by George Le Masurier | May 21, 2018
Comox Valley governments agreed to follow the Sustainability Strategy in the Regional Growth Strategy, but some are doing better than others. Learn the pertinent questions to identify candidates that value sustainability at a public forum this Thursday, May 24 in Courtenay.
Not all Comox Valley voters know about the Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy (CVSS) that our four local governments adopted in 2010.
The CVSS provides a detailed framework to meet eight important goals that reflect the visions contained in Official Community Plans and the Regional Growth Strategy.
To make sure voters know about these goals and the pertinent questions to ask candidates seeking office in the Oct. 20 municipal elections, three community organizations have teamed up to stage a public forum at 7 p.m. this Thursday, May 24, at the Rotary Room of the Filberg Center in Courtenay.
The Comox Valley Council of Canadians, Imagine Comox Valley and the Global Awareness Network hope the forum will raise the profile of sustainability in this fall’s elections.
Some Comox Valley governments have done better than others in following the CVSS. Some haven’t done well at all.
The public forum on Thursday will remind candidates (incumbents and announced candidates have been invited) of the CVSS goals.
And it will also arm voters with the right questions to identify candidates who value sustainability and are committed to working toward the CVSS goals.
REGISTER TO ATTEND: Click here, because space is limited
Helen Boyd, one of the forum organizers, said voters should ask for more accountability on sustainability from their elected officials.
“We want to empower voters on the (Comox Valley) Sustainability Strategy,” she said. “And we want candidates to champion some of these issues.”
The eight goals of the CVSS address housing, ecosystems (natural areas and parks), local economic development, transportation, infrastructure, food systems, public health and safety and climate change.
Kathie Woodley, of the Council of Canadians, said sustainability and climate change should be major factors in government planning.
“We have a clear, integrated, long-term plan already designed,” she said. “If elected officials commit to following it, there’s a clear path to a prosperous and sustainable future.”
At the forum, five local speakers will make presentations on a range of issues that relate to the CVSS, and then answer questions from the audience. There will also be an overview of the sustainability goals in the Regional Growth Strategy.
Admission is free, but the organizers ask people to register through Eventbrite because space in the Rotary Room is limited.
FURTHER READING: Comox Valley Sustainability Strategy
by George Le Masurier | May 14, 2018
For Will Cole-Hamilton, local government is something people do together, not something that is done to them. He hopes to join the Courtenay City Council on Oct. 20 to address “available” housing and other issues.
Will Cole-Hamilton remembers when he first realized that local government isn’t “something that happens to you.”
Cole-Hamilton, who will seek a Courtenay City Council seat in the upcoming Oct. 20 municipal elections, was a teenager in Newmarket, Ont. when his parents and friends opposed a city plan to widen their street for better traffic flow. It meant cutting down many beloved maple trees that lined their street.
After his dad made a presentation at the city council, the city made the street less wide, saved the trees and traffic flowed better than it had before.
“That’s when it hit me, government is something you do with other people,” he said from the board room of his wife’s family law practice on Fifth Street. “It’s not something that’s done to you.”
Cole-Hamilton is a lawyer himself — a graduate of Dalhousie Law School — but he hasn’t practiced in several years. Not since he left his Vancouver research practice to start an arthouse video store and an organic grocery store.
Cole-Hamilton moved to the Comox Valley in 2012 with his wife, Shannon Aldinger, and their two children for a less stressful quality of life. They reside in the Puntledge Park area.
“We had two criteria, close to a courthouse and a ski hill,” he said.
He now prefers to run his wife’s office, which leaves him time to coach soccer, run a elementary school chess club, serve on the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association, volunteer for Imagine Comox Valley and Elevate the Arts and engage with Comox Valley Families for Public Education.
He’s running for election this fall because the city is at a point where many large, and long-lasting decisions have to be made, and half of the council is leaving — three incumbent council members are giving up their seats to compete for the mayor’s chair.
FURTHER READING: 2018 municipal elections, who’s in, who’s out; Cumberland mayor encourages citizens to seek public office
“It’s a change election,” Cole-Hamilton said. “Courtenay is growing fast and the decisions we make in the next few years will determine the shape of the city for years to come.
“And it just happens to be the right time in my life.”
Cole-Hamilton ranks “available” housing as the most serious issue facing the city.
“The city obviously needs more affordable housing, and the recent announcement for supportive housing is wonderful,” he said. “But there is a dire need for simply available housing.”
Out of control housing prices in the Lower Mainland and Victoria, along with the Comox Valley’s natural attributes, has created an influx of population greater than our capacity to build housing.
He said School District 71 has trouble hiring new teachers because of the housing shortage, and some of his wife’s family law clients who are separating are strained going from one house to two.
Cole-Hamilton sees part of the solution in creating higher density within the city, building more compact housing on smaller lots, especially around the downtown area.
To achieve that goal, he would remove some of the barriers to building.
Among them: allowing a higher ratio of housing square footage to lot size, more compact houses, varying the rule of two parking spots per housing unit, smaller set-backs and reducing development cost charges to drive the range of housing types the city needs and where they need it.
He sees an examination of putting four houses on a lot instead of three, and using vacant lots, carriage houses and all other available space to create housing.
Cole-Hamilton believes that a higher density in the Courtenay core is a better deal for taxpayers.
“It makes sense to in fill and plug into the existing infrastructure; that’s less infrastructure required per housing unity,” he said. “And if more people live closer to downtown, that supports safety on the street and business vibrance, and perhaps they’ll only need one car, which supports public transit.”
Cole-Hamilton is also targeting transportation as one of his campaign issues.
“Where we live and how we move around must dovetail together,” he said. “Transportation is normally thought about in terms of cars, but some are too young, too old to drive or suffer a disability and can’t drive.”
For those people, the motor vehicle is not their first choice of transportation, or even an option.
But people who have to drive for work also benefit from more frequent and accessible public transit and more widespread and interconnecting bike lanes.
“It’s a connection that’s not always drawn,” he said. “But when there’s fewer people in cars, it makes it easier and more efficient for people who have to drive to get around.”
He also supports raising the profile of sustainability in this election, and promoting the idea of leveraging tax dollars to create social benefits. His sister works on social procurement issues for Oxfam in England, and he sees the work that the Village of Cumberland has done in this area as a positive benefit.
Cole-Hamilton believes the existing City Council has been moving in a good direction on housing, transportation and other issues. But with so many councillors running for mayor, “someone has to step up.”
Like his parent, Cole-Hamilton sees local government as something people do for themselves.
“I believe that I have the skills, experience and dedication to make a lasting contribution,” he said.
by George Le Masurier | May 10, 2018
The hours are long and the paycheck is short, but Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird told a crowd of about 65 in Comox that serving your community through local government can be a rewarding experience
About 65 people interested in the future of the Town of Comox and the upcoming Oct. 20 municipal general election turned out for a public forum this week on the roles and responsibilities of a council member.
Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird shared her experiences during 28 continuous years of public service with the crowd at a forum organized by a citizens’ group called Comox Tomorrow.
Kathi Woodley also spoke on behalf of the Council of Canadians, Imagine Comox Valley and the Global Awareness Network, who are co-sponsoring a Sustainability Forum on May 24 to raise the profile of sustainability in this year’s municipal elections.
The purpose of the May 8 forum at the Comox Golf Club was to increase participation in this year’s election campaigns and provide information about “life on a municipal council” for those who might be thinking about running for office.
Incumbent Comox councillors Russ Arnott, Maureen Swift and Hugh McKinnon attended along with Courtenay councillor and mayoral candidate Bob Wells and Cumberland Councillor Jesse Kelter.
Baird told the audience that despite the extra hours spent in meetings and reading reports, serving your community through local government was a rewarding endeavor.
Asked what qualifications were required to run for municipal office, Baird said there really aren’t any.
Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird
“I was a mother and I had a job,” she said about her initial step into municipal politics. Adding that the learning curve is steep and that you essentially know nothing when you’re first elected.
Last year, the Village of Cumberland had 495 pages of agenda that represented additional volumes of required reading for council members.
“The most frightening thing for a mayor is when a councillor shows up and hasn’t opened their meeting package,” she said.
“There will be hard times, especially when your community is divided,” she said, referring to the controversial development proposal by Trilogy Properties Corp. in the mid-2000s. “But it’s worth it, because you’re helping your community.”
And she said council members shouldn’t beat themselves up over tough decisions like that.
“You go with your decisions based on the information you have at the time,” she said.
But the Cumberland Council and Mayor Baird go out of their way to address citizen’s ideas and complaints personally. The council holds Village Hall meetings several times every month without an agenda, and they regularly survey local residents on delicate issues.
Baird said she meets face-to-face over coffee with every resident who sends an email complaint to the village.
“I don’t see them as criticisms, but as opportunities,” she said. “You always get a better product in the end through discussion … with colleagues or citizens.”
The mayor did, however, express some frustration over people who complain about how the council spends taxpayers’ money.
“And then we hold many public budget sessions and nobody shows up,” she said.
Baird was asked several questions from the audience about how much time she spends on village government business and was the financial remuneration worth it.
Baird, who is retired, says she goes to the village office every day, spending approximately 30 hours a week on council matters. Comox Council members Arnott, Swift and McKinnon agreed generally with that time estimate.
“And then there’s the grocery store,” McKinnon said, referring to casual conversations with constituents. Baird agreed, saying it takes her forever to get to the post office because she stops to have conversations with people on the sidewalk.
Baird and the other council members present said the compensation wasn’t a factor in their decisions to run for public office. The Cumberland mayor estimated that she makes less than 50-cents per hour for her time.
Arnott, who is seeking re-election this year, said he receives roughly $900 per month after taxes.
Toward the end of the meeting, Comox resident Don Davis announced he’ll be running for municipal office in 2018, as he has every year since 1990.
by George Le Masurier | May 7, 2018
The new Sewer Conveyance Planning Process will include public and technical panels to be formed this summer; plus, the treatment plant gets upgrade to eliminate over-capacity at peak periods
When the Courtenay-Comox Sewer Commission put a hold last October on its plans to build a new pump station in Croteau Beach, it signaled the beginning of a new and lengthy process to examine a long list of better options for re-routing wastewater from the two municipalities.
That project — now know as the Sewer Conveyance Planning Process — gets underway in earnest next month.
Comox Valley Regional District staff will present the sewer commission in June with proposed terms of reference for the public and technical advisory panels that will help guide the process. They will also seek authority to hire a technical consultant and will outline plans to engage the public in a series of public events.
Kris La Rose, the senior manager of water/wastewater services for the CVRD, believes the process can still meet the original deadline of reporting back to the sewage commission in January 2019. But he acknowledges that unforeseen issues could cause some delay.
At the same time, he said, the first phase of a long-term project is underway to upgrade the Brent Road treatment plant.
The main sewer pipe carrying sewage and stormwater from Courtenay, Comox and K’omoks First Nations runs along the K’omoks Estuary, through Comox Bay and around the Willemar Bluffs to the Brent Road treatment plant. From there it discharges into the Strait of George via an outfall off Cape Lazo.
FURTHER READING: Beech Street shelved; betters solutions under review
The sewage commission was originally motivated to move quickly because it believed the pipe running along the base of Willemar Bluffs was in imminent danger of being exposed and damaged during winter storms, which could cause it to leak. And a plan, which critics characterized as “hasty,” was developed to build a pump station on Beech Street in the Croteau Beach neighborhood.
But further study of the condition of the pipe confirmed its relatively good condition, and an inexpensive solution was found to cover the pipe safely for many more years. That removed the urgency of the sewer commission’s plan.
With time to consider more forward-thinking options and climate change issues, and the emergence of three serious red flags that made a new pump station in Croteau Beach look less desirable, CVRD staff recommended taking another year to study other options for moving Courtenay and Comox wastewater to the treatment plant.
La Rose said the public and technical advisory committees will assist in reviewing the long list of potential pipeline routes and narrowing them down to a short list for more intensive, technical study.
He estimated the two groups would consist of almost 30 members.
Asked by Decafnation if the new sewerage plan would take a broader view and envision a Comox Valley-wide sewerage system enjoyed and paid for by more than the residents of Courtenay and Comox, La Rose said the current planning process is focused on the existing service area. But it’s possible the sewage commission could decide otherwise.
He specifically mentioned the South Courtenay areas of Royston and Union Bay, which voted down a South Sewer Plan last year because it was too expensive. He said adding them into the existing system would only increase the volume of wastewater flows by roughly 5 percent.
If the proposed housing developments at Kensington Properties in Union Bay and the nearby K’omoks First Nation property proceed, La Rose said there might be sufficient economies of scale to bring them (roughly Area A of the regional district) into the Courtenay-Comox system.
But any decision to extend the Courtenay-Comox sewerage system rests with the sewage commission.
FURTHER READING: Watch this page for new about the public advisory committee
Further expansion of the Courtenay-Comox system throughout the Comox Valley is unlikely. The Village of Cumberland has plans to upgrade its own sewerage system, and the Miracle Beach/Saratoga area would require too many miles of expensive pipelines.
Treatment plant to expand
Concurrent with the Sewer Conveyance Planning Process, La Rose is also managing a multi-phase, 50-year project that will eventually double the capacity of the Brent Road sewage treatment plant.
During peak times in the late fall of every year — when the tides are the highest and stormwater runoff hits its peak — the system exceeds capacity at the outfall. The December king tides can vary by 15 feet to 17 feet.
To solve that problem, La Rose said the CVRD will increase the treatment plant’s storage capacity by adding a new and separate equalization tank. The upgrade will enable the plant to store twice as much wastewater during peak flows and release it to the outfall when tides subside.
And new odor control technology is currently being installed that could resolve problems that have plagued neighboring residents since the plant was originally built in the 1980s.
by George Le Masurier | May 2, 2018
IMAGE: Courtesy of Inhabitat
The B.C. government has stalled a Comox Valley citizen’s Freedom of Information request for a technical study and other information regarding the approval of a water extraction licence in the Merville area
Did the provincial government do an in-depth technical study before issuing a licence for a Merville couple to extract 10,000 litres per day for a water bottling operation?
Or, did they approve the licence without doing a sufficient examination of the aquifer from which the water would be drawn and the number of farmers who depend on that water to grow local produce?
And, is it possible that British Columbia has designed its open government regulations to allow ministries to effectively thwart citizen’s requests for information?
Those questions are being asked this week because the Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resources, Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD), which granted the Merville groundwater licence, has stalled a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for more than a month.
Merville area farmer Arzeena Hamir, owner of Merville Organics, submitted an FOI request in March regarding the recent decision to grant a groundwater license in Merville (File – 20004026, Water License – 500169) for a water extraction and bottling operation.
FURTHER READING: Water bottling project raises aquifer concerns; Farmers: reject Merville water bottling operation
Hamir wanted to know, “How Ministry staff determined that a public consultation did not need to occur; How Ministry staff determined that the aquifer did not need to be studied; The Ministry staff response to the Komox First Nations referral to the application. (Date Range for Record Search: From 07/01/2016 To 12/31/2017).”
More than a month later, Hamir still hasn’t any idea when the ministry will send her the requested information.
On April 26, she received an email from Andrew Bonneau, a senior FOI analyst in the Ministry of Citizen’s Services, saying that she’s not much closer to getting the information.
“The ministry is currently in the process of confirming that there will no longer be any fees for your request based on the new wording,” Bonneau wrote. “I am anticipating on receiving a response from them shortly and once confirmed, they will begin gathering the records and I will be able to provide you with a new due date for your request.
“Depending on the total number of records that are received and/or whether or not any consultations will be required with other public bodies, there may be a need to extend the due date of your request, however, I will inform you if that will be necessary at that time,” he wrote.
In other words, the ministry has no intention of fulfilling Hamir’s request on a timely basis, and it could be another month or two before she gets any of the information.
That’s not acceptable.
Hamir has asked Comox Valley MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard to look into the issue.
“This is insane. It’s taken FLNRORD more than three weeks to tell the FOI office how long it’s now going to take them to produce just one report,” she said. “Then they have another 30 days to provide that report.”
Several Merville area farmers who are concerned about a loss of water for crop irrigation have questioned whether the ministry did a sufficient study of the demands on the aquifer in question before issuing the extraction licence.
Christopher Scott MacKenzie and his wife, Regula Heynck, applied for a licence to extract 10,000 litres per day or 3.65 million litres per year. The Comox Valley Regional District and the K’omoks First Nation opposed the licence application, but the ministry approved it anyway.
There are environmentally sensitive areas surrounding the property, including many farms and Agricultural Land Reserve areas that rely on groundwater.
Area C Direct Edwin Grieve warned that aquifers eventually get pumped down and he wondered what effect that would have on the water supply for nearby farms. He noted that climate changes have caused Portuguese Creek to dry up in the summer.
The CVRD must approve a rezoning application to permit “water and beverage bottling” as a principal use on the property. CVRD staff are gathering information and will report back to the board of directors in May or June.
The Area C Advisory Planning Commission discussed the rezoning issue at its May 2, 2018 at 7 p.m. at the CVRD board room. There was no public input at this meeting. Full report to follow.
Meanwhile, Hamir wants the information she requested from the ministry quickly so she and other Merville area farmers can review the data on which the water extraction licence was approved.
Hamir said given the public controversy the water licence has created, “it’s hard to believe this report and the other information I requested aren’t readily available on somebody’s desk.”
