Greetings all, At our May 8th meeting, the Lasqueti Island Local Trust Committee requested staff to send an interim OCP referral status update to First Nations, given the time that has elapsed since the last referral. We also requested a meeting be scheduled with the Snaw-nas-as to discuss their concerns and are awaiting the final approval of the new Protocol Agreement by the Minister.

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In response to concerns about the lack of public notice for the inaugural APC meeting, the Director of Legislative Services replied:

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'I understand that public notice of the April meeting was not posted as required under the s.5(e) of the Lasqueti Island APC Bylaw. I’ve reviewed the minutes and I notice that no decisions were made with the exception of appointment of the Chair. In this case, I’d recommend that at the next meeting that the APC just confirm the appointment of the Chair, and then continue with business as usual."

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APC members will be notified by staff of this, and there will be public notice of their next meeting.

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We have also heard some concerns about the minimum lot size at subdivision. The LTC has identified this as an issue to be addressed in Phase 3 of the current Official Community Plan review project, which will be the phase in which the entire Land Use Bylaw will be reviewed to ensure it conforms with the revised OCP.

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It is worth noting that despite common usage of a "10 acre" minimum lot size at time of subdivision, the number in the existing OCP is 4.0 hectares, since at least the most recent revision in 2005, and perhaps longer: "Policy 1. A pattern of low-density residential land use should apply.  Parcels should be at least 4 hectares (9.88 acres)" -Lasqueti Island Official Community Plan Bylaw, No. 77, 2005   Page 10. The Lasqueti Island Land Use Bylaw No. 78, 2005, Page 13, Section 3.9. "Dwellings and Guest Cabins Per Lot", references 4 hectares as well.

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The changes made to to Land Use Bylaw in 2019, cited as Bylaw 95, changed the wording in Section 3.11. "Subdivision Regulations" from "The average area of a parcel that is created by subdivision is:" to "The minimum area of a parcel that is created by subdivision is:", thereby closing a loophole that, although it had existed for years, had yet to be exploited. While I apologize for not catching the discrepancy at that time, in fact, the 4 hectare number has been in use since at least 2005, likely longer, and is not a recent change. That said, it is my understanding that the current LTC is committed to correcting this figure to accurately represent the common understanding of 10 acres, that is, 4.046 hectares.

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Trust Council on Gabriola will be held June 27-29. Highlights include a session on Reconciliation with Brent Mueller, Director Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and an Interim Strategic Projects session to identify priorities until the new Corporate Plan process is completed.

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Our next meeting is July 26 at the Health Centre. Please attend if you can, and, as always, please contact your trustees with your questions, comments, or concerns.

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Tim Peterson 250-607-7094 | tpeterson@islandstrust.bc.ca