As we head in to summer, provincial directives to maintain physical distancing will still be in effect. As we slowly increase our bubbles and get out to enjoy this beautiful area – please remember to follow guidelines, support local businesses as much as possible, and to be kind!
As you read in last week’s Sounder, the RDN was successful in receiving a grant for a social needs assessment and strategy, in partnership with most of its member municipalities and the Islands Trust. Big thanks to Angela Pounds, the community social worker with the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice for initiating the idea, and Scott Colbourne for promoting it at the Islands Trust and as an opportunity for partnership with the RDN. Writing and coordinating the application was a big project, and could not have occurred without the leadership of RDN Strategic & Community Development staff.
The Spring Beach access has re-opened! The bottom section of the ramp was replaced with stairs, which allows much safer access to the beach. Many thanks to RDN Parks staff for their quick response to this issue.
On June 9th we had Electoral Area Services Committee (EASC) and Committee of the Whole (CoW) meetings which had very full agendas. I’ve highlighted some of the items discussed below. Decisions at these committees will go to the Board at our next meeting on June 23rd. All documents mentioned are available on the RDN website https://rdn.bc.ca/agendas-minutes-videos.
The Village Way Project reached another significant milestone with the EASC considering a License of Occupation agreement with MoTI. This LOO sets out the responsibilities for MoTI and the RDN in managing the pathway. Part of the agreement is that the RDN will provide a management strategy within 1 year of the project commencing. At this time the project is still planned to begin this year.
RDN staff have been busy responding to and developing plans to address issues associated with COVID. Regional Districts are required to finalize their budget earlier than municipalities, which meant that our 2020 budget was fixed before the effects of the COVID pandemic were realized. COVID has resulted in reduced revenues (eg transit, solid waste, recreation), and some planned projects weren’t able to go ahead. At the CoW, staff brought forward a Resilience and Renewal Framework and at the July meeting we will receive an analysis of planned capital projects and options for funding, including identifying surplus funds to be brought forward to 2021 to offset some costs.
A Regional Housing Needs report was received by the CoW. This project included consultation with community organizations across the RDN, including People for a Healthy Community. The report authors examined data on community profiles including data on income, average price of homes and rentals, and housing supply to identify gaps and potential policy or regulatory actions to address the issue. Although the report largely lumps the electoral areas together, the report highlights challenges on Gabriola including housing affordability for both owning and renting, as well as a relatively high proportion of homes needing major repairs. The report will inform the Regional Housing Strategy which will include support/tool options for affordable housing.
The Coastal Floodplain Mapping project has been completed, and included Area B. Coastal flood hazard maps will be made available to the community and will be used to update the RDN’s land use bylaws (in Area B, these bylaws are established by the Islands Trust).
Another significant report that came to the CoW is a regional groundwater level analysis for the pre-summer period. The monitored aquifer on Gabriola is currently below average levels. The report indicates this suggests a “high potential for groundwater shortage this summer”. This aquifer is also experiencing a degree of longer-term decline.
Other reports that came forward that might be of interest:
· 2019 Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) Annual report addresses many interesting indicators across the RDN, including goals to protect the environment, land use indicators, affordable housing, and others. Although Area B is not included in the RDN’s RGS because it focusses primarily on land use, Area B is included in some aspects of the report (eg the statistics on amount of parkland in the RDN).
· A large project coming up for the RDN addressing new Public Service Sector Accounting Standards, which will require all local governments to recognize future costs related to tangible assets, in budgets. This will require the RDN to examine all of its assets to identify those which might have costs associated with ‘retirement’ (eg, playground structures, buildings etc), assess actions which will be required, and estimate costs.
Upcoming:
· The next Board meetings occur on June 23rd and July 28th. Electoral Area Service Committee and the Committee of the Whole meetings are upcoming on July 14th. Agendas are typically posted online by the Friday prior to the meeting. At this time all meetings are held via Zoom meetings and are available for online viewing.
· The next Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee (POSAC) will be held on June 22nd. The POSAC provides input to the RDN Board on community parks in Area B. Correspondence received for the POSAC prior to June 17th will be added to the agenda. If you have anything you’d like to include, please contact me.
At this time I won’t be holding in-person office hours or meetings. However, you can reach me by email at vanessa.craig@rdn.bc.ca or click the big CONTACT button at the top right of my website.