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Langford closer to approval of high-density project on woodland

Langford council has given unanimous go-ahead for all but the final steps in a major rezoning that could bring a housing and commercial development reaching two million square feet to a 7.8-acre wooded property near Costco.

Langford council has given unanimous go-ahead for all but the final steps in a major rezoning that could bring a housing and commercial development reaching two million square feet to a 7.8-acre wooded property near Costco.

Until Langford bought four of the five lots last year, the meadow and woodland was owned and protected by the Provincial Capital Commission, a Crown agency that maintained heritage properties until it was dissolved in 2013 as part of provincial government cost-cutting.

McCallum Developments wants to build on the property, north of the Trans-Canada Highway near McCallum Road, and is seeking zoning that allows multi-family and commercial projects.

Council sees the proposal as “a good development” that will appropriately densify the city and help to leave green spaces in other areas, said planning committee chairwoman Denise Blackwell.

The proposal is “extremely high density” and could cover three-quarters of the site, said Langford planning director Matthew Baldwin.

“I would love to see two million square feet built as a boon to Langford’s economy. … I don’t think it’s realistic. We’re growing quickly — we’re not growing that quickly.”

He can think of no Langford development other than part of Bear Mountain that is currently more than half the proposed density of this project.

A six-storey limit could be exceeded if McCallum Developments did a traffic-impact study that satisfied council that a taller building would not be problematic, he said.

Langford council’s decision is “heartbreaking,” said Janina Wiebe, a horticulturalist who co-owns a McCallum Road home purchased because it backs onto what was once a protected meadow and woodland. “I cried for a few hours when I got home last night,” she said. She has no doubt that the land is a Garry oak woodland with many indigenous species, including Douglas fir, camas, shooting stars and wildlife.

“Ecosystems take hundreds of years to evolve,” she said, noting that Garry oaks are especially slow to grow. “And once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

Baldwin said the property is not a Garry oak meadow but is designated as having potential as a wildlife habitat. City staff are going over an assessment by a biologist from Cascadia Biological Services. The next step of a development permit may be influenced by the report.

As it stands, the proposal means the developer would extend McCallum Road about 250 metres to the south end at Florence Lake and then connect to the Leigh Road interchange.

That means some trees will likely come down by the end of March.

Blackwell does not know how many trees but said it’s in keeping with provincial regulations that trees be cut down before nesting season for birds begins.

“We need to get that road through there,” said Blackwell, adding that traffic congestion means another exit is required off the north side of Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Wiebe said she is “in shock” that taking down trees for road construction might happen so quickly.

The rezoning is subject to another council vote that could come this month, Baldwin said.

kdedyna@timescolonist.com