District of Oak Bay
News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2020

District of Oak Bay signs leases with the Victoria Immigrant Refugee Centre Society

The District of Oak Bay has signed three-year leases with the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society (VIRCS) for the use of District-owned houses at 1531 Hampshire Road and 1538 Monterey Avenue.

The houses will be rented by VIRCS to provide transitional supportive housing to newly arrived refugees. The Hampshire house will be rented to a family and the Monterey House will be used to house refugee couples, individuals, or single parents.

“The District is pleased to support housing and services for those in need, particularly as the longer-term use of the building awaits the larger village planning process,” said Mayor Kevin Murdoch.

The lease on the Hampshire property is an extension of a previous lease entered into in 2018 and ending in 2020. While a Memorandum of Understanding has been in place for the Monterey property since 2018, there has not, until now, been a lease in place.

VIRCS has worked and will continue to work with volunteer community groups and contractors to improve the properties. VIRCS will be responsible for undertaking basic landscaping and ensuring ongoing maintenance of the residential structures.

The District has committed to initiating a rezoning application for the Monterey Avenue property to provide for transitional housing for single persons or couples, with a maximum occupancy of eight residents, plus accommodation of a caretaker or an employee of the tenant in a separate room of the house. In the absence of rezoning, permitted use of the property is limited to occupancy by not more than three unrelated persons, as per current RS-5 zoning (One Family Residential Use). The rezoning application is subject to the unfettered statutory discretion of the Council of the District of Oak Bay. No commitment has been made that the rezoning application will be approved. A public hearing will be held as part of the rezoning process and the public will have an opportunity to provide Council with input prior to Council’s vote on the rezoning.

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For media inquiries, please call:
Kevin Murdoch, Mayor
District of Oak Bay
250-896-4983
mayor@oakbay.ca