FRIDAY OCT 14, 2016 VOL. 42, NO. 85
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Profile
Retired BC Supreme Court Justice Cathy Bruce
Animal Affairs
Education/Parenting
Bowen Island’s feral cats
How to help your kids develop time management and organizational skills
Mayor and Council contemplate next steps on Community Centre
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
After two years of hard work it’s official: the Snug Cove Garden Gateway Project is complete. From left, Soren Hammerberg, Judi Gedye, Murray Skeels and Wynn Nielsen cut the ceremonial ribbon. Meribeth Deen, photo
Public weighs in on Detached Secondary Suites Bylaw MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
After passing through it’s first reading, changes to the Official Community Plan and Land-Use Bylaws that would allow property owners to construct “Detached Secondary Suites” on their properties have received significant public feedback. As it stands, the bylaw changes do not limit the size of property where a second house can be constructed, however, they limit the size of a second building to 115 square meters (close to 1200 square feet). At the open house for these proposed bylaw changes, Peter Williamson mentioned that this bylaw should be called, “the second house bylaw, because that’s what it is,” and said that permission to build these second houses should be limited to
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larger lots for the sake of privacy between neighbours. Williamson’s comments echo the perspective of the Bowen Island Eco-Alliance, as outlined last week in their publication The Bowenian. In that publication, the Eco-Alliance argues that while the bylaw should be supported as a component of creating diverse housing on the island, “the draft bylaws as currently written will have a greater negative consequence than the problem they intend to fix.” The article goes on to argue that the bylaw changes will lead to an increase in housing density without creating more affordable housing, and will also lead to drinking water shortages, vehicle and ferry congestion, and environmental degradation. continued PAGE 3
On Tuesday evening Mayor and council, as well as members of the public heard about a focused vision for a Bowen Island Community Centre and a series of steps required in order to proceed towards having one built. With a benchmarked cost of almost $10 million for the project, Mayor Murray Skeels cautioned council to proceed with the next steps cautiously. Sam Collins, from a project management consulting firm called Pivotal, said that while various options for a community centre have been developed, re-hashed and re-worked over at least the past decade, it is necessary to commit to moving forward on one idea. The idea he presented includes community space made up of two multi-purpose rooms, a community kitchen, a lobby, reception, showers and washrooms. The building would also include municipal offices, a municipal hall, a fitness centre and recreation offices. The total square footage amounts to 14,400. Collins laid out a series of steps that need to be taken moving forward, and five “gates” that must be opened at various stages. Getting to and opening “Gate 2,” he said would trigger a community referendum about borrowing the money required to build. Stephen Bellringer spoke to council both as a member of the municipal finance committee, and a concerned member of the public. He warned that with major fundraising projects already being conducted, and others soon to be launched, there will be stiff competition when it comes to fundraising for this project. He also warned that while people will put their pennies towards a community hall, they might not be so keen to have their money put into a municipal hall. Most of council was adamant that despite the cost and the risks, it is important to commit to building a community centre. Councilor Melanie Mason made an impassioned plea to move ahead with the project, in part because there is currently the opportunity to access significant federal and provincial funding and if Bowen doesn’t move forward, we might “miss the boat.” Paul Hoosen, who has long advocated for the creation of a theatre space, also weighed in on the subject of funding. He said that there are significant reserve funds that can be used towards the project, including those put aside by the Arts Council. He also noted that there is government funding specific to arts-spaces that members of the arts community would be happy to pursue independently. The discussion continued, focusing on issues of government funding and whether or not to split the community hall project from the municipal hall project. In the end, the decision was made to recommend to council to move forward on the recommendations of Collins’ report and make commitments on the Community Hall project.
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