Politics

Area C Director’s Report: Municipalities interested in Electoral Area Planning + wood-chipping service update

From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello,
The seasons are turning and the cozy joys of autumn are close at hand. This report has news about municipal interest in joining the electoral area planning service, and progress towards a wood-chipping service in collaboration with Cortes Island.

Municipal interest in joining Electoral Area Planning 

In August the Board received a short report and legal opinion outlining the costs and timing of municipalities joining the SRD’s Planning Service. The Planning Service serves the four electoral areas of the SRD: decisions made through this service include zoning and subdivision bylaws, official community plans, development and variance permits, and other land use matters in the Electoral Areas (EAs) only. Municipalities can decide to join and pay for the EA (Part 14) Planning Service, allowing them to vote on Electoral Area planning issues, but they cannot utilize the planning services – they must manage their own land use planning within their own municipality.

At the August Board meeting this report was referred to the Municipal Services Committee (MSC) for discussion. At the September 9 MSC meeting, Directors from the City of Campbell River were clear in their interest in joining the planning service despite a $450,000+ annual cost to City ratepayers.

Campbell River comments 

There was a robust discussion at the MSC meeting on the topic of joining the SRD Planning Service. Comments include Director Doug Chapman who said ‘growth is going to happen at the north end of the island whether we like it or not. I would like to control how that happens, where it happens and when it happens. This is us getting ahead of the train instead of being dragged behind it.’

Director Ben Lanyon stated ‘we need to have a more unified reputation as a region for development… Right now, it’s a very small group influencing the land use decisions for a large area. A lot of those decisions are made not for what I would say are for mathematical, economic, or logical reasons. They’re made for ideological reasons and that really bothers me.’

Next Steps

The municipalities moved to ‘refer the concept of joining the Planning Service to each municipal council for consideration and a request to report back the Board’. At the September 17 Board meeting this referral was supported, and the CAO will be making a presentation to each municipal council (Campbell River, Gold River, Sayward Village, Tahsis & Zeballos).

If you’re interested in learning more about what was said at the Municipal Services Committee meeting, Cortes Currents reported on it, you can read the article here: bit.ly/MunisWantToControlPlanning.

SRD is a federation

The Strathcona Regional District is a federation, a partnership of municipalities and electoral areas coming together to deliver services which makes sense to handle together, things like emergency services and regional housing.

Rural Electoral Areas have unique, community-led visions enshrined in Official Community Plans and zoning bylaws. Site specific OCP amendment applications are brought to the community through a public hearing process and decisions are thoughtfully considered by the four Electoral Area Directors in the Planning Service. Having five Campbell River councillors at the decision table pushing their desire for development onto the rural Electoral Areas is challenging for me to reconcile with the federation model.

I’ve already heard concern from constituents on this. Comments I’ve received include ‘I live here because it’s quite different from town. Not everyone wants mass development’, and ‘I choose not to live in a municipality, why should I be ruled by it’. I appreciate the apprehension and view the issue with concern. Stay tuned, I’ll be sure to share more on this as it unfolds.

Wood-chipping & climate resilience service

Residential wood-chipping offered by the SRD was well-used by islanders working to FireSmart their properties. For a few years the service was funded by a provincial grant, however that stopped in 2024 because the grant must support a variety of wildfire risk mitigations, not just wood-chipping.

Since then, myself and Director Vonesch of Area B/Cortes Island have been considering how best to provide this important service to islanders, and working towards creating a ‘capital S’ Service. A wood-chipping service would provide certainty that wood-chipping could be provided annually, potentially without the restrictions mandated by the grant funder (under the grant, woodchips were unable to be returned to the homeowner).

A big benefit of creating a Service is that other climate resilience grants can be applied for, as grants must have a Service to connect the funds to. Plus, having a shared service means that the participants (Areas B & C) would vote on decisions, rather than the whole Board.

Discussion continues

Discussions about the Service are ongoing at the Electoral Area Committee. We recently made some recommendations to staff and are looking forward to a draft bylaw in the coming months. I reported on the beginnings of this in August 2024 and now its September 2025: yes, local government moves slowly, but it does lumber along.

Referendum question in 2026

As you are likely aware, to begin a new Service require elector assent, which can happen through an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) or a referendum. I’ve heard from many folks that the AAP process is not preferred as it requires those in opposition to fill out an analogue form and submit it to the SRD, while those in support are not included in the process. Director Vonesch and I agree that a referendum question on the October 2026 election ballot is a cost-effective path to determine community support on a wood-chipping & climate resilience service.

Connect

Thanks for taking the time to read this report. 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: