Central Saanich was a model for sustainable planning, that is until a new municipal council (with some councilors funded by real estate interests) won a controversial election. Since then, the council has operated like a run away train with councilors openly refusing to declare conflicts of interest and shouting and bullying each other at meetings...
In our continent of big box stores and commuter suburbs Central Saanich is anomalous as a rural community that protects its farms by funneling development into existing urban areas. In doing so it has become a model for sustainable planning and has managed to avoid water scarcity, high taxes and many of the social problems that plague most cities. It is the CRD’s best source for local produce and the bucolic landscape contributes to the natural character of our collective identity.
These are treasures that we can give to our children and grandchildren, but they also make the area a gold mine for real estate speculators and as we have seen over and over again, when there is money to be made developers stop at nothing, bending rules, exploiting legal loopholes and bullying their neighbors to make millions at the expense of future generations. That’s exactly what’s happening right now in Central Saanich where a rogue municipal council is plowing past the advice of the community, the CRD board and their own planners to open the region up to urban sprawl.
The Central Saanich council is operating like a run away train with councilors openly refusing to declare conflicts of interest and even shouting and bullying each other at meetings.In 2008 developer and farmer Ian Vantreight submitted an application to rezone rural and agricultural land to build a commuter subdivision on his property. Although Central Saanich clearly restricted urban development to three density pockets their Official Community Plan identifies an urban area as one that has municipal water and sewer services. So, by providing well water and septic tanks Vantreight suggested that his proposed 236 house settlement on 13 ha of land was “rural” in nature. The proposal was voted down by the former council.
The 2008 a new municipal council was inaugurated after a dubious election that prompted the RCMP to recommend laying 19 charges. Several of the new members had local real estate interests and were heavily funded by local developers.
http://dogwoodinitiative.org/blog/saanichs-rogue-council
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