Update: November 18, 2009

The Environmental Law Centre has been asked to comment on the most recent iteration (November 17 2009) of the Juan de Fuca draft OCP and land use bylaw. I have taken a very cursory look at them and the planner’s report and feel that they are a vast improvement over the previous drafts in terms of upholding the Regional Growth Strategy and maintaining a significant natural resources landscape in the region.

I specifically note the following positive things (please note that my page number references are to the numbers on the Adobe program and not the numbers in the documents thmselves):

Acknowledgement of inadequacy of inventories and land use designations Page 14 of the OCP notes that because of the demise of the FLR and other changes at the provincial level there are lands that should be included in the Unprotected Green Lands Policy Area and other land use designations. Updated inventories and re-designation of lands is anticipated in the upcoming review of the RGS and as part of other planning processes.

Addition of other Sustainability Objectives Page 17 of the OCP states as the first plan objective “To protect the wilderness character of the area.” There are other sustainability objectives on page 18.

Parks Parcels created for parks are exempt from minimum lot sizes.

Resource Lands The vast majority of the area is now zoned as Resource Lands, with a 120 ha minimum parcel size. The OCP explicitly recognizes the environmental values of the Resource Lands as well as their extractive use potential (page 24).

Unprotected Green Lands Policy Area Addition of this category identifies land in the regional Green/Blue Spaces Strategy that need protection. Creating an inventory of the sensitive ecosystems and priority acquisitions in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area seems to have been added to the RGS or CRD Parks task list (and this is quite timely given that the regional Land Acquisition Fund is up for renewal).

New Rural/Rural Residential Policy Area Zone (some inconsistency in what it is called in the OCP) Only applies to specific areas identified on Map 2 – a very small amount of the total area, near Port Renfrew. Only problem would be if landowners applied to bring more properties into this zone via subdivision, but the OCP does not contemplate an expansion of this zone.

Referral to CRD Parks and other Planning Processes There are a variety of places where additional planning (e.g. page 21 referral to the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area Parks and Recreation Commission) will be incorporated into the OCP.

I question the following:

Rezoning Criteria Page 20 policy 12 – the OCP still sets out by what criteria applications for rezoning will be considered. The number one criteria should be “suitability of location” and point to all the other policies that basically say development is only appropriate in Jordan River and on some other very limited bases. It may be that when read with the other general policies this provides significant direction to applicants that Rural Resource Lands will be left in large lot status.

High Water Mark & Floodplain Setbacks Floodplain setbacks have been reduced from 30 m to 15 m “to reflect the practice in the remainder of the Juan de Fuca Electoral area.” A 15 metre setback from a floodplain may contravene the Riparian Areas Regulation. The definitions section of the OCP also says the high water mark is 15 metres. However, environmental development permit areas require a setback of 30 metres or compliance with the Riparian Areas Regulation (page 33). This may be inconsistent. I suggest that a 30 metre minimum is appropriate, and the CRD can exceed the RAR (as per section 12 of the Fish Protection Act).

Deborah Curran
Program Director, ELC
Lawyer, Curran & Company

Submission Asks CRD to Focus on Sustainable Community Development

September 29, 2009

In a 13-page submission, ELC Program Director, Deborah Curran, and ELC Articled Student Micah Carmody have made five specific recommendations regarding the Capital Regional District’s (CRD’s) proposed bylaws to establish zoning and land use policies for the 132,000 hectares of Rural Resource Lands in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area.

Curran and Carmody praise the CRD in the submission for being a "leader in regional sustainability and an exemplar of smart growth principles," but urge the district to ensure the proposed bylaws are consistent with the area’s Regional Growth Strategy, Official Community Plan and commitment to climate action.

The submission stresses, "Planning for development in the Rural Resource Lands must be driven by the regional vision, not by development pressures."

Read the Summary
Read the Submission

NEW: Notice to UVic Law students

Help us shape the ELC's future at our student "blue sky" visioning session on Nov 23 from 12-1pm where we will look at the following questions:

Article with the ELC

The ELC is now accepting applications for our two articled student positions. Deadline is November 27, 2009. For for information, see our ad.

ELC Articled Student at SCC

October 2009

Victoria, BC - ELC Articled Student Micah Carmody had the opportunity to travel to Ottawa to watch the portion of a factum that he helped to prepare argued before the Supreme Court of Canada. More...

Protecting the Integrity of Victoria's Inner Harbour

September 21, 2009

Victoria, BC - Victoria Harbour’s mega-yacht marina project needs better public input and an independent environmental assessment process according to legal submissions prepared with the assistance of the ELC and delivered today to the Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice. More...

ELC Urges North Cowichan Council to Protect Echo Heights Forest

August 2009

Chemainus, BC - ELC student Kyra Bell-Pasht presents her report "Protecting Echo Heights Forest" to the District of North Cowichan Council on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. Prepared on behalf of the Chemainus Residents Association, the report examines Council's legal duties when making planning decisions and documents the long history of community use of the lands commonly known as Echo Heights Forest. More...

Action Needed to Deal with Abandoned Vessels

July 2009

Victoria, BC - The recent torching of a tugboat in Sooke Harbour highlights the need for law reform in order to deal with the growing number of abandoned vessels that clutter waters around BC, posing serious safety and environmental risks. More...

Examining BC's Environmental Tribunals and Assessments

April 2009

Victoria, BC - Thanks to funding from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, the ELC is pleased to be conducting two legal research projects that will be carried out over a two-year period under the direction of Mark Haddock, with assistance from ELC staff and clinic students. More on the Assessment Project. More on the Tribunals Project.

Urgent Call to Protect Public Health

March 5, 2009

Victoria, BC - Acting on behalf of a coalition of public health and environmental groups, the ELC has recommended urgent law reform to avoid the potential for mini-Walkerton disasters across BC. More...

Seeking Public Hearings for TFL Subdivision Application

January 2009

With the assistance of the ELC, the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society's lawyer filed submissions encouraging the provincial approval officer to hold public hearings before approving subdivision applications regarding lands near Jordan River that were removed from regulated Tree Farm Licences without notifying the public, local government or First Nations. More...

Preserving Closed School Lands as Public Green Spaces

January 2009

School yards provide valuable public green space and critical nodes for community greenways systems, but they do not have the same protection of parks. Although the land is public, school districts have the right to sell it. A new ELC report explains how public school lands can be preserved for their green space values. More...