Saanich turns to Victoria, Oak Bay for help with purchasing urban green space
The Mayor of Saanich has written letters to the mayors and councils of neighbouring Victoria and Oak Bay to help fund the preservation of Kings Park.
Saanich purchased the property from BC Hydro in 2019 for $5.5 million with the goal that it be maintained as a green space in perpetuity. The green space is bordered by all three municipalities in an area not far from the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
“I wrote the letter to the Mayor of Oak Bay, the council of Oak Bay, Mayor and council of Victoria, to ask for their help to acquire this green space for the benefit of their residents and future generations,” said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes on Monday. “It was an important piece of the process to identify where the community funding is going to go.”
Haynes says the district used $1.7 million that was raised by the sale of a Capital Regional District (CRD) property in the Wallace Drive area to purchase the BC Hydro property. Kings Park is considered by the CRD to be a sub-regional park and therefore was not considered for funding by the regional district’s parks acquisition fund.
“The collective understanding at the CRD board was that Kings (Park) helps Oak Bay, Victoria and Saanich,” said Haynes. “We paid $5.5 million and we said at council, 'can the community raise half?' and the community said it would try.”
Haynes says once the pandemic hit in March 2020, it brought community fundraising activities for the green space to a halt. Due to COVID-19, the community has only been able to raise $36,000 of the $2.75 million required for the land.
With the deadline to raise the required funds set to expire, Saanich Council voted that it be extended to April 2022. Council also voted to ask its neighbouring municipalities for a commitment to fund a portion of the purchase of the park space.
“We said, let's get confirmation from Victoria and Oak Bay on precisely what they can contribute,” said Haynes. “We’re asking for $60-to $90,000 from Oak Bay and $250-to $400,000 from Victoria.”
Haynes says with the park funded by the three municipalities jointly, there is an opportunity to create a greenway that begins at the mouth of Bowker Creek in Oak Bay through Victoria and Saanich that connects with the Galloping Goose regional trail.
“Once it's confirmed how much Victoria and Oak Bay can contribute, (Saanich) council will then reconsider the opportunity to take that money together with the money raised (through the Wallace Drive property sale) and see how much is left (to raise),” said Haynes. “We may find there is only $500,000 to raise over the next year.”
Haynes says that while Saanich has not yet received a commitment from either Oak Bay or Victoria for funding, there was a commitment that Saanich could request funding from the municipalities for the Kings Park green space.
“It's a critical letter to ask Oak Bay and Victoria if they are going to help preserve this green space in the interest of their residents as well as ours,” said Haynes. “We need to raise $2.75 million, which is half of the $5.5 million purchase price.”
In his letters to the neighbouring municipalities, Haynes has asked for the opportunity to meet with Oak Bay and Victoria councils to answer questions about the funding request. He says he hopes to have the meetings before the end of July.
“This is consistent with the decade of environmental restoration, consistent with climate change and consistent with looking two generations down the road, to say 'What’s the best use of that land?'” said Haynes. “I hope Victoria and Oak Bay support the purchase of this green space for their residents.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.