 | PUBLIC HEARING: RURAL COMOX VALLEY ZONING BYLAW NO. 520, 2019 | |
| Wednesday, August 28, 2019 | ||
| Minutes of the Public Hearing held on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 in the boardroom of the Comox Valley Regional District offices located at 550B Comox Road, Courtenay, BC commencing at 7:00 pm. | ||
| MINUTES | ||
| Present: | ||
| Chair: | E. Grieve | Puntledge/Black Creek (Area 'C') |
| Director: | D. Arbour | Baynes Sound-Denman/Hornby Islands (Area 'A') |
| A. Hamir | Lazo North (Area 'B') | |
| Staff: | S. Smith | General Manager of Planning and Development Services |
| J. Martens | Manager of Legislative Services | |
| T. Trieu | Manager of Planning Services | |
| A. Mullaly | Senior Manager of Sustainability and GIS | |
| A. Baldwin | Legislative Services Assistant | |
| RECOGNITION OF TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES | ||||||
| The Chair acknowledged that the meeting was being held on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation. | ||||||
| OPENING REMARKS BY THE CHAIR | ||||||
| Chair Grieve read a prepared statement regarding the public hearing procedures.
Approximatey 30 members of the public were present for this public hearing. | ||||||
| INTRODUCTION OF THE APPLICATION | ||||||
| T. Trieu, Manager of Planning Services, presented information regarding Bylaw No. 520 and provided a brief description of the written submissions that were received. [Item] | ||||||
| The following material was provided for information regarding the Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019: | ||||||
| - Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019; [Item] | ||||||
| - Staff reports dated June 6, 2019 and July 11, 2019; [Item] | ||||||
| - Agency referrals and responses; [Item] | ||||||
| - Excerpts from the minutes of the Electoral Areas Services Committee meetings, the Comox Valley Regional District Board meetings and the Advisory Planning Commission meetings; and [Item] | ||||||
| - The public hearing notice for publication in the local newspaper on August 20th and 22nd 2019. [Item] | ||||||
| WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED | ||||||
| Written submissions received pertaining to the Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019 review prior to the public hearing. [Item] | ||||||
| Written submission received pertaining to the Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019 review at the public hearing. [Item] | ||||||
| REPRESENTATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC | ||||||
| Chair Grieve called for speakers regarding Bylaw No. 520. | ||||||
| Grant Gordon, Area C, and part of the Area C Advisory Planning Commission. Mr. Gordon remarked that zoning bylaws have unintended consequences. Mr. Gordon spoke about a houseboat on Comox Lake that was full of water, fuel, sewerage etc. and instead of pulling the boat out of the water and billing the owner a bylaw was put in place to restrict people from living in RVs on rural properties or in houseboats on the water. Mr. Grant remarked that people thought the bylaws were good for taking care of sewerage issues, but it added to the homelessness issue. Mr. Gordon described coming to the valley in the 70s being homeless and living in various places like milk sheds and barns and eventually finding a job and contributing to the community. Mr. Gordon remarked that, regardless of what VIHA says, it is healthier to live in a tent/RV on a rural property than in a tent next to a sewerage lift station. Mr. Gordon further commented that this hearing is about regulations and it is reducing the ability to live in tents or RVs on larger rural properties where it shouldn't matter. If you live in a van beside a house, you would use the washroom, but if you live on a larger area, you may have an outhouse, which VIHA doesn't like. Mr. Gordon further spoke against abolishing rural/outdoor kitchens as it makes it harder to survive. Mr. Gordon remarked that these regulations make living costs high and people need help. Mr. Gordon further spoke against water bottling and that he is in support of the zoning bylaw with reservations. | ||||||
| Bruce Gibbons, Area C, remarked that he attended an open house to review the changes to the bylaw and was impressed by the enthusiasm and knowledge of staff. Mr. Gibbons said he doesn't agree with all the changes that were made to the bylaw, but is encouraged to see that the regional district is attempting to be proactive to improving some of the language in the bylaws, reacting to changing times and changing environments. Mr. Gibbons spoke in support of water bottling being prohibited in any zone and commended the regional district for taking this step to help protect the water in the valley. Mr. Gibbons said that water is coming under threat from numerous sources and water bottling for commercial sale and/or export is a travesty. Mr. Gibbons spoke against allowing anyone to bottle and sell ground water for profit at the expense of thousands of people who rely on the Comox Valley aquifer as their only source of water. Mr. Gibbons applauded the regional district for taking this initiative to add this measure of protection. | ||||||
| Kristy Bell, Area B, described an incident where her family was having a BBQ with non-loud music playing and her daughter and step-dad playing games in their back yard. Her daughter was told by the neighbour that she could not play her game anymore. When Ms. Bell spoke to her neighbour she was told that persistent noise is not permitted under the bylaw at any time. Ms. Bell remarked that when she looked at the bylaws, she was taken aback by how restrictive the bylaws are. Ms. Bell encouraged the CVRD as they move forward to be mindful that bylaws have unintended consequences and she hopes that other bylaws would be reviewed with this in mind too. Ms. Bell further remarked that she is in support of restrictions against water bottling. | ||||||
| Megan Hanacek, professional forester and biologist and CEO of the Private Forest Landowners Association. Ms. Hanacek said this matter was brought to her attention by members of the association who reside on or overlap the lands that are being reviewed under the zoning bylaw. Ms. Hanacek referred to changes regarding dwellings as an accessory use with silviculture activity and said that the definition of silviculture in the proposed bylaw is incorrect. It is too vague and includes forest harvesting. Silviculture in forest management includes the health of a stand and does not include a harvest, but they may do some salvage or remove diseased trees. Ms. Hanacek remarked that she does not understand how it would be decided that someone is doing silviculture, whether it would mean harvesting one stand per ha every so many years or maintaining the forest in a healthy state; there is a lack of clarity. Ms. Hanacek expressed concern regarding paramountcy and hopes that the provincial legislation would override the zoning bylaw. Ms. Hanacek commended the CVRD for undertaking the comprehensive review and trying to maintain the integrity of resource lands, but said it needs further definition to avoid confusion around whether someone is doing silviculture or not. Ms. Hanacek stated that the Private Forest Landowners Association is a proponent of bringing people into the managed forest program, which has its own regulations. Ms. Hanacek remarked that the proposed bylaw creates confusion over what is happening in silviculture within the forest management program. | ||||||
| Gillian Anderson, Area C, read a prepared statement dated August 28, 2019 attached as a written submission received at the public hearing. | ||||||
| Judy Goldschmidt, resident of Courtenay and representative of the Mid-Island Farmers' Institute. Ms Goldschmidt said that the Mid-Island Farmers' Institute continues to support changes in the bylaw that prohibits water bottling in all zones. Ms. Goldschmidt spoke about groundwater being critical to the health of rivers, streams and fish stocks, especially salmon runs. Access to groundwater is also crucial for agriculture. Ms. Goldschmidt stated that we need to be mindful of our ability to successfully manage all water resources for the sustainability of our food production. | ||||||
| Chair Grieve called a second time for speakers regarding Bylaw No. 520. | ||||||
| Marci Remington, Comox Valley resident for over 30 years, remarked that she is one of the people affected by the housing crisis. Ms. Remington stated that last year she lived an RV in the Strathcona Regional District and was forced into another unstable housing situation because of bylaws enacted by the ALC clamping down on people living in RVs. Ms. Remington further remarked that people do not have any choice because of the low vacancy rate and high rent. Ms. Remington spoke about hundreds of people living in non-conforming housing on acreages, some within the ALC, and that this should be looked at, especially as the needs assessment is coming up. Ms. Remington remarked that all these people could be displaced if these bylaws are enforced and that the people who have nowhere to live are being penalized. Currently these people are working in the community, but cannot find anywhere to live. They are living in hiding and in fear of ALC/bylaw officials showing up. Ms. Remington stated that the landlords are aware of the penalties that could be imposed upon them. Ms. Remington commented that when she was told to leave the last property, it was a take-down between the regional district, VIHA and the ALC. She was told she could not live in an RV because it was not safe. She could not live in her van either or camp anywhere because it was against a bylaw. Ms. Remington remarked that the more bylaws are imposed on her and people like her it reduces their rights and imposes on their human rights. Ms. Remington further stated that she is in support of not allowing water bottling | ||||||
| Chair Grieve called a third time for speakers regarding Bylaw No. 520. | ||||||
| Diane Bostock, Area C, remarked that when they moved here all they needed to live on their own property was to have septic and flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Since then permits were introduced. Ms. Bostock spoke about having to buy a land with a much larger down payment than in the past, having to take out permits every step of the way, post a $5,000 bond as well as having an onsite sewerage disposal system. Ms. Bostock said when she spoke to the planners about this, they said it was a VIHA problem because they don't recognize composting toilets/outhouses as a reasonable alternative. Ms. Bostock encouraged the planners to read a book called "Dancing in Gumboots" which has a chapter on the many people coming to the valley and living anywhere they could. To her knowledge all these people are now landowners, live in the community and are well educated. Ms. Bostock remarked that if we end up with only rich people being able to live here, we would be poorer for it and would have some sort of monoculture. Ms. Bostock further spoke in support of having kitchens in shops, greenhouses and studios and said the wording in the bylaw needs to be re-worked. Ms. Bostock remarked that it sounds like any kind of sink is being eliminated. Ms. Bostock further spoke against water bottling for profit. She believes that it is not just the people living here and wildlife here that is going to need water, but in a place like this we are going to have water refugees and we need to keep the water for our community. | ||||||
| The chair reminded those in attendance that written comments should be placed in the comment box prior to the termination of the public hearing. | ||||||
| The chair called a fourth time for speakers regarding Bylaw No. 520. | ||||||
| Eve Souki, Area C, remarked that she has seen a lot of young people come through her property wanting to live on the land who were not financially capable. Ms. Souki spoke against the idea that someone, somewhere in some office is making decisions on her generosity. She pays taxes, pay her bills and insurance. Ms. Souki spoke about people being down on their luck and that someone who is not exposed to the reality out there is making decisions for her who has worked for 20 years and wants to help people. Ms. Souki spoke about an event where they were told by VIHA that they could not have a composting toilet and were told to install a chemical toilet, which they did and it stunk within one day. Ms. Souki remarked that there are a lot of people out there who have not even heard about the people making the decisions. Ms. Souki spoke about landowners taking on the responsibility for the people through their insurance, time and effort on their land and the people should be asked for their opinions, not someone who has no exposure to the reality of these people’s lives. Ms. Souki said she will educate herself as to what and why these things are going down the way they are, who is pushing all these changes and why. Ms. Souki remarked that it is not for the health and wellbeing of people. Ms. Souki stated that people are better off living in an RV with landowners who pay their insurance and that she has enough room in her heart to help people. | ||||||
| QUESTIONS FROM DIRECTORS | ||||||
| In response to a question from Director Hamir regarding changes to the definition of silviculture, CVRD staff confirmed that the definition for silviculture in the proposed bylaw is the same as the definition in the current bylaw. CVRD staff also confirmed that the Private Managed Forest Land Act supersedes the Local Government Act. It was further confirmed that the purpose of creating this regulation in the Upland Resource and SWR zones is to support the working landscape and to reduce the interface between the working landscape of the forest companies and residential use. | ||||||
| In response to a question from Director Hamir regarding restricting housing on forested land, Megan Hanacek advised that they are still trying to understand how the process would work if someone approached the CVRD with paramountcy with regard to a dwelling and doing silviculture. | ||||||
| In response to a question from Director Arbour regarding composting toilets, CVRD staff confirmed that the bylaw review considers land use, which does not include composting toilets, which are regulated through Island Health. | ||||||
| CLOSING REMARKS | ||||||
| Chair Grieve provided closing remarks and asked that all written submissions be brought forward. | ||||||
| TERMINATION | ||||||
| Chair Grieve called a second, third and final time for any further submissions regarding Bylaw No. 520. Hearing no speakers the Chair declared the public hearing terminated for Bylaw 520 being "Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 520, 2019". | ||||||
| Time: 7:55 pm. | ||||||
| Confirmed this ____ day of _______________ 2019. ____________________________________ Edwin Grieve Chair ____________________________________ Arzeena Hamir Director ____________________________________ Daniel Arbour Director | |
| Certified Correct: ____________________________________ Jake Martens Manager of Legislative Services Recorded By: ____________________________________ Antoinette Baldwin Legislative Services Assistant |