The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is proceeding with the new zoning bylaw for Area D.
Despite some concerns from residents in specific areas, most notably Britannia Beach, the SLRD board has decided to move ahead with the bylaw, says Area D Director Tony Rainbow.
Last month, the SLRD held a public hearing for Area D residents on the proposed official community plan and accompanying zoning bylaws.
The OCP bylaw generated little comment, but residents had plenty to say when it came to the zoning bylaw, which sets out more detailed land-use regulations.
Furry Creek residents were generally content with a plan to establish zoning that would prevent the local golf course from any plans to develop multiple types of projects on the site that could include residential and commercial.
On the other hand, several Britannia Beach residents were upset about restrictions on the maximum size of their lots.
“There was quite a lot of unrest expressed by the people from Britannia,” Rainbow said.
At the hearing last month, several residents were concerned about proposed maximum lot sizes, saying they were too restrictive for homes and other buildings such as garages.
Rainbow and SLRD staff talked after the meeting and concluded the district needed to do a better job of talking to the community.
The bylaw, however, has gone through its final reading, says Rainbow, though the SLRD is only awaiting input from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which will bring the process to a close. The bylaw could come up for adoption at the next board meeting at the end of July, if the regional district has heard back from the province.
Rainbow says the board felt it made more sense to proceed with the zoning bylaw and make any necessary amendments at a later date. Otherwise, trying to make the changes now before the adoption of the bylaw would add months to the process and require another public hearing.
He expects the next phase will involve meeting with the Britannia Beach residents about their concerns.
“What we’ve done is contact the Britannia Beach community and said to them… we want to start a process of discussion with you and look toward the possibility of developing an amendment.”
There is an informal public meeting with the community in the fall at which time the regional district could consider any amendments to the new bylaw. The meeting is tentatively set for mid-September.
The event will be more like a workshop comprised of small groups to exchange ideas rather than a formal hearing.
“We’ll try to get a sense of what possibilities would be acceptable,” he said.
Rainbow adds that the regional district has made the point to the community that some members might end up with a plan that does not make everyone happy, but he hopes that everyone feels they have had a say by the end of the process and can accept whatever compromises there might be.
“We think we may able to come up with a different way of achieving the goals,” Rainbow said. “We think we can come up with some kinds of tweaks to that zoning that will satisfy them and satisfy us.”
