The visioning, public input, and feedback received during the Uptown-Douglas (UD) Plan development process has been foundational in shaping the final UD Plan. A big thank you to all those who contributed to the making and refining of this Plan - we look forward to seeing a ‘heart’ for Saanich unfold through the its implementation in the years to come.
Adoption of the Uptown-Douglas Plan
The Uptown-Douglas (UD) Plan [PDF - 35 MB] has been officially adopted, and now forms Appendix ‘P’ of the Official Community Plan.
Following consideration of the UD Plan at the Public Hearing on February 15, 2022, the Plan was unanimously approved by Council at the February 28, 2022 Special Council Meeting.
With the UD Plan approval in place, Staff will begin work on the implementation of the Uptown-Douglas Plan. Please reach out with any questions to Alanna McDonagh, Project Planner, or Cameron Scott, Manager of Community Planning.
January 2022 - Plan Consideration by Council and Public Hearing
The proposed Uptown-Douglas Plan and supplementary information (feedback from committees and economic analysis) was presented to Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting on January 17, 2022 for consideration. At this meeting, Council gave First Reading to the Uptown-Douglas Plan with several minor amendments. On February 15, 2022 the UD Plan was brought to Public Hearing and following this, was given Second and Third Reading by Council. The minutes and video from both meetings are available for viewing at Saanich Council Agenda, Schedule and Minutes.
Plan Overview
Developed from input received during a multi-year process, the Uptown-Douglas Plan was endorsed by Council, in principle on August 10, 2020. As part of the motion, an additional recommendation was added to engage advisory committees and assess the potential transition of land use based on plan directions, prior to the Plan being considered for formal adoption.
The Uptown-Douglas (UD) Plan provides a 20 to 30 year vision with objectives and actions to implement the goals and policies of the Official Community Plan. The UD Plan has a focus on affordable and diverse housing, active transportation, economic vibrancy, urban design, sustainable development and climate change mitigation and resilience.
There are three key plan directions in the UD Plan that will be addressed through the delivery of this Project:
- "Leading Growth with Residential" through the implementation of pre-zoning that embeds desired unit densities and delivers new housing
- "Conserving Light Industrial" through establishing unique zones for the Mixed Employment designation that comprise a blend of industrial, commercial and residential, and
- "Transforming Oak Street" through detailing future road design and frontage improvements for Oak Street and the proposed Audley Crossing.
The proposed Uptown Douglas Pre-Zoning and Network Design Project encompasses aspects necessary to implement these key directions of the UD Plan and ensure that the built environment, including road networks and improvements, are secured.
Transportation
From a transportation perspective, the long-term vision of the Uptown Douglas area is to create a network of complete streets that include dedicated facilities for walking, cycling, and rolling. Currently, the area is defined by a network of auto-centric major roads. To realize the vision of the Uptown Douglas area, the road networks will need to become complete streets that support multi-modal and sustainable transportation and complement the surrounding land uses. The redisign of Oak Street and new design of the proposed Audley Crossing will be vital to achieving the vision.
Oak Street is one of the few significant streets in the Uptown-Douglas Area that does not have high traffic volumes. It is envisioned to become a central high street, that accommodates pedestrians, cyclists, and public amenities, and includes active and engaging mixed-use buildings.
Critical to achieving this vision is Audley Crossing; the new laneway planned to join Oak Street and Douglas Street. The primary intentions of Audley Crossing are to break up the large blocks and massing of development, enable adequate on-site servicing, loading and access to businesses, and provide additional opportunities for ground-oriented uses such as cafes and patios.
The future Oak Street and Audley Crossing will contribute to making the core of Saanich an attractive and inviting public realm while retaining the areas needs of service and access.
Relationship to Official Community Plan
Saanich’s new Official Community Plan works together with other plans, like the Uptown Douglas Plan, and sets out a long-term vision for the community and guides growth and change across the community. The Uptown Core is identified in the OCP as the ‘heart of Saanich’ and offers an elevated level of density and intensification through redevelopment. The Pre-zoning project is a key implementation item of the Uptown Douglas Plan.