Sunday 6 April 2014

A Plea to Protect our OCP - please circulate (2014)

Dear North Saanich resident, 

The rural/residential and agricultural character that we love in North Saanich is under threat and we urgently need 2 minutes of your time to save it.

We need at least 100 people to send a short email to the CRD Board of Directors at    crdchair@crd.bc.ca  telling them they have no business changing our Official Community Plan for us.

Here's a bit of background:  As you may be aware, there is a Regional Context Statement (RCS) amendment going before the CRD Board of Directors on April 9 at 1:30 that, if approved, would significantly alter the North Saanich Official Community Plan (OCP).  If approved, this amendment would allow for average gross densities of up to 8 to 16 units per acre, with some densities as high as 30 units per acre (3 story apartment buildings) in two areas of NS.  In some parts of those areas, these densities would be put on agricultural land, or be situated directly across the road from ALR land.  More information is available on the district website here:  http://www.northsaanich.ca/Municipal_Hall/Departments/Planning_and_Community_Services/Regional_Context_Statement_Amendment.htm
or at the North Saanich Community Voices website here:  www.nscv.ca

To be clear:  if this RCS amendment is approved, its adoption constitutes a change to our OCP.  Our OCP was developed over a long period of broad public consultation and input, and reflects a rural/residential and agricultural vision that has been consistently supported by NS residents since NS was established in 1965.  The proposed RCS and OCP changes would negatively affect our quality of life, increase our taxes, and drastically increase traffic in NS.

Do you believe that a group of regional politicians who don't know our municipality, don't live in our community, don't pay taxes here, and don't understand our unique issues and character should be allowed to change our OCP?  If not, they need to hear from you.  

We believe that the CRD Board of Directors needs to hear from as many North Saanich residents as possible that we believe that broad changes of this magnitude need to be made through an OCP review, not by a group of politicians who don't even know our municipality, its character or its issues.

What we're asking you to do is simple and quick, and if enough people do it, could save the rural/residential and agricultural ambience that we in North Saanich love:

Would you take 2 minutes to send a brief message requesting (or even demanding) that the CRD keeps its hands off our OCP and leaves any decisions around OCP changes up to NS residents ourselves?

Send your comments to  crdchair@crd.bc.ca   The proper opening salutation is:  "To the Chair and Board of Directors at the Capital Regional District."  Please send a copy to our North Saanich Council too at   admin@northsaanich.ca

The message can be brief, stating simply that you're a NS resident, how long you've lived here, and that you do not want the CRD making OCP decisions for our municipality.  Of course, you may add more if you wish.

The main thing is to send the CRD Board a message that they can't ignore.  A flood of emails from NS residents indicating our demand that we decide our OCP, not the CRD Board, will hopefully get their attention, and make them think twice about interfering in and significantly altering another municipality's OCP.  We think that at least 100 emails (more would be better!) will make the CRD Board sit up and take notice, and we need your help to achieve that goal.

Please take those 2 minutes right now and send an email.  Ask every adult in your household to do the same.  Then forward this to your NS friends and neighbours, letting them know that you are behind this effort, and asking them to help too.

We've seen too many local areas destroyed by unplanned development.  We don't have to be like them.  Please send an email now, and help us protect our OCP.

Thanks,

North Saanich Community Voices