Langford council has directed city staff to include over $2 million in this year’s budget to expand water connections to businesses in the Glenshire and Langshire Business Park, plus a new Catholic church in Colwood.
The business park upgrades will cost $1.1 million, plus more than $400,000 in five annual payments, while $750,000 will go towards connecting the Our Lady of the Rosary Parish to water service.
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Back in 2010, the City of Langford contracted Sustainable Services Ltd (SSL) to provide water services for Westhills and worked with the company to expand service to the business park on Sooke Road and West Shore Parkway during the following years.
Ten properties in the district are now connected to the SSL water system, with seven properties yet to be connected. The expanded service would connect those seven properties and allow for upgraded service to the 10 that are already connected if the businesses require it.
The city will recoup around half of the $1.5 million in business park costs when those seven properties are connected. Recouping the rest of the money depends on whether or not the other 10 businesses choose to upgrade their water service.
Braden Hutchins, director of corporate services for the city said during the March 20 council meeting that establishing a local service area back in 2016 would have been ideal, but the business park still provides benefits.
“At the end of the day, the greater good to the city certainly is the business park and this is certainly the fairest way for everyone involved, the properties involved and the taxpayer involved given that we’re seeing increased businesses and increased revenue from taxes.”
Coun. Mary Wagner said the project is a complicated one, but that this option is the fairest for taxpayers and businesses in the area moving forward.
“It is a tax burden that I wish maybe wasn’t on the books this year and the way this came about was awkward,” Wagner said.
Our Lady of the Rosary Parish is moving to a seven-acre property on Irwin Road after Royal Roads University purchased the parish’s current location on Goldstream Avenue for a new campus. As part of that deal, the city committed to providing water services to the church at its new site. The church property is not connecting to the CRD’s water system because doing so would require costly upgrades.
Ultimately, council passed the first, second and third readings of the bylaw during the meeting. The bylaw will come forward for adoption during a special council meeting on March 27 where an initial draft of the budget will be presented.
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bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com
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