Oceanwood

The Opportunity

Located at 4705 Cordova Bay Road, the Oceanwood site is a distinctive, 17 lot subdivision that is both scenic and environmentally respectful.

The Approach

Located at 4705 Cordova Bay Road, in the District of Saanich, the Oceanwood site is a distinctive, 17 lot subdivision that is both scenic and environmentally respectful.

Once part of a larger estate, the site layout was carefully designed to retain the existing forest surrounding the property.  Invasive species of plants were removed from the undergrowth and a replanting scheme was devised by the project landscape architect. All trees on the site that were desired to be retained were tagged with specific measures, including root zone shading and mulching, that would allow for the trees to be preserved

Westbrook Consulting was responsible for the design of site servicing and storm water management systems, and also provided construction and project management services.

One challenge Westbrook Consulting faced was the confined servicing area. A confined servicing area was necessary in order to retain as much existing vegetation as possible. Westbrook consulting achieved their design by locating the sanitary sewer and storm sewer mains within the road corridor at depths up to 6 m. The design ensured that basements were feasible for all lots while confining the servicing disturbance to the road area to maintain natural vegetation.

Storm water management was designed using Aqua Pave permeable pavers as they mimic the predevelopment surface permeability conditions. Other areas used conventional unit pavers with roadside swales to improve storm water quality prior to controlled discharge into the municipal storm sewer.

Another challenge occurred in one location where the road was set to be constructed over the critical root zone of a grouping of several garry oak trees. In order to preserve the trees, the road was constructed with minimal excavation and a layer of geotextile fabric with crushed gravel was placed above the roots for added strength below the pavers.  The construction detail was coordinated by Westbrook Consulting with input from the project geotechnical consultant and the project arborist.

The onsite street lighting system consisted of a unique series of low level road lights located in rock columns at the entrance to each lot. Careful coordination between the Owner and the project electrical engineer was required in order to obtain the desired ambiance while providing acceptable levels of roadway lighting.

The project design was completed in 2007 and construction was completed in March of 2008.

Key Personnel: Mike Wignall; Kevin Hossack; John Stein