Murray Road Park
Overview
The Friends of Sooke Parks Society was created to protect, advocate, and enhance all parks in Sooke. Murray Road Park located at 2008 Murray Road is a long standing, heavily treed neighbourhood park, and the only zoned park and green space in the town centre. It is listed as a park in Sooke's Official Community Plan (OCP) and is identified as an important park in Sooke's 2020 Parks and Trails Master Plan. Many people who grew up here in Sooke have fond memories of playing in this park when it was home to a playground for kids and was well maintained by the Service Club that stewards it. Regretfully, the park is now at risk of being re-zoned to commercial so that it can be sold at a higher price and developed for commercial use. If a park is re-zoned commercial, its designated land-use as a park is lost forever. We believe that this beautiful green space should be maintained as a park for the enjoyment and benefit of everyone in Sooke, including future generations.
Our vision
Murray Road Park was once a thriving park in the middle of Sooke where people came to eat lunch with their neighbours, friends and families came together to catch up and kids came to run around on the playground. The Friends of Sooke Parks Society believes we can bring this vision back to the heart of Sooke's town centre and we have some creative ideas on how to make this happen. However, we also believe that the future vision of Murray Road Park should be defined by you and the entire community of Sooke. We want to hear your vision for this park! How amazing could this park become? What type of amenities would you like to see here? What types of community events would you like to see hosted? What would make the park more inviting for you and your family or friends?
Why we oppose the Application to Re-Zone Murray Road Park to Commercial
Parks should be Maintained as Parks for the Benefit and Enjoyment of the Community
The proposed OCP amendment and rezoning would remove a long standing, heavily treed neighbourhood park, and the only zoned park and green space in the town centre.
If the park is re-zoned commercial, its designated land-use as a park will be lost forever despite promises or best intentions of the prospective property owner.
As our community grows in population and housing densifies in the town core, land prices will continue to increase, and it is unlikely that the District of Sooke will be able to purchase and down-zone land in the town core at some future point to designate as a park.
Parks and greenspace create a vibrant community
The Friends of Sooke Parks Society believes that parks and green spaces help create a vibrant community, improve our air and water quality, reduce noise pollution, and provide habitat for plants, animals and birds.
Parks are places to meet our neighbours, enjoy outdoor activities, stay active, keep us connected to our community, and best of all, parks are free and accessible to everyone.
According to the International Panel on Climate Change, preserving and expanding urban green spaces is one of the most important and impactful contributions that municipalities can make to promoting greater climate resiliency.
The park at 2008 Murray Road should be maintained as a park so that Sooke residents can continue to enjoy these benefits for time immemorial.
The District of Sooke has Recognized the Value of Murray Road Park
The park at 2008 Murray Road is listed in Sooke’s current and draft OCPs as a park and is recognized as a park in the 2020 Parks and Trails Master Plan.
Sooke’s OCP is our community planning roadmap, created to guide the intentional growth of businesses and industries, and ensure that safeguards are in place to protect our agricultural lands, parks, and other public spaces from the impacts of growth.
The District of Sooke has provided a property tax exemption to the Service Club that stewards the park every year since the District incorporated in 1999 because the land is designated as a park and presumably because the District expected the Service Club to preserve, maintain, and improve the space as a community amenity.
Sooke is Growing Fast
Sooke Council recently approved over 400 new homes for development within a few blocks of the park at 2008 Murray Road, most of them being multi-family with no backyards.
The Friends of Sooke Parks Society notes that developers were not required to include new green space as part of their approved zoning presumably because the park at 2008 Murray Road is listed as a park in the District's OCP and was intended to be maintained as a park.
In addition, over 30,000 sq. ft. of new commercial space is slated for the same developments within 3 blocks of the park at 2008 Murray Road. It doesn't make sense to take the only neighborhood park from the community when other commercial space is readily available in the same area.
What are other Municipalities doing?
The City of Victoria and the Town of Sidney just recently purchased land within their urban cores to create parks for the enjoyment and health of their densifying communities.
As we said in our letter to the Mayor and Council, Sooke is growing quickly and it is simply shortsighted to consider re-zoning park land.
City of Victoria
Town of Sidney
