Cape Roger Curtis is currently zoned to allow for 10 acre lots but it must be subdivided, with the approval of the Approving Officer, who has the discretion to approve or reject the application on grounds set out in the Land Title Act, including (among other things) that it is not in the public interest.
An application to subdivide the land into 60 lots was made on September 7, 2004 but revised to 58 lots by the developers in September 2006 with few changes.
Fact: Non-compliance with Public Interest
The Approving Officer issued a Preliminary Layout Review on July 7, 2006 which was highly critical of the application. One of the many points of criticism was that it did not comply with Council’s public interest statement for the land, which consists of the following points:
a. Conserving the majority of the coastline for eco-system protection;
b. Where there are no adverse ecological impacts, develop public, waterfront, walking trails along the majority of the coastline, connecting to the cross-island greenway;
c. Environmental protection of the land including environmentally sensitive areas and rare species;
d. Clustering of homes and any other structures in any new development to reduce land disturbance, maximize green space and the opportunity for trails, and facilitate transportation alternatives;
e. Minimizing and mitigating any negative impacts from any Cape Roger Curtis development on the adjacent neighbourhoods and on the Bowen Island community as a whole.
The Approving Officer also concluded that the application did not “comply with the overall
vision and specific policies of the OCP”.
Fact: Lot Frontage contravenes Land Use Bylaw
Thirty-eight of the 60 lots did not meet minimum frontage requirements, required by the Land Title Act. Thus, a significantly different lot configuration will be required which will reduce the number of 10-acre-minimum lots that can be delivered.
Fact: Individual well water
The PLR also identified that water may be a limiting factor, based on the lack of success of deep well drilling in similar geological areas on the south side of Bowen Island.
Fact: Two access roads are not available
The PLR stated that it was a requirement that this subdivision be served with two access points. Whitesails Drive, Cromie Road, and an extension of Thompson Road past Fairy Fen are the only identified possible access points. The BC Integrated Land Management Bureau has denied access via the Fairy Fen route. An extension of Cromie Road would cross a municipal park.
Considerable public opposition has been expressed to the use of Whitesails Drive.
Fact: Public beach access required.
Section 75(1)(c) of the Land Title Act requires that a 20 meter wide public access be provided every 400 meters for a subdivision of this type.
Fact: The Coastal Bluffs will be protected.
The PLR required that: “A biophysical report will need to be prepared to identify the presence of coastal bluff habitat. Based upon the findings of the report, a restrictive covenant will be required to protect this habitat”.
Conclusion:
Much is being made of the 58 lot subdivision as the “scary” alternative, but the reality is that he 58 lots won’t fly. Given all the problems with the subdivision application, a probable scenario
goes like this:
- 58 lots gets eroded to 53...to 45...to... as a result of the requirement to satisfy the statutory deficiencies identified in the PLR and the obligation of the Approving Officer to uphold the public interest;
- the revised subdivision plan does not deliver the necessary desired return on investment due to the reduction in lots available and increased cost of compliance with the PLR;
- it is clear to the developer that a better return may be achieved by negotiating with the Municipality;
- the developer enters into a comprehensive planning process with the municipality to balance community amenities and development scale.
These amenities and that development scale must fit our community. The amenities in the
existing CRC plan might be nice to have, but they come with a huge price in terms of
development and disruption to the Cape as well as to the rest of the island. Let’s start with the
reality of existing zoning, and allow more, smaller lots if the developer provides the amenities
that are needed – those that will preserve the greatest amount of land possible while leaving the
smallest footprint possible. And let’s put seniors and affordable housing in the Cove, where it
belongs.
The ecology of Cape Roger Curtis is unique and deserving of protection. So is our community.
Let’s protect both.
Brenda McLuhan
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