By Regional Director Mark Vonesch
I hope this finds you well and excited for 2026. There is so much happening in Cortes local government and I want to give you an update on some of the issues I’ve been working on.
Continue reading Area B Directors Report: grant in aid, incorporation, taxes, ferries, Vice Chair, & zoning bylawBy Regional Director Mark Vonesch
Currently all of Cortes Island’s local government services and decision making comes from the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). As your Regional Director, I share the decision making for most of our services with thirteen other Directors on the SRD Board.
Local government decisions impacting Cortes Island are currently decided by people who do not live on our island and a lot of you have approached me with the idea of having more local governance control.
In September I asked the SRD Board to support a motion to have staff create a report on the process for communities wanting to consider incorporation. That report can be found here:
https://agenda.strathconard.ca/SRDAttachments/SRDBoard/Open/BRD/22-Oct-25/20251009-Community-Incorporation-Overview.pdf
By Regional Director Mark Vonesch
As we settle into the darker months of winter on Cortes, I hope this finds you warm and cozy. It’s been a busy fall so far and there’s lots to update you on!
Continue reading Area B Director’s Report: Cortes Fall UpdateBy Regional Director Mark Vonesch
I am writing with an important call to action on an issue which could have a huge impact on the autonomy of our community.
Campbell River City Council is considering joining the SRD’s Electoral Area planning service. This is a service which controls all of the land use decisions on Cortes: this includes zoning, bylaws, and our Official Community Plan. If they join, Campbell River could approve developments or bylaws on Cortes that override the wishes of our community.
By Regional Director Mark Vonesch
Over the past six months Strathcona Regional District staff have been collecting our feedback to update the Cortes Zoning Bylaw.
Our zoning bylaw assigns zones to land and water within Cortes Island and specifies what kind of development and activities are permitted within each zone.
This update is important to the future of housing on Cortes and I hope you can join me in attending this event to review the draft and provide feedback to SRD staff.
