Letter from Mayor Atwell (Saanich) Re: Watkiss Way Boundary Adjustment Request

Re: Watkiss Way Boundary Adjustment Request

Thank you for your March 20, 2017 letter to Saanich Council requesting consideration of a small boundary extension in the Watkiss Way area.

Saanich and View Royal share a somewhat irregular boundary over 8 kilometers in length and cooperate well on the many complementary service issues that exist because of this. We have reviewed the servicing situation in the Watkiss Way area you refer to and conclude that, from our perspective, there are no compelling issues suggesting that the legislative complexity and cost of a boundary adjustment is needed.

In addition, the boundary adjustment suggested would remove some 40 Acres of land within the Agricultural Land Reserve from Saanich’s jurisdiction. As you may be aware, Saanich values highly the retention and inclusion of additional lands into the ALR within our community. The proposed boundary expansion from this perspective would be a backwards step for Saanich towards achieving our strategic goals.

Based on the above, I must advise that Saanich is not in favour of pursuing the requested boundary adjustment.

Sincerely,

Richard Atwell Mayor