Bear Mountain (resort)

Bear Mountain

Location	Langford/Highlands, BC, Canada (Greater Victoria) 48°28′N 123°32′W
Type	Golf resort and lifestyle community
Schools	School District 62 (Sooke) Lakeview Elementary (K-6) Spencer Middle School (7-9) Belmont Secondary (10-12)Lighthouse Christian Academy (k-9)
Closest hospital	Victoria General Hospital
Website	http://www.bearmountain.ca

Bear Mountain is the blanket term for a new golf resort and adjacent lifestyle community straddling the boundary between the City of Langford and the District of Highlands, in the Western Communities of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The area features a Westin resort, and a Jack Nicklaus-designed, 18-hole, championship-calibre golf course as its centrepieces.

Community

Single-family homes and townhomes

The community adjacent to the resort currently contains about 250 lots along Bear Mountain Parkway, from the community's entrance west to Nicklaus Drive, that are zoned for single-family detached homes. These single-family homes have been developed in groups of no more than 30-40 lots each, in subdivisions the developer calls "Enclave Properties". According to the development's website, "each of the Enclaves has been carefully sited to take full advantage of the natural terrain and rugged beauty unique to its own special location at Bear Mountain."

The community is also home to a handful of townhome developments, most of which lie closer to the community's entrance. The latest such development is The Falls, up the mountainside and overlooking the resort; it consists of seven exclusively designed English-style manor homes.

Fractional ownership properties

Part of the community is zoned for fractional ownership (not the same as a timeshare property). Two developments are currently under construction for this purpose: Masters on 18, which, as its name suggests, backs onto the 18th green, and The Fairways and The Clubhouse, within the resort complex itself.

Condominium developments

Pond's Landing, a two-building condominium residences complex, has already been built across the street from the Westin resort on Bear Mountain Parkway, and houses commercial space on the ground floor. An independent coffee shop has already opened in the east building. In addition to Pond's Landing, two other major condo developments are under construction: St. Andrews' Walk, to the immediate west of Pond's Landing, is nearly finished, while Finlayson Reach, to the immediate west of the Westin resort, is about two-thirds completed and backs onto the golf course's first green.

Golf course

The golf course at Bear Mountain, titled Mountain, is an 18-hole championship golf course nestled in the South Highlands of Greater Victoria. It is a par-72 course (35/36 in, 36 out) and offers three men's handicap ranges (Golden, the hardest and intended mostly for professionals; Grizzly, and Black), one ladies' handicap range (Cinnamon), and a unisex handicap range known as Spirit. The Golden handicap is a total of 7,083 yards, and 10 of the 18 holes are over 400 yards in length, making it very challenging in terms of the physical endurance required to complete such a long course. The average game on this course takes about five hours.

The course is characterised not only by its abundance of blind holes and hazards, but by the backdrop of natural beauty for which it has become well-known. Jack Nicklaus has reportedly said many times this course is among his greatest achievements, stating that "some of the holes out there are just unbelievably fantastic... there are 18 signature holes".

The 19th hole

The course actually hosts an extremely difficult 19th hole at its far south end (between the 14th and 15th holes). The 19th hole is used as an optional tiebreaker in golf matches at the course, and is open at all times for play, but golfers can choose to skip the 19th and proceed straight to the 15th. The 19th hole features very small tees, difficult pockets of fairway, multiple sand traps and a pinhole-sized green. It overlooks stunning southerly views of the Olympic Mountains, of the Gulf Islands to the east, and of inner Victoria.

Resort

The Westin Bear Mountain Victoria Golf Resort and Spa houses a combined 156 guest rooms and one-bedroom suites in two buildings, The Clubhouse and The Fairways. First opened in 2003, the resort is about 160,000 square feet in size and overlooks the first green of the Mountain course.

Amenities

Across the traffic circle from the Westin Bear Mountain are two restaurants. Jack's Place, a casual-dining establishment, features pub-style fare and a terrace that overlooks the second green of the golf course. Kuma Sushi, next door, is home to an internationally acclaimed master sushi chef. The restaurant serves a "fusion sushi" menu, combining local ingredients and Japanese cuisine. Kuma is the Japanese word for bear, alluding to Jack Nicklaus' nickname as a professional golfer, The (Golden) Bear. Physically inside the resort itself, visitors will find two restaurants, Panache and the Copper Rock Grill, and a lounge, Masters, which features a sundeck with a view of nearby Mount Finlayson. While the Clubhouse half of the resort features an in-house spa (Santé). The larger Mountainside Athletic Club is located between the two hotel buildings at the resort, and its services are available to anyone (though membership is required).

Law enforcement

Bear Mountain's partial isolation means that police and fire response to both emergency and non-emergency calls is hindered by road distance. While the RCMP and Langford Fire Department still have jurisdiction at the resort and in the community, the nearest RCMP detachment and fire station are actually about 15 minutes south by car, at the corner of Veterans' Memorial Parkway and Goldstream Avenue. Instead of building another detachment at the resort site itself, the developer has created a private security force, Bear Mountain Security Corporation, which conducts regular patrols in its ubiquitous fleet of black Jeep TJs. It monitors empty lots, as well as properties from which the owner is temporarily absent. The company also offers first-aid and medical assistance. Participating residents can subscribe to in-home electronic alarm and monitoring services through the company, as well as flood and humidity monitoring.

Controversy and complaints

A recent Goldstream News-Gazette article has revealed the developer's intention to construct highrise condominium towers in the east-central part of the community. One such tower could top off at 45 storeys, making it the tallest building in Greater Victoria. Residents expressing opposition say their east-facing views of Victoria, nearby Esquimalt Harbour, and of the Gulf Islands and Olympic Mountains, the primary reason for their buying property at Bear Mountain, will be blocked, and that their property values will collectively decrease. However, Langford's mayor, Stew Young, stated in that article that the condominium development had already been approved and implied that the public consultation period had passed. He went on to say that he supported the developer's view that "nothing could be done about [it]".

Residents have also expressed their frustration with the intermittent, yet seemingly constant, road construction along Bear Mountain Parkway. The road is only one lane in each direction, and roadwork can sometimes close sections of one direction of the route, resulting in alternating traffic patterns that can as much as double the journey down the mountain at certain times of the day. Much of this roadwork can be attributed to the installation of curbs, sidewalks, and of stops for the new Langford trolley bus service. However, residents both in Bear Mountain and along Millstream Road are concerned about the hundreds of large trucks entering and exiting the community each day, fearing for the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and especially, children.

The construction of the Bear Mountain Interchange, or Spencer Road Interchange as it is variously known, has sparked a great deal of controversy and debate in the community of Langford that Bear Mountain resides in. The mayor insists the interchange is a necessary requirement for the long term development of his community, which straddles the highway and currently has only one other main crossing at Millstream road. There are also concerns about fire safety, and a need to improve traffic congestion.

Opponents insist the interchange is being built primarily for the Bear Mountain development, in order to allow further expansion of the development, and that it is 'buying into car-culture' and will only create more congestion. A long-standing protest camp occupied the site of the contstruction crossing point in Langford for some time before being recently 'evicted' by an 80 man strong tactical RCMP team, who moved in with assault rifles and dogs to remove the protesters. Further issues involve the financing of the construction, with a $25 million dollar loan sparking much debate after town council allowed it to be approved without a vote by the creation of a contained land-use exclusion zone. The loan has since been rejected by the Municipal Finance Authority and the town is seeking a bank loan in cooperation with developers instead.

Ongoing protests and clashes with police continue, with developers at one point organizing a 'counter-protest' to demonstrate the voice of the workers involved with the project. Allegations that they were paid to attend this instead of work has not been confirmed but is suspected.

In March of 2008, further controversy erupted when one of the protestors opposed to further develpment at Bear Mountain purchased the sub-surface mining rights beneath the development. The legal ramifications are still being analyzed and debated.

Future

The Bear Mountain development plans claim it will be self-sufficient at its completion, as the community will house an elementary school within School District 62 (Sooke), sports fields, parks and internal trail systems, the private security company, real estate offices, a market featuring independent shops and an anchoring grocer, the planned outdoor amphitheatre, the existing commercial space, the golf course and resort, the five restaurants and lounge, the athletic club, and a likely (but not yet confirmed) community/seniors' activity centre. The developer's intention is for the residents of the community to utilise the services provided to them within Bear Mountain, reducing significantly the need to leave the community.

The long, winding entrance route, known as Bear Mountain Parkway, which currently stretches for 3km from Millstream Road -- at the bottom of the hill -- to the resort, symbolises the developer's desire to at least partially isolate the community from Langford proper. However, Bear Mountain Parkway is due to be extended around the western perimeter of the golf course, and a second entrance to the south will eventually be built, connecting Bear Mountain to the Trans-Canada Highway via either Savory Road or Spencer Road.

Upon completion, according to the Bear Mountain Master Plan for spring and summer 2007, the development will house upwards of 1,000 single-family zoned lots, many of which surround or will surround the golf course. However, much of the future development at Bear Mountain will actually be located to the east and south, further away from the existing golf course itself, and closer to Langford proper.

The developer's website says that "the vibrant Village at Bear Mountain will be complete with outdoor plazas, coffee houses, specialty shops, bistros, and an outdoor amphitheatre which will highlight local singers, dancers, and buskers".

In addition to this development, a physical connection (via road) will eventually be established between Bear Mountain and the Hannington Estates development to the north in the Highlands district.

Second golf course and academy

The developer has announced plans for a second 18-hole championship golf course, called the Valley course. The first nine holes will open in the fall of 2008. This second course will create Jack Nicklaus' first 36-hole package golf course development on Canadian soil.

The developer has also announced that a golf academy, called the Nicklaus Academy, will also open next year. It will feature advanced hardware and software technology designed by Nicklaus, as well as practice greens and a short-length driving range.

External links

• SPAET - www.First Nations.eu
• Bear Mountain development website
• Westin Bear Mountain Victoria resort home page
• City of Langford website
• Bear Mountain Tree Sit
• article in The Tyee - "Bear Mountain Road Foe Grabs Mineral Rights"
• Bear Mountain Treesit www.CathedralGrove.se