 | AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY PLANNING COMMISSION | |
| Thursday, October 14, 2021 | ||
| Minutes of the Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission held on October 14, 2021 in the Civic Room of the Comox Valley Regional District offices located at 770 Harmston Avenue, Courtenay, BC commencing at 8:16 pm. | ||
| MINUTES | ||
| Present: | ||
| Chair: | G. McClintock | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission |
| Director: | E. Grieve | Puntledge/Black Creek (Area C) |
| Members: | C. Brown | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission |
| A. Burch | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| M. Halstead | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| D. Page | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| W. Prothero | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| B. Thompson | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| Staff: | T. Trieu | Manager of Planning Services |
| B. Chow | Planner II | |
| D. Thiessen | Planner | |
| Absent: | ||
| Members: | R. Poirier | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission |
| J. Slomp | Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission | |
| ATTENDANCE | ||||||
| With the exception of B. Thompson and A. Burch, all the commission members and Director Grieve participated via electronic means. | ||||||
| CALL TO ORDER AND RECOGNITION OF TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES | ||||||
| The Chair called the meeting to order and staff acknowledged that the meeting was being held on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation. | ||||||
| RECEIPT OF MINUTES | ||||||
| B. Thompson/W. Prothero: THAT the minutes of the Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission meeting held September 9, 2021 be received. | ||||||
| Carried | ||||||
| REPORTS | ||||||
| Prior to consideration of the following item Andrea Burch, Dove Creek community, recused herself due to a conflict of interest, being part of a delegation presenting in opposition to the construction of a telecommunications tower on the property located at 3505 Dove Creek Road. | ||||||
| PROPOSED TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER – 3505 DOVE CREEK ROAD (TELUS COMMUNICATIONS INC) | ||||||
| D. Thiessen, Planner, provided an overview of the memorandum dated September 23, 2021 regarding the proposed construction of a 62.0 metre tall telecommunications tower on the property located at 3505 Dove Creek Road. | ||||||
| Brian Gregg (SitePath Consulting Ltd.) representing Telus was in attendance via electronic means.
Sarah Nicholson, and Andrea Burch, Dove Creek community, presented information in opposition to the construction of a 62.0 metre tall telecommunications tower on the property located at 3505 Dove Creek Road. | ||||||
| B. Thompson/D. Page: WHEREAS there is a very concerned local group, opposition would seem to be as much about the communication and consultation process as any detriment the actual project presents;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission support forwarding SitePath Consulting Inc.’s request for a Letter of Concurrence from the CVRD Board for the development of a telecommunications tower on the property addressed as 3505 Dove Creek Road as proposed for the following reasons: 1. The 225 square metre footprint at the corner of the property is in the corner of a forage field, utilizes existing infrastructure, and is least impactful on any possible agricultural use on the property or the adjacent forested property; 2. The siting is in keeping with the Rural Comox Valley Zoning Bylaw and ALR considerations – for example, considering natural topography and conservation of environmental features and minimal impact on agriculture; 3. The proposed offers improved service which should benefit farmers and others with efficiencies and safety; with the provision that the CVRD consider serious improvement to the consultation and public engagement process in this and all matters, in particular: • Require the inclusion of coverage maps • Stagger the timeline and meetings differently. The results of the public engagement event held September 16 will not be shared until the November 8 EASC meeting, hampering the advisory commission’s ability to weight the issue at hand and advise on it o The meeting was advertised in two issues of the Comox Valley Record a month before the meeting, testing people’s memory o The meeting was held as a virtual event which is itself a disenfranchisement as not everybody has a computer and/or internet service. o The meeting begun at 5:00pm, which is often either a time for dinner or people are commuting home from work and unable to attend. | ||||||
| Defeated | NAY: G. McClintock; M. Halstead, W. Prothero, C. Brown | |||||
| M. Halstead/W. Prothero: THAT the Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission oppose SitePath Consulting Inc.’s request for a Letter of Concurrence for the following reasons:
• the majority of the residents don’t appear to be supportive in view of the evidence presented to the commission; and • it would have a negative impact on agritourism in the area, which is significant since this is a primary agritourism corridor for Comox Valley. | ||||||
| Carried | ||||||
| A. Burch returned to the meeting. | ||||||
| APC TIME CHANGE | ||||||
| The members reached consensus to a starting time of 7:00 pm for the Agricultural Advisory Planning Commission meetings for 2022. | ||||||
| STATUS - UPDATE ON APC RECOMMENDATIONS | ||||||
| T. Trieu, Manager of Planning Services, provided an update regarding Electoral Area Services Committee and Board decisions related to APC recommendations. | ||||||
| TERMINATION | ||||||
| B. Thompson/W. Prothero: THAT the meeting terminate. | ||||||
| Carried | ||||||
| Time: 9:14 pm | ||||||
| Confirmed by:
____________________________________ Gerry McClintock, Chair | |
| Recorded By: ____________________________________ Megan Halstead, Recording Secretary |