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Hello there!

Are you looking forward to the long weekend?

There's plenty to do—so much to do that one of our stories is a roundup of the family events planned in Langford. But first, we look much further into the future than this weekend and break down how the region's latest Official Community Plan is trying to shape local life in the year 2050.

— Cam

NEWS

View Royal is shaping its new 25-year view of the future

The town at the crossroads of the region finds itself at a crossroads.

Positioned between some of the largest urban growth engines in the South Island—Langford, Victoria, and Saanich—View Royal is hoping to define its future on its own terms. Often seen as a bedroom community to Victoria or a gateway to the Westshore, the town is on a mission to create a unique vision for itself.  

“Given the growth View Royal has experienced, as well as our neighbour municipalities, looking into the future it is difficult,” Mayor Sid Tobias told The Westshore, “when it comes to incorporating the best in urban planning.”

“Getting planning right on buildings that have a lifetime of 50 years or more has never been more important.”

It’s council’s hope that a vision will come out of a comprehensive update to its Official Community Plan (OCP), dubbed View Royal 2050: Our Future View. The project aims to guide the town’s growth and development over the next 25 years. To that end, the town is implementing a robust public engagement process that it hopes will ensure the plan reflects the values and aspirations of its residents.

The public engagement survey launched by the town is due by the end of Sunday, Feb. 16 and includes key questions relating to housing, development, and transportation.

Paused process resumes 

It's a return to an OCP process that View Royal worked on in 2021 & 2022 before pausing prior to the municipal election. The consultation process was a big enough deal on doorsteps, the new mayor has said, that the town needs to pursue a new & fuller engagement process.

That sort of concern has been prevalent throughout the Westshore—several of the municipalities are years into ongoing OCP sagas. Part of the reason for these delays has been the often stark divides over growth and change—a top issue in many of those 2022 local elections—and this question of how much public engagement is enough.

For View Royal, dealing with growth will be inevitable due to its position between those three growing areas. But the particular path it wants to take, and the identity it wants to develop after years of often being seen as a bedroom-community appendage of Victoria, is the question at hand.

For more on what's in play in that process, and to get more details on how to participate if you're a View Royal resident, read the full story at The Westshore. 

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EVENTS

Free Family Day events in Langford this long weekend

The city has partnered with a number of local businesses and facilities to expand on last year's roster of free family-friendly long-weekend events.

👟 Family Day Weekend Storybook Walks | Friday to Monday | Self-guided 
Embark on a self-guided Storybook Walk at four Langford parks and The Langford Station. Enjoy reading pages from beloved books like Jamberry and Zoe & the Fawn as you stroll through nature.

🚲 Family Day Free classes at SPINCO Westshore | Sat, Sun, Mon | Various times
High-energy, full-body spin workouts. Also: Free Zumba class Sunday 12:15-1:05pm at Westhills Y.

🎩 Magic, Songs, and Storytime at Westshore Town Centre | Saturday | Various times 
Interactive storytime sessions with princesses and superheroes, sing along with Melody Moonshaker, and magic shows by Derek "Magic" Johnson and Mr. Mojo at Westshore Town Centre.

⛏ PlayZone Play Day | Monday | 10am-6pm 
Free access to the PlayZone at City Centre Park, featuring a gold-mine-themed indoor playground. Parents can relax in the designated area while kids explore the play structure.

🎞 Free family movies at the Cineplex Odeon Westshore | Sat. 10am for Kung Fu Panda or Sun. 1pm for Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.

🎲 Play board games together, with free entry & game play at the new Outpost Board Game Cafe | Monday | 11am to 7pm.

Plus more events, including swimming, parent-child dance classes, street hockey, & coding lessons. [Full event schedule & details]

NEWS

Langford family losing funding for drugs for daughter’s rare disease

Charleigh Fales, 9, lives with the CLN2 form of Batten Disease—she’s the only child in BC with the rare terminal disease, and among only 20 in Canada. She relies on Brineura infusions, the only known treatment for it. Her family found out last week that the Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases Committee (EDRD) would no longer be covering her treatments, despite doctor recommendations for her to continue using the drug.

The injections cost $1M a year. Health Minister Josie Osborne said she could not speak to the Fales’ case, but recommended that the family work closely with EDRD to change their minds.

She also said that the medical criteria that medical experts use to decide such cases has not changed. But on Tuesday, Osborne announced that she has directed the Ministry of Health to “urgently review all of the facts of this case and determine whether continuing treatment may have quality-of-life benefits,” per Black Press.

Around the 'Shore

🏒 Grizzlies trade for Vernon Vipers star: The team says it is “all in” for the playoffs after trading for forward Will Schumacher, one of the BCHL's top 40 point-scorers this season. To make what it calls “the biggest blockbuster deal of trade deadline day,” the Westshore-based hockey club had to surrender longtime player Ryan Watt and prospect Finn Kallay.

🔎 Do you have a pre-1960 home? This Sooke treasure hunter wants to metal-detect on the grounds in his ongoing search for relics of local history. His latest find: a ginger beer bottle, circa 1900. [Sooke News Mirror]

🚘 Protest expected at Langford Tesla dealership & service centre on Sat. It’s part of a broad wave of protests against the EV car company that morning due to its part-owner Elon Musk.

⚽️ Pacific FC releases season schedule: The Langford soccer club will kick off its 28-game regular season April 5 and end it Oct. 18, both with matches vs. Winnipeg’s Valor FC—a team Pacific has only lost to twice in 22 meetings. [Info / Tickets]

📚 Glenlyon Norfolk School is closer than you think. Book a tour to explore their campuses and see why GNS is worth the journey!*

*Sponsored Listing

Community Events

🎓 Royal Roads info sessions for prospective students are this week.  

🖼 Winter gallery hours for Arts & Culture Colwood are Thurs.-Sun., 11am-3pm.

☕ Coffee with the Mayor in Metchosin today (Feb. 13).

🧘‍♀️ Galentine's Yoga for a Cause: Yoga class and pool / hot tub time at Bear Mountain on Feb. 15 to fundraise for the Goldstream Food Bank. [Info]

🍕 Valentine's Pizza Party at MOD Pizza. Enjoy a fun evening filled with live music, giveaways, and food at MOD Pizza in Langford. [Friday, 5-8pm]

🏒 Victoria Grizzlies vs. Powell River Kings on Sat. at the Q Centre. [Tickets]

🍵🎶 Tea & Symphony 2025: Enjoy an English High Tea with live music. Sit at appointed tables and enjoy sweet and savoury treats, as well as a variety of musical favourites from Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Sooke Community Hall. Sun. 2:30-4:30pm. [Info]

What’s Offshore?

🚢  No ships floating off the coast of Colwood. Further out are Wooyang Banders and One Magdalena.

But this week $22.5M was earmarked for Ogden Point to install onshore power for cruise ships. These plug-ins are intended to end idling and engine noise in Victoria ports and reduce the impact of shipping on the environment.

Read more about that project at Capital Daily. 

Westshore Snaps

“This magnificent [Great Horned Owl] flew by my kitchen window while I was preparing dinner. Although hard to see in the photo, it has a rabbit in its claws.” – Jeanette McMillan, Metchosin

Sunrise through spiderwebbed frost. – Janette Magne

This week, send us your photos and stories related to the places you believe are the most romantic spots in the Westshore. [email protected]

That’s it!

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