It's also here in Central Saanich that a longtime battle has brewed over whether to pipe in municipal water to a small enclave of homes on Senanus Drive on the Saanich Inlet. On one side are the residents who say their wells are foul; on the other are some councillors who have spent years blocking the attempt, because municipal water service is seen as a precursor to development.

Gordon Denford, a retired builder with more than 100 projects in dozens of communities, has lived in Central Saanich for more than 40 years. He argues the push to preserve farmland has turned into an opposition of growth of any kind.

"They are not really supporting farmland, they are only supporting green space," said Denford, who lives on Senanus Drive and has been a vocal proponent of extending the water pipes to his neighbourhood. But "these people are fanatic about 'I'm here and nobody else is going to come here.'" (i.e DEVELOPMENT),

For example, Denford says that councils have shifted the urban containment boundary in a way that puts all undeveloped land into the farming category whether it's arable or not, a move that has curbed building of all kinds.