{"id":15035,"date":"2021-09-30T19:48:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T02:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/?p=15035"},"modified":"2021-09-30T20:08:20","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T03:08:20","slug":"to-mayor-and-council-of-saanich-re-proposed-doral-forest-park-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/?p=15035","title":{"rendered":"To Mayor and Council of Saanich Re: Proposed Doral Forest Park Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>\"Elk<\/span>
21 September 2021<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
To Saanich Mayor and Council<\/span> <\/span>
council@saanich.ca<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
The Victoria Natural History Society is a community organization that has supported those with an interest in <\/span>
nature in our region since 1944, and we currently have approximately 750 members, many of whom are <\/span>
residents of Saanich. Our organization has thre<\/span>e main objectives: <\/span> <\/span>
\u2022<\/span> to stimulate an active interest in natural history, <\/span> <\/span>
\u2022<\/span> to study and protect flora and fauna and their habitats, <\/span> <\/span>
\u2022<\/span> to work with other societies and like bodies having interests in common with this Society. <\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
We are writing at this time to p<\/span>rovide our strong support to the Royal Oak Community Association, and the <\/span>
Beaver Elk Environmental Stewards among others in their call to protect the biodiversity and to halt the loss of <\/span>
natural space in the area where the Doral Forest Park development is <\/span>proposed. These organizations have ably <\/span>
outlined many of the critical issues at play on this property and adjacent to it. We will just highlight a couple <\/span>
here. <\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
There are multiple, very important reasons why development of this area has to be re<\/span>–<\/span>considere<\/span>d. The wetlands, <\/span>
ponds and drainages are habitat for multiple federally listed species and provide passage for others. <\/span><\/span>In addition, <\/span>
there is no municipal requirement, plan or method to monitor the effectiveness of the stormwater management <\/span>
system outlined <\/span>in the Doral application. Saanich staff noted the aquifer could be affected by construction and <\/span>
that \u201cwhile risk appears low, water quality at Elk\/Beaver Lake could be impacted.\u201d Even a low risk is <\/span>
unconscionable given the size and importance of these lake<\/span>s to wildlife, fish and humans. <\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
The area <\/span><\/span>is part of the extremely rare Coastal Douglas<\/span>–<\/span>fir biogeoclimatic zone, of which less than 3% remains <\/span>
across its original distribution and every part of it is critical. The forest that runs from Elk Lake Drive to <\/span>Beaver <\/span>
Beach contains many of the oldest trees and is the least impacted and largest section of relatively intact original <\/span>
forest habitat in the park.<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
We share this region with more than 100 endangered species, including several that are listed under the <\/span>federal <\/span>
Species at Risk <\/span>Act. It is with this collective and critical stewardship role in mind that we are writing today <\/span>
about any additional loss of natural areas\/greenspaces in Saanich and further impacts to existing greenspaces <\/span>
through development. <\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
Yes, high density housing is required, but not in an area of high biodiversity and habitat value particularly <\/span>
adjacent to one of the most valued protected areas within the CRD.<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
Please reconsider rezoning and developing this land. Saanich \u201cstrives to live <\/span>in harmony with each other and the <\/span>
environment. We aim to further our citizens’ economic, physical and social well<\/span>–<\/span>being.\u201d This development will <\/span>
not further these goals.<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span>
Sincerely,<\/span> <\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

Philip Lambert<\/span> <\/span>
President<\/span> <\/span>
Victoria Natural History Society<\/span> <\/span>
president@vicn<\/span>hs.bc.ca<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21 September 2021 To Saanich Mayor and Council council@saanich.ca The Victoria Natural History Society is a community organization that has supported those with an interest in nature in our region since 1944, and we currently have approximately 750 members, many of whom are residents of Saanich. Our organization has three main objectives: \u2022 to stimulate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-initiatives","category-letters","category-protected-areas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15038,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15035\/revisions\/15038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}