A commentary by a former president of two Canadian universities who was born and raised in Victoria and lives in James Bay.

A construction project ­proposed for James Bay envisions a ­massive brutalist tower to be built on a parking lot in a ­residential area that is already characterized by unusually high density and traffic congestion.

This huge influx of high-end market-priced condos would rise 14 storeys above ground, ­dwarfing nearby structures.

Despite the opposition to this proposal expressed by more than 90 per cent of ­respondents during its public ­engagement process and by the city’s ­professional planners on all three occasions when they were asked for recommendations, last spring, Victoria council moved it forward to the public hearing stage required because it involved changes in the then Official Community Plan and bylaw regulations.

For the following six months, nothing apparently happened on this file.

Last week, city........

© Times Colonist