Please note: Kindly disregard our previous “game plan” to prepare for the Public Hearing by drafting letters and creating videos. Those are not needed any longer, unfortunately. For many reasons (outlined in Dr. McInnis’ article The Vanquishing of the Public Hearing) a Public Hearing will no longer be held. Kindly review the updated “state of play”, below.
The recent history
Victoria City Council approved the revised Official Community Plan (OCP—the master document supposedly guiding development throughout the city) on 2nd October. At the time, nobody (possibly not even some of the Councillors) noticed that the revisions to the previous OCP moved the Southern boundary of the “Downtown core” by one block, from Quebec to Kingston. At a silent stroke, the whole slice of land within a perimeter defined by Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Menzies Streets would be moved from James Bay to Downtown. It would become available for mid- to high-rise development, with a mix of residential and commercial buildings.
We only became aware of this a few days before a meeting, on October 16th, at which the Council voted on the proposal by Geric Construction for development of the Montreal/Quebec/Kingston parking lot. The notes from the City staff to the Council recommended that the proposal be approved because it was not too far outside the scale and density permitted by zoning for the Downtown core. They also stated that the Public Hearing that we had been gearing up for is now prohibited.
We were able to draw attention to this rushed autocratic process by various means, including an op-ed and several letters in the Times Colonist. The Council appeared to take note of the opposition: they voted by 5–3 majority to refer the Geric proposal back to the City staff for more detailed consideration. This is where matters now sit.
What will happen now
The Geric proposal will come back to the Council for consideration after the staff have completed the detailed consideration. There will be no Public Hearing and no opportunity for direct public input at the council meeting when that vote is taken. However, as part of the “detailed consideration”, the City staff are required to advise everyone living within a certain distance of the site that the vote is to be taken, and invite them to comment in writing. These notices must be sent to us by mail, so they will not be sent until the strike is definitely over. It is likely to come to the Council for vote in about April 2026. But even that is uncertain.
What we can do
We are considering next steps. One will involve sending in as many letters as possible once we receive the notice from the Planning Department; i.e., not now. It is not quite time to send in any letters to Council. However, we do need to keep the matter in the public eye so we do need to maintain a string of letters in the Times Colonist and notices in any other media we can get to publicise the matter. We are also exploring our options as regards more formal objections. Please sign up to the newsletter below to keep apprised of developments.
Thank you for your continued support. We must continue fighting the good fight!
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Click here to expand the previous, now obsolete update
Thank you for your interest in joining a group of Victoria residents who strongly oppose change of current zoning at Montreal, Kingston, and Quebec Street which would set the precedent for tall towers to be built in this area.
To those who joined the protest walk on February 8, your support is greatly valued! A link to the coverage by CHEK news can be found in the media section.
How you can help
- 1. Attend the Public Hearing at Victoria City Council (date TBD, not before October 16)
- 2. Write a letter to the media
- 3. Sign up for updates via newsletter
1. Attend the Public Hearing at Victoria City Council (date TBD, not before October 16)
Unless otherwise noted, Public Hearings are held during regularly scheduled Council meetings. Meetings take place on Thursday evenings, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in Council Chambers at Victoria City Hall, 1 Centennial Square. Residents living within 100 m of the site will be notified about two weeks in advance of the Public Hearing.
Notice that the hearing won’t allow visual aids in the audience, applause, or anything that might make anybody feel intimidated to present their message on either side.
As soon as the date for the hearing is set, we’ll update this page with specific instructions about participating, and send a newsletter update. We have guidelines for submissions to the hearing ready.
Recordings of Committee of the Whole meetings where the Quebec/Montreal/Kingston Street rezoning application was discussed:
2. Write a letter to the media
See the published letters.
- Letters to the editor should be succinct (maximum 250 words), use short paragraphs (typically one or two sentences) and display your name and municipality at the end.
- Letters can be submitted either by email (letters@timescolonist.com), or by Canada Post (Letters to the editor, Times Colonist, 201-655 Tyee Rd., Victoria, B.C. V9A 6X5)
- Provide your contact information (address, phone, and email) with your submission.
- Copy letter to CBC’s “On the Island” (victoria@cbc.ca) and/or to CFAX (cfax.news@bellmedia.ca)
3. Sign up for updates via newsletter
We’ll let you know when we have updates such as the date of the City Council hearing, or the official guidelines for video submissions to the hearing. We won’t sell your personal information, and will observe data privacy requirements. You can unsubscribe at any time.