After nearly a month-long wait for the tally of responses to the $150-million Alternative Approval Process (AAP), Saanich staff officially presented the final results to council on July 21.
The borrowing plan for the Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment was quashed after more than 10 per cent of voters opposed it.
A staff memo dated July 14 confirmed that 10,613 responses — representing 12.2 per cent of eligible voters — were submitted before the June 25 deadline, while 497 responses were rejected.
As council received the results, Coun. Colin Plant asked for clarification on why some response forms may have been rejected.
Saanich’s corporate officer Angila Bains, explained that forms were disqualified for reasons ranging from missing full names or valid addresses, lack of a signature, incomplete forms, or listing more than one person per form. Submissions from residents living outside of Saanich were also excluded.
Bains added that the district will not provide explanations for rejected forms, as the process is considered “final and conclusive.”
While some residents may be disappointed by the lack of feedback, Plant said he fully trusts the AAP process and its results.
The councillor concluded by asking staff about the content of the upcoming report. With work still underway, CAO Brent Reems said he couldn’t provide details yet, but told council the report should be ready by Aug. 18.
Thanking staff for their work, Plant said he had heard the concerns of Saanich residents.
“I want to… acknowledge that the public has spoken, and we need to listen, and I certainly will be,” he said.
Coun. Nathalie Chambers, a vocal opponent of the AAP, didn’t hide her enthusiasm over the results, saying she was “very happy” to witness what she called a clear sign of strong community engagement.
“The public has not had their voice, and I just wanna say how inspired I am and the power of community that has come together here,” she said. “I feel inspired again.
“Everybody… deserves to be a part of the community here that we are forming.”
Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff closed the discussion by asking staff about the potential cost of alternative options, but was told no figures were currently available, as the report is still in progress.
“I'm very much looking forward to the staff report to see different options,” he said. “I'm personally a little bit concerned about costs that other options might have. I think those who anticipated that rejecting the AAP and the SOC (would) save us tax dollars may be in for a bit of an awakening, but we'll find out soon enough.”
