Point on point The outgoing Lt.-Gov. talks about his time on the job. Page A3
NEWS: Social services workers take job action /A3 ARTS: 400 voices of André-Philippe Gagnon /A14 SPORTS: Lambrick vs. St Andrew’s in soccer final /A16
SAANICHNEWS Friday, November 2, 2012
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Saanich to grapple with poultry farm question in December Owners eye cattle lot if chicken plan rejected Kyle Slavin News staff
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Darrell Wick, president of Friends of Mount Douglas Park, gets ready for Tree Appreciation Day in the park on Sunday.
District celebrates leafy friends Kyle Slavin News staff
We cut them down for Christmas decorations and use them as the framing for homes, but a Saanich-sponsored event this weekend is all about appreciating trees. Three Saanich parks will play host to Tree Appreciation Day, as volunteers get a little dirty planting hundreds of trees in the municipality.
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“It’s very much a part of the vision and values of our community,” Mayor Frank Leonard said of the day, which has been celebrated annually for more than a decade. Native trees and shrubs will be planted at Swan Creek (Kent Road), Whitehead Park (Goward and Prospect Lake roads) and Mount Douglas Park (Ash Road) on Sunday. Darrell Wick, president of the Friends of Mount Douglas Park
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Society, says the volunteer-led event makes a big impact on the urban forest park. “We couldn’t do it with the same magnitude without that help. They really turn it into a very successful day,” Wick said. Tree planting runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday (Nov. 4) simultaneously at all three parks. Volunteer planters are needed, and are encouraged to
wear old clothes. Planting tools will be provided. Saanich parks has also been awarded a $2,000 grant from Home Hardware and Tree Canada to plant rows of big leaf maple trees in Gorge Park on Nov. 6. The event features tree planting and hotdogs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with donations and proceeds going to the Mustard Seed food bank. kslavin@saanichnews.com
Neighbours of a proposed chicken farm – or possibly a cattle feed lot – in suburban Gordon Head will have a chance to voice concerns to council later this year. Mayor Frank Leonard expects a report from staff in December that suggests changing the Gordon Head local area plan to match Saanich’s official community plan, which supports keeping existing farmland in the agricultural land reserve. The Alberg family, which owns designated agricultural land at 1516 Mount Douglas X Rd., has twice attempted to sway council to allow housing on the property, which is surrounded by residential neigbourhoods. Council has twice rejected those plans. The proposed change to the Gordon Head local area plan would indicate that council supports keeping the Alberg’s four-acre property in the ALR forever, and by extension, supports farming activity on land that abuts residential homes. “It’s a critical policy vote for the neighbours (of the Alberg farmland),” Leonard said. After a 5-4 vote on July 23 that indicated a majority of councillors want the property kept in the ALR and used for farming, the Albergs shifted gears and proposed building a 12,000-bird poultry farm. PLEASE SEE: Family prefers housing, Page A6
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