In case you missed it: Saanich residents appear to have successfully opposed the Saanich Operations Centre Redevelopment Project AAP.

This initiative—to quietly borrow $150 million without proper public consultation—is still being officially tallied, but we are confident the required number of Electoral Response Forms has been met.

Volunteers hand-delivered a total of 8,276 hardcopy forms to the District of Saanich before the deadline on June 25. We’re also confident that additional forms—submitted by email or delivered directly—will push the total well past the 8,735 threshold.

Thank you to every Saanich and Cordova Bay resident who took the time to sign.

Incredibly, Saanich launched this $150 million Alternative Approval Process (AAP) during the very month our already-inflated tax notices landed in the mail. If they knew this initiative would inevitably lead to even higher taxes next year, why roll it out then?

Almost to the day our tax bills arrived, residents were given just 30 days to gather 8,735 individually signed forms to stop this vague and little-known process.

To recap: if you didn’t sign and submit an Electoral Response Form between May 22 and June 25, you were automatically counted as being in favour of this $150 million borrowing. MOST residents had no idea this AAP even existed!

And here’s the kicker: Over 90% of residents who were informed of the AAP and asked to sign a response form chose to and opposed it. That’s telling.

Is this really what public engagement looks like in Saanich?

It’s not a good look for local leadership.

Clearly, the mayor and council thought this would sail through unnoticed. But they’ve now learned something important: We’re watching. We’re listening. And we’re taking action.

What This Means for the Aragon Mega-Development

So what does this mean for the Aragon proposal—1,165 attached units designed to transform, and potentially overwhelm our community?

The broader Saanich community, including Cordova Bay, has just proven we won’t be steamrolled. And now we’ve sent the same message to Aragon: We are here and paying attention.

If we can organize to challenge—and likely defeat—something as obscure and rushed as the AAP, we can absolutely influence the outcome of the Aragon development.

It’s not a done deal.

Never underestimate the intelligence of your community. The only ones who may end up looking foolish are those who choose to ignore it.

Well done, Saanich residents. And well done, Cordova Bay! Many of you signed the Electoral Response Forms to oppose the AAP. By standing up, we’ve sent a strong message—not just to Saanich, but to Aragon as well.

Thank you for that.

As of today, we have just over 1,800 petition signatures opposing the Aragon development.

Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs President, Barb Lucas, informed me today that we are still waiting for Aragon to formally submit their proposal. Perhaps they were waiting to see if anyone in our community was paying attention to the AAP?

Looks like we were.

Best Regards,

Dan Horth