A resort community with cabins and campgrounds has been pitched for an expansive property west of Sooke between the communities of Shirley and Jordan River.

 

 

Currently before the Capital Regional District’s Juan de Fuca Land Use Committee, proponents are seeking a rezoning in order to build up to 39 cabins, 84 RV and tenting campsites, accommodation for staff, an office and reception space, a small retail/convenience operation and a caretaker residential unit for two parcels of land at 11237 West Coast Road/Highway 14 east of Sandcut Beach and west of Fossil Bay Resort.

 

The development site plan identifies two rows of waterfront cabins south of the highway, totalling 13-units, in addition to a retained residence and cabin currently on the land. A further 14 cabins are planned north of the highway parallel with the route (locally referred to as West Coast Road), with RV pads and campsites beyond them. At the northern-most and highest point of the property, 11 small cabins are proposed. As part of the project, a bridge will be constructed across Rockbottom Creek connecting to an existing forestry road network and a proposed accessory building.

 

A reception area, with a convenience store and a caretaker’s unit, will be situated at the development’s main entrance just north of the highway.

 

A site plan provided by the proponent of a cabin and campsite development proposal for 11237 West Coast Road between the communities of Shirley and Jordan River.  CRD

 

The architectural style as indicated by conceptual drawings calls for A-frame cabins with West Coast-themed accessory and operational buildings. Tenting sites will accommodate at least one vehicle and at least one tent, while RV sites appear large enough to accommodate a full-size recreational vehicle.

 

The rezoning application is seeking to remove the land from a Forestry zoning to a Rural Commercial Recreation zone permitting the uses described above.

 

According to a report filed by the CRD, the existing Shirley-Jordan River Official Community Plan (OCP) identifies the parcels as Coastal Upland, with an intended use for forestry operations under a program called Private Managed Forest Land, or PMFL. If a property is removed from the PMFL, the OCP permits uses described as low-impact recreation and low-impact tourism, community parkland, single-family residential development, and agriculture. The proposal, according to CRD staff, “proposes low-impact tourism consistent the Shirley-Jordan River contextual rural character and in keeping with the community goals identified by the OCP.”

 

Further amendments requested would permit uses like the commercial storefront, the utility and accessory buildings, and the retention of two existing residential structures (a residence and a cabin).

 

If approved, the project will join existing recreational operations that offer short-term lodging west of Shirley and east of Jordan River. Fossil Bay Resort, situated to the east of the proposal, is comprised of six oceanfront cottages and accessory buildings. Point No Point, approximately 1.5 kilometres to the east of Fossil Bay along Highway 14, has 25 rentable cabins of varying size along the Salish Sea waterfront. C

 

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