For immediate release: February 3, 2017
SAFE Welcomes EDPA Report Results SAANICH, BC. Saanich Action for the Environment (SAFE) welcomes the GP Rollo and Associates Report commissioned by Saanich Council in late 2015 to address its Environmental Development Permit Area By-law. “The report clears confusion and uncertainty around the by-law and addresses inaccurate and misleading information some property owners may have received,” said SAFE committee member Merie Beauchamp. The bylaw, aimed at preserving biodiversity, and which prevents the alteration of land, subdivision and construction unless a development permit is issued, had become a controversial issue in the municipality. Several property owners believed their property’s value had been negatively impacted by the environmental designation. “Clearly this is not so,” said Beauchamp. “The Rollo Report clears up many fears and the misinformation that had come to the fore over the past year, and it provides a way forward for Council on the issue,” she said. SAFE points to 3 key findings in the Report:
“The Report proves Saanich’s EDPA by-law is not negatively impacting property values in Saanich, but the District has work to do to help better educate and inform property owners,” said Beauchamp. The full GPRA report and an Executive Summary are available at www.saanich.ca/edpa. Two earlier reports, submitted by BC Assessment and UVic’s Environmental Law Centre, had arrived at similar conclusions. A 2016 Saanich staff report said that of the 563 building permit applications made in 2015 for single-family properties, only 15 required a development permit. In early 2016, the Office of the Ombudsperson of BC dismissed a citizen group’s complaint that Saanich failed to adequately notify owners of the EDPA by-law when it was brought into practice in 2012. Media contacts: Merie Beauchamp 250.858.9554 Peter Haddon 250.590.3856
An article by four UVic professors in support of the EDPA:
Garry Oak Ecosystems: Saanich on the Right Track "We believe a different view is needed to realize the bold environmental vision that Saanich embraces. Nature is found in so many places, sometimes fragmented. It’s often degraded by heavy use and invasive species, but when the elements of native biodiversity are there, ecosystems can be restored. Protecting and connecting these fragments of nature, which is what the EDPA encourages, will result in greater adaptive capacity for the ecosystems of Saanich to cope with the uncertainties that climate change and continuing development hold." Saanich is hosting the second Town Hall meeting to hear citizens' views on the EDPA. We urge you to attend and lend a voice of support for the EDPA.
Doors open at 6 p.m. on February 11th. We encourage you to arrive early, and be prepared to speak, even very briefly. Pearkes Recreation Centre Field House 3100 Tillicum Road Thank you! |
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