Politics

Area C Director’s Report: municipalities joining rural land use planning?!

From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney

Hello, 
We have much to be grateful for here in this part of the world, it’s nice to pause, reflect, and give thanks. I’m thankful for a bounty of garden tomatoes and squash and for the diversity of community building efforts underway throughout the islands.

Two weeks ago I did something unusual, I published two Director’s Reports rather than one. The first was about UBCM and local issue advocacy — it was printed in the Discovery Islander. The other was a time sensitive ‘Special Edition’ report which I shared with email subscribers and via Facebook, an update on municipal interest in electoral area land use planning. This report is a recap and a few further thoughts on that topic as rural SRD constituents wait to see what Campbell River and other SRD municipal councils decide.

Electoral Area Land Use Planning 

In September I reported that municipalities were discussing joining the Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service. The Board has now referred the topic to each of the SRD’s five municipalities & the Kyuquot-Checleseht Nation for their consideration; the SRD’s Chief Administrative Officer will make a verbal presentation to each council.

The Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service determines land use decisions in the SRD’s four electoral areas. Land Use Planning includes applications for rezoning, official community plan amendments, development permits, and all land use bylaws like our Official Community Plan

snowberries in the rain

Cause for concern

Most Electoral Area Directors are alarmed by this because if Campbell River council chooses to join the Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service, they would have five seats and five votes in Electoral Area land use planning matters, while there are only four Electoral Area Directors. Of interest, municipalities cannot access SRD land use planning services in this way, they must manage land use planning within their municipality: the expense buys them a vote on rural land use decisions. Campbell River joining would ding city taxpayers close to $500,000 annually.

I’ve been repeatedly asked how this could be possible and heard from residents that this sounds like a ‘hostile takeover’. Due to the way the Local Government Act is currently written, a municipal council can vote to join a regional district’s Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service and that is all it takes. (A staff report with legal opinion is linked here, if you’re interested).

I wholeheartedly understand the concern of many rural residents that land use decisions in the SRD’s rural areas, each having unique, community-led visions, should be determined by rural area Directors, not municipal councillors. The Area Directors for Cortes Island (Area B) and the Sayward Valley (Area A) and myself have been exploring the potential for legislative changes at the provincial level as well as sharing the news with residents across the SRD. (Recent media includes this Campbell River Mirror article and this Cortes Currents story)

old and young trees sharing space

Working together on shared interests

he SRD is a federation of small municipalities, rural electoral areas, a treaty First Nation, and one big city. I believe the SRD federation operates best when it is working on areas of shared and common interests. A great example of this is the healthcare workforce housing & Just Like Home project in Campbell River which the SRD recently broke ground on. This project, providing 20 workforce housing rental suites, is designed to help attract and retain doctors, nurses, and other essential healthcare professionals and ease the region’s critical housing shortage.

The Just Like Home portion of the project will provide ten private units with washrooms, alongside a shared kitchen, laundry, day room, and communal living spaces. This safe, supportive, and affordable home-away-from-home will be available for patients and their loved ones traveling to Campbell River for medical care not available in their communities. Together, workforce housing and Just Like Home will improve access to healthcare for SRD residents, a solid win for the region. Learn more about the project here.

lakeside pines of now & yore

Next steps

Campbell River and the other municipal councils will be considering whether to join the Electoral Area Land Use Planning Service. I truly respect my municipal colleagues and the incredible work they do in their communities. I’m very hopeful that when councils consider paying for a vote on Electoral Area Land Use matters, they determine there are better uses of taxpayers’ dollars and that focusing on the SRD’s strategic priorities and shared values is the way forward.

For Area C residents who would like to give voice to their concerns, share the news with your Campbell River friends and connections and ask them to politely inform their mayor and council (mayorandcouncil@campbellriver.ca) a preference for spending their tax money on important issues within city boundaries rather than on controlling land use decisions an island or two away (there’s a sample letter in my Special Edition report for reference). Alternately, while the Board isn’t directly involved in this decision, correspondence addressed to the Chair and Board is shared with all Directors, which includes one or more appointed representatives from each municipality in the SRD (administration@srd.ca).

Connect

Thank you for your community engagement, and thanks for reading. You can find links to my previous reports and news media coverage of this story at RobynMawhinney.ca, under the News tab. 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:

Top photo credit: oregon grape aglow