Esquimalt
A short distance beyond the Blue Bridge lies the Municipality of Esquimalt - a city with a strong sense of community, fierce community pride, and small town ambiance.
Unlike some other communities in the south of Vancouver Island, Esquimalt did not begin life as a bedroom community of Victoria. For one thing, only a narrow stretch of land to the west connecting Esquimalt to what is now View Royal prevents Esquimalt from being an island. Now of course there are several bridges connecting Esquimalt to Victoria and Saanich, but it wasn’t always that way, and so the ‘commute’ to Victoria to the east was a difficult one in the very early days.
Esquimalt owes its early existence to its large protected harbour. The Royal Navy recognized the military value of the Esquimalt Harbour and the early townsite of Esquimalt grew up around the military dockyard. The Royal Navy has long since departed from Esquimalt, but the Canadian Navy soon established its there in the early part of the twentieth century. The Canadian Navy remains a strong presence, and Esquimalt’s village centre today is just a short distance from the main entry to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt.
Esquimalt has grown to the point where virtually all available land within its municipal boundaries has been developed. It didn’t happen overnight.
According to Census data, Esquimalt grew fastest during the 1941 to 1951 census period than at any other time. It’s population jumped by about 275 percent, reaching about 10,000 in 1951. It took twenty-five more years to reach a population of 16,000 in 1986. Today, its a stable, well established community of about 17,000. From these growth rates is seems Esquimalt was overlooked by many developers for many years.
That is changing. South Vancouver Island is a highly desirable place to live, and its growth is inevitable. Esquimalt, with it’s miles and miles of shoreline, it’s well established infrastructure of amenities and services, and its close geographical proximity to Victoria, has a lot to offer. And it shows in some of the developments that have completed in recent years. The ‘Ironwood’ development in the Kinsman Park is one. Completion of the more recent ‘Swallows Landing’ development - a high end condominium project built on a high promontory with commanding views of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains - is another. More will follow.
But Esquimalt’s challenge is to accommodate viable and sustainable growth while maintaining its small town ambiance and commitment to quality of life issues. It’s recently updated Official Community Plan (OCP) show how they plan to do it. Judicious improvements to and infill within existing residential neigbourhoods is part of it. Revisiting existing policies relating to secondary suites is part of it. Another part is vertical growth.
Ten story condominium projects within selected areas along main traffic corridors are contemplated by the OCP. And that doesn’t rule out approval of taller ones on a case by case basis. Like many other local municipalities, issues relating to sustainability will guide the decision making process governing development-related applications.
The way ahead for Esquimalt looks good.
