Who we are
The website SaveNorthSaanich.ca was initially created in 2014 in response to Bylaw 1352, which allowed for intense densification in parts of North Saanich. The election that followed in 2014 saw the members of council who had supported the bylaw effectively trounced. The incoming council amended the bylaw such that it prohibited development unless it was to provide truly affordable housing.
Today the OCP review presents an unprecedented threat to North Saanich, which is much greater than Bylaw 1352. Commercial spaces, densification, the extension of the Urban Containment Boundary....as the Director of Planning recently told council, "Nothing is off the table."
And so SaveNorthSaanich was born again.
The site is maintained by a group of editorial volunteers and is supported by contributions of writing, research, wisdom, expertise, services and financial donations from a wide group of North Saanich residents. Some supporters have lived here a very long time, some of have only recently discovered North Saanich, and all are dedicated to protecting and preserving this precious place from the densification and "up-zoning" that has destroyed so many other rural communities.
Supporters of this page include owners and renters, young and old, employed, self-employed, retired, and working at home raising children. They walk, they ride horses, they push strollers, they drive cars, they ride bikes. Some moved from big cities, some have lived the quiet life all along. In contrast to the formal municipal engagement process, which is keen to hear from non-resident developers and "prospective residents", the contributors to this page live in North Saanich, without exception.
No one involved in the creation and maintenance of this website has any financial interest related to land use in North Saanich, apart from those who own their own homes. They have no plans to subdivide.
Editors-in-chief:
Don Enright
Alice Finall