National Park Initiative was the topic for the November 2nd BIM Council Meeting. Consultant Mel Turner who is conferring with governing agencies on the Park Initiative on behalf of the Municipality gave an overview of his background and brought the group up to speed on his work to date. He has spoken to individuals at Parks Canada. There, in his words, is "qualified interest" in the initiative. Parks Canada will do a review of land & marine resources on Bowen to determine if any of their programs for a National Park reserve might be applicable to Bowen. He has prepared a document for the working group to review that deals with "issues" they have to consider in order to be prepared for Parks Canada's review of Bowen Island as a candidate for some of the island to be considered as appropriate for a National Reserve. The Mayor spoke about the need to communicate this idea effectively to the Community and to consult with people on Saturna and Pender Island who have been living with National Parks.
When Mel Turner spoke later on in the meeting he emphasized they will be looking for ecological information and to some extent recreational & cultural information. This material, Mr. Turner continued, should be outlined by the Municipality in the documentation so Parks Canada can get on with the analysis. Next he emphasized that the Municipality should define what they are "supportive of" in terms of the National Park initiative. This, he went on, should be defined in the revised OCP working documents so the community can weigh in on this initiative. The proposal document from the Muni should be in Parks Canada's hands by mid-December, if it were to meet all the best timelines given all the players involved, if it were to go ahead in an expeditious manner.
Mel Turner explained after a probe from Mayor Turner that with National Park initiatives on "settled islands" such as Saturna ond Pender, there were people both for and against the initiative but without a "real" rationale. He suggested that it would be useful with these islands close by to draw on this experience so the facts can come forward on what it is like to live with a National Park.
Councillor Poole emphasized that what began this whole process was the result of a resolution that was passed on May 11th to see what kind of interest or money could be "drummed up" with the purpose of securing an agreement based on "willing seller, willing buyer with the CRC owners to purchase some or all of the Cape Roger Curtis Lands at fair market value.
Mel Turner stated that part of the process will be that Parks Canada will ask has any private land been identified as possible park. He continued to state that Bowen's OCP process has identified some private areas.
The Mayor spoke to the need to "not to get ahead of the Community". To make sure there is a good information process that informs the Community about what is taking place as the process evolves.
Next on the agenda was the Advisory Planning Commission, APC, being directly to review the OCP policy relevant to the "Village periphery" with emphasis on the areas west of Snug Cove and provide "options" on its use and bring the report forward on December 14, 2009. The Mayor noted the present OCP briefly touches on the "village periphery" and should be properly addressed in the present OCP discussions. Councillor Morse felt that there were other areas on Bowen that deserved attention as well. Councillor Frinton jumped into the fray bringing a strong case for proceeding with the APC reviewing the "village periphery" issue on its own, as it is "very much on the horizon" whereas the other areas are not. He went onto say that he carefully worked the words in the motion in such a way that the reporting of the APC could be to either the OCP Committee or to Council. He went onto say that he felt this approach made the matter uncontentious. Councillor Hooper wanted some clarification on what the "village periphery" was and why other lots in the Surplus Lands were not being included. The Mayor reiterated his previous points with some clarification and Councillor Frinton visually showed on a wall map where the land in question was. This was caught on video and is instructive. Councillor Hooper was admanant that all of the public/Surplus Land should be considered and not just the "village periphery" piece. It was decided to defer the topic and the motion giving direction to the APC till the next meeting when Dave Witty, Chair of the OCP Steering Committee, would be present before Council.
Download video [QuickTime - 380.94 MB] ( with Internet Explorer use right-click > save target as, on a Mac use control-click > save link as... )
Or the video can be viewed online after the break.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
