Industrial Land Diminishes Rural Nature

Peninsula News Review

Industrial Land Diminishes Rural Nature

By Fred Young

A few weeks ago a very young man knocked on my door and introduced himself as Sean McNulty. He stated he was running for mayor of Central Saanich. When asked his position on development, his eyes lit up like pinwheels and he enthusiastically pronounced he was all for it. When I said more growth would lead to more infrastructure, more housing, more school rooms, more hospital beds, more cars, more sewage, more noise, more ferries, longer ferry waits, etc., etc., he almost levitated and gave me an enthusiastic “Yeah!!” I told him I couldn’t support his position and that today’s new infrastructure is tomorrow’s tax burden and that any success at fast growth would diminish this pastoral, bucolic municipality irreparably. Sean was polite and friendly, we respectfully bid adieu to each other.

Some time later, I attended a meeting, which I believed to be endorsed by Council: “Notice of Public Town Hall Meeting for the Future of Central Saanich – Increased Taxes or Managed Growth”. On arrival, I spotted the mayor and two council members who said this meeting had nothing to do with council and they were there as invited guests. The very young Mister McNulty was there as a featured speaker, as were other prominent business leaders. A local businessman, Randy Sewell, who is trying to have his property rezoned for business expansion purposes, gave an impressive, but disturbing, power point presentation. He would put up a set of points, followed by a question aimed at the perceived ineptitude of the current mayor and council, followed by a photo of a mentally challenged person scratching his head like a dodo bird. He continued to humiliate and insult his guests, the mayor and council. This is like inviting guests to your house for the purpose of humiliating them for the enjoyment of others. This even disturbed some in a room obviously full of development supporters. He talked about a previous council whose motto was “Go Slow, Grow Slow” (which I thought a perfect slogan for our unique municipality) which Mister Sewell believes is a motto of professional ineptitude and incompetents. I assumed his motto was “Go Fast, Grow Fast” (anybody want to move to Langford?). Some speakers (gentler, kinder than Mr. Sewell) threw out the developers’ favourite phrase “Smart Growth” which I always considered a Central Saanich oxymoron. In honesty, I fled the meeting in frustration after a couple of hours and missed some speakers.

The point, Mr. Sewell and Mr. McNulty, is that this is not an industrial, or even light industrial municipality. This is where we choose to live because of its unique rural nature. Every new industrial footprint irrevocably diminishes this community. This Mayor and Council aren’t stupid, Mr. Sewell, they actually ‘get it’. It’s you that doesn’t get it. This is far more viable and attractive as a bedroom community than a Langford spin-off.

According to Mr. Sewell, we are being burdened by unnecessary tax increases. This year my taxes were increased by approximately $15 a month (10 per cent) or one family outing a month for ice cream cones! My neighbours and I would gladly pay more to maintain our unique community. We currently have one of the lowest tax rates anywhere in the CRD.

Developers are folks who end up in the mansions on the hill looking down on the sprawl they created.

Time to gear up, folks, the Barbarians are at the gate!

Fred Young

Central Saanich