Tangled up in city planning red tape are the dreams of one multi-generational Langford family.
When Jesse Harris purchased two acres of land on Klahanie Drive in south Langford in 2021, he thought he was one step closer to finding a forever home for four generations of his family, including his wife, two young children, his parents and grandparents.
“We truly have had this vision since I was a kid,” said Harris, who recalls the idea was first floated at a family meeting when he was around eight years old.
“My dad compared the idea to mom's favourite TV show, The Young and the Restless. He was like, ‘The Newman family all live together, we should do this.’
"Sure enough, 30 years later, here we are, and we're talking about doing it.”
But just like the fictional Newman family who faced opposition from rival family the Abbotts, the Harris clan have their own nemesis.
Standing in the family’s way of achieving their dream is the City of Langford and its official community plan (OCP). Guided by community input, the OCP is hailed by the city as a document that “sets the direction for future growth” for Langford; but for the Harris family, it could potentially stunt their ambitions.
In September last year, the city put the brakes on Harris’ rezoning application to allow for a subdivision of his two-acre property so he could build a second home.
Councillors voted 4-3 to not consider the application "given the official community plan refresh work that is currently underway."
Concern was also raised as Harris’s property is currently on a septic field. His application would have required a 'precedent-setting' variance to bylaws, which state all new subdivisions in Langford have to be hooked up to municipal sewer lines.
It could take up to 20 years for Klahanie Drive to be connected to sewer, says Harris, who also believes there is already a precedent for new single-family home developments using septic.
“I live in one – a detached duplex on septic," said Harris about his home on Jenkins Avenue, which he hopes to sell one day if his family's ambitions are realized.
At the September meeting, Harris was told he could reapply with the same application once the OCP refresh has been completed, which is expected in the summer.
But when the city released the draft version of its refreshed OCP in March, inviting the community to comment, Harris found nothing had changed – the plan says, “Subdivision and development must be connected to community sewer and water services.”
“This makes absolutely no sense,” said Harris. “I'm not going to go back with the same application because nothing in the OCP really changed from before – [the land] is still a ‘neighbourhood’, it still says they want sewer."
Harris now suspects the council was “kicking the can down the road” in September, avoiding giving him a firm ‘no’.
“By pushing [my application] into the future, they can say they are going by the new OCP versus the old one,” he said.
While waiting for news about the refreshed OCP, Harris has pursued other avenues for his application, including receiving advice from council staff.
The city’s director of development services advised Harris he could apply for rezoning to allow for a detached duplex, while also asking the council to give his property the same consideration as the previous council gave his Jenkins home in 2010, which would allow him to develop Klahanie without sanitary sewers.
A suggestion Harris took full advantage of, submitting a second application in November.
However, in January, he received a letter from chief administrative officer Darren Kiedyk, telling him the application for a detached duplex would not be considered by council as his first attempt has already been denied.
“ … it would be inappropriate for staff to accept any similar applications for council to consider until the official community plan refresh work has been completed,” wrote Kiedyk in a letter shared with Goldstream Gazette.
Harris says further attempts made by him to communicate with city staff have been stonewalled.
"No one will talk to me," he said. "No one will return emails. They have frozen me out ... I'm in this limbo land."
When approached for comment, a City of Langford spokesperson said the decision made by council in September 2024 “has not changed.”
Despite the many setbacks and the rising costs incurred, which Harris estimates have already reached around $30,000, the family intends to continue navigating the planning process in the hope they can find a solution.
“I plan to continue with the application for the detached duplex as soon as they unfreeze my ability to do so,” said Harris. “At the end of the day, it’s just money. To me, being together as a family is more important than the money.
“I don't want to pay these application fees, but if that's the cost … I have no choice, if this is something that I truly want to do.”