A proposal to sell .08 hectares of land at the south campus of Lansdowne Middle School will be the subject of a special school board meeting Feb. 23.
The virtual meeting of the Greater Victoria School Board will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and members of the public must register in order to give a presentation.
It is being held to give the community an added opportunity to weigh in on the issue.
“Our board values community input and is creating the space to hear from the public prior to us reaching a final decision,” said board chairman Ryan Painter.
The sale would see a triangle-shaped piece of property next to the middle school — located in the former Richmond Elementary School building — purchased by the Victoria Hospice Society for $2.5 million in order to build a new facility there.
The land borders Bowker Creek and is separated from the remaining 2.5 hectares at the school site by a stand of trees.
People have taken stances on both sides of the sale issue.
Some emphasize that Victoria Hospice has been part of the community for over 40 years and is currently housed in an aging part of the Royal Jubilee Hospital precinct. The plan is to use the new facility for grief support, community education and other programs.
Others are concerned about putting in a building so close to the creek, which has been the focus of restoration efforts, as well as with the idea of selling district-owned land.
The sale is subject to Ministry of Education approval and three readings by the board of its land-disposal bylaw. The first two readings came in January and the third is pending.
The board has already had considerable input about the prospective sale that was contained in a report to the board in December.
To register to give a maximum three-minute presentation, contact Vicki Hanley at [email protected]. The registration deadline is Feb. 22 at 4 p.m.
An October land sale of about three hectares was made at the 10-hectare grounds of the north campus of Lansdowne Middle School to the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Columbie-Britannique — B.C.’s French-language school district. The $15-million sale will provide room for a new French-language school.
