A commentary by a resident of the North Quadra neighbourhood.
Saanich planners have proposed redesigning a giant swath of Saanich into an ideological theme park for the future, ignoring the current livable, affordable neighbourhoods and the lives of the residents.
We have already heard reactions to the proposed street designs: drivers blasting the unworkable plan for the reduction of car lanes in order to introduce “complete streets,” which would, even by quick calculations, require massive road widening on both Quadra and McKenzie to provide the necessary bike lanes, transit lanes, and separated pedestrian pathways (sidewalks), along with reducing car traffic to a single lane in both directions.
In an ideal new town, perhaps a good solution, but when slashing through established neighbourhoods, a disaster in the making. Saanich council has heard the reaction, and is walking back the plan.
What has not yet been talked about is the effect on the surrounding neighbourhoods, generally made up of affordable, owner-occupied, single-family homes.
They are all planned to be swept away over the next few years to allow for apartments and townhouses, along with densely-packed “mid-rise” (five to 11 storeys) to “highrise” (12 storeys and more) buildings ingenuously described as a comprising a “village.”
Swan Lake and Christmas Hill — although each is surrounded on three sides by the area in question — do not even make it onto the plans as designated green space: their presence is left blank, even though the impact on these valued parks will be catastrophic.
Already, two 12-storey towers — one on a Garry oak meadow; the other on Quadra Street — are being mooted within a block of Christmas Hill.
At around 40 metres tall, they are the height of the hill itself, negating the hill’s prominence and providing hilltop views of top-floor balconies.
The Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary will be overlooked by six-storey or taller apartments, adding density to the 16-storey tower already being built on the park’s south flank. Rithet’s Bog will suffer the same fate, if planned highrise and mid-rise structures are built on the park’s southwest flank.
Residents of the area who have already recognized the potential impact to their homes and neighbourhoods are in disbelief, wondering why they are the ones having to absorb all the impact of Saanich’s quest for densification. Some are angry, some have been in tears, others are starting to fight back.
Some are planning to sell their homes, where they have been living for decades. Others are saying it is pointless to put on a new roof or even maintain their homes.
One resident, a retired real estate agent, scoffed at a Saanich planner’s declaration that a 12-storey building next door “will improve your property values,” knowing they will face a loss if they sell.
Through all this, Saanich has incorrectly said they will “work towards retaining and protecting environmental and heritage assets along the Quadra corridor.”
But the plan shows a high-density hub with retail frontage at Beckwith and Quadra Street, ignoring the unique, stone-built heritage house currently on the site, as one example.
The plan also does not reference environmental connections, rare Garry oak meadows, and wildlife corridors — obvious to anyone living in the area — between Mount Douglas, Blenkinsop Lake; Beckwith Ponds; Christmas Hill and Swan Lake.
The difficult-to-find online questionnaire for residents — which only allows responses to current proposals and not the plan itself — ends with the question: “Is there anything missing from the Draft Plan?”
I would respond: Yes. Common sense. And respect for all the residents this plan will displace.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
