oct-2017

202 203 west coast municipal district. She relates, “This whole area at one time was kind of a holiday cabin getaway for people in the Victoria/Saanich region. It has some joint history with the town of Sidney, but eventually those boundaries were put in place and we are now a separate municipality.” At just under 10,000 acres in size, North Saan- ich is comprised of six community-like neigh- bourhoods –Ardmore, Deep Cove, Curteis Point, Cloake Hill/Green Park, Dean Park, and the South East Quadrant –on the edge of a rich agricultural interior protected by the Provincial Agricultural Land Reserve. Finall explains, “It’s a very diverse community, with an official community plan that’s ongoing. The plan was approved in 2007 after four years of study by the municipality that spanned two coun- cil terms. The cornerstone feature is enhance- ment and protection of the agricultural, rural, and marine character of the municipality.” The District population is stable at about 11,500, having grown by less than 500 people over the last three census periods; slow growth by design. Rob Buchan, North Saanich CAO, says, “Regionally, we’re outside of the urban growth areas. Our function is to protect vital resources like rural lands and agricultural lands and marine lands and green space.With some exceptions, we do have some limited development within that context.” NORTH SAANICH, BRITISH COLUMBIA Housing is spread out for the most part, al- though there is once concentrated area in Dean Park with close to 800 multi-family units. Beauti- ful homes populate the waterfront, but they are all single-family residences. One of the unique aspects of the municipality is that it includes the Victoria International Air- port and the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal within its boundaries. Buchan notes, “Within the Victoria Airport lands, there’s a considerable amount of commercial light industrial enterprises. So, there’s a lot of employment there. It’s an economic driver for the region.We also have a big marine indus- try; more marinas than any other municipality on Vancouver Island.We have 45 km of shoreline, but it’s recreational, not really a draw for tourists. Tourism isn’t a big industry for us.” North Saanich has four schools, including Park- land High School and Deep Cove French Immer- sion, and the nearby Saanich Peninsula Hospital in Central Saanich provides excellent medical care. Pat Bay Highway is the main road connector; the automotive spine goes right up the peninsula from downtown Victoria to the ferries in North Saanich. There is also a bus service. Locals would like to see more, and want it better integrated with the airport, though resources are limited. Finall states, “We do get help from the provincial government, but not enough.” Relationships between North Saanich and