News From the Home Front:
Focus On North Saanich Photos by nuttycake.com North Saanich has many desirable, dream homes often custom-built. The average sale price of a home is $827,000.
by Barry Mathias
North Saanich is a unique
municipality, renowned for its rural beauty, its spacious residences, its attractive farms, and its seven idyllic marinas. Yet, it is also home to the busy Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, to the expanding Victoria International Airport, and to the convenient floatplane aerodrome near the Institute of Ocean Sciences. These contrasts are reflected in the ongoing debate regarding the provision of housing in this District. It's interesting to note that in 2006, when the population was just over 10,800, over 86 percent of housing in North Saanich was single detached residences on an average of one acre, and 10 percent of the housing stock was rental. This contrasted with Sidney, which had a population of just over 11,300, with 40 percent single-detached housing and 23 percent rental. This difference continues. Today, the population of North Saanich is approximately 11,200. In 2011 it was 11,089, 2.5 percent up on the 2006 assessment. This contrasted with the national average growth of 5.9 percent. It is separated into seven neighborhoods with Dean Park in the south east of the district being the most populous and dense part of the municipality, with approximately 3,200 residents, and reaching up to McDonald Park/Curteis Point, north of Sidney, with a population of approximately 900. Density is the big issue. Alice Finall, the recently re-elected Mayor, is quite clear: "I am against increasing density in North Saanich with no benefit to the community." She is concerned with the impact on the rural/ 48 SEASIDE homes | MARCH 2015
residential designated role of the municipality in the Regional Context Statement, and the impact of urban sprawl on rural infrastructure. "Urban levels of density are incompatible with the character of existing residential neighborhoods," she says. Secondary suites were an issue in 2009 when it was recognized that, although illegal at the time, they were flourishing in certain areas of the municipality. Mayor Finall was first elected in November 2008. In 2009, with the support of her Council, it was decided to try a pilot scheme: "We agreed to allow a pilot for secondary suites in the south east quadrant of the municipality," where 45 percent of the municipality's illegal suites were situated. "However, there was not much take-up." Those who wanted to take advantage of the 'pilot scheme' would be faced with the cost of bringing their property 'up to code', and some perhaps did not want their property's income to be noticed. "Council is now considering the possibility for people throughout the municipality to apply to the District to install a secondary suite; whether this will encourage more applications remains to be seen." "Among the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities, North Saanich is the second highest priced market," says Karen Dinnie-Smyth, an award winning Realtor at the Re/Max Camosun office in Sidney. "The average sale price for 2014 was $827,000; only Oak Bay is more expensive at $924,000." She explains that in the last two years "nine houses have sold for more than $1.5 million, and three of those went for more than $4 million." "We have an aging demographic," says John Upward, Freelance