A number of issues were noted for further discussion by the Official Community Plan (OCP) Volunteer Review Committee (VRC) as they ploughed through about one third of the plan at their Feb. 9 meeting.

In introducing the plan, Planner Patricia Maloney said the development of an OCP is guided by two things: the Local Government Act which has a list of issues the OCP must and may address, and the Islands Trust Act and Trust Object which states: “The object of the Trust is to preserve and protect the Trust Area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the Trust Area and of British Columbia generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, other persons and organisations and the government of British Columbia”.

Trustee Sheila Malcolmson pointed out that the object of the Trust is further defined by the Trust Policy Statement.(www.islandstrust.bc.ca/tc/pdf/orgpolstatement.pdf)

Maloney said a public consultation process is required for an OCP review. She noted that the community has done “some excellent work” in preparation for the OCP, including an affordable housing report, a report on greenhouse gas emissions, and ongoing work on a bicycle path plan.

Maloney explained that the OCP is an overall policy document that states the community’s position about a number of issues. She said it is paired with Land Use Bylaws (LUB) which outline how those policies will be put into effect.

Outline economic goals

In working through the plan, committee members thought the overall intent of the plan was good, and approved of its work to protect the environment.

Committee member Sara Brocklehurst thought the plan needed to have an over-arching economic goal for the island, and didn’t think the island should just be a bedroom community of Nanaimo. Meeting attendee Jacinthe Eastick responded that a community profile of Gabriola does not depict the island as a bedroom community.

Committee Member Danielle Rudischer pointed out that the home occupation bylaws are the most permissive of any on the Trust islands and that has a direct impact on the economics of the island.

Rudischer noted that both the economy and society reside within the environment and that this must not be forgotten. Co-chair John Peirce suggested over-arching economic goals might be outlined in that context, so that it is understood that the environment embraces all.

Committee member Randy Young thought that because the Trust mandate speaks to benefiting “residents and the province generally” it implied that “improvements of amenities and environment should be allowed”. He said: “Preserve and protect implying no changes in the plan, can result in economic depression”.

Committee member Lisa Webster-Gibson wanted to know if the advocacy statements in the OCP were effective. She also thought the OCP causes stratification in the economics of the island. She thought it would be good to create a vision about the economic future of the island.

Position on tourism

Young said that the tourism industry on Gabriola provides a benefit to BC of $17 million a year in the summer, based on the rates for bed and breakfast accommodations. He said this should be considered under the economic section of the OCP.

Committee member Carly McMahon said that there is an enforcement issue on the island in terms of affordable housing and people living in sub-standard dwellings. She thought that if the enforcement improved there could be a lot of people with nowhere at all to live, and wondered whether the committee would plan for this issue or leave people living in sub-standard housing.

It was noted that there were a number of inconsistencies and dated language in the plan, and that some parts of the document were too specific for an OCP, and probably should be in the LUB.

In response to a question from Young about why allowed commercial uses are so restrictive once zoning parameters are set, Rudischer said that “any time we haven’t been restrictive someone has taken advantage of it”, and bad things have happened.

Bylaw enforcement

The committee discussed the problem of bylaw enforcement on the island – whether there was any and who was responsible for it. Most thought the bylaws were not well enforced, but Rudischer pointed to examples in which they were. It was noted that the bylaw enforcement officer has a number of islands to attend to and it was suggested that Gabriola needed an enforcement officer of its own.

Other issues noted for further discussion included: the need to get the cooperation of off-island authorities to deal with enforcement issues, water and septic issues, a possible over-arching statement about density, a review of advocacy policies, more discussion about affordable housing, special needs, and seniors housing, what kind of uses the committee wants to see on institutionally zoned properties, dealing with fractional land ownership, and an examination of temporary use permits.