Residents gear up for a fight as Saanich feels the growing pains of density

Residents in the district of Saanich on Vancouver Island are gearing up for a battle against density that they believe will overwhelm their lovely streets and undermine what makes their municipality a suburban oasis.

Saanich, next door to Victoria, is the largest municipality in the capital regional district and an important hub that connects the University of Victoria to downtown and the main highway to the ferries. There’s a new draft plan under way to bring 12- to 18-storey towers to major intersections and six-storey buildings to side streets, as well as ways to accommodate rapid transit. The idea is to grow the bedroom community as the population ages, bringing in younger households and much-needed multifamily housing.