We sometimes receive enquiries to the Archives about properties that are not, it turns out, in Oak Bay. But the municipal boundary between Oak Bay and Saanich / Victoria follows Foul Bay Road for its full length, right? No! This is only true for the section of Foul Bay Road that is a straight line, between Oak Bay Ave and Lansdowne.

From Barkley Terrace in the south almost to McKenzie Ave in the north, the municipal boundary follows the line of that straight section, regardless of roads or even lot boundaries, rather than following the meanders of Foul Bay Road itself.

Did you know that about half of the UVic campus is in Oak Bay? Some properties south of Oak Bay Avenue are partly in the City of Victoria and partly in Oak Bay. And yes, they pay a proportion of property taxes to both.

Many people who don't live on or near the boundary have the impression, by the "east of Foul Bay Rd" definition, that e.g. the Abkhazi Gardens at 1964 Fairfield Rd must be in Oak Bay, but in fact that property is well inside the City of Victoria. (image of the Abkhazi Garden example based on part of the CRD map linked below)

On Gonzales Hill, the municipal boundary jogs west to rejoin Foul Bay Road near its southern end. The line cuts across just south of the Gonzales Hill Observatory, which is in Victoria. Because of the jog, some properties at the foot of Foul Bay Road are in Oak Bay although they are west of that straight "Foul Bay line", and all of Harling Point is in Oak Bay.

Why does this matter? Because records of individual properties, both current and archival, are maintained by the relevant municipalities, so if you are doing research on a property, it will help to know which planning or records department and which archives to ask. But archivists are always happy to help out with confusing queries, and we often refer enquirers to the archives or records departments of neighbouring archives.

Detailed zoomable maps with municipal and lot boundaries as well as streets and other features are available on the municipalities' websites and the CRD: https://maps.crd.bc.ca/Html5Viewer/?viewer=public&

- Anna Sander, October 2025

Questions? email archives@oakbay.ca