Latest news with #OakBay
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
RCM-SAR Oak Bay looking for new volunteers to keep boaters safe
From left to right: Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers Martin Hoffman, James Dranchuk and Justin Stephenson. When there is an emergency at sea, the difference between life and death could be just a matter of minutes. Justin Stephenson is a training officer with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR), Oak Bay and says conditions can change in a hurry and catch some off guard. 'When things go south on the water, they can go south very fast,' said Stephenson. A situation like that often calls for a hero – and that's where the brave men and women of the RCM-SAR come into play. 'In the last year we helped over 370 people,' said Stephenson. Oak Bay Marine SAR has 40 regular crew members. There are 30 Marine SAR stations along the B.C. coast, plus another located on Shuswap Lake. Those stations are manned by more than 900 professionally trained volunteers. 'I'm one step up from a newbie,' said James Dranchuk, who joined Oak Bay's team two-and-a-half years ago. It's not your average volunteer position. It involves constant training and a lot of certifications. 'We're on call by 24-7, 365,' said Stephenson. That can consume a lot of one's time. Last year those 900 volunteers up and down the coast of B.C. clocked nearly 20,000 hours of their own time honing their skills. 'I've been wanting to do this for years,' said Dranchuk. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers He has been racing sailboats out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for the past 35 years. He was looking to give back and had the skills necessary to join Oak Bay's SAR team. For Martin Hoffman, another member who joined in 2018, giving back means saying thank-you to an organization that once saved his life following a kite surfing mishap 'I couldn't get back in and I was heading out through Baynes Channel, heading out into Harow Straight,' said Hoffman. From man overboard calls to missing kayakers and windsurfers, the RCM-SAR team in Oak Bay says they have seen it all – including one incident in November when a man fell off his sailboat late at night. He managed to hang on to the vessel in the frigid waters. 'The fella that was clinging onto the back of his sailboat, we saved his life,' said Dranchuk. The organization says it is always looking for new recruits as well as donor funds. 'That is basically what we exist on, if we didn't have that we wouldn't be able to do the work that we do, helping to save lives on the water,' said Stephenson.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
B.C. releases recommendations to accelerate new housing in Oak Bay and West Vancouver
B.C.'s Housing Ministry has released two reports with recommendations to build more homes in two affluent suburbs of Greater Vancouver and Victoria. In 2023, the province ordered 60,000 new homes to be built in 10 municipalities over the next five years. Of that group, the Housing Ministry says only two — Oak Bay and West Vancouver — lag far behind their targets. "Every community and every local government has a role to play as we work together to solve the housing crisis, and make sure that our children and grandchildren can build a good life in B.C. in homes they can afford," Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a written statement. The ministry says West Vancouver delivered 58 of its 220 new units in the first year of its housing targets, and Oak Bay delivered 16 of 56. Earlier this year, Kahlon appointed advisers to review the two districts' lack of progress. The ministry says they conducted a two-month review that assessed processes like development approval, land-use planning, and housing policies and practices. Among several points, the reports note the political climate in both municipalities and the likely reasons why housing targets have not been met. "West Vancouver has had a well-deserved reputation as an affluent enclave resistant to change," reads one report. "We heard repeatedly from people that they had paid a premium to live in Oak Bay so they would not have to experience growth or change," reads the other. In both reports, the advisers also note high land prices and reduced interest from the development community as other factors inhibiting growth. But the reports also note that many in the communities, including residents, staff and elected officials, are onboard with creating more housing and have been working to do so. 'This is not about punishing communities' For Oak Bay, the recommendations include delegating minor variances in development permits to staff in order to prevent the politicization of projects when they make their way to council. The recommendations also include amending parking requirements to a minimum of one stall per unit, which the report says is in line with other municipalities. For West Vancouver, recommendations include amending the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaws to increase density in the Park Royal-Taylor Way area, as well as Ambleside and Dunderave Village. The ministry says it will give councils 30 days to comment on the directives, after which they will be issued under the province's Housing Supply Act. "Let me be clear: This is not about punishing communities or removing authority from locally elected municipal councils," Kahlon said in a written statement. "The goal of local housing targets is centred around working with municipalities to remove unnecessary barriers to affordability and get more homes built for people faster, and ensuring we are building healthy and economically vibrant neighbourhoods for people." Recognizing challenges West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager told CBC News the report for his community is well-written and the advisers "did a very good job." "I think they did a very good job," he said. "They recognize the challenges to the market that exist, and they also recognize the successes we've had." Sager said modifying the Official Community Plan to increase density is already in progress. He said in some cases, there has been strong community support for densification along Ambleside. As for the report's recommendation that the Park Royal area become a transit hub, Sager noted that it requires a commitment from the province and long-term transit planning to address growth along all of the North Shore. Oak Bay Mayor echoed Sager's comments, saying the recommendations didn't come as a surprise. "It kind of validates what we've been saying for the last year or so," Murdoch said. "I think they did a very thorough look at all of the aspects and really at the end of the day reiterated what we said to the province on several occasions, most recently in January."
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oak Bay tenant calls for provincial, municipal tenant support following 'renoviction'
Neil McKinlay and his family were forced to leave their home of 28 years in Oak Bay, B.C., last month, after the building's renters lost a two-year battle with their landlord and were evicted for renovations. Now paying significantly more at his new rental, McKinlay is calling on the province and District of Oak Bay to enhance tenant assistance and crack down on landlords who evict tenants to renovate — known as renoviction — and then, potentially, rent out units at a higher price. The fate of McKinlay's building was decided last fall, when the the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) sided with his landlord, Andrew Rebeyka, in a decision viewed by the CBC, ordering all tenants out of the building by the end of March. "It was a heartache because this had become our home," said McKinlay, who had fought the RTB proceedings in his free time. "It's also, to be honest, a little bit embarrassing to say, here I am … I've been evicted." In the neighbouring municipalities of Victoria andEsquimalt, renovicted tenants are entitled to assistance such as compensation based on their length of tenancy, moving expenses, help relocating and, when renovations are complete, the right of first refusal to return to their unit for 20 per cent below market rate. Those policies do not exist in Oak Bay. McKinlay and another former tenant of the 14-unit building at 2161 Haultain St., say they were each given one month's rent when they were evicted — which they say made up just a fraction of their moving expenses and the higher rent prices they now pay. For McKinlay's two-bedroom apartment, his family had paid about $1,400 monthly. Now, he says, they pay about $1,000 more a month. Joanne Thorwaldson, who lived in the building for five years, now lives across the street. Her rent, she says, has doubled. "The process was really expensive and stressful," she said. "The toll, I think, is going to be yet to be told, because of course my rate of pay didn't double. My need for food doesn't change." A "large majority of suites" in the building were rented below the market rate prior to the evictions, according to the Capital Regional District's Regional Housing Acquisition Strategy, dated January 2024, which listed the building among several for sale or recently sold properties that could be acquired as affordable housing. In 2021, B.C. introduced changes to "eliminate most renovictions" by requiring landlords to prove to the RTB that necessary upgrades or repairs are only possible if the tenancy is ended, prior to issuing any evictions. The province also launched an online portal in 2024, to make clear to landlords what the conditions are for ending a tenancy and the risks associated with evicting tenants in bad faith. RTB documents show that in Rebeyka's application to the tenancy branch, he argued the 65-year-old Oak Bay building had aging components that needed to be replaced. He cited inspections from multiple contractors he hired who found the plumbing lines were about 40 years past their typical life expectancy. Rebeyka also said he wanted to upgrade the building's electrical system, add in-suite laundry, install new kitchens and redo the to Rebeyka, the building would be uninhabitable due to the renovations for at least a year, with water and electricity shut off for a significant portion of that time. But the landlord's Oak Bay tenants raised concerns to the RTB that Rebeyka had a history of buying properties and then evicting tenants to perform renovations, and questioned the "good faith" of his intentions. The CBC contacted Rebeyka over email multiple times seeking an interview and comment, but did not hear back in time for publication. In its decision, RTB arbitrator C. Amsdorf wrote that Rebeyka had all the permits in place for the work, and agreed that it was "not reasonable" for tenants to remain in the building due to the extent of the renovations. "I acknowledge that the Landlord has been involved in other situations where they have evicted occupants of a building for large scale renovations," Amsdorf wrote in the decision. "However, I do not find this is evidence of bad faith, as the Landlord is legally entitled to apply for this type of an order of possession, provided they meet the criteria." McKinlay says he feels a closer look should be taken at landlords with a history of renovictions. "While I respect the outcome of the RTB process — and appreciate its very existence — I am curious how other neighbourhood buildings of similar age and maintenance histories can undergo significant renovations without evicting tenants," said McKinlay. Douglas King, executive director of Victoria-based non-profit Together Against Poverty, says the situation shows the current system isn't up to the task of preventing renovictions, particularly as it puts a burden on tenants, who are often under-resourced compared to landlords. "It's often left to the tenants to try to prove that the landlord doesn't require vacancy to do the repairs that they stated, and that's not realistic," he said. Renovictions don't just affect the tenants who are displaced, King says. It can create more demand for subsidized housing, putting further pressure on limited support and available units. "When we fail to protect low income housing stock, one of the only places that can be affordable to someone on disability or seniors … everybody pays the price," he said. Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch says he would support introducing similar renter assistance policies in his municipality to those that exist in Victoria and Esquimalt, but thinks the responsibility should lie with the province to standardize tenant assistance measures, so that all B.C. renters have the same rights. Murdoch says it's B.C., through the RTB — not municipalities — that should be in charge of making sure tenants are protected from bad faith renovictions and supported if eviction is necessary. "Our preference and most preferences in the province would be that the province look at this carefully, because it appears to not be working the way it was intended to work," he said. "They're supposed to be addressing this." Between July 2021, when B.C. introduced the new renoviction application process, and March 2025, the Ministry of Housing said there were 209 applications filed to evict tenants to complete major renovations. Of the applications that were addressed in that period, 87 were withdrawn, 68 were dismissed, 29 were granted landlord possession, 15 were settled with landlord possession, and seven were mixed decisions containing multiple units. According to the Ministry of Housing, the RTB conducts post-eviction audits to ensure landlords follow through on their reasons for evictions. McKinlay says he feels there should be a government registry to track all developers who have a history of renovicting tenants from multiple properties, including those allowed to do so by the RTB. "Tracking developers who renovict in a serial manner, as my former landlord does, allows the government to raise the question, 'Are all these truly necessary?'" Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the province will begin to post decisions on rental-related fines — including false evictions — online in June, to provide an opportunity for people to see which buildings are illegally acting as "serial renovictors." B.C. has also increased fines for those abusing the system. However, he says he feels it's on municipalities — like Oak Bay — to provide the support McKinlay is asking for. "There are a lot of measures that we put in place to support renters, and if there's more opportunities we'll certainly look at that," Kahlon said. "At this point, we believe local governments should be stepping up and putting their own policies in place." With no one claiming responsibility for these protections, it's unclear how — and if — change will ever come. And even if it does, it's too late for McKinlay and his former neighbours. "Someone asked me the other day if I've begun to settle into our new home, and I'm not sure that's possible after this experience," said McKinlay. "My sense of home has been altered by this."
CBC
06-05-2025
- General
- CBC
All quiet in Oak Bay: Vancouver Island community limits how loud heat pumps can be
If you're hoping get away from all the world's noise, B.C.'s Oak Bay may have what you're looking for. The southern Vancouver Island community, home to about 18,000 people, has been phasing out noisy gas-powered lawn equipment — leaf blowers, namely — and now, the community is taking aim at another machine, one homeowners are being increasingly encouraged to use: heat pumps. A heat pump is an energy-efficient alternative to natural gas or electric heating and cooling systems. The machines can be installed both indoors and outdoors, and move warm or cool air into buildings. In an effort to make B.C. more eco-friendly, the province has encouraged the use of heat pumps through rebate programs. Although they're increasing in popularity, they do make some noise. In a letter addressed to Oak Bay council and staff, resident Thorsten Hanisch said his neighbour's heat pump has "significantly affected" him and others in his home. While he said the location of the unit is within the current three-metre requirement — the minimum distance a unit should be placed from a building —the sound carries into his yard and into his home, and his bedroom in particular. He added the volume varies in intensity depending on his neighbours' heating and cooling needs. "There hasn't been a night during which we didn't notice [the sound], even with windows closed." And while his neighbours have been understanding and working to find a solution, Hanisch said a bylaw would help ensure the "best possible relations" between neighbours. Now, the District of Oak Bay has passed an anti-noise bylaw amendment, limiting how loud heat pumps can be. From 7 a.m. PT to 10 p.m. PT heat pumps can be 50 decibels and from 10:00 p.m. PT until 7 a.m. PT, they can reach 45, according to Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch. "Most people honestly can't hear them during the day," Murdoch told CBC's All Points West host Jason D'Souza. "But sometimes at night, they become a bit more noticeable and can cause people hardship in sleeping." According to the province, most modern heat pumps have a sound rating of about 60 decibels — which is the same volume as an average conversation between two people. Murdoch said the limitations won't be too restrictive for newer models, because most people have a way to reduce the noise through sound proofing. Literature on heat pumps from the province suggests that special enclosures around the units can mitigate noise, as can placing the unit on a solid base to prevent vibration. The amendment comes after the district council unanimously voted to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers and other residential lawn equipment in 2022, due to the loud noise they make. Murdoch said that in general, heat pumps are "not problematic" and said he thinks having clear guidelines around how they can operate in the community will actually encourage some residents to consider them. "There are some heat pumps that do generate excessive noise. And I think where this is probably gonna kick in is if people aren't maintaining them and they start getting problematic. With age, this will be a tool that allows neighbours to complain to bylaw about that and have them rectified."
