Saanich moves forward with draft Quadra-McKenzie Plan after tense meeting

The Monday meeting—which ran nearly five hours—ended just before the clock struck midnight, with the council voting to hold another round of public engagement on the draft Quadra-McKenzie Plan (QMP) this fall. The motion passed 5-3, with one councillor absent.

The QMP has been in the works since 2023, and is known to get residents' blood boiling. The official proposed plan will be presented to the council early next year and could be implemented by the summer.

Dozens of Saanich residents—both for and against the plan—lined up to speak to the council at the meeting, with roughly 100 in attendance. Many of the speakers who were against the plan wore a Save Our Saanich pin, a group opposed to housing density and highrises.

After strong criticism of the plan earlier this year—mainly for the proposed reduced traffic lanes along McKenzie and Quadra—in February, council approved staff-recommended changes, including delayed modifications to McKenzie until BC Transit could be consulted, reduced density in Quadra North, and another round of community engagement for a new draft QMP.

Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said the plan has sparked “unprecedented public involvement,” receiving more than 10K comments from the public throughout the process. Save Our Saanich has received 5,200+ signatures on its petition against the QMP.

That dedication to Saanich’s future was brought to the forefront at this meeting—and resulted in cheers, boos, and jeers from those in attendance.

In a statement released the following day, Murdock called the residents “passionate” but said the aggressive behaviour from some was “completely unacceptable.”

“No one should ever be sworn at or made to feel unsafe for participating in a public meeting,” Murdock wrote. “Further steps are being taken to ensure a safe and respectful environment for everyone who comes to speak to [the] council.”

When a speaker raised concerns about the effect on nature in the community, the crowd applauded, prompting Murdock to intervene to say that if people continued to react to speakers’ comments, he would have everyone removed from the chamber, allowing only one person in at a time to address the council.

This comment prompted a negative oral explosion—including some yells and swearing from  some in the audience as Murdock tried to quiet them.

“Listen, listen—applause is not conducive to a respectful environment for those who may not share your perspective,” Murdock said. “Now, your viewpoint is welcome, but the commentary and the heckling is not, and I mean it when I say this room will be clear if we cannot maintain order tonight.”

This didn’t quite quell the crowd—some speakers made disparaging remarks about those in opposition to them and about the council.

Murdock had to chastise the crowd multiple times throughout the meeting, saying at one point that people in the back were trying to “antagonize” the council.

Those in favour of the plan endorsed the increased housing, with one speaker saying it would grow the property tax base and reduce individual costs.

But those against the plan said the “build it and they will come” mentality was misplaced and could lead to new homes sitting unoccupied.

Many of those in favour of the plan identified themselves as transit users. One person, a UVic student, said he spent up to two hours commuting from the Westshore to the university, with half of that time spent “trying to get from Uptown to UVic” on the 26 bus down McKenzie.

But others say that more people drive in the district and aren’t going to make the change to ride the bus or cycle to their destinations.

The evening’s chaos has prompted Saanich to look into safety measures for future meetings with large gatherings. Murdock told the Times Colonist that he plans to meet with staff about updating safety guidelines. The tensions that flared this week were reminiscent of issues at the Langford council, where one member of the public was ultimately banned for inappropriate behaviour.