The ALC has approved non-agricultural use of agricultural land as requested by the Victoria Airport Authority, which wants to build yet another shopping precinct at the Beacon and Pat Bay intersection.
The ALC made this decision as the land in question was ‘near to residential, commercial and industrial properties’. Wouldn’t that description cover most ALC land?
Isn’t the whole purpose of the ALR to preserve farmable land from the encroachment of the built environment?
If the ALC is going to permit any application that is near to residential, commercial and industrial property it may as well cease to exist.
It seems to me as if the ALC has been taken over by appointed officials eager to satisfy the needs of developers. How else can one explain their rationale for taking perfectly good farm land out of the reserve?
As an aside, the company doing the development, Omicron, is completing a major new shopping development adjacent to Victoria General Hospital.
When is enough retail development enough?
Bert Slater, North Saanich
