This page contains annotated news stories and press releases with commentary about land reform and the democratic process in British Columbia. Our comments are shown in red.
Yesterday's meeting with Minister of Community Development Blair Lekstrom went well, we are asking for the cabinet to exercise their powers under section 90 of the Land Title Act to halt WFP's subdivision plans.
It is very important that there is a huge turn out at WFP's open house so that they get the message that:
There subdivisions are not wanted,
and
There open is an attempt to give legitimacy to a development plan that has no public support. We need a public hearing held by the Provincial Approving Officer, Bob Wylie, so that residents of the CRD can speak directly to him.
It is very important that there is a huge turn out at WFP's open house so that they get the message that:
There subdivisions are not wanted,
and
There open is an attempt to give legitimacy to a development plan that has no public support. We need a public hearing held by the Provincial Approving Officer, Bob Wylie, so that residents of the CRD can speak directly to him.
Forest land debate rages on
Subdivision foes want public hearing, WFP to hold open house on its plans
Sep 04, 2008
By Judith Lavoie
<jlavoie@tc.canwest.com>
An open house is no substitute for a public hearing, say opponents of Western Forest Products' plans to subdivide land around Jordan River, Shirley and Otter Point.
The Capital Regional District and lawyers for the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society have called on Highways Ministry approving officer Bob Wylie to hold public hearings before deciding on the future of the lands west of Sooke. But no decision has yet been made because the company has not yet submitted all the necessary information, said ministry spokesman Dave Crebo.
"We need far more detail than just the broad concepts and we've been asking for that for some time," he said.
In the meantime, WFP has said it will hold an open house on its plans next Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Shirley Community Hall.
Duncan Kerr, WFP chief operations officer, said the open house is in response to public feedback.
"There are some folks out there who have queries or comments and we have always wanted to have a conversation around what's best for that area," he said.
Maurita Prato, Dogwood Initiative forests campaigner, said members of the Jordan River Steering Committee, a coalition of interested groups, will attend the meeting.
"An open house is by no means a public hearing. Western Forest Products is not accountable to us, but the provincial government is accountable to us," she said.
Controversy over the land stretching from Sooke Potholes to Port Renfrew erupted one year ago after the provincial government gave WFP permission to pull its private land out of tree farm licences and the company then provisionally sold more than 2,500 hectares to developer Ender Ilkay.
The CRD rezoned forest and resource land to 120 hectare minimum lot size. But while the bylaws were waiting to be signed by then-community development Minister Ida Chong, WFP applied under old bylaws for 319 acreages.
Unlike Ilkay's plans, which include large tracts of park, the WFP plans have no parks and include the Jordan River and Sandcut Beach waterfront.
Under the grandfathering, WFP has one year to get the go-ahead from the provincial approving officer and build the subdivision infrastructure.
The clock is ticking toward next April's deadline, Kerr said. "That is assuming the bylaws remain in place," he said.
A court challenge is slated to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court Sept. 15.
Meanwhile, Dogwood representatives met yesterday with Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom -- Chong's replacement.
The aim was to familiarize Lekstrom with the issue and underline the importance to Vancouver Island, Prato said.
The group is asking cabinet to look at a scathing report by auditor general John Doyle, who concluded that the decision to remove private land from tree farm licences was taken without sufficient regard for the public interest, and to consider the undermining of the CRD's ability to plan growth.
The Capital Regional District and lawyers for the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society have called on Highways Ministry approving officer Bob Wylie to hold public hearings before deciding on the future of the lands west of Sooke. But no decision has yet been made because the company has not yet submitted all the necessary information, said ministry spokesman Dave Crebo.
"We need far more detail than just the broad concepts and we've been asking for that for some time," he said.
In the meantime, WFP has said it will hold an open house on its plans next Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Shirley Community Hall.
Duncan Kerr, WFP chief operations officer, said the open house is in response to public feedback.
"There are some folks out there who have queries or comments and we have always wanted to have a conversation around what's best for that area," he said.
Maurita Prato, Dogwood Initiative forests campaigner, said members of the Jordan River Steering Committee, a coalition of interested groups, will attend the meeting.
"An open house is by no means a public hearing. Western Forest Products is not accountable to us, but the provincial government is accountable to us," she said.
Controversy over the land stretching from Sooke Potholes to Port Renfrew erupted one year ago after the provincial government gave WFP permission to pull its private land out of tree farm licences and the company then provisionally sold more than 2,500 hectares to developer Ender Ilkay.
The CRD rezoned forest and resource land to 120 hectare minimum lot size. But while the bylaws were waiting to be signed by then-community development Minister Ida Chong, WFP applied under old bylaws for 319 acreages.
Unlike Ilkay's plans, which include large tracts of park, the WFP plans have no parks and include the Jordan River and Sandcut Beach waterfront.
Under the grandfathering, WFP has one year to get the go-ahead from the provincial approving officer and build the subdivision infrastructure.
The clock is ticking toward next April's deadline, Kerr said. "That is assuming the bylaws remain in place," he said.
A court challenge is slated to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court Sept. 15.
Meanwhile, Dogwood representatives met yesterday with Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom -- Chong's replacement.
The aim was to familiarize Lekstrom with the issue and underline the importance to Vancouver Island, Prato said.
The group is asking cabinet to look at a scathing report by auditor general John Doyle, who concluded that the decision to remove private land from tree farm licences was taken without sufficient regard for the public interest, and to consider the undermining of the CRD's ability to plan growth.
