open spaces B1- Buying or Selling 4 Vi KUBEK ques 652-5171 NRS Peninsula Properties Audited Circulation 12,968 A Victoria Weeklies Publication Wednesday January 30,1991 40¢ sl INDEX Cc BUSINESS C9 CALENDAR C2 CLASSIFIEDS —A21. COMMUNITY Gl GARDENING C12 OPINION AT. SPORTS C3 OUTDOORS A19 COLUMNS BEYER AT HAMPSON A19 LANG C12 MUSGRAVE Al4 TOP OFTHEPILE A7 COURSE Berglund VOWS ‘hefty’ legal battle against Central Saanich Page A5 WRITER IN RESIDENCE Musgrave considers © alfematives to her current Occupation Page Al4 DEATH’S INEVITABLE An organization lob- | bies for change to allow euthanasia Page B4 SAGA OF A GAMES ATHLETE Victoria swimmer Jon Kelly won Tt compete in 94 Games Page B7 CLIMBERS EARN THE VIEW Sielly’s enthusiast Peter Mason gets a soscial high Page C8 RRSP RULES Mike Grenby clears up some misconceptions Page C9 Victoria WEEKLIES Review office hours The Review office, at 9726-First St. in Sidney, is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Mail to Box 2070, Sidney, B:C. V8L 3S5. Second: class mail registration number 0128. New interchange plan for N. Saanich safely during Classroom and practicc exercises Jast week. In the lead is Andrea Lawrie, with Luke Morrow, Lian _ Davis, Fred Dubois, Paul Osmond, — _ Sean Clea and Sampson follow- ing. : _ GLENN WERKMAN photo SS Expensive real estate i is normal The following news. story is the first of a three-part series on housing and accomodation on the Peninsula written by Review repor- ter Mare Davis. In following parts he will examine the rental housing market, affordable housing and first-time buyers. As well, com- ments from politicians, preserva- tionists and special interest group spokesmen will be included in the following stories. For the seventh month in a row North Saanich earned the dubious distinction of being the most expensive place to buy a home in the entire Capital Regional District during December. But skyrocketing house prices are becoming the norm — not just for ritzy Deep Cove neighbor- hoods — but for all of the Penin- sula. The median house price in North Saanich was $228,000 dur- ing December, which compares to a median price of $156,000 for the entire region, the Victoria Real Estate Board said. Despite a slump in housing sales since the middle of last year, house prices remain buoyant, particularly on the Peninsula, YVREB spokes- man Anne St. Dennis said. Median house prices for Central Saanich and Sidney last month were $160,000 and $143,000, respectively. However, unlike North Saanich, those figures include sales of apartments, condominiums and town houses, rather than single family houses alone. NRS Peninsula Properties presi- dent Ron Kubek said house prices on the Peninsula won*t soften while demand for housing on this narrow ten-mile long isthmus con- tinues to easily outstrip supply. “A Jot of the growth and demand for housing comes from within the community. However, there’s also a steady flow of peo- ple moving into the area,” he said. Key to the problem is that affordable housing is now vir- tually non-existent on the Penin- sula, he said. And anti-development councils in Central Saanich and North Saa- nich have exacerbated the problem by refusing to rezone tracts of land for new housing developments or for redevelopment, he said. “Because of the councils’ restrictive policies, many people who work here are living in Vic- toria, which is ridiculous,’ Kubek said. In Sidney — the only Peninsula municipality that is trying to cater to the housing needs of a growing population — apartments that sold for about $50,000 in 1986 have more than doubled in terms of current asking prices, he said. And housing prices on the Peninsula are expected to increase by a minimum of ten per cent per annum for the next three years, Kubek added. Also, empty housing lots will likely appreciate by 15 per cent per annum as long as there’s a scarcity of land available for devel- opment, he said. In spite of concerns that North Saanich and Central Saanich have “pulled up the drawbridge,”’ the Peninsula has nonetheless been a player in a region-wide boom in Continued on Page AZ A proposed interchange at Landsend Road and the highway has been moved west in the latest proposal by the Ministry of Trans- portation, revealed Monday at a North Saanich committee meeting. As well, B.C. Ferries unveiled its plans for its expansion and rede- sign of the Swartz Bay terminal, using about seven acres of farm- land once owned by Rhys Davis. But none of about 150 residents at the meeting supported the min- istry’s new plan D2, to replace Alternative K, without changes, Mayor Maurice Chazottes said. Residents were told by highway project planner Gregg Singer that plans are for the $10:8 million Landsend improvement to go into its design stage next week and construction should start in eight months. But there is still time for public input, Chazottes said. A model of the proposed construction at the Landsend-Tryon Road intersec- tion, including the redesign of the ferry terminal area, should be ready to put on display in the municipal hall in about three weeks, Chazottes said. “The big thing we got out of this was a model. We’ve been asking for one for two years,” Chazottes said. Council decided to refer the matter to its public works and transportation committee, which will gather comment from resi- dents. “The council committee will now act as a link between resi- dents and the ministry, Chazottes said. “D2 is a major starting point for a fresh batch of negotiations,” he said. The committee’s major task is (0 minimize the impact. The upgrade of the B.C. Ferry terminal area at Swartz Bay is estimated to cost $35-$40 million and is not expected to be complet- ed until 1993, B.C. Femies presi- dent Frank Rhodes said. Residents. voiced opposition to Continued on Page A2