The following items came before District of Sooke council at their regular meeting on October 28, 2013.
Delegations:
Two members of the Sooke Animal Food and Rescue Society came before council to request a “piece of land.” The society, founded by current president Margarita Domiquez, rescues feral and abandoned cats. The society got free use of a barn on Grant Road and now are being asked to leave by the owners of the land.
Dominquez said the district is “trying to sell several parks” and all they require is a small piece of land.
Mayor Wendal Milne stated council meets yearly to assess and prioritize requests from the community and they would put the society’s request in with the others.
“There is only so much land, so much money,” said Milne.
Public Inputs and Information Meetings:
An application for Exclusion for the Agricultural Land Reserve, 2039 Sooke River Road came before council.
Neighbours came before council and outlined their concerns about the proposed use of the land, if it were excluded from the ALR. The intended use of the property would involve a waste/garbage/recycling transfer station and a gravel, soil and compost soil mart. The 2.6 hectare property is surrounded by a mobile home park, industrial park, a hydro substation, Girl Guide Camp and Edward Milne community school.
Most of the neighbouring property owners stated they had no problem with the property owners (Winter Allison Holdings) a.k.a. Sooke Disposal and Recycling Ltd., but felt the proposed enterprise was not suitable to the area citing safety and odour issues as well as compatibility.
Council unanimously agreed to not consider removing the land from the ALR or endorsing the application to the Agricultural Land Commission.
Bylaws:
Council adopted Bylaw 565, Fees Amendment Bylaw which will see $50 fees established for fingerprinting administrative costs.
Reports:
The “dumbest intersection” in Sooke may soon be a thing of the past if Sooke council has their way. The intersection at Townsend Road and Sooke Road has drawn numerous complaints because of the inability to access businesses on Townsend Road. It is a right in and right out roadway with a pedestrian crossing at Sooke Road. There are issues of visibility and safety at the intersection. Sooke Road is under provincial jurisdiction and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would have to authorize any changes.
“If it is a DOT road, they should come and fix the road,” said Councillor Kevin Pearson. “It is causing problems that are not going to go away.”
Coun. Herb Haldane said, “in this case we did wrong” in changing the intersection.
The intersection was modified in 2011 after a rezoning in 2006 to allow for a bank along Sooke Road.
Council referred the issue back to staff to look at the potential to clean up the pedestrian issue and create a left hand turn and to discuss the intersection with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.
Some recommendations could include introducing additional signage and or physical changes at the intersection and at the bank to prevent the illegal movements that continue to occur; better define the lane edge and sidewalk, north of the highway from the bank to Townsend; consider preventing the left turns from the mall to go westbound; and continue to work towards completing the supporting road network.
CRD Bylaws 2950 and 2951 (Silver Spray) were rescinded when the Official Community Plan (2002) and Sooke Zoning Bylaw (2006) were adopted.
