The Week: Doing it right on the wrong side of town, CVRD gets a good result for wrong reasons

The Week: Doing it right on the wrong side of town, CVRD gets a good result for wrong reasons

by | Mar 8, 2021

The Week: Doing it right on the wrong side of town, CVRD gets a good result for wrong reasons

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As voters and taxpayers, we hope our elected officials always do the right thing for the right reasons.

The Comox Valley Regional District did the right thing last week by terminating its contract with the Comox Valley Economic Development Society (CVEDS). But they did it for the wrong reasons.

The Economic Development Society was a poorly run service that clothed itself in secrecy, reported to no one but a few self-appointed friends and spent a lot of money for questionable community benefit. And in doing so, the society managed to disappoint, frustrate and antagonize broad sectors of the Comox Valley community.

That was the right reason to terminate this contract.

Hornby and Denman islands and the Village of Cumberland pulled their financial support for the CVEDS service many years ago because those taxpaying elected officials realized how little value they were getting for their money.

Regional directors from Courtenay and Areas A and B might have gotten there, too, but they were making a good faith effort to transform CVEDS into a modern and more relevant organization through — for the first time ever — serious oversight.

But the CVEDS contract was not terminated for its obvious lack of performance. It wasn’t terminated because it had lost its way many years ago by spending almost a third of its budget on a seafood festival that added nothing to the economic sustainability of local businesses beyond a slight uptick in restaurant reservations.

The society’s contract wasn’t terminated because it often claimed responsibility for things on which it actually had minimal impact. It wasn’t terminated because the society shunned accountability or that it failed to comply with requirements under the Societies Act. Or that it had trouble managing its money.

No, the regional district terminated the CVEDS contract because Comox council members objected to increased oversight and scrutiny. Comox councillors didn’t like the regional board setting goals for the society that targeted current problems, such as affordable housing for low-wage employees and familys’ access to child care.

Comox Councillor Ken Grant summed it up when he lectured Courtenay Councillor Wendy Morin about how elected officials should manage arms-length societies.

“That’s the thing about the independent governance model, you don’t get to tell them how to do their business. That’s been the problem from day one,” Grant said at the Feb. 9 regional board meeting.

Grant couldn’t have been more wrong.

When a local government creates an organization — as the regional district did by forming CVEDS in 1988 — that exists only because it receives more than $1 million in public funds annually, then the elected officials absolutely get to say what they want for their money. In fact, taxpayers expect their elected officials to set the big picture goals and to hold people accountable for achieving them.

Grant was right about one thing. The independent governance model has been the problem from day one. Day one being back in 1988. Since then the society has happily taken the public’s $1 million-plus every year and did whatever it wanted with the money. Past elected officials didn’t seem to care what they did.

What is truly amazing is that this bad example of political oversight took so long to blow up.

 

But don’t celebrate just yet

Just because the contract for economic development services gets voided later this year doesn’t mean Comox Valley taxpayers are off the hook.

The regional district wrote CVEDS a $400,000 check in January. That’s one-half of its 2021 funding. The expectation is that the society will continue to fulfil the majority of their 2021 work plan items, including the ones the Town of Comox finds so distasteful.

But, of course, the regional district has no means of ensuring that all or even most of the work will get done satisfactorily. What recourse does the CVRD have? The contract will terminate on Aug. 26 whether the work gets done or not.

The second half of the $800,000 CVEDS 2021 budget is scheduled for July. Will they automatically get another $400,000 for their last two months? Not necessarily, according to CVRD Chief Administration Officer Russell Dyson.

“CVEDS has various commitments in place to deliver services for economic development, tourism and visitors services, and destination marketing. The termination notice provides service to CVEDS for eight of the 12 months in 2021, therefore the second payment for 2021 will consider any adjustments to annual allocation for this adjustment, noting that some costs are annual whether the contract is terminated part way through the year,” he told Decafnation via email.

Dyson confirmed that the regional district would not be responsible for any severance pay for CVEDS employees because they are not CVRD employees.

But Comox Valley taxpayers might become responsible for the Visitors Centre, which some people call the “drum” building and others call the White Elephant.

According to Dyson, “Upon the wind up of CVEDS, the net assets after payment of liabilities is transferred to CVRD and the participant member municipalities. The ongoing ownership and operation of the Visitors Centre will be a key consideration of the service participants in determining future service priorities.”

Dyson says the CVRD and municipal partners will be meeting and working with CVEDS staff the next few months to “encourage” that the work plan priorities are delivered and to encourage a smooth transition to a future service delivery determined through the service review.

“The second payment amount will be determined through this collaborative work over the next few months,” he said.

 

So what will rise from the ashes of CVEDS?

How will local governments provide destination marketing, handle visitor services, manage the hotel tax money and encourage economic vibrancy?

Given that Cumberland and the islands are doing just fine managing their own economic prosperity in-house — as most other communities on Vancouver Island already do — the ideal scenario now is that Courtenay and Comox will hire their own economic development officers.

The CVRD should also hire an economic officer to focus on the three electoral areas because it’s too easy for the rural areas’ needs to be overshadowed by the municipalities. They may all feel strongly about food security, but there are different projects that need to take place in different areas.

Then all four of the Valley’s economic development officers can meet monthly to share information and work together where it’s possible.

Meanwhile, all local governments should agree to share the contract for destination marketing and visitor services to Tourism Vancouver Island (about $260,000 per year). The City of Courtenay economic development officer should have input to Tourism Vancouver Island about how local MRDT funds are spent because all of that money comes from the city.

 

Every community’s needs will evolve over time

But no matter how our elected officials propose to meet those needs, they must always favour transparency and accountability and ensure their objectives are being met without favouritism and for the benefit of the greatest number of people.

 

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Comox Valley local government elections ramping up for Oct. 15 vote

Comox Valley voters will elect new councilors, mayors, regional district representatives, school board members and Island Trust reps on Oct. 15. Find out who’s running for what … and why. Decafnation returns to shine more light on local government issues and candidates

Courtenay says it’s satisfied with City Council, different story in Comox, survey finds

Courtenay says it’s satisfied with City Council, different story in Comox, survey finds

by | Feb 11, 2021

The next municipal elections are scheduled for Oct. 15, 2022. That’s just 20 months away.

Courtenay says it’s satisfied with City Council, different story in Comox, survey finds

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First of two parts

Comox Valley residents who participated in a Local Government Performance Review say they are generally satisfied with the performance of the Courtenay City Council and the Comox Valley Regional District board of directors. But they are mostly dissatisfied with the Comox Town Council.

With about a year-and-a-half to the next municipal elections, Decafnation conducted the survey over the last few weeks to measure how satisfied voters were with the performance of the councillors, directors and trustees they elected in 2018.

In addition to the distinctly different opinions about the Courtenay and Comox councils, the survey also found that when respondents were satisfied with most of their individual elected officials, they also approved of the whole council’s performance.

For example, the regional board directors in areas A and B received very high approval ratings and those electoral area respondents also expressed a corresponding satisfaction with the regional district board. In electoral area C, however, where most respondents said they were dissatisfied with their regional director, they were also less satisfied with the regional board as a whole.

Twice as many Courtenay residents said they are satisfied with their city council than dissatisfied. That level of satisfaction transcended all age groups

Among the Comox Valley’s 33 elected officials reviewed in the survey, Electoral Area A Director Daniel Arbour received the highest approval rating. Eighty-nine percent of his constituents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance. Courtenay Councillor Doug Hillian had the second-highest rating at 68 percent and Electoral Area B Director Arzeena Hamir was third with a 65 percent approval rating.

Few of the 314 respondents to the survey indicated a strong interest in District 71 school board matters.

When asked how satisfied they were with school board trustees, in most cases the respondents chose the mid-point (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied), a response that usually indicates a lack of knowledge or a lack of interest. The written comments about school trustees point to both. 

And too few people responded from the Village of Cumberland to provide the data for meaningful analysis, although 80 percent of the villagers who did respond were decidedly satisfied or very satisfied.

It is interesting that roughly 20 percent of respondents felt neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their councils and individual councillors. This may not be surprising given that a large majority of eligible voters were not sufficiently interested in local government to cast a ballot in the 2018 civic elections.

The survey also asked respondents to identify the top issues elected officials should address before voters go back to the polls on Oct. 15 of next year.

Although the list of top issues varied by Comox Valley jurisdiction, it was clear that respondents overall rated affordable housing as the number one issue. Traffic congestion and various other transportation issues collectively ranked second.

Comox respondents over age 55 were more dissatisfied with their town council than younger residents.

In the survey, Decafnation invited people to rate their level of satisfaction with the Comox Valley’s four local governments as well as their individual municipal, school district and Island Trust elected officials. The survey was conducted over a three-week period via Survey Monkey and the results independently analyzed by several community volunteers not associated with Decafnation.

Respondents could choose among five levels: very satisfied, satisfied, neither satisfied or dissatisfied, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. For this story, in most instances, we have combined the top two satisfied ratings and also the bottom two dissatisfied ratings. We refer to the results as ‘satisfied,’ ‘neutral’ or ‘dissatisfied.’

Many of the survey respondents included written comments to help explain their satisfaction ratings. These can be found elsewhere on the Decafnation website starting today with Courtenay and Comox. The comments help to explain and interpret the respondents’ satisfaction levels.

This article takes a close look at the results for Courtenay and Comox. Readers can click all images for enlargement.

 

CITY OF COURTENAY

Twice as many survey respondents from Courtenay said they are satisfied (55%) with their city council than dissatisfied (27%). And that sentiment was mirrored in respondents’ impression of individual council members.

That level of satisfaction also transcended all age groups. Respondents who are 54 years old and younger had approximately the same satisfaction level as those over age 55.

How satisfied are you with the Courtenay City Council? — click to enlarge

Respondents in age groups from 18 to 54 were satisfied (59%) and dissatisfied (30%), while respondents in the age groups from 55 to 65-plus were satisfied (54%) and dissatisfied (26%).

Many of the respondents’ comments praised specific council action.

“I am relieved the council was not taken in by 3L Developments, and also that it supports the bike/pedestrian bridge to 6th St. I do wish the council would consider more green space for every new development. Everyone needs a small area of greenery, preferably a few trees and flowering bushes, a bench or two, whether for a lunch break or just to rejuvenate.”

Mayor Bob Wells received a 53 percent satisfied rating, compared with 26 percent who were dissatisfied with his performance. The percentage who gave him the top ‘very satisfied’ rating (18%) was about the same as the council as a whole (20%) and all other council members except for Manno Theos (9%).

Wells received both praise and criticism from survey participants.

You can read all the comments about city councillors and the council itself here.

“It’s a difficult job trying to lead the way and find common priorities to address civic issues and sustain a vision of an inclusive community that values people of all income groups/ages. He (Mayor Wells) hears what people say! He seems to work at building consensus when possible,” said one respondent.

But some respondents disapproved of his communication style.

“Never hear from the guy,” said one. While others said, “Never hear from him except when he is at a public function with a high attendance,” and “I have sent him a few emails and have yet to receive a reply! Not even an acknowledgement.”

Courtenay respondents were most satisfied with Councillor Doug Hillian, who got a 68 percent satisfied rating, with 44 percent rating his performance at the top very satisfied level.

Hillian’s very satisfied level ranked higher than all other Comox Valley council members. Only Electoral Area A Director Daniel Arbour (60% very satisfied) and Electoral Area B Director Arzeena Hamir (58% very satisfied) eclipsed his 44 percent mark.

One respondent said Hillian was the council’s “Elder statesman. Eloquent. Ever diplomatic. Grateful to have him.”

Another person wrote, “Councillor Hillian is very knowledgeable and experienced, he’s empathetic, cares about the environment and related issues, and is responsive to taxpayers.”

Manno Theos was the only city councillor to receive an overall dissatisfied rating (41%). Although 32 percent of respondents said they were satisfied.

What are the top issues council should address? — click to enlarge

“I have always felt that of all councillors, Manno is the least invested in helping the little guy and the most invested in watching out for larger money sources. It is good to have a counter-voice to balance the primarily progressive council, but I feel he is less invested in meetings and he often sounds distracted behind the zoom camera and has less in-depth comments.” said one respondent.

Respondents gave similar approval ratings to the remainder of the council members. They also received mostly positive comments.

Will Cole-Hamilton (52% satisfied) was called the “Best of the bunch. True leader. Could be more influential and “not as nice” when driving the necessary culture changes at City Hall.”

A respondent commented that Wendy Morin (52% satisfied) has “A lot of heart and insight which has at times been sorely lacking on council.”

 

A respondent said Melanie McCollum (48% satisfied) “is a very good listener and … also seems to give issues a lot of thought and, so far at least, she looks for ways to resolve long-standing problems such as unhealthy air quality in the Valley due to overuse of woodsmoke. I see her as promising and hope she lasts.”

More than one respondent mentioned David Firsch’s (47% satisfied) impact on the cycling community. “I think he has some good ideas. He is definitely a positive for the cycling people in Courtenay.”

Courtenay residents who took the survey said affordable housing (62%) was by far the most important issue for the council to address before the 2022 elections. Completing the city’s update of its Official Community Plan was second at 52 percent, followed by economic development (49%) and traffic congestion and/or parking (48%).

It was interesting to note that respondents nixed the idea of annexation or otherwise expanding city boundaries. Only 3 percent of respondents ranked it as an important issue.

“Council needs to build a consensus for new initiatives flowing from the OCP. ‘Building back Better’ will require engaging the community from the neighbourhood up instead of ‘top down’ policies. Support for Neighborhood Associations is one way to start engaging people where they live. Staff will need reorienting to community engagement. Add a Community Development function of Social Planning and coordinate with agencies,” said one respondent.

 

TOWN OF COMOX

Almost half of the Comox respondents (49%) said they are dissatisfied with the performance of their Town Council, while a third expressed satisfaction (33%). And only 10 percent said they were very satisfied.

But that level of dissatisfaction did not transcend all age groups among Comox respondents as it did in Courtenay. Younger Comox residents surveyed said were much more satisfied with their council’s performance than the older residents.

How satisfied are you with the Comox Town Council? — click to enlarge

Comox respondents in age groups from 18 to 54 were mostly satisfied (57%) and only 19 percent were dissatisfied. But in the older age groups, those trends were reversed. Respondents in the age groups from 55 to 65-plus were largely dissatisfied (70%). Only 17 percent of this older age group said they were satisfied.

Respondents noted the reasons for their overall dissatisfaction with Comox Council in the written comments. You can read all the comments here.

“This Council is unable to think outside of the box that it has built for itself. Because a number of the councilors are new to their positions, they seem unwilling to act or oppose the direction of the Council set by those who have past experience.,” said one respondent.

“Election promises have been broken, respect for previous OCP has been lacking in follow through, lack of a heritage registry and building permits without proper parking allocations are issues. Using OCP designated parkland space to sell for a building site and not honouring an almost 40-year-old trust agreement with Mack Laing are also issues for me. I could go on,” said another.

But there were some less critical comments. “People are doing their best under the circumstances,” said one person.

Respondents gave Mayor Russ Arnott an approval rating similar to the council as a whole: 48 percent said they were dissatisfied with his performance while 24 percent were satisfied. In the extreme ratings, 10 percent said they were very satisfied with Arnott and 20 percent were very dissatisfied.

Arnott had the highest dissatisfaction rating of all council members and the respondents’ comments reflected this.

“The mayor’s behaviour in council meetings has been interruptive and not respectful to public speakers and his newer council members. He has not attempted to follow OCP guidelines … He is a former member of council who continues to block resolution of a 40-year-old Trust that could have created a gem for Comox such as Campbell River has achieved with both the Sybil Andrews House and the Haig Brown house and property. He continues to block a Heritage Registry for Comox, at a great loss for the community,” said one respondent.

But there were other opinions, too. “He is a down-to-earth, approachable leader. He stood up for his Public Works staff when an awful fabricated story broke about interactions with the female public. His love for Comox is obvious. He cares about people,” said another person.

At the other end of the scale, first-term Councillor Nicole Minions topped council members with a 53 percent approval rating, 23 percent of respondents giving her the top level rating of very satisfied.

“Councillor Minions is a welcome addition to this council. She has attempted to initiate some progressive ideas to the council despite the older members of the council’s entrenched resistance to considering new ideas. It’s disappointing that her initial support for a meaningful attempt to resolve the town’s situation in regards to the Mack Laing Trust has been silenced,” said one respondent.

Another first-term councillor, Alex Bissinger posted the second-highest satisfied rating (49%) and had the highest percentage (34%) of very satisfied respondents. Stephanie McGowan, also in her first-term, received a 41 percent satisfied rating.

Respondents kept Councillor Patrick McKenna in positive territory with a 34 percent satisfied rating, although he had the highest dissatisfied rating (19%) of the four newcomers on the council and the highest indifferent rating (47%).

Councillors Ken Grant and Maureen Swift received mostly dissatisfied ratings at 43 percent and 36 percent respectively. Grant got the lowest satisfied rating (19%) of all Comox council members.

“Ken Grant’s jokes and comments are sexist and disrespectful. He is part of the “Old Boy’s Network “ of the last Council. He seems opposed to any substantial changes to Council’s past performance,” said one respondent.

“Ken Grant seems to represent the white male status quo,” said another.

What are the top issues council should address? — click to enlarge

Comox residents who responded to the survey said the top two issues for the town to address are climate change (50%) and resolving the Mack Laing Trust issue (50%)

Taxation and municipal finance issues and affordable housing were both important to 42 percent of respondents. Economic development was important to less than a third of respondents (32%).

The comments made by survey participants reflected these issues.

“Comox town council’s continued obstruction and delay towards responsibly resolving the Mack Lang Trust debacle is a municipal disgrace,” said one respondent.

“There’s a general lack of discussion on this town about how poorly developed the waterfront is. There’s a huge opportunity here and we have great waterfront doctors offices (which is a complete waste). It should be filled with waterfront restaurants, cafes and hotels. Again, some vision is seriously lacking here. Also a boardwalk connecting marina park to goose spit park should be a thing,” said another.

And this, “We don’t need hotdog stands on the marina park pier, nor do we need any more empty buildings. keep up the splash park, enhance the boat launch area, and, as has been promised for years, build a walkway along the shore like almost every other waterfront community on Vancouver Island. It’s embarrassing,” said a respondent.

Next time, we look at the survey results for the Comox Valley Regional District and the three electoral areas. We’ll also review the satisfaction levels of the Denman and Hornby Island representatives to the Islands Trust and District 71 school board trustees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW YOU RATED COURTENAY, COMOX COUNCILLORS

 

READ YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT COUNCILS AND COUNCILLORS ON THE SURVEY HOME PAGE

 

 

 

RESPONDENTS AGE GROUPING BY JURISDICTION

 

 

 

SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY GOVERNMENT JURISDICTION

 

 

 

COMOX SATISFACTION LEVEL FOR UNDER & OVER AGE 55 RESPONDENTS

Satisfaction level of Comox respondents age 54 and under (above) and 55 and over (below)

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The Week: buzzing about city annexation (don’t bet on it) and 3L logging (yeah, probably)

The Week: buzzing about city annexation (don’t bet on it) and 3L logging (yeah, probably)

by | Jan 12, 2021

Who needs a Mexican beach in January, it’s almost as warm here (not)  |  George Le Masurier photo

The Week: buzzing about city annexation (don’t bet on it) and 3L logging (yeah, probably)

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There was a lot of buzz last week about 3L Developments on-going attempt to subvert the Regional Growth Strategy in order to build 780 new houses in the Puntledge Triangle. But 3L itself generated only some of that buzz.

A group of 12 people called the Save Stotan Falls Committee triggered most of the chatter. It sprung from a full-page “advertorial” they placed in the Comox Valley Record that suggested a forward-thinking Courtenay Council would annex 3L’s property into the city. This would save millions of dollars. Increased tax revenue for Courtenay. Free land for K’omoks First Nation. Save Stotan Falls. Preserve forests.

They stopped only slightly short of guaranteeing world peace.

But the group did not mention that 3L has recently hinted at dedicating a large chunk of their land to a future convention centre — disguised as an agriplex, whatever that really means. Or that certain members of the anonymous group have promoted the centre as their personal legacy to the Comox Valley.

It’s possible that two separate purposes have aligned: If 3L gets annexed, then the good old boys get some land for their convention centre. And both are using the preservation of easy access to Stotan Falls as cover for their true intentions.

To make the scheme work, they have practically exalted the swimming hole to sacred status. It’s become a shine that commands reverence to which all else should be sacrificed. No matter that maybe five percent of the local population goes there in any given year.

So the ad created some buzz. There were rumours of a counter-petition and possibly another ad refuting the Save Stotan Falls Committee ad.

But this is all wild-eyed speculation because annexation is off the table for now.

3L Developments has not applied to the city for annexation. It would have been rejected if they had. City planners are not accepting applications for annexation at least until the current Official Community Plan review winds up.

And when the city finally formalizes a new OCP sometime next year, the smart money will bet against annexation under its new terms.

Now, the other buzz last week was about 3L sending a letter to property owners adjacent to their land. The letters said that unless the regional district reached a deal with the company to purchase the land by Jan. 21, 3L would start cutting down trees.

Reaching a multi-million dollar purchase agreement takes time. And when you’re dealing with a government that is slow-moving by nature, the two- or three-week deadline was a fantasy. More likely a PR tactic.

The company may well follow through and do some perimeter logging in a week or so, but that doesn’t preclude any eventual purchase agreement.

The letters, the full-page ad and the petition flashed brightly for a few days. But we’re back to reality now.

— Sometime next week, the Comox Valley Regional District board will gather with a special mediator and listen to Comox directors complain about how they don’t like what’s happening to the Economic Development Society (EDS).

After a similar session last fall failed to pull directors into a common vision for the society’s future role, the Town of Comox asked for a formal service review. This is a legislated process to air grievances and seek resolutions. It’s also a required step before a participant such as the town can pull out of the service.

There’s no telling how long the service review might take. During the October session, it became clear that the Comox and Area C directors had one view and the rest of the board had another. There appeared to be little common ground.

Courtenay and Area A and B directors take a broader view of what constitutes economic development. For example, they see that providing affordable housing and accessible child care helps businesses attract and retain employees.

They realize that helping small local businesses create effective and competitive online sales platforms will sustain them beyond the pandemic. They believe that maintaining and expanding mountain bike infrastructure benefits businesses across the whole community.

Comox resists these new efforts. They want the EDS to help them fund a marina expansion and keep throwing the Seafood Festival party.

It may even be more personal than that. Everyone but the Comox directors think the town has benefited from EDS activities more than everyone else and to an extent that is out of proportion to their financial investment. If the EDS moves in the direction preferred by the board majority, Comox will no longer be the centre of attention.

So, it’s possible that at the end of the service review Comox will pick up its marbles and go home. Comox might choose to follow Cumberland’s lead and set up its own Economic Development office.

In our opinion, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. If each municipality had its own economic development officer and the electoral areas had their own at the regional district, they could all focus precisely on what each area needs and wants. Once a month, the four ED officers could all get together to explore ways of working together.

Or, maybe the directors will find common ground during next week’s service review. But don’t bet on it.

 

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Comox Valley local government elections ramping up for Oct. 15 vote

Comox Valley voters will elect new councilors, mayors, regional district representatives, school board members and Island Trust reps on Oct. 15. Find out who’s running for what … and why. Decafnation returns to shine more light on local government issues and candidates

Major shift for Courtenay key planning documents; transportation up next

Major shift for Courtenay key planning documents; transportation up next

by | Aug 21, 2019

George Le Masurier photos

Major shift for Courtenay key planning documents; transportation up next

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There comes a time in the life-span of cities when the need for change builds to an undeniable imperative. This often occurs after a prolonged period of growth that has exposed outdated planning documents and revealed policies that favored sprawl over density and the status quo over bold new visions.

Acknowledging this imbalance means rethinking what it means to plan a livable, sustainable and socially-just city.

It’s arguable whether the City of Courtenay’s decade-plus growth spurt is over or continuing. But there is no doubt that the new city council and municipal staff intend to take on the difficult role of change agents.

Over the next two years, the city has no less than nine major plans under review.

Earlier this year, councillors approved two first-time initiatives, a Cycling Network Plan and an Urban Forest Strategy. In September, they will make final adjustments to the city’s draft Transportation Master Plan, which began development in the fall of 2017.

Ryan O’Grady

The city’s engineering group is also currently working on an Integrated Rainwater Management Plan. They have partnered with the University of Waterloo and consultants Urban Systems to create Courtenay-specific climate-resilient design parameters for sea-level rise projections.

Also coming: an update to the city’s 1980s-vintage Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw, continuing work on Municipal Natural Assets Management policies and Parks and Recreation Master Plan that should also go to City Council for adoption this fall.

All of these new, revised or updated planning documents will feed into and shape a major update to the Big Kahuna of municipal planning: Courtenay’s 15-year-old Official Community Plan. Staff began work on that project this week.

Ryan O’Grady, the city’s director of engineering services, told Decafnation that the timing for all of these projects couldn’t be better.

“The goal of these plans is to represent the progressive shifts which have been evident in the City of Courtenay, and throughout the Comox Valley, O’Grady told Decafnation. “Leveraging the expertise of our stakeholders, while facilitating regional collaboration, is a priority for the Engineering Services group. This is something we are striving to achieve in all of our initiatives, ranging from this transportation work to our climate change adaptation and infrastructure resiliency work. Considering innovative alternatives in parallel with the traditional approach of conventional engineered infrastructure is an exciting transition, and one which aligns with Council’s Strategic Priorities.”

Next up: Transportation

The next major planning document City Council will review and update is the Transportation Master Plan. It was last updated in 2014.

The new plan takes a different perspective toward addressing Courtenay traffic issues than previous plans. It focuses more heavily on providing a wide range of alternatives to moving around the community in private vehicles. And it imagines everything from electric to autonomous vehicles.

Courtenay Councillor David Frisch said he’s “excited” to see Courtenay residents supporting multimodal transportation methods, like walking and cycling, mobility scooters and transit.

“I believe this is in step with peoples commitments to healthier living, environmental stewardship, and strong economic growth… All of which are supported by multimodal transportation,” he told Decafnation.

But one thing you will not find in the new draft transportation plan is a recommendation for a third crossing of the Courtenay River.

A previous iteration of the transportation plan released last spring showed a third crossing cutting through the Courtenay Airpark at 21st Street and landing in Hollyhock Marsh, a protected part of the estuary and integral to Project Watershed’s Kus-kus-sum restoration.

That caused a public uproar on several fronts prior to last fall’s municipal elections. The previous City Council responded by directing staff and its transportation consultants, Urban Systems, not to consider a third crossing in future versions of the plan.

What you will find in the new draft plan are several keywords that signal a philosophical shift in transportation planning. These are terms — active transportation, multi-modal, connectivity, accessibility and sustainability — that have become synonymous with the world’s most livable cities.

Even the name of the plan, Connecting Courtenay, suggests a focus that goes beyond roads, stop lights and intersections.

The draft plan embraces these concepts with a shift in priorities toward active transportation — walking and cycling — and toward multi-modal forms of transportation — bike and car sharing, transit and electric vehicles.

“An important aspect of the TMP (Transportation Master Plan) is the recognition that we cannot move people around effectively and efficiently without providing better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists while addressing increased vehicle traffic,” Councillor Melanie McCollum told Decafnation. “The TMP identifies where investments need to be made in the medium and long term to move toward the target of 30 percent sustainable travel modes.”

McCollum said the sustainable travel modes target is approximately double the current figure in Courtenay.

Councillor Wendy Morin says that rather than adding another expensive bridge in the near future, the city must look at other ways to mitigate traffic.

“I’d like to see us focusing on multi-modal infrastructure and promoting pedestrian-friendly corridors in the downtown core, and connecting neighbourhoods,” she told Decafnation. “I’ve received feedback that folks would use less vehicle transportation in downtown and peripheral areas if safety concerns were addressed.”

Morin is advocating for a Sixth Street pedestrian bridge with access for cyclists, but with a focus on pedestrians.

“I’d like to see these pedestrian routes link into trail and park systems as well as connect with river-way access,” she said.

The draft plan is based on a 20-year vision. It includes individual plans for walking, cycling, transit infrastructure, emerging technologies and new mobility issues.

Saving tax dollars

One of the most significant philosophical shifts in the draft transportation plan recognizes that spending more now on less expensive alternate modes of transportation could defer and even eliminate spending on pricier infrastructure.

“Major infrastructure … may be deferred if investments in non-automobile modes of transportation and changes in land use patterns are successful in limiting vehicle volume growth,” the plan states.

The draft plan projects a cost of $145.7 million over a 20- to 25-year implementation period, and almost three-quarters of that total will be spent on streets. New and widened major corridors and connections will cost $94.2 million and and $13.3 million on other roadway projects.

Councillor David Frisch advocates for improved cycling options within the City of Courtenay

While the plan includes major projects for walking, cycling, transit and emerging technologies, they add up to only 26 percent of the total estimated cost, while a few small projects involving streets consume 73.8 percent.

These numbers may change in the final document to City Council. Staff and consultants are considering community input received during the draft review process that could affect the total cost estimate and individual project allocations.

Councillor David Frisch says that points out the value of investing in alternate methods of moving people around the community.

“It is also encouraging to see how affordable pedestrian and cycling infrastructure is compared to infrastructure for car travel,” Frisch told Decafnation. “It is worth noting that the 25-year infrastructure costs for people to walk and ride bikes or scooters is $10M & $24M compared to $100M for people to travel more by car.

“By encouraging our generation to shift to healthier modes of travel, we are saving taxpayers millions of dollars on infrastructure projects, health care costs, and environmental costs … it’s a win-win-win scenario!” he said.

 

Schools and transportation

The plan reports that 83 percent of commute trips to work or school are made by private vehicle.

Councillor Will Cole-Hamilton notes that all of the Comox Valley’s secondary schools are located on the east side of the river, and that the data shows peak congestion on the 17th Street bridge occurs around the time schools finish for the day.

“Focusing on student needs — sidewalks to schools, making cycling to schools safer, lobbying to coordinate transit routes and times to match school bell times– would not only provide our youth with more safe and healthy options each day, but also help to reduce congestion on our roads and bridges,” he told Decafnation.

Cole-Hamilton hopes the city would work with School District 71 to restart the Safer to Schools program, which promoted walking and cycling among school-aged children.

Earlier this summer, former school trustee Cliff Boldt proposed a local area plan for west Courtenay that included locating a secondary school there. It’s a topic that might arise during revisions to the city’s Official Community Plan.

 

Cycling Network Plan

Although City Council approved a separate Cycling Network Plan in February, it is being incorporated and will be reviewed as part of the Master Transportation Plan. It got out ahead of the larger plan to take advantage of funding opportunities.

O’Grady said grants for urban cycling projects appeared in late 2018 that required a cycling plan for eligibility. The Comox Valley Cycling Coalition helped the city create a cycling plan that council approved by the grant application deadline.

The city received $228,000 for two cycling projects to construct north-south bicycle lanes on both the west side (Fitzgerald Avenue) and the east side (Hobson Connector).

 

Asset Management

This draft transportation plan takes on a “realistic” 20-year time frame, according to O’Grady. The future beyond that is too uncertain he said, considering today’s fast-moving technologies toward driverless cars and even visions of car-free urban centers.

During that time period, the plan advises the city to factor in multi-modal transportation designs into every future infrastructure project.

Aligning transportation plan objectives with utility and other projects constitutes better municipal asset management, and ensures more sustainable delivery of city services.

“It’s a holistic approach,” O’Grady said.

 

Official Community Plan

A municipality’s OCP is a long-term visionary document that guides the city’s land uses, establishes growth nodes and determines zoning. For the city, it’s a document comparable to the Comox Valley Regional District’s Regional Growth Strategy.

Having updated existing planning documents and completed new ones will help the public, city staff and elected officials shape a revised OCP over the next couple of years. The last meaningful update of the city’s OCP was done in 2005, although there have been several subsequent amendents.

Lisa Butler, Courtenay’s manager of engineering strategy, emphasized the importance and interrelationship of the OCP to other planning documents.

“Population growth projections used to inform traffic modeling in the draft 2019 transportation plan came from the current OCP,” she said. “With all of these plans coming together, it’s an exciting time for the city.”

 

What’s next

O’Grady said staff will present the draft Transportation Master Plan to a committee of the whole meeting of City Council on Sept. 30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CITY RESIDENTS WANT NON-VEHICLE TRAVEL CHOICES

“With population expected to grow by approximately 60 percent over the next 20 years, Courtenay residents want to shift travel choices toward more sustainable modes through land use plans and investments in non-automobile travel modes.”

— From Connecting Courtenay, the city’s draft Transportation Master Plan

 

WHO ARE THE CONSULTANTS?

Courtenay used the same consulting firm, Urban Systems, employed by the BC government to develop the recently released 577-page provincial Active Transportation Guidelines that will apply to all jurisdictions and the BC Ministry of Transportation. Ryan O’Grady, Courtenay’s director of engineering services, said using the same firm has helped ensure the city’s transportation plan meets the new provincial guidelines.

 

INTERESTING TO NOTE

You will find an entire section on emerging transportation technologies in the city’s new transportation plan, such as autonomous and electric vehicles. And it’s interesting to note that while electric vehicles provide an environmental benefit (no greenhouse gas emissions), they don’t solve or even reduce traffic issues. Regardless of its power source, a vehicle on the road adds to traffic issues.

 

BIGGER BUT MODEST
CITY’S CYCLING GOALS

The city’s draft transportation plan sets a traget of 10 percent of all trips made on bicycle by 2020. That’s up from 4 percent today, but far below world best practices.

In the Netherlands, 27 percent of all trips are made by bicycle, including 25 percent of commute trips to work. In Denmark, 18 percent of all trips are made by bike.

 

PUBLIC INPUT

More than 115 people responded to a five-week public consultation blitz over the summer.

 

SUBDIVISION BYLAW

Courtenay’s Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw was updated in the spring of 2018, but additional updates will follow based on input from the forthcoming Integrated Rainwater Management Plan

 

 

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The Week: Strange attitude in Comox and perils of logging in watersheds

The Week: Strange attitude in Comox and perils of logging in watersheds

by | Jun 7, 2019

George Le Masurier photo

The Week: Strange attitude in Comox and perils of logging in watersheds

By

There’s a classic ironic saying — “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help you” — that seems to describe the Town of Comox’s aloof and often confrontational attitude toward some of its constituency. It’s a peculiar mindset that the town has developed in recent times.

There’s no better example than the story of Ken McDonald and Golf Creek, which Decafnation first reported back in January when it was a simple Small Claims Court case. This week, we broke the news on Tuesday that a civil court judge granted an escalation of the law to the BC Supreme Court and multiplied the amount of damages tenfold.

Read the full story here, and the original story here

The town could have settled this matter for $25,000 or less three years ago just by taking a helpful and sympathetic approach to a resident’s problem. But instead of trying to assist this taxpayer, the town basically told him to buzz off, and then actually added to his financial burden by paying high-priced lawyers to fight him in court.

By the time this case is resolved, the town will have spent tens of thousands more of taxpayers’ money than if they had empathy for one of their own citizens and helped him out. And the bill will grow to hundreds of thousands more if the town loses the case.

The good news out of this example of the town’s pitiful proclivity for bullying people is that this citizen has the means to fight back. And because of McDonald’s refusal to just let it go, some of the town’s other sins have come to light: flushing toxic stormwater into the harbor, repeatedly ignoring warnings from more than one professional consultant, failing to monitor water quality in the creeks it abuses and more.

It’s hard to ignore the irony of Comox hosting a week-long seafood festival that starts today, knowing that the town bears a huge responsibility for the pollution of Comox Bay that has killed aquatic life and closes the area to shellfish harvesting.

Comox is also embroiled in another legal case that could also cost its taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, this one over the mishandling of the Mack Laing Trust and the fate of his heritage home, Shakesides. Instead of sitting down face-to-face and working out a solution, the town again has taken a confrontational approach, spending large amounts of money on lawyers to prevent Mack Laing’s supporters from having a voice in court.

There are good examples of local governments — in Cumberland and Courtenay — that when faced with citizen-based problems, municipal staff and elected officials actually try to resolve them in a win-win manner, rather than attempt to beat a citizen into submission. But Comox is apparently not that kind of town.

 

DECODING POLITICAL SPEAK

One of the frustrating aspects of the Town of Comox’s current legal battles is that elected officials refuse to talk about them. Mayor Russ Arnott is famous for hiding behind the words, “It’s before the courts, so I can’t talk about it.”

Literally, that’s not true. Elected officials have the freedom to talk about court cases, and defendants and prosecutors do it all the time. There is no law against this.

What Arnott really means is that he’s afraid to say something that could hurt the town’s legal case.

Municipal insurance companies have a big thumb on freedom of speech. So instead of transparency, we usually get silence based on a fear of liability.

 

BIKING IN COURTENAY

Here’s some good news: the City of Courtenay has received $227,655 from the provincial BikeBC program to expand its cycling network on both sides of the river. The grant amounts to about half of the cost of projects on Fitzgerald Avenue and the Hobson Neighborhood.

Courtenay is really pushing toward a cycle-friendly community.

For its next step, we humbly suggest some kind of infrastructure — overpasses?, physically separated lanes? — that would allow students of Vanier and Isfeld secondary schools to cycle more safety from their homes on the west side of the river.

 

LOGGING AND WATER TREATMENT

There is an excellent recent story in the online publication, The Narwhal, about how clearcut logging is driving a water crisis in some interior communities.

While the story focuses on the Okanagan region, there’s a similar story about logging in the Comox Lake Watershed, the drinking water source for most Comox Valley residents. And the results of this practice are similar.

Due to upstream logging, large quantities of sediment flow into Peachland Creek and eventually wash into Okanagan Lake. That has forced the town of Peachland to spend $24 million on a new water treatment plant to filter out the fine sediments, disinfect it with chlorine and ultraviolet light.

Sound familiar? That’s exactly what’s happening in the Comox Lake Watershed. Because the BC government allows logging in the watershed, sediment flows into all the little creeks and streams, and into the bigger rivers, such as the Cruikshank, causing turbidity.

The Comox Valley’s $110 million price tag for water treatment is more than four times higher than Peachland’s.

Why doesn’t the province only permit selective logging in watersheds? Why does the province prioritize logging over drinking water? And one wonders how much of the watershed the Comox Valley could have purchased for the cost of its water treatment plant.

 

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Comox Valley local government elections ramping up for Oct. 15 vote

Comox Valley voters will elect new councilors, mayors, regional district representatives, school board members and Island Trust reps on Oct. 15. Find out who’s running for what … and why. Decafnation returns to shine more light on local government issues and candidates