Reprinted from the Peninsula News Review (February 8, 2013)
A vision for the village
Saanichton Village Association holds workshop this month
Devon MacKenzie, News staff
This month, the Saanichton Village Association (SVA) will begin a visioning process they call Saanichton 2020.
“It’s really about finding out what people’s visions are for the community,” said SVA President, Jan Carroll. “We want people to come and talk about their ideas and what they envision the village looking like years from now.”
The SVA adopted the Saanichton 2020 concept about a year ago and have been working with the District of Central Saanich to seek direction on their plans for the community. This month, the association, the District and the public will come together for the first time on this project to share ideas.
“Anyone can come, it’s not just for those who are in the core of Saanichton,” explained Carroll. “The idea is that everyone – residents and business owners – comes with their visions and writes them down. It can be anything from ideas about transportation, locations of crosswalks and even things like adding garbage cans or benches in certain areas. Anything and everything that makes a village.”
Carroll added that the District of Central Saanich will be providing maps and flip charts for the workshop so people can have an overview of what the village currently looks like. The workshop will also include focus groups on families and age-friendly Saanichton.
“We’re really looking forward to hearing what kind of ideas the community has,” Carroll said. The workshop will run on Thursday, Feb. 28 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Log Cabin Museum in Saanichton Green. For more information Visit www.saanichtonvillage.com or call 250-544-0636.