The Town of Lake Cowichan has a new Advisory Planning Commission (APC).
During a special meeting, Tuesday, February 1, before the regularly-scheduled Parks, Recreation and Culture Committee and Public Works Committee meetings, mayor and council passed the final reading of a bylaw amendment, which bumps the number of non – Town of Lake Cowichan resident APC members from one to two.
Having discussed the issue at length during the previous week’s regular council meeting, the amendment’s final reading passed quickly.
With only five people applying for the APC’s five public positions, the decision came easily, after the bylaw amendment.
Returning members include Hazel Beech, Rita A. Dustow, Chris Rolls, and Pat Weaver. The fifth member, Les Bowd, is new to the APC, filling the void left by outgoing member Janeen Bakewell.
Both Weaver and Rolls live just outside the Town of Lake Cowichan’s boundaries, with Rolls having recently relocated. With the APC’s Official Community Plan nearing completion, mayor and council felt it would be best if the parties responsible for the plan stay on-board to the end – hence the bylaw amendment.
River signage
Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Committee member Gerald Thom paid mayor and council a visit on behalf of the group, in order to outline their plans for river signs.
“It’s very important we target offenders,” he said. “It’s our feeling that signage saying ‘don’t do it’ will not work. They’ll probably throw beer cans at it, to be honest.”
Instead, the stewards are planning signage around the word respect, wherein each letter of respect would represent a different issue, including litter, alcohol use, safety, wildlife, foul language, trespassing, washroom usage, and other things. The goal is to be humorous, positive, and informative.
Councillor Tim McGonigle agreed with this sentiment, in that an initial laugh will better attract people’s attention and respect. Although the government has declared the Cowichan River a Heritage River, he said that there’s been no funding to preserve the waterway.
“This may be an opportunity to open these funding doors,” he said.
Councillor Jayne Ingram, who has served as a liaison between the stewards and council, suggested they look into a $5,000 grant through the Royal Bank of Canada. This opportunity will be looked into by town staff, in conjunction with the stewards.
“It would be no problem finding things for $5,000,” Thom said, of the grant.
Mayor Ross Forrest noted that issues around tubing have been getting better, and more family-friendly in recent years.
“Things have been improving, and I think it’s great what you’re doing,” mayor Ross Forrest encouraged Thom after his presentation.
It’s hoped for the signage to be put in place by the beginning of the tourist season, in May. One large sign and seven subsequent smaller signs are to be installed.
It’s also hoped that the public will assist in creating these signs, through a competition currently taking place. For more on the competition, visit the stewards’ website, at www.cowichan-lake-stewards.ca. The contest wraps up Monday, February 28, with prizes handed out thereafter.
Affordable housing
Expect mayor and council to become more focused on the issue of affordable housing, in town.
Councillor Bob Day closed this month’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture Committee meeting with some comments around his thoughts on affordable housing. The comments were at least partially inspired by a recent conference he attended on affordable housing, through Social Housing Cowichan.
“Somewhere, some how, this needs to be created,” he said. “We need to encourage developers and development.”
Such a project could encourage more full-time residents and young families, he said, as young families tend to make ends meet with a lower income.
“We could increase our population of young people,” he said. “We might get more of our young people staying in town.”
Whereas when many people think of housing they think of three to four bedrooms, Day said that many young families don’t need or want that. They want smaller houses, under $100,000.
“We could fill our schools back up, and create a healthy community,” Day said.
Having been to the same conference, mayor Ross Forrest said that another thing focused on was the fact that, although most older residents grew up in homes under 1,000 square feet, modern homes are becoming much larger than that, with most residents now living in larger homes than ever before.
There was no specific goal to these comments on affordable housing, Day said. It’s just for consideration down the road, as items are brought up.
Idle Free Policy
The Town of Lake Cowichan is a step closer to adopting an Idle Free Policy, with the town’s chief administrative officer Joseph Fernandez providing council with a draft of the policy.
The town’s Public Works Department has an Idle Free Policy already, the town’s superintendent of Public Works Nagi Rizk said, though there’s nothing in writing. This policy could provide written acknowledgement of the oral policy already in place, he reasoned.
As such, an amendment to the policy will include a section about town staff employing the policy, as well.
“A big thing is to lead by example,” councillor Tim McGonigle said.
Another amendment will include more idle time for diesel-fueled vehicles. An updated policy will be presented to mayor and council during a future Tuesday council meeting.
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