A proposal for more than 200 housing units on about eight acres at the former site of Marigold Nursery in Central Saanich heads to public hearing today.
The exact number of units for the Marigold Lands development is not known, given the project is planned for three phases, but one recent estimate is for 154 condos, 35 townhouses and eight duplexes at market rates and 36 rental apartments, eight of them below market rates.
The development for Lochside Drive, just north of Mount Newton Cross Road, envisions the housing clustered around a village green.
It is aimed at providing housing of many types that is “walkable, sustainable and affordable,” while preventing sprawl, with a view to accommodating seniors, families and workers on the Saanich Peninsula who currently might have to commute.
The hearing will consider amendments to the Official Community Plan and land use along with a phased development agreement bylaw between the district and the developer, including assurance that the rental-apartment building would remain rental, with a minimum of eight affordable units.
Marigold Nursery opened in 1963 and was run for more than 50 years by the Smith family, which once had 18 greenhouses on the site.
The hearing starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Central Saanich Municipal Hall. — Times Colonist
