Tag Archives: SRD

Housing

Residential Upzone Proposal for Cortes Island

By Carrie Saxifrage

We are lucky to have impressive work toward affordable housing by our  Regional Director Mark Vonesch, Cortes Island Housing Society Executive Director Sadhu Johnston, Cortes Foundation  Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie, Cortes Community Economic Development Association ​​Economic Development Officer Kate Maddigan, donors who make all this possible and everyone else helping the community as a whole. Also, the 2002 bylaws have worked really well for us, especially the foresight regarding forest zones. Thanks to those who engaged in that process. I hope, if you have thoughts about the proposed revision, you will let the SRD know. 

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Housing

Cortes Island’s Draft Zoning Bylaw Online

The proposed changes to Cortes Island’s DRAFT Zoning Bylaw are on online. 

An additional dwelling may soon be allowed on Residential ( R-1), Rural Residential (RR-1), and RU-1 (lands whose primary designation is conservation or agriculture) zones. 

Another proposed changes is more flexibility on lots larger than 3 hectares. For example,  no prescribed building types for dwellings on Residential lots.

Houses that are currently permitted to have suites will most likely be allowed to opt for a duplex instead.

Continue reading Cortes Island’s Draft Zoning Bylaw Online →
Energy

Wind Power Coming to Campbell River Area?

Capstone Infrastructure Corporation, an independent and publicly traded power generating company headquartered in Toronto, has applied to SRD for permitting and approval for a new project on Vancouver Island. The “Brewster Wind Project” would install about 30 wind turbines on a site about 40 km northwest of Campbell River.  The proposed site is on some ridges between highways 28 and 19 — more specifically, between the White River and the Memekay River, spanning a range from west of the Memekay Horse Camp to north and east of Memekay Peak.

Map of proposed project from documentation submitted to SRD, see link above.
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Politics, Transportation

The SRD’s Active Transportation Planing Grant opens the door for larger opportunities

The Active Transportation Network Planning grant that Quadra Island received, and both Cortes Island and Area D are applying for, opens the door to far larger opportunities. 

As Meredith Starkey, Manager of Planning for the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), explained “Active transportation means anything human powered: walking, cycling, and rolling in the sense of skateboarding or some other type of device that you might use to roll.” 

“This is the BC Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program that’s administered through the Ministry of Transportation (MOTI) and Infrastructure. They have  a sub grant  that is specifically for active transportation network planning.” 

“What we have is the network planning grant.” 

Continue reading The SRD’s Active Transportation Planing Grant opens the door for larger opportunities →
Forests

September 2024 Update from the Cortes Community Forest

The Cortes Community Forest Co-operative’s 2024 AGM will be from 7:30 to 9 PM on Mansons Hall on Wednesday October 9th. 

Together with Klahoose Forestry, they make up the Cortes Forestry General Partnership. Mark Lombard, General Manager for the Partnership gave Cortes Currents an overview of their operations this year and plans for the future:

Mark Lombard: “We have pretty good support from the community. Our emphasis is building value for the community, training workers and providing firewood for seniors and  logs for local mills. We’re the lightest touch logging operation in the province by a mile and a half.”

“Log prices are really low right now. There’s potential concerns about a recession in the US, or globally, for whatever reasons and because prices are low, we’re not planning to do any logging right now.”  

Cortes Currents: So where were you working this year?

Continue reading September 2024 Update from the Cortes Community Forest →