The Regional District of Nanaimo plans to revise its Regional Growth Strategy to clarify when minor changes need to be made.
The strategic plan directs growth and land use across the district. Communities use it when developing official community plans, but there is ambiguity when it comes to minor amendments brought on through a full official community plan review process, said a press release.
The issue came to the regional district’s attention when the Town of Qualicum Beach made a request to move a growth containment boundary to line it up with the municipal boundary, according to a July 2015 regional district report. Concern was expressed because that type of amendment wasn’t considered minor.
Paul Thompson, regional district manager of long range planning, said the growth strategy can be amended in two ways – a regular process and a minor amendment process, which is streamlined.
While there is criteria for what qualifies as minor, there is conflict, he said.
“If you look at what does qualify and then what doesn’t qualify at the same time, in some cases, it might appear that nothing would actually qualify,” said Thompson.
According to the regional district proposal, criteria for minor changes would include those that result from full electoral area or municipal official community plan review processes.
“If one of those areas was to go through a new OCP review process and the result was they wanted to support growth in a location that’s not currently supported in the RGS, then they should be able to go to the RDN and say, ‘We want to amend the RGS to support our OCP,’ and it qualifies as the minor amendment process, because it’s a full OCP review,” said Thompson.
Changes to text and maps due to errors or more accurate information becoming available would also qualify as minor, as would changes to tables, figures, grammar or numbering that don’t alter the intent of the growth strategy.
Public feedback is sought at the district board chambers (6300 Hammond Bay Road) on Feb. 23, between 5 and 6:30 p.m. Please visit www.rdn.bc.ca/rgsminoramendments.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
