Warning: Division by zero in
/var/www/magicseaweed.com/httpdocs/content-article.php on line
968
The CRD is considering bylaws that will affect an area several times the size of the whole Saanich Peninsula, an area equivalent to a strip as wide as the distance from UVic to Royal Roads, and as long as the distance from from Victoria to Nanaimo. It comprises most of the area labeled "14" on the map at: http://www.crd.bc.ca/regionalplanning/growth/images/MapA_large.jpg
The area represents 2/3 of the area of the CRD on Vancouver Island. It is now a vibrant wilderness covered by an intricate network of wild rivers and streams, and it is right out our back door. The area includes some Crown land, but a great deal of it is owned by two timber corporations who are eager to develop it, or sell it for development.
The proposed bylaws would reduce the minimum lot size in the area from 120 hectares to 2 hectares. At present, less than two hundred people live there. Any major development would result in the worst kind of sprawl, replacing productive wilderness with scattered, car-dependent suburbs. Development would inevitably affect many watersheds (and surfing access!).
The proposed bylaws amount to the biggest land use decision in the history of the CRD. They would affect 2/3 of its total area on Vancouver Island. There is strong, self-interested corporate pressure to get them passed as soon as possible.
A public symposium on the issue with four leading members of the Victoria environmental community.
Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7:00 PM
Room 159, Fraser Building,
Faculty of Law, UVic
For more information: call Ray Zimmermann, (250) 386-6505
Symposium Moderator:
Budd Hall, Director, Office of Community-based Research, UVic
SPEAKERS
Calvin Sandborn, Environmental Law Clinic, University of Victoria, TFL deletions, auditor-general’s report
Richard Hebda, forests and climate
Michael M’Gonigle, sustainability
Ray Zimmermann, Director, Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society
This article has been given an average rating of 3.73 from 15 votes.
