LETTER: New development will overload Sooke infrastructure

Published 5:30 pm Sunday, May 3, 2026

Sooke council at their last meeting changed the zoning and road improvement requirements for the Erinan subdivision on the western boundary of Sooke along Westcoast Road. The zoning changed from a rural RU2 with two homes per four hectares to one per 500 square metres. This allows 330 units to be constructed with secondary suites, potentially over 660 dwellings.

Road frontage improvements along Highway 14 recommended by staff are the District of Sooke’s municipal standards, developed after much consultation with residents and the building community. They are best practices that will keep us out of the problems that we all see with cars, parking and pedestrian safety at odds. At this zoning meeting the developer presented a last-minute proposal for Highway 14 improvements that turned into a let’s-make-a-deal performance with council. This without any ability of the public or staff to comment.

We are now seeing Erinan and all other major developments happen without any assurance of federal or provincial infrastructure grants for growth needs such as roads, bridges, a new sewage treatment plant, expanded sewer lines and probably a new police station. We all need to face that Sooke has no money and a tax problem. Kicking future infrastructure costs down the road is not a responsible fiscal strategy. We either ask developers to pay now for the infrastructure costs of their new developments or ask Sooke taxpayers to pay for it in the future. If the developer can’t afford it now, it is very unlikely that taxpayers will be able to afford it in the future.

It is the responsibility of our local government and politicians to ensure that best practices for pedestrian safety are followed by developers. Sooke spends a major proportion of our property tax dollars on our professional staff for planning, engineering, informing, and grant writing. They were chosen to guide and inform, so why ignore this professional costly information and have council start the let’s make a deal show at the last minute.

William Wallace

Sooke