How our local government works
Public meetings for two controversial Quadra Island real estate developments have been deferred until this April, 2022, because of concerns about meeting in-person during a pandemic.
The public meeting for the proposed Gowland Harbour Views development was scheduled for January 18th, 2022, and the rezoning meeting for Quadra Links Golf Course was to have occurred the following day.
With less than a week to go, at the January 12th SRD Board meeting, Quadra Island Regional Director Jim Abram, said, “I have two items of business that are very timely. We need to deal with them today at this meeting because we have scheduled two public hearings in the next week.”
Having already observed the meeting for one of these projects being delayed for years, Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson responded, “ I certainly hear the concerns around this meeting wanting to have a good in-person component to it, but we are government and we do need to move forward on these things. So I’m just asking from staff on the advisability of this and our ability to hold public hearings following all of their required protocol. I don’t know why [the meeting is being set back to] April, why wouldn’t it be the earliest opportunity that Omicron allows.”
SRD Senior Manager Thomas Yates expressed concerns about being able to notify the public about the cancellations in time.
Abram replied that there was no need for concern, half of Quadra Island’s population would be contacted through Facebook by the end of the day.
As both of the proposed meetings were on Quadra, they fell under the jurisdiction of the SRD’s Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC).
The following motions passed with unanimous support of all four Regional Directors (Jim Abram, Noba Anderson, Brenda Leigh and Gerald Whalley):
“Abram/Whalley: SRD 32/22 – Due to the most resent Omicron variant outbreak of Covid 19, that the public hearing for the Schellinck development scheduled for January 18, 2022 be rescheduled to an available date in late April 2022, at 7pm at the Quadra Island Community Centre. All COVID protocols will apply. – carried”
“Abram/Anderson: SRD 33/22 – Due to the most resent Omicron variant outbreak of Covid 19, that the public hearing for the Quadra Links development scheduled for January 19, 2022 be rescheduled to an available date in late April 2022, at 7pm at the Quadra Island Community Centre. All COVID protocols will apply – carried”
Quadra Island residents have expressed a number of concerns about both projects:
- increased density of housing,
- the impact these developments will have on Quadra island’s already overtaxed aquifer,
- cutting down more of Quadra Island’s forest and destroying animal habitat,
- increased traffic on Quadra Island roads,
- longer waiting lines for the BC Ferry, which one writer pointed out would impact Cortes as well as Quadra Island residents.
Quadra Links Golf Course initially ventured into real estate with a 17 lot strata subdivision called ‘Fir Crest Acres.’
Now the club is applying to have a portion of their property rezoned so they can develop a 30 spot RV park.
In a recent article published by the Discovery Islander, Quadra Link’s Board of Directors states:
“The business plan is to link golf packages with those staying in the RV Site. We anticipate the average stay will be 3-5 days. The RV site will be open seasonally when the golf course is open. Public play is normally May through September, weather dependent. The proposal is for 30 RV sites, with the first 20 to be built in phase one of the development. The 5 acre site is parallel to Heriot Bay Road, just north of the entrance to the golf course. There will be a 10 meter fully forested set back from the road so that it will not be visible from Heriot Bay Road. The entire design and concept of the RV Site is to ensure minimum impact to neighbouring properties.”
The club’s Board promises to have a “full-time employee on site, responsible for managing the site and enforcing the rules which will include a noise curfew.”
The other rezoning proposal comes from Gowland Harbour, where Rick Schellinck has been trying to have his property rezoned for more than a decade.
Last year Schellick informed the board that prior to contacting them, in 2010:
“We drilled and tested for wells to establish relative volumes and quality of water. Along with researching neighbouring wells, we established that water would not be an issue. [Nor would the density] throughout the property for sewage. We had archeological and geo-technical reports done. The data management and environmental impact report was completed on the areas that were to be dedicated for the two waterfront parks. The storm water management plan was developed. A topographical map for the lot was done. We also had correspondence with the local First Nation.”
In the 12 years since he filed his initial application, Schellinck claims “There’ve been numerous delays and setbacks. We have had three open houses on Quadra and have used that feedback to revise our proposal.”
At the January 12th SRD Board meeting, Regional Director Brenda Leigh said, “To correct director Anderson’s comment that this has dragged on a long time for the developer. It’s the developer that dragged it on for 10 years and just recently reapplied.”
According to a 2021 SRD staff report, this project “has undergone a number of changes to address issues raised by the local electoral area director.” [i.e.- Abram]
One of the concerns that Quadra Island residents have about both projects, the potential impact on the island’s aquifer, was discussed in a recent Cortes Currents interview with Quadra ICAN’s Water Security team.
“There are some major developments on the books with the Strathcona Regional District. As you add every additional house, there are further drains on the aquifer system as they input wells. It is something we need to understand before we overdevelop too quickly and get ourselves into real hot water,” said Mike Gall.
Kris Wellstein pointed to some of the island’s recent water problems. What used to be year round wetlands are now drying up in the summer. People with shallow wells are reporting they have less water. The water table in Quadra Island’s test well is going down.
“We do know there is a change happening on this island. Oh my goodness, it does feel like we are abusing a system that we don’t yet understand. We are going past a line that we should not be testing,” she said.
Bernie Amell believes that the water challenges Quadra is facing can be opportunities.
“There are tools to allow development to occur, while respecting the natural water balance,” he said.
Amell went on to list a few of the techniques used, adding, “You have to pay attention to the interaction of the development and the aquifers, or else you have a nightmare.”
Quadra Island resident Claire Heffernan pointed to another potential problem – increased traffic using the BC Ferries – in a letter the SRD Board. She estimates that the Quadra Links proposal, alone, could add as much as 1,200 cars to the BC Ferry line-ups during the busiest time of the year (May to September). This calculation does not include the additional traffic generated the proposed Gowland Harbour Views project.
People travelling to and from Campbell River from Cortes, as well as Quadra Islands, might experience more traffic delays.
Last April four Quadra residents asked the SRD Board to delay a public meeting on the Schellinck proposal until it could be held in person.
As Michael Stahnke explained, “Public hearings on Quadra Island are often attended by more than 200 people. An in person public meeting for this proposal would be one of those. Many people on our island do not have cell phones. They don’t have computers, they don’t text and they don’t have skype. But they attend public hearings and sometimes they stand at the microphone. They have an interest in property and a right to be heard.”
Top credit: Looking down Discovery passage between Campbell River and Quadra Island – Photo by FxX via 500 Px (CC BY SA, 1.0 License)
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