After weeks of public engagement and gathering a massive volume of feedback from Saanich residents, Saanich is making changes to the draft Quadra McKenzie Plan (QMP).
Following a tumultuous five-hour special council meeting on Feb. 11, where 86 speakers shared their opinion on the plan, staff submitted a report with recommendations on ways to move forward with the plan at the Feb. 24 meeting.
After long deliberation, council approved the revision of key themes and issues, including land use and transportation options, based on more than 3,300 public comments submitted since October 2024.
Council asked staff to revise the plan with a focus on reducing density in the Quadra North area. Moreover, changes to McKenzie Avenue vehicle lanes and transit priority measures will be carried over to a future process in consultation with BC Transit.
Council also approved an additional round of public engagement before finalizing the plan. To support this, $30,000 from the Housing Accelerator Fund has been allocated. This would extend the current timeline for plan completion by up to eight months according to a staff report.
“Tonight is about giving direction to staff to go and devise a new process; it's not about approving the plan,” said Coun. Colin Plant during the meeting.
In an interview with Saanich News, Plant expressed being 'cautiously optimistic' that the revisions to the QMP will be supported by a larger portion of the community, for a project that has triggered an unprecedented amount of involvement from residents.
“The message from me last night was that we heard you and we definitely are going to suggest some changes,” he said. “We're trying to make sure that we find a balance. I heard over and over that it was too much too fast, and we need to work with the community to come up with a better vision.”
Plant saidhe's committed to finding a way for everyone to move forward, with a shared vision, while viewing opposition in the process as a constructive force in decision-making.
Mayor Dean Murdock said that despite council’s best efforts to accommodate everyone throughout the process, he called the QMP “one of the more challenging things that council has embarked on.”
"I have found myself in a very challenging position of trying to walk a very difficult line between supporting a process that will allow a future vision for this these corridors and being responsive to the people who live in these areas,” said Murdock. “We are obviously very mindful about what the future is gonna look like… but it has not been easy, and I regret that it has created the kind of frustration and fear that it has.”
Aligned with Plant, Murdock added that council’s goal is to ensure everyone in Saanich can see their future reflected in the plan’s proposed vision.
“What's clear to me is that people love this community… and they're concerned about what the future offers,” said Murdock. “I'm under no delusions that this plan is going to be perfect, no matter how many times it goes through consultation, but we're embarking on a process where we're going to get on a better playing field in terms of what this looks like as we go forward together.”
The next council review going over the revised plan is expected in late spring, followed by public engagement sessions planned for summer and fall 2025.
As things progress, Murdock encourages Saanich residents to engage and share their thoughts during the next phase as the district moves toward finalizing the plan.
A detailed analysis of over 10,000 comments received by staff is ongoing and under review. More information is available at Saanich.ca/QMP.
