Implementing a draft joint stormwater management plan between the Ministry of Transportation and the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) for East Roberts Creek, Elphinstone and West Howe Sound will require funding as well as resolving which level of government has authority over the issue.
The two governments hired a consultant to come up with a plan to address the stormwater management issues arising from the increasing development on the Coast, including erosion, flooding and cross-drainage between properties.
"The objective of an integrated stormwater management plan is to accommodate land development and growth while protecting property and the natural environment," Delcan vice-president Tom Field explained to the 40 audience members at an open house in Gibsons Sept. 6 where he presented the draft plan.
Field said a plan would need to cover the overall watershed area as well as individual lots.
"No matter what these guidelines suggest, it all comes down to money," Gibsons Coun. Gerry Tretick pointed out.
At an earlier SCRD infrastructure committee meeting that day, Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis had put forward two recommendations to the board, which the committee approved. The first was to form a citizens' stormwater management advisory committee between the three affected regional areas.
"The public is going to want to see some progress and action," Lewis said at the committee meeting. "Let's give them the opportunity to keep on it."
His second recommendation was for SCRD staff "to investigate setting up development cost charges to support stormwater management and develop a function to work toward righting some of these problems."
He relayed the decisions to the attendees at the open house.
"We've done the first two steps to getting the ball rolling," Lewis said. Members of the audience raised concern that ministry representatives were not at the meeting. Concern was also raised over individual property owners currently footing the bill to deal with stormwater problems. Others suggested who may be at fault for current problems.
"It's a very difficult task to go back and assign blame," Field pointed out.
"All we can say is there is a problem caused by development."
Lewis added, "The step taken today at the regional district is not to assign blame but to figure out how to deal with it. Let's look for a solution, not look for the perpetrator."
Another key issue was which level of government has subdivision authority to implement stormwater management policies."If the SCRD got the subdivision authority, it would be in exactly the same situation," SCRD Roberts Creek director Donna Shugar pointed out. "If you get that power, you don't necessarily get the funding." SCRD infrastructure services manager Steve Lee responded to the comments on political control.
"Our hands are tied, as much as we want to fire up that backhoe and start doing work," Lee noted. "There is no overnight solution. I feel for the people who have a current problem."
The first recommendation he plans to make to the SCRD board is to resolve who owns the problem and who has the authority to manage and tax for it.
The draft plan is available online at www.scrd.bc.ca.
