I was very pleased with the outcome, as I don’t believe the priority should be expensive market housing and rentals when we are seeing vacancy rates for some of these newer builds, such as University Heights.
The priority should be attainable, affordable housing for young professionals, students, youth and seniors living on fixed incomes.
At last week’s “Coffee Corner,” a couple shared their perspective on multi-level townhomes for seniors who want to downsize. As mobility can decrease over time, multi-level housing may not be desirable or practical for many seniors. Increasingly, seniors are looking for accessible, single-level homes that allow them to remain independent.
At the end of the broadcast, I also shared concerns about Bill 44 exemptions. If elected to Council, I would advocate for Council to direct staff to review these exemptions and clearly identify where they apply. Citizens, property owners and developers should be able to easily understand where provincial pre-zoning requirements do and do not apply.
This information should be clearly reflected in Saanich’s Official Community Plan and provided through an easily accessible GIS mapping layer.
Residents are now expected to proactively sign up for Saanich’s Permit and Development Tracker to find out what is happening in their neighbourhood—and they also need to understand which categories and search terms to use.
Do you view this as a resident burden or as Citizen Service?
I believe local government should make information easier for citizens to find, understand and participate in rather than require residents to become experts in navigating municipal systems.
Protecting What Matters means protecting our ability to know what is happening in our own communities.