I would like to take issue with some of the myths surrounding the Sandown purchase.
Myth No. 1 is that this deal represents the will of the people. Excuse me, but no one asked me if I wanted my tax dollars subsidizing a community farm. When was the referendum? As far as I am concerned, the referendum was the election last November when the mayor and her free-spending team were reduced to a minority.
Myth No. 2 is that this is a gift to the people of North Saanich. There is no gift here. The only gift is going in the opposite direction, from the district to the developer. The district is allowing the developer to offload 83 acres of poor quality agricultural land with contamination issues, in return for 12 acres of prime commercial land.
Myth No. 3 is that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure farm land in perpetuity. This land is already in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Even if the developer winds up selling it off in eight parcels, it will still be in the ALR. How much more secure does this farm land need to be? The only opportunity here is for the social farmers to get their hands on a big chunk of property for free. This is the once in a lifetime part.
Myth No. 4 is that the community farm will pay for itself through increased tax revenue from the rezoned commercial land.
The farm doesn’t pay for itself. We all pay for it because the increase in tax revenue belongs to all of us, not just the farm. If we didn’t have to subsidize the farm, maybe we could all get a tax break. Let’s be clear, the increase in tax revenue is a result of council up-zoning the land from agricultural to commercial which has a much higher mill rate.
It is not just the taxpayers who resent having to subsidize a community farm. The real farmers of the district (who pay mortgages, property taxes and water rates) would like a tax break, too.
F. Hackett
North Saanich
