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News / Opinion

Willis Point caught between three areas
but residents prefer life in relative isolation

by Glenn Werkman
The Review

A winding road takes motorists
into a tiny, isolated community,
perched on the edge of Saanich
Inlet with a view of Brentwood
Bay to the east.

A community hall is the nucleus
for about 145 homeowners. A
firehall for the volunteer fire
department is a source of pride for
the community. Police protection
is provided by Sidney RCMP. a
half-hour drive away.

Children go to school in Saanich
or Central Saanich and the nearest
place to buy a jug of milk is in
Brentwood Bay.

said Alan Cracknell, chairman of a
Willis Point Ratepayers’ Associa-
tion Committee to deal with incor-
poration matters.

When residents opted out of the
Langford referendum the provin-
cial Municipal Affairs department
asked that the ratepayers make
efforts to become part of the
neighboring Central Saanich or
Saanich municipalities.

“With the tendency of govern-
ment to get rid of unincorporated
areas we realize we can’t live in
the past forever,” Cracknell Said.

Neither of the bordering munici-
palities, however, have indicated a
willingness to expand their bound-
aries to include Willis Point.

‘We would rather have the Status
quo remain, quite frankly’

-Alan Cracknell

Most residents of the Willis
Point community enjoy having
their own little corner of the world.
Many take pride in the fact that
they are, in a sense, roughing it.
There are no sewers, no street
lights, no municipal water service
or garbage pick-up.

But pressure is mounting for the
isolated area to become part of a
larger community.

It’s currently within the unin-
corporated Langford electoral dis-
trict. But in a 1988 referendum 95
per cent of residents said they
don’t want to remain part of Lang-
ford.

“We would rather have the
slatus quo remain, quite frankly,”

But they haven’t said no either
Saanich directed municipal staff to
prepare a report on the issue.
Central Saanich said it didn’t have
the money to prepare one, Crack-
nell said.

A new Durance Lake Road is
being built and will provide better
access to residents. Motorists on
the old road, which passed through
the Heal’s Rifle Range, were
delayed by sentries who closed the
Toad intermittently.

Meanwhile, the Highland Local
Area Plan, which forms part of the
Langford Official Community
Plan, is being done. Residents of
Willis Point were given question-
naires and several open house

Sessions were held to solicit
response to planning issues.

Preliminary results show that 86
per cent of Highland residents
wish to see the population poten-
tial in the current plan maintained
or decreased.

But with the recent purchase of
hundreds of acres of land in the
Willis Point area by Fama Hold-
ings Ltd., development could hap-
pen soon.

Of about 1,200 acres Fama now
Owns, about 235 acres are in
Central Saanich, over 900 acres
are in the Langford Electoral Dis-
trict and about 30 acres are within
the municipality of Saanich.

Fama plans to build a golf
course, residential development
and hotel/commercial develop-
ment — starting on lands within
Central Saanich.

Fama has asked Central Saanich
lo consider expanding its boundar-
ies to include all its land.

Gary Paget, director of the orga-
nizational policy branch for the
Ministry of Municipal Affairs,
said Willis Point is more logically
related to the municipalities to the
east.

“We'll listen to proposals by
Saanich, Central Saanich, Willis
Point or the Highlands,” Paget
said.

He said there is a group that
wants the Highlands to become its
own municipality and may include
the Willis Point area in its plans.

“We'll just have to wait and
see,” Paget said. “It’s very unu-
sual.

“It’s an isolated part of an
electoral area and has developed
quite independently from the rest
of Victoria.”

TheReview Wednesday, January 31,1990 — Ai0 |

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Shipping

Regarding my recent column on
the possibility of Vancouver
becoming a major shipping centre.
The Asia Pacific Initiative, a pu-
vate-sector group, had reported
that Canada would soon have a
unique opportunity to become a
major player in the shipping indus-
try.

The latest word is that a number
of Hong Kong shipping companies
want to settle in Vancouver, pro-
vided the federal government
changes its legislation which taxes
foreign earning of shipping com-
panies that have their headquarters
in Canada.

Asia Pacific Initiative had also
recommended that this legislation
be changed. Needless to say, the
Hong Kong companies want to
relocate before the British colony
reverts back to China in 1997. It is
estimated ihat up to 60,000 jobs
could be created by encouraging
shipping lines to locate here.

Cominco
rapped

The economic arguments
behind Cominco’s closure of its
Sullivan mine in Kimberley don’t
add up, NDP leader Mike Har-
court said last week.

“Cominco has failed to con-
vince anyone that this indefinite
shutdown is warranted. The num-

bers used by the company to
justify its decision simply don’t
add up,” Harcourt said.

Harcourt’s comments came fol-
lowing a meeting with company
officials in Kimberley, as labor
representatives and municipal offi-
cials tried to avert the layoff of 750
mine workers in the East Kootenay
community.

“Five years ago, Cominco was
backed by the entire community in
its bid to secure $124 million in
federal-provincial funding, largely
on its claim of good corporate
citizenship and the company’s
assurance that the mine would
operate for at least another 10
years. Where is that good citizen-
ship now?” Harcourt said.

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