In his letter of March 8, Kyle Shick seems to suggest a tax shortfall in North Saanich could be addressed by increasing density through small lot housing developments.
We have often heard this argument in favour of broadening the tax base and we have often been told that growth is inevitable. If greater density brought lower taxes then it would be cheaper to live in Hong Kong than in North Saanich.
Mr. Shick is a professional in the housing industry, as is another recent writer to the PNR, Silvia Bonet, both of whom work with Saanichton based Finlayson-Bonet Architecture whose website displays numerous high density projects they have designed. They of course are entitled to design what they wish, to work for whomever they choose and to voice their support for projects and planning decisions of which they approve and from which they may even benefit. However, in my opinion, Mr. Shick does not seem to appreciate the importance of our municipality’s Official Community Plan.
The North Saanich OCP was created with the express purpose of providing certainty and stability to planning and development issues in our community.
It expresses the basic premise that our community’s prosperity does not depend on population increase and articulates the virtues of sustainability.
Making ad hoc amendments to the OCP without going through the legislated and appropriate review process is, in my opinion, simply destructive.
It is not NIMBYism to expect our elected representatives to adhere to the OCP.
Patrick Godfrey
North Saanich