Thursday, February 28, 2019 ~ SOOKE.
~ West Shore Voice News
About 60 people came out during a two-hour drop-in on February 26 to review the latest design and zoning concepts for the use of the “Lot A” chunk of land in the centre of Sooke.
Long-time and newer residents came to review displays and discuss various aspects of the proposed development plans with District staff and the zoning consultants.
Sooke is evolving from at one time being entirely rural, to a semi-rural and bedroom-community town of now over 13,000 people. Sooke is beyond Langford by a 20-minute drive, and 35 to 40 minutes from downtown Victoria.
Maintaining the west coast style and idea of public access is present in proposed building design and land use. Concepts presented on February 26 were evolved from public input at a previous public input session held mid-day on Saturday December 8.
The Charrette workshop was completed on December 9th and there was great turn out. Approximately 44 residents of Sooke attended the public open house portion and the stakeholder workshops were also very well attended with representation from numerous Sooke businesses, community organizations and Council members.
Following the December public input, consultants Keycorp Planning and Stantec presented the resulting concept(s) to District of Sooke Council at a Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday, January 21. That was an opportunity for open discussion between Council, staff, consultants and the public.
Keycorp brings zoning expertise to the process, says organizer Niall Paltiel. He was on hand at the February 26 drop-in to answer the public’s questions, along with District of Sooke staffer Ivy Campbell, Head of Planning.
The next steps in the process will be for the consultants to apply any changes resulting from discussions at Committee of the Whole and go out to the public one more time for final feedback and updates — that was the February 26 event. This will be followed with a report to a regular meeting of Council with recommendations for the Master Plan for Lot A.
The new Sooke Library is being built on one sector of the property on Wadams Way. Many trees were cleared for that project, but other trees do remain. The property backs onto the Evergreen Shopping Centre. Walkway access between the mall and new developments on Lot A are part of what the public wants. A town square concept is one idea proving to be popular, as well as some sort of water feature.
Long-time residents and politically active residents at the February drop-in included former Mayor Janet Evans, former Councillor Ron Dumont, local activist Gail Hall, Christine Shipton and others.
Sustainability and self-reliance are strong community traits in Sooke. The broader Sooke region that shares similar lifestyle interests includes the District of Sooke, Otter Point, East Sooke, Shirley and Port Renfrew areas.
The District of Sooke has provided more information about Lot A a separate website: https://www.sookelota.com
~ Sooke Region section editor: Mary P Brooke
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