The Union of BC Municipalities 2024 Convention is in Vancouver this week. Local government and First Nations leaders from across the province are participating. One of the delegates is Mark Vonesch, the Regional Director for Cortes Island, who spoke to Cortes Currents via ZOOM as he was heading out on the ferry last Friday.
Continue reading Mark Vonesch going to the Union of BC Municipalities ConventionThe Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) has a new President, is getting prepared to launch out in new directions and is also trying to raise $30,000 by the end of the month. The first two of those announcements may be interrelated, the third definitely is not. It is a result of two large contracts coming to an end, more on that later. First, Mike Moore has been one of FOCI’s members for decades and is now taking on a more active leadership role.
Continue reading FOCI: Continuity & Change
In 2008, the city of Berkely had a problem. They wanted to hasten the adoption of solar technology, but the $20,000 to $30,000 bill was too steep for a lot of homeowners. Cisco DeVries, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, came up with what Scientific American would later call one of the top 20 “world-changing” ideas of the year. The capital would come from private investors, but homeowners could finance energy upgrades through their property taxes. Since then, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs have provided more than $13 billion for solar installations and energy saving improvements for homes and businesses in the United States. Cortes Island resident Brian Scott would like to see PACE made available to British Columbians.
“I represent two things, an idea and an organization. The idea is the PACE financing tool, which will not be ‘the magic bullet’ but is very close when it comes to our need to address climate change quickly. PACE specifically addresses the fact that roughly a third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from residential and commercial buildings. I’m representing the concept and promoting it. I also represent PACE Alberta and PACE Canada,” he explained.
Continue reading Calling For A Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program in BC
The Strathcona Regional District is considering what could be an extremely innovative and societal changing plan. As CAO David Letich informed the Board, at their Wednesday June 26 meeting, the draft Poverty Reduction Plan is already more than 100 pages long. It was his intention to have the plam introduced through a presentation and then, hopefully, they will forward it to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion.
Continue reading First Draft of the SRD Poverty Reduction PlanEditor’s note: If the province sets up minimum standards for rentals, as Port Moody is calling for (below), it will have an impact on our area. According to the 2021 census, 75 of Cortes Island’s 555 occupied dwellings were in need of major repairs. This was also true of 105 of the 1330 homes in Area C. A significant percentage of these buildings would have been rentals. The Collecting Stories of Where You Are Survey, carried out in both areas the following year, includes responses from people renting units that did not have indoor plumbing, water or ‘sufficient and affordable heating.’
By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Although Port Moody is developing its own bylaw to direct maintenance standards for rental units, city council is asking the provincial government to set up and and enforce B.C.-wide standards.
Couns. Amy Lubik and Samantha Agrtarap introduced a resolution for debate at the Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) and the Union of B.C. Municipalities conferences later this year. It was passed unanimously at Port Moody council on Feb. 13.
The resolution argues that minimum standards need to be set to ensure the health and safety of the province’s rental units, and the province is the only institution with the capacity to regulate the issue.
Continue reading Port Moody calls on province to set up and enforce rental maintenance standards across B.C.
