Saanich votes narrowly to rescind eco bylaw

An environmental development bylaw that divided Saanich residents and council has been rescinded in a 5-4 vote.

The decision late Nov. 6 to scrap the controversial Environmental Development Permit Area bylaw ratifies a vote taken Oct. 28 following an intense public hearing.

Mayor Richard Atwell supported rescinding the bylaw, saying it should have been done more than two years ago.

“It simply isn’t workable and we have to find something that is,” he said.

Atwell was not able to say exactly what is needed in its place or how soon it might come, but said it’s telling that no other municipality rushed to copy it.

Whatever comes from its ashes “needs to be solidly based in science and not so much in feelings,” he said.

The bylaw was passed in 2012 with the goal of protecting sensitive ecosystems by restricting what kind of changes could be undertaken on certain properties.

About 2,200 private properties were covered by the bylaw.

Councillors Frank Haynes, Karen Harper, Leif Wergeland and Susan Brice voted with Atwell to rescind the bylaw.

Judy Brownoff, Dean Murdock, Colin Plant and Vicki Sanders voted to keep it.

Harper echoed the mayor’s comments and said the best way to move forward is to start over. Any new bylaw needs to be based on scientific methods consistent with provincial and federal standards, she said.

“I think it will be a generation before we see anything comparable to the EDPA,” Murdock said, adding that it should have been fixed rather than scrapped.

But Wergeland said the bylaw needed far more than “fine-tuning.”

The potential replacement of the bylaw will be discussed as part of an upcoming strategic planning session.

Atwell said that to avoid similar mistakes, the municipality should take baby steps and test any program before making bylaw changes.