Saanich council is holding a public hearing to consider adop…

Saanich council is holding a public hearing to consider adopting the Shelbourne Valley Plan as an Official Community Plan amendment. The plan will govern growth along Shelbourne Street between Lambrick Park and North Dairy Road for the next 30 years, capping building heights at six storeys within the Shelbourne Valley Centre. This marks a significant retreat from earlier proposals that allowed up to 12 storeys, following council’s effort to find what one councillor called a “middle-way forward.” The plan formalizes the density and form expectations for one of Saanich’s designated Primary Growth Areas, a corridor the OCP has long targeted for intensification. The six-storey ceiling reshapes the development economics for any land assemblies or rezonings in the area: mid-rise concrete or wood-frame projects remain viable, but the higher-density tower forms once contemplated are off the table. The Times Colonist reported that council’s February vote to trim heights passed with broad support, though the public hearing will test whether that consensus holds against community concerns about scale and character. Once adopted — and council’s previous direction makes adoption likely barring a sharp turnout against the plan at the hearing — the Shelbourne Valley Plan becomes the binding policy framework for all future applications in the corridor. Pending rezoning files will need to demonstrate alignment, and the capped heights provide a known ceiling for feasibility modelling. Any additional design guidelines or density bonusing provisions layered into the final plan would introduce further conditions. The hearing outcome may also signal council’s appetite for height variation within the corridor, particularly near the Cedar Hill Cross Road intersection where a map highlighting reduced heights was contested in media coverage (Saanich News, March 4, 2026).

Saanich council is holding a public hearing to consider adopting the Shelbourne Valley Plan as an Official Community…