Following board endorsement of second reading of an update to the zoning bylaw covering the Halfmoon Bay, Roberts Creek, Elphinstone and West Howe Sound areas, Sunshine Coast Regional District staff said that the public hearing on the new legislation is being planned for September. At the SCRD Board meeting of July 28, director of planning Ian Hall said staff are still mapping out date and format.
Staff also clarified that existing zoning bylaw 310 covering those areas remains in force and would not be brought to the board for consideration of rescinding until the new bylaw is adopted.
Options for rural sewer systems
The board moved to have staff draft amendments to Subdivision Servicing Bylaw 320 to remove the requirement that the SCRD automatically take over ownership of community sewer systems handling more that 22.7m3 of wastewater per day. That rule will be replaced by one requiring case-by-case board consideration on the take over of new systems of that size.
Also endorsed was a recommendation that independent engineering assessments be included in reports to the board on each new system. That practice is aimed at protecting the SCRD from risks and unexpected costs should a system ready for take over have design or maintenance issues. The recommendations had been debated at the committee level on July 21. During those discussions, Sechelt area director Darnelda Siegers needed to hear the reasons “why would we want to get in the middle of this” when it comes to take over of new rural sewer systems.
Staff explained that current practice is for the SCRD to automatically assume management of such systems, which are built by private sector interests to collect and process sewage from multiple properties. While the systems are approved and licensed by the province, it relies on regional districts to handle the day-to-day operations, including charging the benefiting properties for those costs. Staff explained that although not required, regional management is a “best practice,” considering the environmental risk of system failures.
Staff also outlined plans to develop an application guide for developers installing systems that would require eventual SCRD take over. That is aimed at ensuring awareness about the SCRD’s standards for construction and maintenance as well as to reduce the chances of inheriting “problem systems", which staff stated had happened in the past.
The committee discussion raised concerns about ongoing regional involvement in existing systems for resident and rural system customer Peter Galbraith. “It’s a really big deal,” he said noting that the livability and value of properties served rely on those systems.
Halfmoon Bay area director Lori Pratt responded that the proposed changes are forward-looking and would not impact systems already under the management of the regional district.
