Email and letter format recommendation

As soon as the Public Hearing date is set, we’ll update this page with instructions regarding where and how exactly to send your letters and emails.

Please send an email to r.clift@surrey.ac.uk and dlandersen@shaw.ca, stating your name and address (which may eventually be made public by the City in the documents for the Public Hearing), in which part of the city you live (e.g. James Bay) and the numbers of the objections you regard as most important.

If you do not use email, send or deliver a note to:

We will prepare an individual document in a form that can be sent by the signatory as an email or printed and sent as a paper letter. Whether you want to edit it before sending will be up to you.

Subject line

PUBLIC HEARING XXXX: I OPPOSE CHANGING THE ZONING OF THE PLOT IDENTIFIED AS 507 MONTREAL STREET: Folder Number: REZ00804

Body of message

Pick up to four reasons for your opposition from the bullets below.

1. I oppose the use of the site for a building with increased density, increased height and mixed-use.

2. The development that would result from rezoning is oversized for the lot. It is too high, too dense and includes commercial space when James Bay needs residential housing. The current zoning is right for our needs.

3. The rezoning is intended to enable a tower fourteen storeys high, including a wide three-storey podium. This would make it taller than any other building in the vicinity, and exceed the Victoria 2050 Official Community Plan.

4. James Bay is already dense and does not need more densification. Victoria has already met its provincial housing targets so why does Council need to approve this type of rezoning?

5. The density of this proposal would put additional strain on existing infrastructure and services.

6. If approved, this rezoning will set a precedent for high rises in other residential areas.

7. I oppose the creep of mixed-use high-rise towers into residential areas. They belong in the downtown core and this plot is NOT in the downtown core.

8. James Bay is a residential seaside community. It is not part of the downtown core currently. I completely reject this proposal to rezone James Bay to Urban Core which will permit height and density of downtown towers. Vote NO to rezoning to accommodate the Geric tower development.

9. The residential units in the proposed development are not what the city needs, whereas the current zoning for the site is appropriate.

10. We need family housing for the “missing middle,” not expensive high-end condominiums. The units will be inaccessible and unaffordable.

11. The site is not appropriate for a coffee shop. There are coffee shops and restaurants in the immediate vicinity and business owners do not need added competition in an already competitive market.

12. The proposed daycare will be available to all city residents, not a local amenity, and will result in increased traffic and noise for James Bay residents.

13. The proposed community amenity contribution of $1M to the City of Victoria Affordable Housing Reserve Fund will benefit the city, not the residents of James Bay who would be impacted.

14. Any development in James Bay needs to be balanced and protect affordable housing, preserve heritage, maintain green spaces and benefit the community. Benefitting the rest of the city should not be at the expense of James Bay.

15. Most councillors have eroded public trust in city council’s decisions by reneging on their pre-election promises, reducing the consultation on the Official Community Plan from two years to six months, and supporting developers over residents.

16. Follow Saanich’s lead and scale back development, particularly in residential areas like James Bay.

17. In all the steps precededing this rezoning proposal, most of the responses from the public response have has been overwhelmingly opposed to a building of this scale, just like the City’s planners. The council has played down the extent and depth of the public opposition. If the council continues to reignore the opposition to this significant rezoning, the last vestiges of public trust in the Council will disappear.

18. The meeting space the developer proposes is not needed; there are already many meeting spaces in this part of James Bay. The developer has not seriously consulted with residents’ groups about this.

19. City planning staff have already opposed this development and rezoning three times. How often should the city spend taxpayer funds on meetings, hearings, staff time, etc. when it is clearly not supported by the experts and many residents, all while the city is considering a substantial tax increase?

20. James Bay is rare and precious—one of the oldest residential districts on the West coast. This is why tourists come here. We need to be cautious in how this historical conservation area is developed.

21. The proposed tower would block sight lines to beautiful heritage buildings that tourists come to Victoria to admire, especially on Kingston Street; these character homes will be overshadowed by the proposed tower. This location is passed by thousands of cruise ship passengers, buses, taxis, horse drawn carriages, and kabuki cabs and all will see this modern monstrosity. This is no way to promote tourism in Victoria.

22. James Bay’s streets were developed for a residential neighbourhood, not mixed use. Commercial vehicles are too large to make tight turns on these narrow winding streets, causing delays, congestion and hazards.

23. The streets are already overloaded, even before completion of the Belleville Terminal and the approved development at 257 Belleville. James Bay residents continue to raise concerns about congestion and safety of traffic along these streets before, during and after this construction. Bike lanes, EV charging stations and a lit crosswalk do not address these major transportation and safety issues.

24. In May 2025, City council opposed a 12-storey hotel development in Old Town because there was too much that stands outside of the Official Community Plan: design guidelines, height, density and the likelihood of setting a precedent. Every one of these concerns applies equally to this site. Be consistent!