Highlands
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The Highlands is a rugged area of steep slopes, timber, woodlands, rivers, lakes, wetlands, rock outcroppings and marine shoreline, sandwiched between the Finlayson Arm to the west, Saanich to the east, and Langford and View Royal to the south. It is one of the West Shore communities, but unlike any of the others.
Since first settled, development of the Highlands has been shaped by its topography. Yet there was enough arable land to offer subsistence farming to its early settlers. Lumbering followed, and by the middle of the last century most old growth timber had been taken out. But today there are large second growth stands and much (about one-third) of the Highlands is dedicated parkland.
The Highlands is a regional treasure, offering a wilderness experience within such a short distance of the urban areas of Victoria and other nearby municipalities. That was formally recognized in the Regional Growth Study completed by the Capital Regional District in 2003 Regional Growth Strategy.
It saw the main role of the Highlands would be ‘…to preserve large areas of natural green space to protect elements of the region’s ecosystem, and to provide outdoor recreational facilities for CRD residents and visitors’.
This municipality’s most recent Official Community Plan (OCP), dated 2007, embraces that uniqueness and role, and envisages that ‘[n]ew development in the Highlands will be in keeping with the rural character of the community and carefully designed to protect sensitive environmental conditions. The pace of change should be gradual and the type of development should leave a small footprint on the land’.
Consequently, the Highlands remains primarily rural and rural-residential in nature. Economic diversification is essential to provide a tax base to support affordable public services and infrastructure for the residents. Nevertheless, rural and environmental considerations are paramount, and any industrial or commercial development will have to be consistent with the rural character of the municipality.
But there is one specific area within the Highlands that is markedly different from the rest. It is a parcel about 486 acres in size lying to the west of Millstream Road and to the north of the Langford – Highlands border. This area is covered by the Bear Mountain Golf Development Agreement, which is a continuation of the Bear Mountain Resort immediately to the south on the Langford side of the border separating these two communities. It is zoned to allow for a championship gold course and related facilities, luxury hotel and up to 235 residential housing units. The golf course is currently under construction (2008), facilities related to it will follow, followed by the residential development. Build out time is said to be between 10 and 15 years, depending on market conditions.
Apart from the Bear Mountain development, it seems unlikely that large residential development projects will happen in the Highlands. Instead, it will encourage different affordable housing in a range of different forms, such as cluster housing and secondary suites, and as an inclusive community, it would look at small scale group housing for seniors.
As it is today, the Highlands can offer you either end of the spectrum - from a quiet lifestyle in a rural setting, to one with every modern luxury plus a Jack Nicholas championship golf resort.
It’s all good.
