Mauricio Curbelo, Saanich Council Candidate

1. Are you familiar with the lingering issues created by the People, Pets and Parks Strategy in Saanich? Yes. See below.

2. Has the People, Pets, and Parks (PPP) initiative been effective so far? Why or why not?

No: • There are not enough places to take a dog off leash in Saanich and the plan hasn't adequately addressed this. • Not all the 56 "new" off leash dog parks are usable. • $5M was supposed to build 12 fully-fenced off-leash dog parks - somehow we have spent almost $800K and built zero. • The PKOLS/Mt. Doug situation is a failure on all fronts: the signage is confusing, the fence is ugly, there is little compliance with leashing in the leash-mandatory areas, and many dog owners aren't happy with the amount of trails they now have. Neither dog owners nor conservationists are well-served by the outcomes here, in my opinion. I am not surprised it turned out this way. This is the same dysfunctional pattern behind every Saanich plan or "strategy": hire a consultant, do public engagement with predetermined outcomes, approve the plan, then botch the implementation (if there is any implementation at all). The people who oppose the plan get angry at the beginning, and the people who support it get angry when the implementation is done poorly. This isn't serving anyone, it's bad governance, and it must end.

3. What aspects of the PPP, if any, do you think need to change?

We need to properly count the number of off-leash dog parks in consultation with dog owners. I would much rather see Saanich prioritize a smaller number of proper spaces dog owners actually want to use, rather than relying on an inflated paper inventory of 56 parks that are mostly unusable on the ground. This core assumption of the PPP Strategy - that access to natural trails can be replaced by 56 other parks - is flawed, rendering the whole plan unsound. There has to be balance: we need spaces where you can take a dog off leash on a trail, spaces for off-leash dogs that are fully fenced-in, spaces for ecological restoration, and spaces where people can be in a park without off-leash dogs running up to them. Our parks system has to serve all those uses, and each of those spaces needs to be properly quantified in consultation with the stakeholder groups most interested in that space. And I very much accept that often these spaces cannot overlap, so they have to be clearly defined, properly funded, and physically separated where necessary.

4. How do you see Saanich supporting education programs related to Park, beach and trail etiquette?

I support Saanich running education programs, including with local nonprofits, and especially at times where our parks are busiest. However, I also realize that education is ineffective at preventing bad behaviour from a small minority of uncaring park users, so I support physical separation, as well as making sure there are both distinct off-leash and on-leash spaces as mentioned in my answer to Question 3.

5. Is the $1.7M taxpayer funding allocated to the PPP the best use of those funds for Saanich? Why or why not?

Not in the current way it's being spent. I support allocating funds to build fenced-in offleash dog parks and to build split-rail fencing along natural trails. Since $5M was supposed to build 12 fully fenced in dog parks, and $800K has produced zero, I'm not convinced we're spending the money wisely and wouldn't continue down this path.

6. Are you familiar with the Peg and Post fencing added to PKOLS this year? Yes. See below.

a. Do you support spending a further $270,000 to fully enclose the 1.7 km off-leash trail at PKOLS? Why or why not?‍ ‍

Not with the current design. I do think off-leash trails in Natural Areas parks (zoned P-4N) should be fenced to protect sensitive understories, but the current peg-and-post design looks like a cage and ruins immersion in nature for everyone. Further, 1.7 km is too short a distance and the goal should be a proper trail length that is determined in consultation with dog owners (and the park stewards). I would not want to spend $270K more just to end up with ugly-looking fence that is still too short for a proper hike. This would be throwing good money after bad.

7. In seeking to be elected what do you stand for that you think would be important for our members to know about?

1. There are not enough places to take dogs off-leash in Saanich. To let our beagle run around, we used to take him to the UVic dog park. When we lost that, we had to start going all the way to Cy Hampson in North Saanich - this is a ridiculous outcome. I think we do need a large, fenced-in area to replace what we lost when the UVic park closed, and to take some of the pressure off natural areas parks - though I realize the fenced-in parks don't work for all dogs. 2. I think being able to take a dog on a walk in a natural setting is a reasonable expectation in an urban area. The challenge is that this mostly involves our Natural Areas parks - I support fencing these trails, though perhaps not with peg-and-post as we've done at PKOLS. 3. This could have been avoided with a proper planning process. Too often, Saanich charges forward with a predetermined outcome and the public is only able to tinker at the edges of a plan. Managers present the "public engagement summary" to council showing little opposition, then when the final plan is proposed, the council chambers are packed with opposition. One of my priorities is to have genuine, plain-language public engagement so that we end this pattern.

Contact: Email: hello@mauricioforsaanich.ca‍ ‍www.mauricioforsaanich.ca www.facebook.com/mauricioforsaanich www.instagram.com/mauricioforsaanich