the electorate and just deny the lease, it’s that simple. The province is saying it’s up to the city, but the city’s hands are really tied. The property belongs to the province; it’s the province that can stop it,” said Diane Carr.

The developer has said that they will participate in the process; they will be at the public hearing presenting their information.

Public organizations against the nature of this development are encouraging people to come to the public hearing on September 7th.

“This is their opportunity to have their say, 7000 people signed a petition if there was any small percentage of those that turned out it would keep council busy for while,” said Diane Carr, Save Victoria Harbour.

B Channel News has been following this story for over a year, and presents an in-depth look at this project proposal. Click here to watch interviews with opponents and proponents of the project, read a background article on the process and follow links to other media coverage.

A Look into the Victoria International Marina Proposal

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:24:04 +0000

Videos:

Click photos below to watch video interviews

Lachlan MacLean
General Manager, Victoria International Marina Project

Dianne Carr
Save Victoria Harbour

Brian Barnett
Ocean Industries British Columbia

Bruce Carter
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

Paul Servos
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority

Dean Fortin
Mayor of Victoria

Maurine Karagianis
MLA for Esquimalt/Royal Roads (NDP)

Brian Emmet
Environmental Consultant

Gordon Granius
Physicist – Wave Motion

Tim Houlihan
Harbour paddler

B Channel News Special Report

Reporting and Article by Lisa Nickol
Videography and Video Editing by Andrew Ainsley

September 6, 2010

Every controversial issue has multiple sides; groups, people, companies and organizations provide different information on the same topics. The Victoria International Marina project is no exception. Both sides have published reports, documentation, lists of ‘facts’ and sources which contradicts each other.

“There has been a certain degree of misunderstanding in the community and a little bit of misinformation, so we are working through steps like this to provide clarity and balance to that conversation. People in Victoria, it’s a well educated town and most people are pretty rational and if you can sit down with them and have a conversation and present them with the fact and they can listen to both sides and they can make up their minds based on the balance of what they’ve taken in,” said Lachlan MacLean, General Manager for the project.

However, the organizations voicing concern with the marina project, disagree with the information presented by the developer and have published documentation and reports showing a different side to this proposal.

“We’ve been through several thousand pages of materials that were obtained through FOI [Freedom of Information] requests from both the provincial and federal governments. Everything that we say on the website can be backed up with a document,” said Diane Carr, member of Save Victoria Harbour.

The intent of this feature compilation is to gather information from some of the different stakeholders and provide some of the background, public opinion and issues around the Victoria International Marina, from those directly involved. We encourage you to watch the videos, visit the different websites, read the reports and decide for yourself.

A Look into the Victoria International Marina Proposal

The Victoria International Marina is a proposal by developer Robert Evans, Community Marine Concepts Group in partners with Western Asset Management (WAM) to develop a Marina in the Victoria Harbour. The marina which would provide 52 slips will have moorage for yachts from 65 feet to 135 feet long. The development would be located near Lime Bay Park on the north shore of Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

Click here for an Interview with WAM’s General Manager for Marina Development, Lachlan MacLean, who describes the project in more detail.

Concerns with the project has come from: Save Victoria Harbour, Dogwood Initiative, Ocean River Sports, Southern Island Sea Kayakers Association, Harbour Deference Alliance, the last 30 years of former Victoria mayors, Songhees condo owners and other local businesses, community associations, organizations, local municipal, federal and provincial politicians and public members.

“My overriding concerns, which are like the public concerns, are around the appropriateness of using this area which is a public area, for a marina of this size and nature,” said Victoria resident and Environmental Consultant, Brian Emmett.

Click on videos of Diane Carr, Brian Emmett, Gordon Greeniaus and Tim Houlihan on why they are concerned with different aspects of the proposal.

Support for the project has come from: OCEAN Industries British Columbia, Ocean Estates Developments, Chemainus Quay & Marina Complex ltd., BC Marine Trades Association, VIH Aviation Group, McNeal & Associates Consultants Ltd., HarbourWerks Strategies, Conservative Minister Stockwell Day and other businesses, residents and organizations.

“It’s an untapped resource here in BC and the VIM being the first super yacht marina in Canada, based here in Victoria; I am all for it. When we have 22,000 nautical miles of the pristine waters on the planet, it’s just an invitation waiting for all these super yachts to come into British Columbia,” said Brian Barnett, OCEAN Industries BC.

Support for the project is around the need for a Marina which provides services for yachts of this magnitude and economic benefits and jobs for the city, which the developer and the supporters have projected.

Click on the Videos with Brian Barnett, Paul Servos and Bruce Carter on reasons to support the project and/or the benefits they think it will bring to Victoria.

The Process:

The project, which was first proposed in 2005, requires approval from all three levels of government. It has received federal approval on the safety and environmental impact of the project. The Province is responsible for approving Provincial Crown Land leases.

“The government [provincial] has continued to say their role is technical, they’ve left a lot of the responsibility up to the federal government. The federal government has very narrowly defined what their role is and there was no public consultation at the federal level either that was meaningful,” said Maurine Karagianis, MLA for Esquimalt-Royal Roads, who has tabled a petition of 7,000 signatures to the Legislature, against the proposal.

The Minister responsible has said that the City could change the zoning on the water lots that are being applied for if they do not agree with approval by the province.

“The city has two roles to play; first we are going to reflect the interest of the public in our ownership of Lime Bay Park, the public that is the owners of Lime Bay Park. We are going to protect our riparian rights, makes sure that people have the right to unobstructed views, that is what you expect when you get into public parks. But secondly, we are going to play our role as reflecting the community’s values… So, our job is to communicate to the Province what we think is the appropriate level, scope and scale of the development that goes in there with that expectation that they will honour the commitment that the City of Victoria has to reflect the community values,” said Victoria Mayor, Dean Fortin.

The City has moved to rezone the water lots and in currently going through the zoning process, which includes a public hearing set for September 7th.

Click on the video of Mayor Dean Fortin for the city’s perspective and MLA Maurine Karagianis on the Province’s role.

Public Concerns:

Concerns with the project have included the size and scope of the Marina, the environmental impacts, wave attenuators, public input into the development, the process of approval for the development, and safety issues in the harbour. B Channel spoke with a number of people around the public concerns and with the developers for their response to the issues raised by the public.

Watch the video with Brian Emmett, M.Sc., R.P. Bio., who addresses some of the environmental concerns.

Watch the video with Professor Gordon Greeniaus, a professional physicist and teacher in wave motion theory, who explains more on the wave attenuator and other related issues.

Watch the video with harbour paddler, Tim Houlihan to see the concerns with safety for the non-motorized vessel usage of the harbour.

The developer’s response to the publically raised concerns can been seen in the interview with Lachlan MacLean, WAM General Manager.

See Also:

Council Moves to Down-Size Marina
B Channel News
September 6, 2010

Rally Shows Mega-Marina Impact
B Channel News
April 19, 2010

Marina Proposal – Tim Houlihan

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:20:23 +0000

Harbour Paddler Tim Houlihan, spoke to B Channel News, about concerns with safety for the non-motorized vessel usage of the harbour..

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Brian Emmet

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:19:50 +0000

Brian Emmett, M.Sc., R.P. Bio., is an environmental consultant who spoke with B Channel News about some of the environmental concerns related to the proposed Victoria International Marina.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Gordon Granius

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:19:28 +0000

Gordon Granius is a physicist and teacher in wave motion theory, who spoke to B Channel News about the wave attenuator and other related issues.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Dean Fortin

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:19:00 +0000

Dean Fortin is the mayor of Victoria, BC. He spoke to B Channel News about the City of Victoria’s perspective on the Victoria International Marina project

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Maurine Karagianis

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:18:37 +0000

Maurine Karagianis is the Member of Legislative Assembly for Esquimalt/Royal Roads. She spoke to B Channel News of the provincial government’s role regarding the Victoria International Marina Project.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Paul Servos

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:18:06 +0000

Paul Servos is the CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. He spoke to B Channel News about reasons to support the Victoria International Marina project.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Bruce Carter

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:16:54 +0000

Bruce Carter is the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. He spoke to B Channel News about the benefits that the Victoria International Marina will bring to the region.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

Marina Proposal – Lachlan MacLean

Chris — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:16:31 +0000

Lachlan MacLean is the general manager of the Victoria International Marina.
He spoke to B Channel News about the proposed mega-yacht marina in Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

This page is part of B Channel News Special Feature on the proposed Victoria International Marina. To return to the main page for this series, click here.

bchannelnews.tv

Council Moves to Downsize Marina

A Look into the Victoria International Marina Proposal

Videos:

B Channel News Special Report

Related Media Links

Marina Proposal – Tim Houlihan

Marina Proposal – Brian Emmet

Marina Proposal – Gordon Granius

Marina Proposal – Dean Fortin

Marina Proposal – Maurine Karagianis

Marina Proposal – Paul Servos

Marina Proposal – Bruce Carter

Marina Proposal – Lachlan MacLean