A controversial bylaw designed to protect environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) is on its way out.
Council, meeting as committee-of-the-whole, voted 5-4 Saturday to rescind the Environmental Development Permit Area EDPA bylaw. Mayor Richard Atwell, Coun. Susan Brice, Coun. Fred Haynes, Coun. Karen Harper, and Coun. Leif Wergeland voted in favour of rescinding the bylaw, which Saanich introduced in 2012.
Coun. Judy Brownoff, Coun. Colin Plant, Coun. Dean Murdock, and Coun. Vicki Sanders voted against rescinding the bylaw.
CouncilB次元官网网址檚 narrow vote against the EDPA came during a lengthy meeting Saturday Critics of the bylaw say it has restricted their ability to modify their properties, and lowered their property values.
While Council had commissioned , SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 hearing into the report turned out to be the occasion of its demise, provided council confirms the vote during its next regular meeting.
SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 vote also marks a major political victory
Harper acknowledged that SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 vote fulfills one of her three campaign promises, but noted that any councillor depends on support from others.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 pleased by the outcome, but IB次元官网网址檓 also saddened that it took us so long to find a stage, where we can move forward,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a moment of celebration, it is a moment of reflection.B次元官网网址�
Atwell said in an interview after the vote that the EDPA was a B次元官网网址渄raconian bylawB次元官网网址� that focused on the wrong problems, offering B次元官网网址渨eak environmental protectionB次元官网网址� along the way.
B次元官网网址淎s a bylaw and policy, it clearly wasnB次元官网网址檛 working for homeowners and needed to be thrown out,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 tried to rescind the bylaw at council two years ago, without success, because my sense was that we would end up here anyway.B次元官网网址�
Atwell was especially critical of the atlas that identifies ESAs subject to EPDA provisions. The atlas that served as the basis for the EDPA was not only inaccurate, but also targeted the wrong areas, by focusing on lawns, gardens, front and back yards, he said.
B次元官网网址淪aanich needs strong environmental protection where it makes sense, and I believe that when itB次元官网网址檚 scientifically arrived at, it will garner widespread support,B次元官网网址� said Atwell.
Plant said in a Facebook post that the EDPA bylaw in its current form needed to change. B次元官网网址淚n my opinion the EDPA needed to be revised and replaced,B次元官网网址� he said. However he opposed rescinding the bylaw. B次元官网网址淚 was opposed because I believed that while we rebuild the EDPA bylaw it would have been unwise to rescind the bylaw and leave only the pre-EDPA protections in place,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭o put it bluntly, rescinding and rolling back to 2012 measures gives us less protection than the current EDPA,B次元官网网址� he said.
Harper disagrees. Saanich has many measures that protect the environment, she said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 believe we have left Saanich in jeopardy,B次元官网网址� she said.
Plant said he recognized that the EDPA angered many. B次元官网网址淚 appreciate that people were emotional and upset and really wanted the current EDPA to simply go away but the method we are now to proceed withB次元官网网址ees us with less protection than we currently have while we come up with a new EDPA bylaw,B次元官网网址� he said.
Following the vote to rescind, council eventually instructed staff to develop a Saanich program addressing environmental topics like climate change, biodiversity and stewardship to B次元官网网址渟erve as a policy framework for other Saanich environmental policies and programs and that a new EDPA be considered as part of this program.B次元官网网址� This report would consider the report recommendations of the Diamond Head report.
Council approved that motion by a vote of 6-3 with Atwell, Harper and Wergeland opposed.
Plant called that vote an important signal to the community. B次元官网网址淚 suggest this motion was important because after the rescinding of the EDPA, I believe Council needed a way forward that was more than just an EDPA rebuild.B次元官网网址�
Plant used the following metaphor to describe councilB次元官网网址檚 path forward. B次元官网网址淪aanich is building a new house and while we are building that new house, Council has decided to go live out in a tent rather than the house it is currently staying in.B次元官网网址�
