An item on the agenda for a recent Central Saanich council meeting seemed interesting. It seems the mayor has written to the B.C. Assessment authority on behalf of the residents of Tanner Ridge, Old East Road and Martindale Valley, requesting a review of their property taxes because of the inconvenience of being neighbours of Foundation Organics.
This, after the mayor suggested composting is an approved farming practice. Possibly he should have brought up the fact their subdivision was built on farm land in an area known as the bread basket of Victoria.
As concerned as he states he is for the support of Central Saanich farmers, he may have suggested to B.C. Assessment they raise property taxes to Tanner Ridge residents. This could offset the financial losses to the farms from the massive amounts of contaminated storm water dumped on them. This storm water comes from that same development that demands the farms of Central Saanich conform to these residents’ ideas of agriculture and farming.
I suppose when a development is between five and 30 years old it has enough seniority to dictate to three, four or five generations of farmers how their businesses should be operated.
Christine Duffield
Central Saanich
