A tale of two cities: earlier today, City of Victoria voted to accelerate the construction of bike lanes on Pandora. Tonight, Saanich council is train-wrecking the Active Transportation Plan with a 25% cutback, supported by Couns. Brownoff, Brice, Chambers, Westhaver and Harper.
The Saanich Economic Development Office is scheduling spring 2026 BusinessCare visits and we want to meet with you!
These free 1:1 in-person or virtual visits take 30 -45 minutes and connect you with directly with a staff member to hear how we can support your business!
👉 saanich.ca/BusinessCare.
Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock has released a message following the apparent vandalism of newly-installed fencing along the Glendenning Trail in PKOLS (Mount Douglas Park). Read more & watch it here: https://ow.ly/m0NE50Yqxsa
Delayed projects will almost certainly cost more, so I agree.
Also in terms of getting good value for tax dollars, delays in projects that make neighborhoods more accessible and livable doesn’t help residents perception of value
Thanks Councillor Phelps-Bondaroff, Mayor Murdock, and councillor Plant for opposing cuts to active transportation.
What is sad is that Saanich council chose to save the average household $13 by cutting the active transportation budget.
These savings were dwarfed by the amount of new revenue from new housing, increased non-tax revenues, efficiencies, and a phasing of infrastructure replacement funding growth
An annual reminder of the budget choices local governments have.
The beautiful thing is that the best way to reduce budget pressure and tax increases is to meet our communities housing needs and make neighbourhoods more walkable by allowing commercial uses.
In this case, six storys is what it takes to build homes for people looking to get their start in our community, settle down, or age in place!
For more than a decade, this site sat as a hole in the ground, contributing nothing to the community except uncertainty and unease.
The original proposal simply wasn’t economically viable. That’s why community plans today must account for real-world economics, not arbitrary designations.
Getting your start and settling down in your community should not depend on family wealth.
This is why we need to plan inclusive neighborhoods with a greater diversity of housing to meet our communities housing needs!
www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
The District of Saanich is shifting a larger share of water utility fees to a fixed rate. This approach minimizes the risk of the water and sewer budgets going into a deficit and stabilizes rate increases. Read more: https://ow.ly/zpi450XTf77
The CRHC 2045: A Path to 5000 Framework lays out how the Capital Region Housing Corporation can massively expand non-profit housing in the region, aiming for 5000 affordable homes by 2045.
✅1000+ homes are already underway for 2027–2030
✅up to 2000 more for 2031–2045
vicnews.com/2025/12/03/c...
Have you registered to participate and share your thoughts with Council at the Saanich town hall meeting on December 2?
saanich.ca/townhall
Ever heard of a Neighbourhood Bikeway?
Today is the first pop-up event for the Neighbourhood Bikeways Identification and Prioritization Project! We'll be at Saanich Commonwealth Place from 12 to 2 p.m.
Can't make it? Click the link for next pop-up dates and take the survey: saanich.ca/helloNB
Grow your career with the District of Saanich!
We offer training, development and opportunities across 10 departments and 11 locations — parks, engineering, recreation, public safety and more.
Visit saanich.ca/careers for current employment opportunities and information about how to apply!
We elect an executive each year that meets throughout the year.
That being said I think the president amor executive should have their signature at the bottom so we know who okayed this!
Inviting input is a good thing, releasing a statement filled with hyperbole and fear mongering is not so good…
Many Municipalities already use Certified Professional Programs and have for quite some time. Nothing wrong with some consistency.
The new waterslide at Saanich Commonwealth Place has finally been installed, with volunteers taking on the first test runs on Wednesday.
The deadline is next Wednesday, November 26th! #Saanich kids, get your holiday card entries in… the winner gets to be Mayor for the Morning! 😊
Saanich Council has approved 125 housing units at McKenzie and Rainbow.
Close to transit, shops, parks,schools, and active transportation connections.
A cantilevered sidewalk will make sure that we deliver a sidewalk AND protect 8 significant Garry Oaks while delivering the housing people need!
Step 1: deliberately scare people with misinformation and lies about what a proposed policy or plan will do. Step2: wait for misinformed people to complain. Step 3: say that “clearly people are concerned,“ so we should “listen to the people“ and reject the plan. The Populist Playbook
Step 4: mainstream media “reports the controversy” rather than the fact it was manufactured, and the amplify the quotes of those who manufactured it.. Step5: other elected leaders who know the truth, still vote against the good plan or policy, because they’re too afraid of the “heat.“
Have you heard of “The Populist Playbook?”
A few years ago, I posted what I still consider one of my most important messages.
It was about “The Populist Playbook” that I’ve watched play out often over my 33+ years of city planning.
Since then, it’s only gotten worse.
Do the steps sound familiar?
Great to see. Zac and Jeremy have been not only consistently strong housing champions but more importantly back that up with action
Congratulations to @zacdevries.bsky.social for serving again this year as Chair of the CRHC. It's been my pleasure working with him as Vice Chair.
Together, we are overseeing a massive expansion of affordable housing across the region.
Congratulations to @jeremycaradonnayyj.bsky.social on being re-turned to the Vice-Chair position at the CRHC for a 3rd year.
It has been great working with you to push the dial on one of the most important issues facing our communities and region!
I’m honoured to have been returned as Chair of the Capital Region Housing Corporation for a fourth year.
Thank you to my colleagues on the CRHC Board for your confidence & collaboration. Together, we’ll keep advancing the delivery of more affordable housing to the region!
The short answer to whether there are easy to cut or delay board directed initiatives is no.
Most budget increases come from the cost of core service delivery.
See the breakdown on the projected requisition increase for your community in Column D
An area of concern, and future budget pressure, is the drawing down on CRD reserve funds.
It is wise that there are annual transfers to reserves and the CRD has used debt strategically to smooth out costs for taxpayers.
Transfers to reserves need to be increased going forward.
CRD staff, based on board direction, looked to reduce the increase this year from potential double digits down to 6.3%, 4.7% if you exclude municipal debt (which is owned by each individual local government but flows through the CRD).
This is why delaying necessary projects is not fiscally responsible.
This graph shows CRD budget projections from 2026-2030.
Every year, based on board direction staff work hard to reduce expenditures where possible while continuing to deliver the services residents expect.
