98 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Sidney’s Mary Winspear Centre to host multiple municipal election forums

Forums also scheduled for North Saanich and Central Saanich

https://www.vicnews....lection-forums/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 September 2022 - 12:01 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Rural Saanich residents to hold all-candidates meeting

 

“We want candidates to understand Rural Saanich holds the municipality’s highest biodiversity on both public and private land, provides food security and is critical in the mitigation of climate change. Farms and agriculture are the core of this community, and the natural environment of rural Saanich is an integral part of the economy and health of the municipality,” said event spokesperson Winona Pugh.

 

The rural area, protected by the Urban Containment Boundary is valued by the people of Saanich for its natural environment, high biological diversity, agriculture, forests and rural lifestyle, according to a release. Pugh said “rapid growth throughout the Capital Regional District has threatened most of these qualities,” and rural residents in the district have a sense of pride in their role in the sustainability of the municipality.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....idates-meeting/

[Victoria Watcher]

and is critical in the mitigation of climate change.

 

 

 

Spare me the theatrics.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, this is where the fight is going to be. Oak Bay will turn around and tell the province to stuff it, if Metchosin can be what it is, and west Saanich what it is.

Remember, you can stuff all of Saanich’s residents into just 25% of Saanich’s land mass and you still have a lower density than that of the City of Victoria.

[Sparky]

^ That’s because we planned it that way. Pretty smart eh? Just think of how forward thinking that was back in the 60’s.

There is a reason why missing middle housing is missing.

Nobody likes it.

Ok go ahead and slam me. I deserve it. Or did I just mention what a lot of people think but are afraid to say out loud.

[Mike K.]

Absolutely. But you guys needs to start preparing for one heck of a fight, as you’re the easiest target.

Regardless, the measures had a good run. And may still, but you are going to be facing pressures that are new, and will have a lot of support from outside of your community. Candidates are going to have to state in clear terms where they stand on these issues and how they will vote if development comes knocking. Any fidgety answers, and you’ll have your answer.

[Mike K.]

Most importantly, it should be a goal for the rural Saanich community to produce electable candidates.

Is anyone running in this election who is a rural Saanich resident with an outspoken desire to keep the rural lands rural?

[Victoria Watcher]

Doesn’t one of them farm in the Blenkinsop Valley?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 October 2022 - 09:16 AM.

[Sparky]

Most importantly, it should be a goal for the rural Saanich community to produce electable candidates.

Is anyone running in this election who is a rural Saanich resident with an outspoken desire to keep the rural lands rural?

 

Mayor Fred Haynes lives in Rural Saanich. He is adamant about retaining the qualities that the Urban Containment Boundary provides. 

https://fredhaynes.c...nd-environment/

 

"Protect rural Saanich and the Urban Containment Boundary"

[Sparky]

Mike I am going to go out on a limb here and stick my neck out. Back in the 60's when Ridley, Hucker and a number of other players were chopping up Colwood and sticking up cookie cutter homes to accommodate the thousands of migrants from the prairies and Ontario, it scared the crap out of our Saanich forefathers when they realized that the same fate could happen here. That's why they invented the Urban Containment Boundary. 

 

Since then more people have arrived on our shores. Then they cry about a lack of accommodation available just like Helps and Eby have who both have migrated from Ontario. 

 

So unless all the ferries sink to the bottom of the sea, the airport is reclaimed by Mother Nature or someone drains the inner harbour.....someone has to defend the destruction of quality of life. 

 

There I said it. Not very inclusive and definitely privileged....but hey at least we were upfront about our motives and our goals.

[Victoria Watcher]

Most people in the first world live in urban areas. Most willingly. Are they all choosing a poor quality of life?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 October 2022 - 09:55 AM.

[Sparky]

Most people in the first world live in urban areas. Most willingly. Are they all choosing a poor quality of life?

 

You have misread what I said. 

 

I said that urbanizing a rural area destroys the benefits of a rural area. People that want to live above, below, and beside each other are free to fill their boots.

[Mike K.]

Mike I am going to go out on a limb here and stick my neck out. Back in the 60's when Ridley, Hucker and a number of other players were chopping up Colwood and sticking up cookie cutter homes to accommodate the thousands of migrants from the prairies and Ontario, it scared the crap out of our Saanich forefathers when they realized that the same fate could happen here. That's why they invented the Urban Containment Boundary.

Since then more people have arrived on our shores. Then they cry about a lack of accommodation available just like Helps and Eby have who both have migrated from Ontario.

So unless all the ferries sink to the bottom of the sea, the airport is reclaimed by Mother Nature or someone drains the inner harbour.....someone has to defend the destruction of quality of life.

There I said it. Not very inclusive and definitely privileged....but hey at least we were upfront about our motives and our goals.

I agree with you, and I am a big proponent/supporter of that lifestyle.

But that lifestyle is a huge target right now for municipal and provincial forces. Consider how a carrot approach might sway municipal politicians, who may have millions of dollars dangled in front of them, in exchange for raising the density of their lowest density areas.

[lanforod]

It’s a location problem. West Saanich is the closest large rural area to the centre of our regional core.

[Sparky]

^ You bring up an important point lanforod. Firstly I would like to thank you for your contribution to VV. With over 9,000 posts your active involvement is a great inspiration to us all.

 

Rural Saanich is the closest "protected" area to our higher density neighbours. My concern is...... should this be a contributing factor in density discussions?

 

The "build up or build out" challenge is an important hurdle in planning the future for the lower island. Certainly the build out topic is more difficult here than it is in Calgary for example. The build up strategy has yet to reach it's potential within the 4 core municipalities.

 

Rural Saanich could be the low hanging fruit in these discussions, but I truly believe there are other solutions than densifying an area that has been designated for rural preservation.

 

Vancouver Island has increased it's allure recently for being a target of migration. Quality of life and lifestyle rank higher than almost every other reason for that migration. I believe that preserving a rural atmosphere in an area that is close to the regional core, as you say, is more important than filling it up with people that are dissatisfied with their current location.

[Victoria Watcher]

The "build up or build out" challenge is an important hurdle in planning the future for the lower island. Certainly the build out topic is more difficult here than it is in Calgary for example. 

 

See, I do not believe this to be true.

 

 

[Sparky]

I was looking at it from the point of view that the prairies terrain was more accessible.

[Sparky]

^ in other words, it’s a lot easier to build 30 miles of road on the prairie than it is on Vancouver Island.

[Mike K.]

I believe that preserving a rural atmosphere in an area that is close to the regional core, as you say, is more important than filling it up with people that are dissatisfied with their current location.

What makes this tricky, is growth has a domino effect. If people in more central neighbourhoods are being forced to live next to high density apartments as their neighbourhood densifies against their wishes, and people further afield are seeing more missing middle-type density against their wishes in suburban neighbourhoods, eventually the rural neighbourhoods will be expected to accommodate more density, too. The response from other residents of Saanich will be ‘if you want to be rural, you have to move out of the city, because we’re not taking all the heat.’

My own community is changing very quickly. My neighbours and I didn’t sign up for that, it’s being forced on us. And the residents around here are starting to wonder why Sooke has to grow so fast and add so much density, but Metchosin doesn’t, East Sooke doesn’t, neither does Highlands, etc. That’s eventually going to put more pressure on low density areas of the urban core by virtue of development exhaustion in other communities. And believe me, there are many parts of the CRD exhausted by what’s happening on the construction front. It’s making a lot of people very upset, and this election could very well deliver an anti-growth message.

[Mike K.]

^ in other words, it’s a lot easier to build 30 miles of road on the prairie than it is on Vancouver Island.

Something we don’t like to talk about when addressing suburban growth pressures, is we already have the road network. It’s just locked up behind gates, but it’s there, and very well developed. You could very quickly open up hundreds of square kilometres for development by unlocking a few gates.