“It’s called ‘Symphony’, and we hope to create some harmony in the neighbourhood with our project,” said Alan Lowe, the architect behind plans to construct a new six-storey apartment building in Langford. But unfortunately for the team behind the proposed project, 'Symphony' has hit a bum note with the owners of a neighbouring property.
With one six-storey building already built next to their duplex property on Bray Avenue, the Symphony building, offering 77 residential units, will leave neighbours Keegan MacKinnon and Stan Schinners and their families, sandwiched in the middle.
At a council meeting on Oct. 15, MacKinnon, who bought the property in May 2020 with his wife, told members of the Sustainable Development Advisory Committee, he felt “forgotten” by the city and “blindsided” by the speed of construction on the street.
“The whole street has been developed and we are stuck between these massive buildings,” said MacKinnon. “I’m not against the development, but we feel left out, we’re trapped.”
According to the homeowner, he was initially open to selling his property to the developer, explaining he had been approached in early 2021 asking how much his home could be purchased for.
“As I had bought it less than a year before, I gave them a stupidly high number expecting a counteroffer or something,” MacKinnon told the Goldstream Gazette. “But they ghosted me, I never heard from them again.”
At the committee meeting on Oct. 15, Thai Tran from Eden Development said there had been discussions with the homeowner about purchasing the property, and he had attempted to “continue the conversation” 18 months ago but heard nothing back.
“It’s not something we take lightly, to leave an orphaned lot,” said Tran.
But MacKinnon says there was no negotiation. “They came, asked for a number, said nothing back and disappeared,” he said.
There was some attempt by councillors at the meeting on Oct. 15 to encourage the developer to renegotiate with the two homeowners, but city staff said it was not possible as the application was too far advanced and could proceed without the additional land.
"The ship has sailed," said the city staff member. "It's difficult to put a gun to somebody’s head and force them to go to an agreement."
The project has been given the initial thumbs up by the City of Langford, and will now move to its first three readings, despite some councillors citing ‘strong concerns’ about the ‘orphaned’ lot stuck in the middle, including Coun. Kimberley Guiry, chair of the city’s Sustainable Development Advisory Committee.
At the Oct. 15 meeting of the committee, Guiry, while “very concerned”, explained she would be voting in support of recommending to council to move forward with the application to rezone three lots – two on Rita Road and one on Bray Avenue – from ‘one-and-two-family residential’ to ‘city centre 1’, to allow for the six-storey apartment building.
Voting against the application would “stop the conversation” she said, so instead, the councillor hoped further discussion could be had at future council meetings.
“I have strong feelings for current residents and future residents,” she said, adding later the decision “weighs very heavily” on her.
But at the Oct. 21 meeting, Coun. Guiry appeared to have a change of heart.
“ … I’ve come to this place after reviewing my thoughts after the meeting that I'm ready to support the project,” said Guiry.
“I feel for the building in the middle,” said Mayor Scott Goodmanson, who also acknowledged the development reflects the high-density housing required by the province.
“ … but the problem is we don't have anything specifically in our bylaws to avoid that,” he continued. “So this is just one of those unfortunate circumstances. I really do feel for the homeowners.”
Councillors unanimously voted in favour of receiving the application.
“I was kind of expecting it,” said MacKinnon. “Not a single person was opposed. When you make it sound like you're trying to appeal to the emotions of the owners and then you go and have a unanimous ‘yes’ vote, are you really trying to listen to the public?”
For MacKinnon's neighbour, Schinners, he hopes the city will learn from this application and make amendments to its bylaws to prevent the same thing happening with future developments.
"Give us evidence that the developer has actually made an attempt to purchase the property," said Schinners, who when he purchased his home in June 2024 with his mom and stepdad, was aware of the six-storey buidling next door, but not the plans for the 'Symphony' development.
"And if you are going to develop, at least have two or three single-family homes between properties, so that if they want to develop in the future, they can go together and do that," added Keegan.
All suggestions Guiry hopes will be considered in future discussions in 2025 as the city reviews its 'design guidelines' as part of its strategic plan.
"That's a conversation that needs to happen, and that's why we worked it in our strategic plan," said Guiry, speaking to the Goldstream Gazette.
"The design guidelines are something I'm excited about ... we're just not quite there yet," she said.
With limited options for what MacKinnon and Schinners can do with their 'orphaned' property, the neighbours plan to make good of a bad situation.
"Unless the city plan to rezone in our favour, it seems like we're just gonna stick alongside Stan here and his family," said MacKinnon.
