Sunday, August 27, 2017

Woodsmere Proposal

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tofino-nixes-27-acre-housing-project-despite-housing-crunch-1.4260394

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2016-2017/the-hunter-and-the-hunted

Anonymous said...

Oh my god I can't believe the idiots on council....

Woodsmere would have single handily provided Tofino with:

A tax base over a million dollars (think sewar, hospital, school, roads....)
There would be instantly no housing shortage, 40% increase in housing
The current school would probably have been expanded to K-12
Our water system would have received an upgrade
Local bus service could now be contemplated
Swimming pool, ice rink.... recreation services like most places in BC

Do I dare stop???? Honestly, this is one of the dumbest things I have seen from our elected council....



and I have added the below to the low functioning people who keep wanting Tofino to stay the way it was 25 years ago!


I have nothing to do with development or the developer. I do run a successful business, have a family and want this place to get better and more importantly leverage this sick tourism business, so we can diversify to a more natural place by adding (education, industry and health care)

Anonymous said...

I find it very disturbing that council turned this proposal down, without hearing from the public. I have a small business in town and cannot expand as I cannot find adequate housing for any new employees. One hire in June left after three weeks refusing to live in a filthy, overpriced room in a basement,

Anonymous said...

Dear 9:10pm....In North Korea they will punish or jail entire families for the action of one family member. I'm an animal lover but do not believe the actions of your daughter should have any reflection on you.

Anonymous said...

We have water use restrictions every summer. The Council could not approve the development plans without resolving the water issue. With a development of that size we would have to tap into a lake in order to service this proposed newly developed area - it takes a lot of money to run water mains from Kennedy Lake or any other large fresh water reservoir all the way to Tofino. Do you want to have the 2000 year residents pay for it with their taxes? Can you find us a fairy godmother to keep out water storage tanks filled to the brim? How about you people running for Council and solve the water problems and the sewer discharge too while you're at it.

Anonymous said...

A story about Poole's land and their solution to the housing crisis. How does this go unnoticed and unchecked by bylaw.
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/599ja5/inside-the-oceanside-commune-where-young-people-live-in-anarchy

Anonymous said...

4:50

I think you are either not aware how communities grow. It takes a tax base.... furthermore, every small city has had this problem. What I am saying is this is nothing new...

There is funding for large scale infrastructure projects. 1/3 local, 1/3 provincial and 1/3 feds. If we can't afford to clean up our shit before dumping it into the ocean then we should shut it down and put in septic systems or composting toilets. Same thing goes for water. We should all be encouraged (versus what currently goes on) to store water.

Anonymous said...

This is such BS. The Mayor is reported as saying she hopes that Woodsmere returns with a proposal that complies with the OCP. One has to ask for what purpose? The Ocp requires a complete plan, a neighbourhood plan for the whole property. Let"s see 27 Acres and it requires at least 8-10 units per acre because tofino wants high density and smart growth in the villsge core. You do the math.... apparently we don't have enough water for any proposal that would comply with the Ocp and the Mayor is blowing smoke..Typical posturing and BS from "Your Worship"...It's all about the appearances.

Anonymous said...

The Woodsmere's proposal was a phased development that was market driven and based on water availability. Phase 1 consisted of 116 PURPOSE BUILT RENTAL UNITS made up of Bachelor units, 1 bedroom units, 2 bedroom units and 3 bedroom units. All engineering studies were completed and water modelling confirmed that there was sufficient water for phase 1 - 116 Purpose Built Rental Units - Phase 2a consisting of- 48 Unit Motel and part of Phase 2b(estimated) 62 Unit Rental Apartment/Condo Building, 3-12-Plex Townhouses (36 units) and 26 Row Townhome Units. Phase 3(estimated) consisting of 158 residential units including 62 Unit Rental/Condo Building, 34 Duplex Units, 46 Row Townhouse Units and 16 Single Family Lots. The bottom line is that Tofino could have had 116 Purpose Built Apartment Units being constructed now if the Town of Tofino staff and Council would have supported Woodsmere's development proposal. All future phases would have being built based on market demand and water availability!!!

Anonymous said...

looks like being committed to provide water for 448 units.....were not all stupid here...

Anonymous said...

You can fool people sometimes, but you can't fool people all the times.

Anonymous said...

What part of "based...on water availability" don't you understand. You say your not stupid, but I am trying to find another reason for your remarks.

Anonymous said...

theres about a dozen practical reasons this is a bad idea besides water availability. one of them is rationalizing greed by putting the lack of rental housing out there as the publics perception as to what this project MIGHT do.

Anonymous said...

To 7:20 The public perception is there is lack of rental housing. This is true. Dot has a history of reports and failed attempts to address this problem...The proposal consists of 90% housing in a variety of forms...rental being the main component. If the suggestion is the proponents are tailoring their proposal to the communities needs. I say good.

Anonymous said...

Let's have the "water modelling" analysis released to the public. I would like to know.....

Anonymous said...

7:20, zoning would dictate what the WOULD have to do. Greed, ha, maybe you should do it for the love...

1:12pm, excellent idea. Funny, didn't see that in the report.

As a homeowner I am stoked Tofino council turned it down. I will continue to kill it with my Vac Rental and rent out a single room in my house for $800 a month. Best part, I am taxed at the residential rate for all my services and taxes. Another bonus, I didn't have to work through some onerous and whimsical zoning process. Now that is my kinda system.

Yes, my once 2 occupant home used to consume water at a normal rate but now that has turned into a 6 person hotel plus a caretakers cottage with 4 more occupants. I wonder what kind of density that works out to...oh about 10 persons per acre. All the bedding changes over every 3 to 7 days (right in the middle of restrictions). Not sure how many loads or water consumed but the machine runs from 10am till 4pm. About 5-7 loads I guess. Then there is the sewer....but fortunately I am not a greedy developer so none of it is my concern.

I love this council. They are helping me pay off a considerable mortgage at an incredible rate. I will be able to outbid any "newbie" for the next "home" I am planning to buy as I will have a ton of equity in this one. Don't change anything Tofino council. I love you all and the amazing life you have helped me create.

Anonymous said...

And if they build cheap rentals all the vR people can move into them and make even more money renting out their houses.

Anonymous said...

6;32 The saying goes "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

I suspect you fall into the second category

Anonymous said...

Yes! Let's have the water modeling released to the public,NOW... Tofino's deep state can't be trusted. They will destroy this information, to hide the truth, faster than Hillary Clinton destroys emails, and smashes cell phones.

Anonymous said...

On point 2:33. Now we have bylaw bozo's running around town picking the low hanging fruit instead of illegal Air BnB's. Ps there was no water shortage this year just level two restrictions just in case. Our water flow rates were fine. I guess we aren't Capable of regulating personal consumption, we need a smart overpaid consultant to help. DOT has far too many first jobbers drinking the Koolaid of a confused older council governed by weak leadership.

Anonymous said...

don't forget 2005 when the great water crisis shut the town on the long weekend like now. 2 more days.....no time to relax about water yet.

Anonymous said...

The water crisis that shut down the town was only because of gross mismanagement of the District and the then mayor John Fraser, what a bloody disaster. Journalists from the major networks descended on the town, not so much because of the crisis, but because they could not believe that with an annual rainfall of over 12 feet , we could run out of water! John looked like a deer in the headlights as he tried to respond to the television reporters. What a black for Tofino and loss to the business community.

Anonymous said...

The DOT, council and staff seem to have given up on the normal concerns of governing a small town. For years they have done little to address things like the cost effective delivery of services, infrastructure, water, housing, bylaw enforcement, traffic, zoning and development, controlling costs. All apparently too difficult and unsavoury.
Instead we have prevarications and delusion. We have "reconciliation" parks, poets in residence, art in the streets. Self important Councillors head off to conferences on "inclusion" and wax eloquently on "global warming" and "education centers".... This makes the appearance of conviction, decision and progress... and being aligned with the high moral correctness of current issues, will earn the support of many voters who remain transfixed. But really who are they trying to fool....the voters or themselves. Where does the town go next. Nothing is getting solved.
Perhaps a coliseum for bread and circus'. That might distract a while longer. Meanwhile their voices, when they whisper together, are tired, and hollow, and meaningless.

Anonymous said...

but we do have streets, altho functioning with a fair degree of stupid, that look spiffy. local art? not unless you're buddies with someone. whoops.. forgot the garbage bins..and those catchy directional signs...it makes us look..well..modern...if you're from out of town. was part of this tax money and council time?

Anonymous said...

said this before when the process produces no results its called red-tape

Anonymous said...

To 9:29 Your desire to blame John Fraser for the water "crisis" a few years ago is more than a little over the top. I didn,t like some of his style either, but examine history more fairly. Every council has struggled with the water issue. Gross mismanagement by the District?.. maybe...Mayor Fraser?...not so much. Would Mayor Josie be to blame if the works crew forgot to put oil in the crankcase of the backhoe and it subsequently blew up....The fact is there was inadequate monitoring of the water systems flow. Put in place inspections and procedures were not being carried out to the extent necessary, and it was suddenly announced to the politians that the water system , for various reasons, could not keep the reservoir tank in Barr's mountain full. It was draining. Fraser was suddenly informed that Tofino was running out of water, the whole town was without fire protection and had legal liability if it continued to operate. Think quick, what would you do...You have less than 48 hours... The business people were so hot they were just about on fire themselves.
At a public meeting, in front of the press and the cameras, one prominent business person challenged the meeting... "were there no practical people who had any solutions" Keith Gibson and George Hubert responded...
The short term solution, trucking water in and then using the fire truck to pump it into the highest hydrant in town, where the system pressure was lowest, the one at the top of industrial way. The system was devised, and put in place in a matter of hours ....and it worked. Combining the joint efforts of citizens and District staff to do something that defied the opinions and hesitations of the Engineers.

One thing is for sure, it was under Fraser's watch that more permanent solutions were put into place, that continue to this day to provide Tofino the buffer that was needed to bridge the dry season. And Fraser had no small part in bringing those solutions about. The main effort was negotiating with Clayoquot, the Feds and the Province to construct, in short order, a reservoir on Meares, on what was then known as Ginnard Creek. That project was conceived with local input, and construction began less than 2 months after the so called crisis. Within a few months, after only half completion (shut down due to the onset of the rainy season, prohibiting further work) the reservoir has worked successfully to this day..... Subsequent councils have done squat... Why they never went back in the following years to finish the job is beyond comprehension. With a little work on the dam and expanding the reservoir to it's full planned size, it could easily hold four times the current capacity.

As we can see today, tourism has "fourpled." The improvements to the water system initiated by Mayor Fraser and the Council of the day has served the business community very well indeed. Perhaps current council should show a little courage themselves.

What you refer to as a "black mark" in Tofino's history was perhaps one of the Community of Tofino's finest hours.

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha ! Fraser was running around like a chicken with its head chopped off. There was water running over the dam same day. Fake news !!

Anonymous said...

the shutting down of the town by the mayor and administrator was done without consultation with anyone. it was a panic over reaction.
the problem was solved in a matter of hours once sane people looked at it...there was water running over the dam. since there were no restrictions at all(asleep at the wheel) no one thought to conserve.
the reservoir was all that could be done(since the kennedy lake option was turned down by referendum)which has since proven to be iffy(algae bloom2 years ago-shut it off in peak season)........

Anonymous said...

Ya! It was running over the dam till people got up and flushed the toilet. When the pumps kicked in, it wasn't. By late afternoon the tank was dropping....Fake news my ass... People like you were crying for their mommas. Praying for water. Somebody please save us. You are revisionist history.

Anonymous said...

would like to know all the places in Tofino that had wells drilled a year or so ago. What was it 5 resorts and smaller boutique hotel or more than that. If they've switched to well water for their laundry and gardening use that could explain the 'non shortage' of water in the town this year.

Now given that the town subsidized the water usage of resorts in the past with faulty meter readings, are we going to be subsidizing them again with free sewage treatment?

If we had the names, then Ralph could ask what their current water consumption volumes are and do a comparison to 'pre drilled well days'.

Names please of places known to have wells.

Hannity said...

Deep State sources all confirmed the Mayor panicked . Coverup followed.

Anonymous said...

Documents just released through a New York Times freedom of information inquiry and secretly leaked to a Westerly reporter, are said to implicate former Tofino Administrator Peter Leifson in a massive cover-up. Leifson kept detailed notes of all meetings and his records from around the time of the so-called water crisis clearly indicate there never was any water to begin with. As far as he was concerned the whole idea of water is a Russian hoax, designed to demoralize the Tofino public. The information was kept from the public to provide cover for the Left Wing Water Conservation Restrictions we see in effect today, that strangle all development. A series of Tofino councils have colluded to restrict water use when said restrictions are pointless....There is no water...The Russians made you believe you were bathing and washing and drinking when in fact it was impossible.

Tofino News commenters are reasonably asking for an Special Prosecutor and an immediate inquiry. They want current restrictions lifted in light of the new realty.

Anonymous said...

Hannity dropped the ball on that one.

Ralph Tieleman said...

But Braden Smith's deleted emails.......

Anonymous said...

The Clinton News Network is saying leaked information from unknown and anonymous but trusted sources indicate Smith was a spy for the North Korean gov't. Sources also confirm Smith was recruited through extortion after his parents were imprisoned for selling bibles door to door in P'yongYang. Originally Smith was said to have disowned his own parents in an attempt to save his own skin, but a visiting basketballer from America, wearing a white wedding dress, convinced him serving the Korean state was the right thing to do. Smith was all ears and was thought to have turned commie, but it was discovered through leaked CIA documents that the Korean gov'ts offer of an expense acct was what that really sealed the deal.