The forest of Haro Woods is a beautiful patch of wilderness among the subdivisions of Saanich, and thanks to the work of a lot of people, there’s a good chance it will stay that way.
After years of debate and one period when the trees were slated to fall to make way for a sewage plant, almost all of the woods will be saved as a 7.3-hectare park under a proposal last week to Saanich council. Council unanimously voted to send the plan to a public hearing, and hopes are high that it will ultimately be approved.
The woods are familiar to anyone who has driven along Arbutus Road east of Finnerty Road. They are across the street from the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health.
For people like Deborah Dickson, co-ordinator of Save Haro Woods, they are an oasis worth preserving not only from use as a sewage plant, but also from being cleared for residential development.
The most memorable engagement of the long struggle to save the woods came in the early days of the planning for the region’s new sewage-treatment system. At that time, the Capital Regional District gave serious consideration to building several small sewage treatment plants, rather than one big one. Haro Woods was one of 11 sites identified.
Saanich residents campaigned vigorously against flattening their forest, and in June 2010, the CRD’s waste committee suddenly reversed course and recommended a single sewage plant at McLoughlin Point — the plan that is now causing so much grief for Esquimalt.
The only trace of the sewage system that would remain near Haro Woods is an underground, 5,000-cubic-metre overflow tank. After construction, it would be covered with soil and native plants. It’s a small price to pay to preserve the rest of the green space.
The solution requires some fancy footwork by the municipality and the CRD, including a land swap and rezoning to designate the area as “nature park.” That dancing also removes the possibility that the area could be turned over to housing.
The park is not a done deal, but we hope that voters get behind it at the public hearing so councillors can give it the seal of approval.
Saanich council, the CRD and the residents who laboured so long to preserve the cool haven of Haro Woods deserve a vote of thanks for saving the trees for us and for future generations.
