Oak Bay United Church aims to file affordable-housing papers by Friday

Oak Bay United Church is aiming to submit by Friday its applications for municipal-government approval to build affordable housing on its property.

Cheryl Thomas, chairwoman of the development commission for Oak Bay United Church, said the application for rezoning and a development permit for its 1.3-acre site is being finalized for the District of Oak Bay.

“It’s all the quiet stuff that is required, like engineers’ reports,” said Thomas. “We are just coordinating all the stuff like that and getting all the paperwork ready to go. We are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.”

Oak Bay United Church, at 1355 Mitchell St., wants to build a four-storey apartment building with 96 units of varying sizes and four 31⁄2 storey townhomes. The historic church would be kept but several outbuildings would be taken down. Existing trees are to be kept and parking will be underground.

The church plans to rent out the majority of the units at affordable rates. It plans to create a housing society to oversee the finished project, establishing rents and rules for tenants. A property management company would oversee the project.

The site is now zoned institutional and a rezoning is required to increase the density.

The church has said it hopes the project will bring affordable housing to Oak Bay, desperately needed for people like those who work in the service sector, such as restaurants and retail stores.

But the proposal has faced stiff opposition in the surrounding neighbourhood, mostly from people complaining the design is too big. For a time a lawn-sign campaign declaring “STOP Over Development by the Oak Bay United Church” sprang up.

The signs are no longer so much in evidence and Thomas said it could be opposition is diminishing. The project’s density is very much in line with similar existing projects nearby and at open houses held in April, the majority of people attending who filled out questionnaires expressed approval, she said.

The church hired a polling company to canvass the municipality and again, received favourable reports.

In general, officials at Oak Bay require one year to 18 months to consider any development application. It must be vetted by various committees, such as one established to consider tree cover and another to look at design considerations or heritage issues.

Eventually, the application heads to council, which must screen any proposal in front of a public hearing before final assent can granted. Councillors may or may not agree to send a proposal to a public hearing.

Oak Bay United Church dates to 1914. Canada’s Historic Places website expresses enthusiasm for its Gothic Revival architecture and its stained glass windows.

An extensive renovation to make it earthquake resistant was completed in 2010, and the congregation now numbers about 250.