Development proposal for Elk Lake Dr.
A proposal has been submitted to the District of Saanich to develop a 242-unit, multi-family project on Elk Lake Dr., just across the Pat Bay highway from Adeline Pl. Additional details are available here.
FCA submission to District of Saanich
The District of Saanich asked the FCA if it wished to comment on the proposal. The Directors reached a consensus on sending the following letter to Saanich:
From: president@falaise.ca
Subject: Application for Development Folder No.: DPR00573; REZ00539
To: planning@saanich.ca
Cc: secretary <secretary@falaise.ca>
Dear Planning Department,
The Falaise Community Association has two major concerns about the development proposed at 4734-4754 Elk Lake Dr. based on experiences in our community. They are:
* The development
will reflect additional highway noise towards our community. Our residents
already find highway noise unacceptable. We request that the development be
approved only if it includes implementing all necessary measures to ensure that
it does not create any additional noise for our community.
* There will be inadequate parking. In our community,
inadequate parking at the funeral homes means we experience parking in
no-parking zones, restricted road width and pedestrians forced to walk in
roadways. The information provided to us does not indicate the number of
parking spaces that will be provided; it appears that there may be only eight
visitor parking spaces. Without adequate off-street parking, road safety
and access to Beaver Lake Park will be negatively affected and we cannot
support the development.
Additionally, we have some other concerns/improvements that we feel need to be addressed. These include:
* The buildings,
especially at the north end, are considerably taller than others nearby and
seem inappropriate for the area. Additionally, because of the height, they will
impact the views some of our current residents enjoy from their homes. We feel
a building height of no more than five stories would be more appropriate.
* In view of Saanich’s commitment to reduce risks associated
with climate change, we believe that it is important that the buildings be
build to very high “green” building standards (e.g., LEED Platinum and/or
Passive House and/or Net-Zero). The current design does not appear to
incorporate any way to collect solar radiation for hot water heating or
electricity generation. The large underground parking area seems that it might
be well suited to installation of a ground source heat pump. Have these things
been considered/can they be included?
* The design needs to ensure that sufficient electric
vehicle charging infrastructure be included so all vehicles can be charged
on-site; it is conceivable that every suite will have an electric vehicle
within 20 years.
* It appears that several large trees will need to be
removed. It is a shame to lose so many trees in an urban area when trees
provide so many services and are such an important way to help mitigate climate
change.
* We question the wisdom of building residential structures
so close to a major highway and asking residents to live with highway noise.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposal.
Bob Lucy
President
Falaise Community Association