As your new Electoral Area C representative on the Regional District of Nanaimo Board of Directors, my goal is to help improve the quality of life for residents of our Electoral Area. To do this, it is important to understand the needs of residents so that the relationship between the RDN and the public can be strengthened.
Regional Districts are a form of local government unique to British Columbia. There are 27 Regional Districts in BC, each of which is comprised of a network of municipalities and rural, unincorporated Electoral Areas. Regional Districts provide the political and administrative setup to allow municipalities and electoral areas to collaborate on some services. For rural areas like Electoral Area C, Regional Districts are the equivalent of municipal governments, and RDN Directors ensure the delivery
of services including public transit, e protection, community planning, emergency planning and waste management. At the RDN Board table, I represent the interests of Electoral Area C, and I consider these interests when helping to make collective decisions to benefit the entire Regional District.
In addition to attending RDN Committee of the Whole and regular Board meetings, I also sit on a number of standing committees that are important to the functioning of the RDN. These include the Treaty Advisory Committee, the East Wellington Pleasant Valley Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee, the Grants-in-Aid Advisory Committee, the Regional Parks and Trails Advisory Committee, the Electoral Area Planning Standing Committee and the RDN Executive Committee. In the event that I can not attend a meeting, my Alternate Director is Charlie Pinker from East Wellington.
If you have any questions about my duties at the RDN or my responsibilities as your Area Director, please email maureen_young@shaw.ca or call 390-4111.
Maureen Young, Director
Electoral Area C
New Fire Protection Service Along Nanaimo River Road
In September 2005 approximately 45 property owners along Nanaimo River Road between Twilight Way and South Forks Road joined forces with the Extension Fire Department to bring fire protection to their area. The boundaries of the Extension Fire Protection service have been expanded to cover this neighbourhood.
The Extension Fire Department is currently training and ordering equipment for new volunteers. Under the fire protection arrangements, property owners will have two property tax levies for fire protection. Firstly, they will pay property taxes for the Extension Fire Department who will provide the leadership and direction for all of the volunteer firefighters. Secondly, a separate levy will be identified on the property tax bill for the Nanaimo River Fire Protection service. This second levy will cover the financing costs for a fire hall, new vehicles and start-up equipment for volunteers.
Most of the new properties will qualify for a reduction in property insurance premiums now that they have a responding fire department. Some properties lie beyond an eight kilometre response distance and will not yet qualify–but residents will have peace of mind knowing that a fire truck will come if they need it. Once the new fire hall and vehicles are located in the neighbourhood, all properties will qualify for reduced insurance premiums.
In any rural community, volunteer firefighters are always needed, and the Extension area is no exception. I encourage anyone who is interested in taking on this challenge to contact the Extension Fire Department.
Area C Parks update
New Parks Advisory Committee
I am pleased to be a member of the new Parks Advisory Committee in East Wellington-Pleasant Valley (this is the portion of Electoral Area C that used to make up part of Area D). My fellow committee members are Rick Heikkila, Rina Lawson, Judith Wilson, Lorne Wright, Robert Jepson and Bruce Erickson. All committee members are community residents who have been appointed by the RDN Board. The purpose of this committee is to provide a local perspective on the development and maintenance of our community parks, and to advise the Board on local parks related matters. The East Wellington-Pleasant Valley Parks Advisory Committee will have its inaugural meeting in April.
New Community Parkland
As a result of the Benson Meadows subdivision located off Jinglepot Road, the RDN acquired two parcels of community parkland totalling 6.75 hectares (16.7 acres). One parcel is situated near the entrance to the new subdivision, adjacent to the land intended for a new fire hall. This two hectare (5 acre) park fronts Meadow Drive.
The second new park parcel in this area is a streamside corridor that begins at the new McClure Creek bridge and stretches several hundred metres downstream. It encompasses 4.75 hectares (over 11 acres) and some well-used trails are already in place. Development and maintenance of these new parks will be part of the new Parks Advisory Committee’s mandate.
New Regional Parkland
Late last year the Regional District was able to expand the area of Benson Creek Falls Regional Park by over nine hectares (22 acres) after the Province granted tenure over two parcels of adjacent vacant Crown land. This brings the size of this Park up to 31 hectares (67 acres), all of it leased from the Province for a thirty year term.
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| RDN Chair Joe Stanhope and Director Maureen Young at media conference announcing the preservation of Mount Benson |
Trans Canada Trail
Due to an increase in industrial logging activity, portions of the Trans Canada Trail between Haslam Creek and Spruston Road were posted as closed in January 2006. In addition, work in and around the Timberlands Road gravel pit affected access to the Haslam Creek Suspension Bridge. RDN and Ministry of Transportation staff have since constructed a new trail accessing the bridge, and have met with Island Timberlands staff to discuss realigning the trail from Haslam Creek to Spruston Road. Access to the bridge is now possible, but discussions with the forest company are continuing. For your own safety please obey any trail closure notices.
Riparian Areas Regulation
On March 31, the Riparian Areas Regulation took effect throughout the Province. This new legislation is designed to protect the features, functions, and conditions that support fish processes in riparian areas. The Provincial Ministry of Environment enacted this legislation under Section 12 of the Provincial Fish Protection Act in July of 2004 in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The Riparian Areas Regulation applies to all new residential, commercial, and industrial developments. It does not apply to reconstruction or repair of existing structures, farm uses on agricultural lands, or lands subject to the Forest Act or Private Managed Forest Land Act.
Under this legislation, the Regional District of Nanaimo can not approve any proposed development located within 30 metres of any body of water that provides fish habitat until notification that an assessment report prepared by a qualified environmental professional has been accepted by the Ministry of Environment. The qualified environmental professional report is used to determine how far a development must be located from a watercourse and what must be done to preserve the riparian area within this buffer area for the purpose of fish protection.
The RDN cannot allow development in watercourse areas to proceed without an assessment report. This includes development near any ditch, spring, pond, lake, or wetland that supports fish habitat. As a result, the Regional District of Nanaimo is in the process of amending its Watercourse Protection Development Permit Areas in each Official Community Plan to conform to the provincial directive to implement the Riparian Areas regulation.
For further information about the Riparian Areas Regulation, please contact the Regional District of Nanaimo Planning Department at (250) 390-6510, 954-3798, or toll free at 1-877-607-4111, or the Ministry of Environment at (250) 751-3100.
This flyer is intended for residents in RDN Electoral Area C. Overlapping postal routes could result in some
of Nanaimo and adjacent electoral area residents receiving this newsletter. We hope you find the content of interest.
