While no one expects Victoria’s downtown area to resemble Singapore or Hong Kong any time soon, radical change is nevertheless in store. The capital region has added 60,000 new residents over the last two decades, and tens of thousands more are on their way.
Some of these newcomers will filter out to surrounding townships. Langford’s population is predicted to grow by a staggering 120 per cent over the next quarter-century. Sooke is also booming.
But those communities have something Victoria’s inner core does not — plenty of land. They can expand horizontally and keep population density in check.
City planners in Victoria have no such luxury. Additional living room can be added only by tearing down existing buildings and erecting high-rise apartments or condominiums.
And the demand they face is huge. About 100 hectares of new residential and commercial floor space will be required to meet the influx. But the total area of the downtown core is just 190 hectares. That need can only be met with vertical expansion.
There is, admittedly, an alternative. Zoning bylaws could be tightened to prohibit new skyscrapers in the city centre, or keep their numbers — and height — to a minimum.
But those additional residents are coming, whether we like it or not. If new space is not provided for them, they will bid up the price of existing accommodation. That means home ownership in the city centre would become unaffordable for all but the most affluent.
Victoria city council has already ruled out this option. Instead, council is moving toward a plan for the core that will fundamentally change the city’s character.
New zoning schemes are being adopted that will permit much taller buildings. In the past, the general height restriction was 43 metres, equivalent to about 14 storeys.
Some exceptions to that rule have already been made. But in future, the limit will be 72 metres, or 24 storeys.
The intent is to confine these new high-rises, so far as possible, to the central business district along Douglas and Blanshard streets. However, permits may be granted in other areas of the downtown core as circumstances dictate.
The most visible impact, of course, will be on the city’s skyline. But with higher buildings come higher numbers of occupants. The result will be a significant increase in population density.
That will put pressure on amenities such as parks and recreation areas. The downtown core already lacks sufficient green space. This will make things worse.
And it will affect us in other ways as well. Traffic congestion will intensify. So will air pollution and noise pollution.
Of course, there are also benefits. With new residents come new services — a wider choice of restaurants, trendier retail outlets, a more vibrant nightlife.
But to maintain our quality of life, city council has its work cut out. Ways must be found to preserve a sense of open space, even as the buildings loom above us.
The harbour area, and in particular its inner reaches, have tremendous potential if used imaginatively. Rooftop parks have been tried with great success in cities large and small.
However, experience elsewhere shows that urban planners are often overwhelmed by the pressure of a booming population. They become fixated on coping with the physical logistics, and neglect the esthetic side of things.
We’re beginning to see signs of that. Council has already approved 2,600 new residential units around the city, most in high-rise buildings. Many more are in the pipeline.
In contrast, schemes for new green space or additional recreational facilities have not kept up. The planning documents released so far acknowledge the challenge, but are thin on detail.
That our city will grow is clear. What it grows into is a question still to be answered.
