https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/ Research and commentary on Victoria's Official Community Plan, council decisions, property taxes, housing affordability, trees and heritage. en-CA Tue, 01 Sep 2026 21:03:58 GMT https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/setbacks-soil-and-survival-why-urban-forest-protection-in-victoria-starts-with-space/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/setbacks-soil-and-survival-why-urban-forest-protection-in-victoria-starts-with-space/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:16:35 GMT The article examines the relationship between building setbacks, available soil, and the long-term viability of Victoria's urban tree canopy. It explains how setbacks influence the amount of uncompacted, permeable soil available for tree roots, stormwater infiltration, and future tree growth. It also discusses how recent housing policy changes that allow larger building footprints can reduce plantable space on residential lots, making it more difficult to retain existing mature trees or... Environment, Trees & Heritage Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/what-if-we-never-built-another-new-building/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/what-if-we-never-built-another-new-building/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 05:54:48 GMT Instead of asking what should be built, Barbara Buser asks what can be saved By: Michaela Haas July 20, 2026 Reprinted with permission from the following website: Reasons to be Cheerful Swiss architect Barbara Buser has spent decades proving that the greenest building is often the one already standing. When one unscrews a section of the bright red sheet metal façade from K.118, a former carpentry factory in Winterthur, Switzerland, the interior reveals something few people expect to find... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Governance, Trust & Decision-Making Housing & Affordability Environment, Trees & Heritage https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/comment-victoria-stick-to-restraint-in-building-height-and-sympathetic-building-forms/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/comment-victoria-stick-to-restraint-in-building-height-and-sympathetic-building-forms/ Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:42:06 GMT A commentary by an architect and urban design planner who has worked for more than 30 years in downtown Victoria Throughout Greater Victoria, more - and more diverse - housing is becoming a collective regional agenda, but care for urban quality and contextual scale should be integral to that quest. Continue gathering a healthy concentration of downtown growth, but there is no need for emphasis on excessive vertical tall towers. Keep to moderation, and foster vital streetscapes. Future growth... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Public Safety & Social Stability Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/comprehensive-critique-of-council-actions-2023-2026/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/comprehensive-critique-of-council-actions-2023-2026/ Sat, 13 Jun 2026 04:27:55 GMT The biggest public backlashes against Victoria City Council (2023–2026 term) centred on a few recurring themes that generated the highest public anger, media coverage, and engagement across X (Twitter) and Facebook: Short-term rental (STR) restrictions (especially 2023–2024 provincial alignment and local implementation): Landlords, hosts, and tourism advocates saw it as economic harm and scapegoating. CHEK News coverage of delay motions drew thousands of views and dozens of replies. Parking... Governance, Trust & Decision-Making Transportation & Infrastructure Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Public Safety & Social Stability https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-greedyplex-era-how-developers-fake-affordability-and-shift-the-bill-to-buyers/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-greedyplex-era-how-developers-fake-affordability-and-shift-the-bill-to-buyers/ Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:00:49 GMT In Greater Victoria’s rush to embrace “missing middle” housing, multiplexes have been marketed as the Goldilocks solution: not too big, not too small, and just affordable enough, if at all, for the elusive middle‑income household. But when you examine the actual strata fees, operating budgets, and developer practices behind these new buildings, a very different picture emerges. What looks like affordability on paper is often a carefully engineered illusion, one that shifts long‑term financial... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Housing & Affordability Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/bill-44-the-oversight-free-makeover/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/bill-44-the-oversight-free-makeover/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:32:45 GMT Bill 44 must be repealed because it represents a sweeping, top‑down restructuring of land‑use authority pushed through without public consultation and municipal partnership. It is, put simply, a governance bypass: a bill that strips away public hearings, sidelines elected councils, and replaces community‑driven planning with a one‑size‑fits‑all mandate drafted behind closed doors. Back in 2023, when the most invasive Housing Bills were pushed through, several opposition MLAs raised serious... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Transportation & Infrastructure Housing & Affordability https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-housing-blitz/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-housing-blitz/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:28:13 GMT British Columbia’s sweeping housing reforms and land‑use overhaul were introduced and passed months before the Province publicly declared a “middle‑income housing crisis” in February 2024 with the launch of BC Builds. This is when the provincial government formally asserted that “middle‑income housing crisis” required direct state intervention. This means the most aggressive zoning, density, and municipal‑power‑limiting legislation in B.C.’s history was justified after the fact, using a... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Governance, Trust & Decision-Making Housing & Affordability https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-nimby-smokescreen-how-bill-44-protects-speculation-not-communities/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-nimby-smokescreen-how-bill-44-protects-speculation-not-communities/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:25:06 GMT Bill 44 delivers guaranteed density and instant land‑value inflation to developers and speculators, while handing residents the bill. It accelerates upzoning without requiring affordability, infrastructure investment, or accountability, fueling speculation instead of housing. Municipalities are left scrambling to fund the roads, sewers, parks, and emergency services this density demands, and Saanich’s tax spikes are the proof: public budgets absorb the costs while private actors capture the... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Housing & Affordability https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-lorax-speaks-for-the-trees-saanich-council-speaks-for-the-chainsaws/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/the-lorax-speaks-for-the-trees-saanich-council-speaks-for-the-chainsaws/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:23:14 GMT Between January 1 and December 18, 2025, Cadboro Bay has faced an unprecedented assault on its natural heritage. In less than a year, active permits now threaten 168 trees - ranging from protective Arbutus and Garry Oaks to majestic Pines, Cedars, Cypresses, Dogwoods, Willows, Robinias, and Cherry trees. Only four permits were denied, all tied to single-family dwellings, but the reprieve is negligible: at least 30 trees have already been cut down in favour of multiplex developers chasing... Environment, Trees & Heritage Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/why-setbacks-matter-protecting-the-green-heart-of-saanich/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/why-setbacks-matter-protecting-the-green-heart-of-saanich/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:21:28 GMT Setbacks in Saanich’s single‑family areas are often dismissed as technical zoning details, yet they are one of the most powerful tools shaping the municipality’s character, ecological health, and quality of life. Far from outdated, setbacks remain essential to preserving the green, spacious, and safe neighbourhoods that define Saanich. In a moment of rapid policy change and densification pressure, it is worth remembering why setbacks exist, and why they matter. Setbacks protect green space... Public Safety & Social Stability Environment, Trees & Heritage Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/loss-of-affordable-housing-in-canada/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/loss-of-affordable-housing-in-canada/ Sun, 22 Jun 2025 23:56:08 GMT Please see the following analysis on the loss of affordable housing across Canada: https://chec-ccrl.ca/filling-the-hole/ People instinctively know that things have become worse in the last number of years. Here is an analysis that shows this to be true. Councillor Dave Thompson stated in the Times Colonist on March 9, 2025 that "This is why it’s important that council has approved about 7,000 new homes since the beginning of our term. New housing reduces competition for more affordable... Housing & Affordability Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/trees-in-victoria/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/trees-in-victoria/ Wed, 09 Apr 2025 21:57:52 GMT The City of Victoria Urban Forest Master Plan (February 2013) recommends that a canopy cover goal of 40% would be appropriate for cities in the Pacific Northwest. Table 1 of that document, citing a 2013 LIDAR analyses, states Victoria’s City Wide Canopy Coverage was 26%. Victoria City Councillors approved a significant motion on April 3, 2025 to address the tree deficit we currently have in the city and included an important aspect of the Tree Masterplan that has been ignored since 2013 into... Environment, Trees & Heritage Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/wealth-migration-and-the-politics-of-housing-affordability/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/wealth-migration-and-the-politics-of-housing-affordability/ Sun, 30 Mar 2025 23:47:13 GMT In many gateway cities – cities tightly locked into global flows of capital and people – immigration has become the largest component of population growth, and thus a major determinant of housing markets. In Vancouver, the arrival of wealthy migrants, many holding golden visas, plus significant offshore property investment, has contributed to rapid house price inflation. In a recent paper, Lauster and von Bergmann (2023) characterise local resistance to these trends as ‘housing nationalism’,... Housing & Affordability Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/sign-the-petition-protect-victoria-s-future-with-sustainable-development/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/sign-the-petition-protect-victoria-s-future-with-sustainable-development/ Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:54:36 GMT The city of Victoria is embarking on a bold journey by revising its Official Community Plan (OCP). This includes an extensive upzoning initiative that intends to transform single-family lots into areas designated for four-story apartment buildings. The city anticipates a population surge, but many residents and stakeholders are concerned about the necessity and impact of such drastic rezoning. In this blog post, we’ll examine the details of this upzoning plan, its potential implications for... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Transportation & Infrastructure Governance, Trust & Decision-Making https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/understanding-the-impacts-of-proposed-zoning-changes-in-victoria/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/understanding-the-impacts-of-proposed-zoning-changes-in-victoria/ Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:54:36 GMT Impact of Upzoning on Trees and Green Areas Upzoning refers to the process of changing zoning regulations to allow for increased density or height of buildings in a specific area. While it is often promoted as a solution for housing shortages and urban development, upzoning can have significant negative impacts on the environment, particularly concerning the loss of trees and green spaces, which in turn reduces biodiversity. Loss of Trees and Green Areas 1. **Increased Development... Planning, Land Use & Neighbourhoods Environment, Trees & Heritage https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/opposing-victoria-bc-official-community-plan-take-action-now/ https://sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/blog/opposing-victoria-bc-official-community-plan-take-action-now/ Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:54:36 GMT Upzoning has emerged as a critical topic in urban planning and real estate discussions. It raises significant questions about housing availability and affordability. As cities grow, local governments may choose to upzone areas, increasing density. This can lead to taller buildings, multi-family units, and mixed-use developments. While the intention behind upzoning is often to stimulate growth and accommodate increasing populations, it can also have unexpected consequences for rental... Housing & Affordability