As Saanich works to meet its provincially mandated housing target, development has become a priority in the municipality. Adapting to an ever-growing population, several areas are slated for major transformation over the next two decades.
But that wave of change is bringing its fair share of concerns among residents.
After residents voiced their worries and frustrations about the Quadra McKenzie and Tillicum Burnside plans, people in the Royal Oak area are now speaking up.
With the area entering an “unprecedented” period of growth, with several major residential and mixed-use projects already approved or underway, the Royal Oak Community Association (ROCA) sent a letter to council and planning staff outlining their stance.
In it, ROCA president Roger Graham mentioned that one of the community’s main concerns revolves around the strain future growth will place on existing infrastructure.
“There is a general acceptance that, yes, we need more housing,” he said. “(But) numerous comments are coming back on the traffic and parking issues, and all of the safety concerns that arise out of those two factors.
“We don't have the land, and where we do have the land, we don't have the infrastructure, roads, or capacity to be able to absorb (this).”
The group also recommends moving the BC Transit exchange from its current location at Elk and Royal Oak drives, which they claim lies at the periphery of the area’s core. Graham suggested relocating it to a 2.7-acre Saanich-owned lot on West Saanich Road, beside the Royal Oak Shopping Centre to reduce strain on nearby residential roads.
Beyond these requests, the group is calling for the completion of the Royal Oak Broadmead Centre, Corridor and Village (CCV) Plan before major developments are approved.
Originally scheduled to start this year, the association is still waiting for the planning process to start.
Without the CCV plan, Graham argued that future projects will be approved in isolation, without a coordinated approach to transportation, parking, utilities, schools, health care, and other essential services.
Calling Saanich’s current approach to development in the area “ad hoc,” Graham fears that proceeding without an area plan would be putting the cart before the horse.
“We've got these individual developments occurring without any real planning in place to understand how these are actually going to impact and affect the community writ large,” he said. “We would prefer to see our CCV planning process get underway as soon as possible, and therefore bring in more of a logical consideration in terms of where this density is actually going to occur rather than just having it happen wherever a developer can stick up a tower.”
In an interview with Saanich News, Mayor Dean Murdock said he is scheduled to meet with Graham in the coming days to discuss Royal Oak’s future.
In the meantime, Murdock recognizes that the CCV plan has been postponed to 2026 as the city has been grappling with delays caused by other files, such as the Quadra McKenzie and Tillicum Burnside plans.
While the mayor welcomes and understands the concerns raised by Graham, he said the district does not have the right to pause project applications pending the start of the neighbourhood planning process.
“We're not in a position to put a moratorium on development projects,” he said. “Any time a land owner or a proponent comes forward with an application, we have an obligation to consider it.”
Although Murdock agrees that the transit exchange lies at the periphery of Royal Oak’s core, which “creates a sort of disjointed centre,” he noted that the municipality’s decision-making power may, in some cases, be limited.
“The Royal Oak area is covered in part by a transit-oriented area designated by the province around the transit exchange, which is not something that council has any influence over. That is designated by the province,” he said.
However, if BC Transit submits an application to move its operations to the Saanich-owned property, as proposed by Graham, Murdock said council would hear them out like any other applicant.
Although the area does not yet have a CCV plan, Murdock is confident the official community plan, as of now, provides a strong enough backbone to guide development in the meantime.
“The official community plan gives some coherence to major centre development so that there is already some description of the type of land use that can be achieved in the area,” he said. “While every application needs to be treated as unique, it's not occurring in a vacuum.
“In the meantime, while we wait for that planning process to get started, there is a strong foundation to guide any future land use.”
