Undertaking a major coastline development offers challenges when it comes to respecting the environment and minimizing a project’s impact on habitat and other natural features.
Rental complex owner-operator Realstar, which is proposing a complete remake of its Christie Point Apartments complex on a 15.8-acre peninsula jutting into Portage Inlet, is faced with just such a challenge at this ecologically unique site.
With environmental advocacy groups the Friends of Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Gorge Waterway Initiative monitoring every step of the process for this development, Realstar last week showed visitors to a pair of open houses how it plans to mitigate the impact of the project in the short and long term.
As part of its application to the Town of View Royal, the company will apply for certification in the Green Shores program for coastal developments. An initiative started in the mid-2000s by the Stewardship Centre of B.C., the program offers a guide for “shore-friendly” development strategies and a rating system that grades projects in a similar fashion to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program for buildings.
“Portage Inlet is a very special ecological resource in the Capital Region,” said Lehna Malmkvist, a vegetation and aquatic ecologist with Oak Bay-based Swell Environmental Consulting, which is working with Realstar on the environmental aspects of the proposal.
With Craigflower and Colquitz creeks flowing into Portage Inlet, various species of fish traversing the waters around Christie Point, and numerous water fowl and songbirds utilizing this well-treed site and its immediate surroundings, Malmkvist felt that Green Shores would be a good fit for the redevelopment project.
“In a sense, the environment has been protected almost by chance here at Christie Point,” said Heather Grey-Wolf, vice-president of development with Realstar. “What we’re doing is … putting in place a plan to be very intentional about how this site is used and how people walk through it. We really feel this will only enhance the natural setting that is there, by preserving wildlife areas and nesting areas … We’re doing everything we can to enhance the natural setting, as opposed to taking away from it.”
The development plans call for various green spaces, but also protections for much of the bird and animal habitat that exist on the property. Natural barriers and pathways would be erected to prevent people from cutting through sensitive ecosystems, and access to vulnerable shoreline areas would be restricted. Along those lines, a kayak and canoe launching area is proposed to centralize activities in that regard.
A manual would be created to guide the management of the landscape on the site. As well, a “welcome pack” would be developed for tenants detailing why protections are in place and the importance of specific areas. The hope, Malmkvist said, is to work with local environmental stewardship groups “to provide educational signage on the site, and really give people direction in terms of what is appropriate behaviour on the water and on the land.”
The consultant has also investigated the Fatal Light Awareness Program, which works with developers and architects on ways to minimize bird strikes through building design and lighting.
Realstar makes its first official presentation to View Royal council members at a special committee of the whole meeting tonight (Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. in the Songhees Wellness Centre on Maplebank Road off Admirals Road.
For more information on the proposal, visit christiepoint.ca.
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