Lions Park on Murray Road
Save Our Park. The Time is Now!
Lions Park at 2008 Murray Road, the long-standing neighborhood green space in Sooke, is under threat. On Tuesday, October 15th, Sooke Council will be considering a formal application to rezone it from P1 Public Recreation to C2 General Commercial. This park holds a significant place in our town's history, having been purchased by the Sooke Lions Club in 1964 through community fundraising and public donations. The beauty of the park, its 200 year old Coastal Spruce, the peace it harbors, creates a respite in our rapidly densifying town center, and serves as a potent reminder of Sooke's beautiful natural heritage.
Rezoning parkland for commercial use is a step undeniably short-sighted in a world increasingly devoid of natural spaces. As our town center grows and more residents move into nearby apartments, the demand and necessity of maintaining such green spaces amplify. We must protect Lions Park for the current residents of Sooke and for our future generations who have just as much right to enjoy the gift of nature as we do. It is a symbol of our respect for nature, a commitment to sustainability, and a legacy to our children.
Why we oppose the Application to Rezone the Lions Park to Commercial Zoning
Parks should be Maintained as Parks for the Benefit and Enjoyment of our rapidly growing 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 and despite promises from potential future owners, the commercial zoning would allow for any number of commercial activities, including a gas station.
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 Already Recognizes the Value of the Lions Park
The park at 2008 Murray Road is listed in Sooke’s current and draft OCPs as a park and is recognized repeatedly as an open space 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 OCP does not support this rezoning and is clear that the town centre needs more parks, not less.
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.
In 2021, Council stated publicly that they were prepared to buy the park from the Lions Club to preserve it as a park.
Sooke is Growing Fast
Sooke Council has approved over 500 new, multi-family homes within a few blocks of the park at 2008 Murray Road.
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
