While on an evening walk with his wife, a Saanich resident came across a billboard that left a sour taste in his mouth. Planted behind a wooden fence was a sign announcing plans to redevelop more than two acres of Garry oak meadow into 24 townhomes.
“We were shocked,” said Murray Goode. “I don't usually get out in front of issues like this, but… more people need to know about it.”
Determined to get to the bottom of things, the retired teacher returned home and, over the following weeks, filed several Freedom of Information requests. When the documents came back, he discovered the development proposal for 4015 Braefoot Rd. would remove 68 of the property’s 120 trees – “most of which are Garry oak,” according to an environmental assessment.
Goode claimed that this loss would be a blow to the district’s ecosystem, estimating the removed trees sequester about 1,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide each year.
“They're one of the best trees around in terms of dealing with the effects of climate change, they're also drought and heat resistant,” he said. “They're perfectly adapted to dealing with this kind of climate.”
While Goode welcomes the developer's intention to plant 104 new trees, he said it would take decades to replace those being cut down.
“The trees that they're going to plant will be very small and basically sequester very little, if any, carbon,” said Goode. “Not only are you losing all this carbon sequestration, but you're also cutting down 68 trees that are going to give off carbon.”
Goode also argued that this culling of trees is inconsistent with Saanich's policies on managing green spaces.
“All the documents say we need to preserve these trees… for their environmental services, including wildlife habitat, wildlife food, water purification, and soil health,” said Goode.
Saanich’s Urban Forest Strategy notes that “the scarcity of large trees, especially within the urban containment boundary, underscores the importance of their retention and preservation.”
Meanwhile, Saanich’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy highlights that remnant patches of Garry oak ecosystems “are one of Canada’s most endangered plant communities,” and states that “the protection of this plant community… requires support from the public, the District of Saanich, and all levels of government.”
The same document adds that, despite a ministerial order to increase the municipality’s housing stock by 4,610 units over the next five years, growth “needs to be balanced with other provincial initiatives that prioritize biodiversity and ecosystem health.”
In a written statement to Saanich News, the district said it must balance the need for housing with the retention of trees.
“The district recognizes both the critical role that trees play in ecological health… as well as the need to accommodate growth and expand housing options,” reads the statement.
Although the redevelopment of the site is still in its early stages, the district added that the council’s decision will be made “in a balanced way,” taking into account input from applicants, neighbours, planners, and arborists to minimize tree removal and optimize housing.
“Where this is an application for rezoning of lands, council will make the final decision in determining if the right balance has been achieved in this context,” added the statement. “Given the point in the application process that this application currently sits, a council decision is still several months away.”
Although Goode recognized the need for more housing and acknowledged the environmental assessment’s classification of the two-acre site as a “degraded” oak ecosystem, he believes the plan to remove more than half the trees for eight blocks of townhouses should be reconsidered.
Another plan proposing five single-family dwellings, which would reduce the number of trees cut to 55 from 68, is still unacceptable to Goode, as the two projects take up most of the property.
Asking Saanich council to “take a step back and look at some alternatives” when the proposal hits the floor at municipal hall, Goode hopes the project will be reconsidered moving forward.
“To me, this project is way too invasive,” said Goode. “I think they can still put multiple units there without impacting nearly as many trees and plants as this plan does.
“My suggestion would be one large building.”
