Link to letter on the Times Colonist website
Scale back the plan for James Bay project
Our beautiful city is an Urban Forest. Twenty-nine per cent of Greater Victoria is covered by tree canopy and James Bay is particularly green.
This foliage is not just good for the soul. It is a protection against extreme weather.
In particular it reduces flood risk and moderates extremes of temperature, especially during heat waves, which we know are going to get more frequent.
Victoria was badly hit by the 2021 Heat Dome with 24 deaths.
The 14-storey tower planned for the car park at the corner of Montreal and Kingston streets will exacerbate the impact of extreme weather.
The absence of trees and the hard surfaces will contribute to flood risks and increase temperatures in summer.
These luxury condos would be out of reach for first-time buyers, inappropriate for families and are intended for wealthy investors
The latter are giving up on condos as development costs soar and economic uncertainty prevails. Let’s hope the developer, Mike Geric Construction, rethink its plans, as—to its great credit—it did with a proposed development on Arbutus Road, in Cadboro Bay.
The Montreal Street site is ideal for low- to mid-rise mixed housing with plenty of greenery, which would not require rezoning.
This could benefit the developers, residents, home buyers, tourism, climate change resilience and add to the charm of James Bay.
—Diana Clift, Victoria