A development proposal is threatening to destroy an endangered Garry oak ecosystem in Langford, neighbours of the property say.
But without legal protection, the future of the land is not bright.
Janina Wiebe and her partner, Morgan Aldridge, bought their McCallum Road home in May 2013 because they were told the meadow and woodland it backed onto was protected green space.
“It’s spectacular,” Wiebe said. “Neighbourhood kids play in it all the time, and the variety of birds and plants we get in there is incredible. It’s an incredibly diverse ecosystem.”
The 7.7-acre property lies north of the Trans-Canada Highway, south of the Cavalcade Terrace neighbourhood and east of Florence Lake Road.
When Wiebe moved in, the property belonged to the Provincial Capital Commission, a Crown agency responsible for maintaining heritage properties. But in a cost-saving move, the province dissolved the agency later that year and the property was passed to the City of Langford.
Now, Kevin Parker of McCallum Developments has applied on behalf of the City of Langford and Avila Rhodes to rezone the area to allow for a new mixed-use development consisting of commercial units and multi-family residences. Development would also include a new road dividing the property.
A public hearing on the rezoning application will be held on Monday night at Langford’s council meeting.
Langford has identified the property as a potential habitat and high biodiversity development permit area, but that does not guarantee its protection, said director of planning Matthew Baldwin.
The city casts a wide net with the permit area, and when there’s an application for development, a registered biologist must investigate the ecological value of the land.
“We have these blanket designations,” Baldwin said. “It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a sensitive ecosystem, but we’d like it to be properly studied and commented on by a qualified biologist.”
The designation is similar to the Environmental Development Permit Area bylaw in Saanich, where angry homeowners say it prevents them from making changes to properties with little ecological value.
A development application in Langford has never been blocked because of the bylaw — only amended, Baldwin said.
Coun. Denise Blackwell, chairwoman of the planning committee, cited a slice of land on Bear Mountain as an example of something that was protected after a biologist identified it as valuable.
“That piece in there was quite ecologically sensitive, so we split the road and went around it. Staff work with a developer to try to preserve those things but still help development go ahead,” Blackwell said.
Adam Taylor, executive director of the Habitat Acquisition Trust, said that although the Provincial Capital Commission’s intention was conservation, Langford would be within its rights to develop the land.
“There was no legal protection, so there was nothing stopping the province from disposing of the lands, and after that, for the land to be developed,” Taylor said.
He also said it’s unfair to single out Langford for building on ecological assets.
“They’re hardly the only municipality in the region developing at a rapid pace, at the cost of green space. The only real exception is Victoria, which is almost completely developed already,” Taylor said.
The biologist’s report will not be made available before Monday’s public hearing, since it is required only when a development application is received, not at the rezoning stage.
The committee is recommending that the rezoning application be approved by council.
“We think it’s good land use in that particular area because the road will go through and will help the traffic in that area,” Blackwell said.
