TUESDAY MAY 14, 2013
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NANOOSE BAY DEVELOPMENT
Fairwinds kerfuffl e Residents want to see RDN increase the pace JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Delays in the Regional District of Nanaimo’s zoning-approval process may force the owners of a project that’s receiving unprecedented public support to walk away from their Nanoose Bay plans, says the president of the Fairwinds Community Association. “It has been going so slowly, the investors have begun to consider their options,” said Gerry Thompson. “We think it could be going a lot quicker . . . I think we are at a critical stage.” More than 200 people attended a meeting Thursday night in Nanoose Bay to ask questions about the zoning of project, which Fairwinds has said would start with a “seaside village” development at Schooner Cove. On October 25, 2011 the RDN board of directors adopted two separate OCP amendment bylaws to integrate the Lakes District and Schooner Cove Neighbourhood Plans into the Nanoose Bay OCP. The Schooner Cove plan allows for shops, a full-service marina, pedestrian-oriented public open spaces and a maximum of 360 condo units. The Lakes District Neighbourhood Plan includes a maximum of 1,675 single dwelling and multi-dwelling residential units, which represents the remaining balance of the 2,500 dwelling units permitted in the OCP for what the RDN calls the Fairwinds Urban Containment Boundary. Thompson said members of his association are not pleased with the pace at which regional district staff have worked on this file. “There has been virtually no closure on major issues regarding the zoning,” said Thompson. See ONLY, page A8
AUREN RUVINSKY PHOTO
DANGEROUS BUT NECESSARY: Ministry of Forests fire crews from the Coastal Fire region (Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast) based in Parksville were doing their annual hover training at the Qualicum Beach Airport Friday. Forest fire fighting crews who go on to battle wildfires across the continent have to be re-certified for the dangerous manoeuvre of exiting hovering helicopters when it is unable to land. Please see related story inside today’s edition of The NEWS.
Ferries boss outlines challenges Mike Corrigan speaks to joint meeting of the area’s chambers of commerce JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
When Mike Corrigan was a professional hockey player, he didn’t shy away from the rough stuff. The president and CEO of BC Ferries also didn’t pull any punches Thursday night when he addressed a joint meeting of the Parksville and Qualicum Beach chambers of commerce. “Everybody has a different opinion on what BC Ferries is,” said Corrigan. “It doesn’t matter if the ferry system is within government or outside of government — it costs a lot to run a ferry system.”
Corrigan presented loads of numbers to the 120 people in attendance, including the fact the ferries, overall, run at about 50 per cent capacity. He pointed to the airlines, which generally run at 80 per cent capacity or cancel flights. “If we did that (cancel sailings that aren’t 80 per cent full) at BC Ferries, I guarantee you one thing: there’d be a new CEO talking to you here next year,” he said. Corrigan also spoke of plans to introduce cable ferries (Buckley Bay to Denman Island) and, despite the capital costs, converting as much of the fleet as possible from diesel-powered to liquid natural gas. See FUEL, page A8
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