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COMMUNITY: Mount Doug student inspires through leading /A3 NEWS: Sexual health clinic faces major funding shortfall /A7 ARTS: Comedian comes home before embarking on tour /A10 SENIORS: Dealing with the dread of giving up driving /A18
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
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A property on Mount Douglas Cross Road that was converted into a cow farm in 2013 could be back before Saanich council in the near future, now that the property owners have filed another development application with the municipality to turn the land into a 16-lot subdivision. Submitted photo
Cattle battle could soon be done Neighbours, owners of cow farm in residential area hope council will support new development plan Kyle Slavin News staff
When a cow farm popped up in the middle of a residential Gordon Head community last February, neighbour Janet Stark saw a surge of four-legged visitors to her property. But these animals weren’t of the bovine variety. “When the cows came in, I believe they disrupted the rats’ habitat. And I’m assuming the grain and poop and seed and water were perfect rat attractants, so we had real issues,” she said. “We set up rat traps around the property. We stopped counting
at somewhere between 40 and 50 rats in a four-month period. Bless my husband, he dealt with them. But he showed me some of the whoppers – some of them were the size of a small cat. We’re talking monster-sized rats.” The Starks’ home backs on to the northwest corner of 1516 Mount Douglas Cross Rd., which the landowners – the Alberg family – unsuccessfully tried to develop into a 12- and 16-lot subdivision and remove from the Agricultural Land Reserve in 2011 and 2012. After two failed attempts, the cows moved in. Now with what they feel is a
“I think the consensus is everyone wants the farm to go. It’s time to get this over with and do what’s best for the neighbourhood.” – Ted lea, neighbour stronger case for developing their property, plus support from the neighbourhood, the Albergs last week submitted another development application to Saanich planning with the hopes of eventually seeing 16 homes on the property. “It’s basically the 16 lots that we presented before (in March 2011).
The major change is a $100,000 amenity to the Gordon Head Residents’ Association,” said Don Alberg, who inherited the land with his siblings, Gordon Alberg and Florence Davis. The other difference is the Albergs now have a report from a biologist that says there is no environmentally sensitive ecosystem on the property, as originally believed by Saanich. Alberg says that process, including getting the environmental audit approved by Saanich, took much of 2013. “I think a lot of neighbours think the Albergs could’ve applied over the last year, but they were wait-
ing for the environmental (audit) to be done and cleared,” said Ted Lea, a neighbour who has been acting as a liaison between the community and the Albergs. “I think the consensus is everyone wants the farm to go. It’s time to get this over with and do what’s best for the neighbourhood.” When council first rejected the development application in 2011, a unanimous decision hinged on the fact that the 1.64-hectare property was not in line with the official community plan. PlEASE SEE: Development is better, Page A4
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