I applaud Jeff StanhopeB次元官网网址檚 letter to the Review regarding Alice FinallB次元官网网址檚 commentary on the direction the North Saanich OCP is taking. His letter was bang on. North Saanich has been valued as a rural district. It is the green space, or as Alice Finall says, the lungs of the region.

One of the reasons I love this area so much is because it is rural. However, the direction the district is taking will irreparably change this, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 seem to have much interest in preserving the environment or wildlife that live here. Development has become the new focus. In North Saanich households struggle with affordability, Wolfgang Depner writes that, B次元官网网址淢ost households in North Saanich - and especially families - cannot afford the most common type of housingB次元官网网址�single-detached homes.B次元官网网址� (ArenB次元官网网址檛 people already residents if they own houses here?) And that older individuals or couples whose children have moved away are B次元官网网址渓ikelyB次元官网网址� the main homeowners in North Saanich. He promotes increasing affordable housing when as Alice Finall (and Jeff Stanhope) remind us, this is contrary to our regionB次元官网网址檚 planning values.

Generally, affordable housing has been out of reach in all of the Greater Victoria municipalities. For years, we have seen a trend of people who canB次元官网网址檛 afford to get into the market move up island where property prices are lower. LangfordB次元官网网址檚 acre upon acre of cheaply designed B次元官网网址榓ffordableB次元官网网址� housing is still out of reach for many people. Due to expensive new homes flooding the market here, IB次元官网网址檝e seen my property assessment go up by 13 per cent this year. And, isnB次元官网网址檛 there a very active real estate market in North Saanich with houses selling as quickly as they are listed? Obviously some people can afford them. North Saanich is outside of the Urban Containment Boundary in the regional growth strategy so why is there a push for us to become an affordable housing mecca?

Developers donB次元官网网址檛 care about preserving the environment or rural character of our district, it is all about maximizing their profit. You only need to look at the abomination at Moses Point, where, with our districtB次元官网网址檚 blessing, all the trees were razed and requirements adjusted so the maximum number of lots could be jammed in. Developers have far too much input already (eg. the Tree Protection Bylaw review). They hire their own arborists to support the wholesale removal of trees and again maximize their profit. Developers should not have a voice in our OCP review. Wolfgang Depner noted that the District pushed back in support of developers involvement in the OCP saying a B次元官网网址渇armer with a strong vested interest in agriculture could also be seen to have a vested interest.B次元官网网址� The farmer is a taxpaying resident in our district, the developer is not, and the farmerB次元官网网址檚 interests align with the focus for our region. The time has come for our district to B次元官网网址榩reserve and protectB次元官网网址� what is left and get the developers out of the OCP process.

Sue Starkey

North Saanich