Mr. Erik Lund
Juan de Fuca Area Planning Services
#2 - 6868 West Coast Road
Sooke, V0S 1N0
November 27, 2007
Dear Mr. Lund,
My name is David Heft and I own Section 126 consisting of 37.3 acres on Mt. Matheson Road in East Sooke. I am writing to express my objection to the proposed Bylaw 3474.
In the summer of 1991, I met with Mr. Corey Baker of the CRD Planning Department and was told that the acreage was subdividable . At this meeting Mr. Baker sketched a hammerhead coming off of Mt. Matheson Road with the subdivision parcels incorporated in the drawing. Based on the existing zoning regulations, I felt safe in investing a substantial portion of my capital in the purchase of this land. I am 60 years old and have been disabled since 1985. I do not have a pension, nor do I have RRSPs. My land has been my family’s retirement plan for 17 years.
Over the years, I have paid my property taxes and have worked on the land in the context of its existing zoning bylaws and feedback from CRD planners. I have spent substantial funds in roughing in driveways and creating level building lots. The land is not suited for agriculture, it has already been selectively cleared of trees to establish beautiful water views, and as such is not a danger to sensitive ecosystems. It has no watercourses, wetlands or Riparian areas, and it has many level plateaus suited for construction without building on steep slopes. It is bordered by the Seedtree development. The existing regulations would permit me to have 12 houses ie. a 3 acre density per home which can easily preserve the rural ambience.
The frustration which I feel today reminds me of 1999 when I went through this process on the same issue with your predecessor Ms. Diane Bernard who rammed through a new CRD zoning bylaw that restricted developers from splitting up acreages for housing without going through subdivision approval. The Bylaw did not have the support of the local community and was later overturned. At the time, Rick Kasper, MLA for Malahat-Juan de Fuca, said “the whole thing has been a nightmare. I attended the public hearing and I think I’m giving the benefit of the doubt when I say 90 percent of those who spoke, spoke against the bylaw and a very small, small minority of people spoke in favour of the bylaw”. Ironically, Ms. Bernard said that she was confident the bylaw would stand because it was guided by input from the Sooke Landowners Association. History now shows us a different picture; the Association states that their recommendations were ignored by the CRD staff and the director. Why do I get the same feeling of being ignored once again?
Downzoning of property and the potential financial loss due to the adopted OCP are two of the reasons that Grant Wright, Linda Main, Colin Corby and George Miller filed a petition to the court against the CRD and the District of Central Saanich. There is no reason to believe that downzoning today will meet with any less opposition.
Bylaw 3474 is again attempting to take away my zoning rights. This time however, the bylaw is not content with just taking away my right to the 4 homes on 10 acres, it removes my right altogether to subdivide my property into three parcels. This is a case of extreme downzoning without compensation. I personally stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars and will not do so without a fight using whatever legal and community resources are available.
Mr. Lund, you have said “The public process is ongoing, it is a process, not something some dictator is doing.” I wish to remind you that public groups have picketed in front of your West Coast Road office to protest zoning proposals regarding the issue of the 30 meter setback, arguing that the CRD did not listen to their statements during the 2005 public open houses.
Regarding your Open Houses, I have yet to be invited to one. Why is it that when it comes to my property tax notice, I am easily contacted but when it comes to surveys or public input I am never contacted? It makes me wonder just who is contacted for your opinion polls. I get most of my information from the East Sooke landowners who are saying that you are ignoring the majority of us who want to see the OCP stay as it is.
I can accept the fact that Western Forest Products’ removal of 28,283 hectares of private land from tree farm licences would cause some concern for the CRD. The controversial 1,800 hectares of land around Shirley and Jordan River purchased by a Vancouver developer would understandably and appropriately stimulate some need to set limits on development.
To put things in perspective, East Sooke is the largest CRD Park encompassing 1,422 hectares of natural and protected coastal landscape. The Shirley and Jordan River land acquisition is roughly the size of East Sooke Park. I am not Western Forest Products, nor am I a developer with gargantuan plans. It is unreasonable to boil me in the same kettle as the big fish. I am a little guy with 37.7 acres who purchased the land 16 years ago because it was sub dividable into three 10 acre plus lots with the right to have 4 houses on each of 10 acres. To take my rights away is unfair and will have serious economic consequences for my family.
My opinion is that an effective and logical approach for the Rural A designated areas in East Sooke would be to simply say that the minimum lot size for any subdivision in this area will be 2.5 acres. The developer would have to follow basic standards for developing each lot with the goal of maintaining a rural environment. This would be a win win solution as guidelines would control responsible development without removing density rights which a landowner has been depending on for a very long time. The 2.5 acre density is certainly within the limits of preserving a rural East Sooke in locations which have already been designated as settlement areas.
I respectfully state my objection to the proposed Bylaw 3474 and suggest that you leave the old OCP for East Sooke as it is or replace it with it with something which will not punish the landowners.
A hardcopy of this email will be delivered by registered mail.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. David R. Heft
cc: Jack Mar, John Ranns, Kristian Nichols, Denise Blackwell