In early November, Oak Bay United Church invited 95 of their nearest neighbours to to discuss their proposed affordable housing development and to hear neighboursB次元官网网址� ideas, feedback, and concerns about the project.

B次元官网网址淭hat was a fantastic process. We were really glad to have that engagement and consultation,B次元官网网址� said Rev. Michelle Slater.

The feedback was taken back to the architects of the project and who then worked to create a number of scenarios that balanced the feedback from the neighbours with the churchB次元官网网址檚 need to break even in regards to costs and revenue.

Last week, those scenarios were shown to the immediate neighbours in two mid-week meetings. In all of the scenarios presented, the duplex that houses the church office and thrift shop, Gardner Hall, and Threshold House will all be demolished to make way for the development. Slater said the scenarios presented to the neighbours ranged from 80 to 150 units in a four- to five-story building.

B次元官网网址淣one of them were real designs,B次元官网网址� said Slater, B次元官网网址渢hey were being used as more of a tool to provide context. They showed a range of units, different floors, and different parking options.B次元官网网址�

Slater said this was to get a second round of feedback from the neighbours before creating actual design concepts.

B次元官网网址淲e had a number of really innovative ideas (from the neighbours) that the architects are excited to try to work into the new designs coming in January,B次元官网网址� said Slater.

Some neighbours feel that their concerns about the size of the development, as well as other issues like traffic and parking, have not been addressed in the consulting and planning process of the project so far. Residents are sharing their concerns through a variety of avenues: many have been placed in Oak Bay B次元官网网址, residents including former-mayor Diana Butler have , and a group has been formed called who created a website to compile information and voice their concerns about the project.

B次元官网网址淭he mass and the size of the building is just out of proportion to everything else in the neighbourhood,B次元官网网址� said Curtis Hobson, immediate neighbor and spokesman for the .

Speaking to the scenarios presented last week Hobson says, B次元官网网址淭he lowest was 39 feet high, the other three were 48 feet high, which is significantly larger than any other structure in the neighbourhood, except for the church. Churches are iconic structures and should be large because they serve as a calling point. The apartment block is an apartment block.B次元官网网址�

Sometime in January there will be an open house where not just immediate neighbours but the whole Oak Bay community will be invited to test the next iteration of the design.