FRIDAY FEB 10, 2017
VOL. 43, NO. 06
$1
including GST
Watch for more online at: WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM
Weather impacts
A pub update, arborist contemplates wind
Base camp
Zero Waste
Another Woodall flashback
Islander says the concept is “garbage”
Bowen Island achieves 72% diversion rate for items headed to landfill
High hopes for approval of medical centre rezoning MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Louise McIntosh with Mike Bingham and Levi Simms after the collection of Bowen’s organic waste this Wednesday. Meribeth Deen, photo
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Louise McIntosh, owner operator of Bowen Waste, says that due to a high level of participation in the refundable beverage containers program at BIRD (Bowen Island Recycling Depot), has put $44,000 into the hands of local community groups in the past year. She says Bowen has also managed to achieve a landfill diversion rate of 72%, while the rest of the Vancouver region sits at a 61% diversion rate. The target for Metro Vancouver is 80% by 2020. “I think this we can do this in part because as a small community we are conscious of one another’s habits. This contributes to a greater sense of social responsibility and participation among people,” says McIntosh. “I also think there are a lot of new residents on the island who are eager to bring their recyclables to the depot. What’s different about our system is that it’s sort of one-stop shopping. In the city, bottles get picked up at curbside, but if you want to recycle other household goods like electronics, batteries, or vacuum cleaners you may end up
having to drive to three different locations.” On the topic of vacuum cleaners, McIntosh says that on a monthly basis, islanders drop off between 25 and 30. “The same goes for coffee makers and printers, and I expect this number will likely go up over time,” says McIntosh. “People need to understand that only a small portion of the materials within these things can actually be recycled. They are mostly plastic, which ends up being garbage.” McIntosh says there are still many people who get upset when they bring items to the depot that can not be recycled. “They ask me, why can’t you recycle that? My response is simply, why did you buy that? I think if we are serious about cutting the amount of garbage we produce, we should consider having some kind of conversation about consumption.” This year, Bowen Waste collected, sorted and transported a total of 1,400 tonnes of product. McIntosh says there will be a few small changes coming to the recycling depot and to the curbside pick-up service, and she wants to ensure that islanders are aware and understand them. See page 3 for details.
At an open house held last Wednesday by D.K. Harris properties about the rezoning for its medical centre project, attendees offered almost universal support and said there was little standing in the way of council’s approval. Former councillor Peter Frinton said he is a big supporter of the project, but offered one criticism. “They need to go bigger and offer more housing,” he said. “They’re being far too generous on parking. That’s valuable land they are developing, and it is only going to get more valuable.” The land slated for development is 980 Dorman Road, and the proposal places a medical centre on the first floor of a three and a half story apartment building. Current plans include roughly half a parking space per unit of housing. The standard parking requirement in Snug Cove is one space per unit, but municipal planner Daniel Martin said that the zoning for Lot 2 (the cleared area on the corner of Bowen Island Trunk Road and Seniors Lane) has set the precedent when it comes to apartment buildings: only half a parking spot is required for each housing unit. “Only half of our tenants actually have cars,” added David Bellringer, the general manager for DK Harris Properties. The tenants he was referring to are live in the Village Square apartments. The project’s architect, James Tuer, said that given the availability of parking in Village Square and the likelihood that people will park on the shoulder of Dorman Road, the number of parking spots for the medical centre and apartment block is not cut-and-dry. He said that there will be two handicap spots and several parallel parking spots that will make it easy for people who have mobility issues to get in and out. Tuer also said that the original development concept included a second building, but this created a number of complications. “At the end of the day,” he said, “We could always tack-on three or four townhouse units.” The rezoning for this project is expected to pass through second reading in next week’s council meeting.