Sooke Residents Are Paying for Growth That Isn’t Paying Back

If you live in Sooke, you don’t need charts or speeches.
You feel this every year when the tax notice arrives.

Other community leaders are openly saying what we’ve been living.

The Mayor of View Royal, a community of roughly 13,000 people, similar in size to Sooke but with far more built amenities, recently wrote:

“Growth does not pay for growth under the current model, existing taxpayers do.”

He added that the fastest-growing communities in BC, like Sooke, are now seeing the highest tax increases, because growth costs arrive immediately, while revenue tools are limited.  See this article
That’s exactly what’s happening in Sooke.

Sooke is growing fast.
But growth isn’t paying for itself.
Homeowners are footing that bill.

And unlike some other communities our size, we’re being asked to carry this burden without seeing comparable improvements in local amenities, infrastructure, or services.

That’s why this petition matters.

This isn’t about attacking council.
It’s about a system that keeps shifting the cost of growth onto the same residents year after year, without relief, without a clear long-term plan, and without accountability.

 
What you can do as a Sooke resident
• Share this petition, Facebook groups & on your profile
• Keep asking clear, respectful questions at council meetings.
• Keep talking to your neighbours, this matters more than ever.

Change starts right here, when local residents stop absorbing and start speaking.

 
(Reference: There is also a province-wide petition addressing how all BC cities are funded. Here is that link for those who want to take the next step: A Fair Funding Model for BC Cities – Not Just Property Tax
https://www.change.org/FairFundingModelBCCities.)