I read this article in Oak Bay News!!!!

Central Saanich will formally inform Agricultural Land Commission about potential soccer proposal on land in Agricultural Land Reserve. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Central Saanich will formally alert the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) about a soccer pitch proposal on agricultural land, even though no application has come forward.

Councillors voted unanimously to forward a staff report and news coverage about plans by Pacific Soccer Academy FC to build an all-weather soccer field near the Saanich Fairgrounds on a 10-acre property at 7480 Tomlinson Rd. recently purchased by Harj Nandhra, the club’s long-time community coach. Such a move would require approval from the ALC for non-farm use following a formal application to the commission, which has not yet come forward and may not yet come forward for some time.

Mayor Ryan Windsor said this move is “purely for the information of the ALC at this point” while confirming that no application has come forward. But proposed plans have also caused what he called “concerns” among neighbours in alluding to a petition opposing the project launched by Stacy and Mark Sherman, who live next to the property.

The petition, which has drawn almost 1,000 signatures, calls on councillors to preserve the land for agricultural use, while also raising questions about the club’s transparency.

Windsor, for his part, appears to have some sympathies for this point.

“The concern is that there is a proper way to go about a process for a non-farm use application,” he said. “So far much of what has been done by this applicant has been through media and press releases, and the concern exists that activity may be undertaking without proper seeking of approvals. So my concern is that the ALC should at the very least know that this potentially exists.”