From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello,
Amid November’s bluster, I hope this finds you cozy and warm. This report invites you to engage in the upcoming Official Community Plan sessions and has an update on wharf happenings in the Outer Discovery Islands.
Why the OCP is important
An Official Community Plan (OCP) is a foundational Planning document which integrates community values and guides land use and community development. An OCP provides consistent direction for decision-making over the next ten-plus years with policies that provide specific direction to the SRD Board, the community, and the Province about resource management, residential land use, the environment, forestry, parks & recreation, transportation, agriculture and more.
Quadra OCP Open House sessions
There are two OCP Open House events coming up, November 19 & November 26, 4-6pm + 7-9pm at the Quadra Community Centre. Your voice, your concerns, and your vision for how our neighbourhoods and islands develop in the future is super important! The Open House sessions are a chance for you to share your thoughts and vision for the future of Quadra Island and Area C –– please add the date(s) to your calendar and I’ll see you there.
During the Open House sessions, SRD staff will be listening to residents about what’s important and gathering information for future meetings which will have a more specific focus. Planning staff have indicated that the topics discussed at future meetings will really depend on the interest level they receive from Islanders. If there’s a topic you think the community would benefit from diving into with its own conversation, please let staff know. When it comes to the OCP, Planning staff really want to hear directly from residents. I urge you to attend and bring your ideas!
SRD staff are working on dates for an Outer Discovery Islands OCP meeting, stay tuned. There’s an SRD webpage dedicated to the Area C OCP process, find it at srd.ca/area-c-ocp.
Outer Discovery Islands wharves
There’s exciting news regarding the Surge Narrows and Owen Bay wharves, which is that the long-anticipated (federally funded) wharf works are scheduled for this winter, and fabrication of materials for the wharves is well underway. The gangway fabrication is in progress, most shop drawings have been reviewed, and the Construction Environmental Monitoring Plans are being finalized.
Celebrating an advocacy win
Folks who frequently use the Surge Narrows and Own Bay wharves invested time & energy advocating to the SRD for improvements they felt the initial tendered wharf plans needed. Their advocacy included submitting letters, a petition, and appearing at the Electoral Area Services Committee as a delegation, where Owen Bay residents spoke from experience about how certain changes to the wharf plans would be highly beneficial to their community in the long term.
So, it was very encouraging to read the SRD’s October wharves update and learn that staff worked with the contractor & marine engineers to incorporate the community feedback and several design changes were made as a result. These changes include transitioning all floats to DFO-style timber construction; adding a longer gangway at Surge Narrows to improve access at low tide; making minor adjustments to the float location at Owen Bay; and relocating piles inside the float extensions at Owen Bay to increase available moorage space. I’m grateful that local folks with knowledge and experience took the time to speak up, and that staff found a path to making the changes. Exciting times ahead with wharf upgrades just around the corner!
There’s an SRD webpage dedicated to the wharves, keep tabs on the latest info at srd.ca/area-c-tc-dw.
Municipal interest in joining Electoral Area Land Use Planning
In October I shared news that Campbell River was considering joining the Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service. This decision would cost their taxpayers $500,000 annually in exchange for five votes on electoral area land use decisions, providing the potential to override the wishes of rural electoral area residents.
Thank you to the many islanders who shared the news with friends or wrote a letter sharing their concerns. A strong message was delivered and now we wait to see how the conversation around the Campbell River council table unfolds, along with the deliberations of other SRD municipalities. If further actions are needed, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Connect
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you at an Official Community Plan Open House. Someone asked me recently about ‘back issues’ of Director Reports. If you’re looking for a report from a month or a year ago, you can find them at robynmawhinney.ca/directors-reports. As always, you’re welcome to connect with me with questions or concerns: email RMawhinney@srd.ca, or call 250.203.2468.
Until next time,
Respectfully,
Director Robyn Mawhinney
Links of Interest:
- Area C Directors Reports on this website (goes back to July 12, 2024)
- Directors Reports on Robyn Mawhinney’s website (all of the above, plus reports going back to Nov 22, 2022)
- Articles about, or mentioning, Quadra Island
- Articles about, or mentioning, Read Island
- Articles about, or mentioning, Maurelle Island
- Articles about, or mentioning, Sonora Island
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Outer Islands
| Images in this report are from a recent adventure into the forest around Morte Lake and a visit to Read Island for a community conversation at ‘U of Surge’ (thanks for the invite!). |