While Saanich writes a new fill bylaw that will drastically limit the amount of material that can be deposited on a property, council has approved amendments to the existing bylaw to make changes even earlier.
Fill is usually sand, soil or gravel that is used to artificially alter the grade, elevation and contours of a property.
A newly approved section to the deposit of fill bylaw now limits the amount of fill that can be brought to a property, and limits the percentage of the property that can be covered by fill.
“We’ve had the changes in the works for a number of months. One of the big motivators was the new environmental information we have,” said Colin Doyle, Saanich’s director of engineering.
“Certainly the bylaw should reflect community values, and for sure there’s been an evolution of how people see (fill), and we wanted to reflect that reality in the bylaw.”
The new fill bylaw, which should go before council by the end of the year, must be approved by the provincial government. That process could take months, which is why Saanich decided to also amend the existing bylaw.
kslavin@saanichnews.com