Figures show Saanich’s actual parkland acquisition budget is short of $6 million mark — the value that BC Hydro has attached to a piece of surplus land that the District is considering purchasing for a public park. But Saanich has other financing options as well.
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According to Saanich’s budget, the municipality has budgeted $2.5 million for parkland acquisition in 2018. Projections for 2019 through 2022 show an additional $4 million, with $1.5 million budgeted in 2019, but these figures are projections.
The land in question is a 5.5 acre lot located in Saanich near its borders with Oak Bay and Victoria. While not a park per se, the public refers to it informally as Kings Park, even BC Hydro has owned the land for more than 60 years.
A number of groups have called on Saanich to purchase the land for the purpose of turning it into a park after BC Hydro had announced its plans to sell it, and mayor-elect Fred Haynes said earlier this month that he plans to make the transformation of the private land into a public park a top priority.
If the figure of $6 million represents the starting point of negotiations between the municipality and the Crown corporation, Saanich would have to commit almost all of its current, as well as projected parkland acquisition budget through 2022.
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This said, Saanich projects total reserves of $94.4 million by the end of 2018, and Saanich has the option of stocking up reserves through land sales, with the Community Charter mandating that the receipts of land sales flow back into reserves to be used for used for land and property development purposes. Saanich could also borrow money to help pay for any future land purchase, or combine these various options. The Capital Regional District (CRD) might also participate in a future park purchase.
Neither the municipality nor BC Hydro have commented on the specifics of the discussions.
“We’re not able to offer any comment on potential discussions at this point,” said Megan Catalona, a spokesperson for the District of Saanich.
“We have to respect the process,” said Ted Olynyk, regional manager for community relations on Vancouver Island for BC Hydro.
wolfgang.depner@saanichnews.com
