I just want to take the opportunity to thank you for your commentary on the ongoing ridiculous housing debate in North Saanich.
North Saanich is a very incomplete community and the development applications in front of council attempt to begin to address that by offering different forms of housing. With those different forms will bring different types of people from different walks of life.
Mr. Harrison’s comment is reflective of a small vocal minority in this community who don’t represent my family’s opinion. I am a 35 year old professional who was privileged enough to be able to afford the least expensive house in North Saanich in 2011 ($500,000).
I feel privileged to live in North Saanich but in all of the places I have lived in my young life, I find North Saanich the most incomplete. For Mr. Harrison to make the statement that those who work out this way should live in other communities is indicative of the wishes of the mayor and two council members and at the very least is a tremendously underwhelming argument against densification.
I grew up on the prairies and if North Saanich thinks it is a true agricultural area, just go to any major centre in Saskatchewan or Manitoba, drive an hour outside of the city limits and you will see what true agricultural community looks and feels like. And guess what, some of these small towns with populations of 500 or less have these strange buildings called “apartments” and houses are on small lots.
North Saanich is a boutique farming community at best and I would hazard a guess that less than 10 per cent of its population exists on the income from agriculture. I could be wrong but it would be an interesting study on how many people within North Saanich are directly employed by agriculture.
Further to that I guess Mr. Harrison has never heard of global warming and climate change or has never spent over an hour crawling along a poorly designed transportation corridor to get home. The pollution created by the daily commute alone should be reason enough to rationalize developing these properties. The last time I checked, these proposed developments are in areas that are adjacent to areas of density in another jurisdiction (Sidney).
There are several areas within our municipal borders which can be densified while still maintaining the look and feel of this community.
Again thank you for providing some balance on what should not be a polarizing issue within the community.
Kyle Shick
North Saanich