The Owner and Developers of the property at 2060 White Birch Road, known as Marina Park Marina, are to be presenting at the Town of Sidney – Regular Council Meeting – on September 28th. Although this was not publicized and the formal Council agenda is yet to be published on the Town website, our information is that they are wanting to renew their previously approved, but expired Development Permit application at this meeting, presumably in advance of applying for a Building Permit for the site to proceed with construction. The plans can be found here;
https://www.sidney.ca/wp-
The proposal is for a four-story building with 63 units; 32-1 bedroom, 23-2 bedroom and 8-3 bedroom rental units. They have allocated a total of 101 parking spaces; 67 residential spaces (4 for disabled parking), 32 for the existing marina patrons and live-a-boards (note; there are 60+ boats currently docked in the marina) and 1 for the marina office.
As you may be aware, this is not the first time they have gone through this process and we have voiced our objections to the Town of Sidney several times. Completion of this project in its current state will impact residents of Harbour Landing and those along White Birch Road.
Our position has been that we do not object to additional residential building and that we understand that it is badly needed. We have objections based on;
The scale of the proposed building is too large for the neighbourhood to absorb
The parking is woefully inadequate for the number of units proposed
Parking will spill over to our neighbourhood as it has with recent new developments on Resthaven Drive and John Street
There will be a marked increase in traffic on White Birch Road
There will be an increase in cut-through traffic on Seawind Way, further exacerbating our long standing safety and neighbourhood intrusion concerns
If you have objections to this proposed development, what can you do?
Write a letter or email to Sidney Council and Mayor to reiterate our concerns about the proposed development. This must be addressed to the Mayor and Council of the Town of Sidney. It can be emailed to admin@sidney.ca or dropped off to the Town of Sidney at 2440 Sidney Ave.
Time is of the essence and should be sent no later than Sunday at 6pm so your correspondence can be considered for Monday’s meeting.
Please see below for wording and content examples.
Attend the Council Meeting;
Monday, September 28th at 6pm
2440 Sidney Ave, Sidney
______________________________
Here is an example of a letter to Council;
Subject: Written Submission: Opposition to Development Permit – 2060 White Birch Road (Council Meeting Sept 28)
To: admin@sidney.ca
Mayor and Council,
Town of Sidney
Re: Proposed Development Permit Application – 2060 White Birch Road
I am writing as a resident of a neighbouring property to formally request that Council deny or defer the new Development Permit application for 2060 White Birch Road at the upcoming meeting on Monday, September 28th.
While I understand the need for housing, the current proposal introduces severe infrastructure and safety risks to our immediate neighbourhood that have not been adequately mitigated:
Inadequate Parking: The project features a severe lack of resident parking and zero designated visitor parking. This will inevitably force overflow parking onto our narrow, surrounding side streets, creating traffic hazards and blocking access.
Dead-End Street Traffic Gridlock: Forcing the traffic of 61 new 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units onto a single dead-end cul-de-sac is logistically unsafe. The road is not equipped to handle hundreds of new daily vehicular trips, which will compromise pedestrian safety and hinder emergency vehicle turnarounds.
Drainage & Flooding Liability: The 2025 Flood Report clearly outlines severe drainage and runoff risks in this specific area. Drastically increasing the impermeable concrete footprint will aggravate localized flooding risks, potentially causing water damage to adjacent properties and exposing the Town to liability.
Because the previous Development Permit has expired, Council has a critical opportunity to protect existing infrastructure. I urge Council to deny this permit until the developer drastically reduces the unit density, provides adequate on-site visitor parking, and presents a fully revised stormwater management plan that guarantees no adverse impact on neighbouring properties.
Thank you for considering my feedback and protecting our community.
Sincerely,
[Neighbor’s Name]
[Neighbor’s Street Address, Sidney, BC]
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